Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Borehamwood

Books, conversation and learning to take turns give Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Borehamwood its clearest character. At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised how activities adapted to individual children helped their learning progress. The useful detail lies beneath that judgement: babies practised words with adults, toddlers talked about their experiences and older children listened to each other during group activities.

Based on Shenley Road, the nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 98 places in total. That whole-setting figure is a measure of capacity, rather than the size of a child's daily group. Indoor and outdoor play spaces support a day built around play and children's developing interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, movement and relationships through play, alongside early experiences of numbers, books, creativity and the world around them. These are the foundations of the day, rather than an extra programme. The curriculum page describes how the emphasis changes as children grow.

For babies, the emphasis is on communicating, physical development and emotions; the Tweenies and toddler curriculum descriptions extend exploration into art, early literacy, mathematics and understanding the world. Preschool learning brings these areas together in preparation for the next stage. Outdoor spaces form part of learning, and the Tweenies curriculum includes outings into the surrounding community. This gives exploration a setting beyond indoor activities, with no fixed frequency attached to those outings.

In February 2024, shared books gave babies opportunities to repeat words, while toddlers developed vocabulary through play with dolls. Older children used an interactive whiteboard during group activities and practised waiting while others contributed. The equipment supported a social task as well as a learning activity: taking a turn meant making room for somebody else's ideas.

Relationships and Communication

Learning Journeys, the group's system for recording children's development, uses the Famly app to share photographs and written observations with parents. Updates connect activities with changes in a child's interests and development, giving families something more concrete than a general account of the day. Parents can access these records, and parents' evenings provide another opportunity to discuss nursery life.

The group-wide arrangement also allows development records to accompany a child when they leave for school or another setting. Its practical value is continuity: information gathered during nursery can be passed to the adults supporting the next stage.

In February 2024, key persons knew the children in their care, and staff within each room could consult individual learning targets. Information gathered from parents at the start helped shape activities around children's interests. Families also received ideas for continuing learning at home, linking nursery experiences with familiar routines outside it.

Settling was generally successful at that visit, but support was less effective for some children who needed additional help understanding routines and changes between activities. This matters for a child who finds transitions difficult: a warm relationship and a clear explanation of what happens next need to work together.

The manager holds the SENCO role, which coordinates support for special educational needs, alongside responsibilities for safeguarding, behaviour management and health and safety. The team also includes a deputy safeguarding role and practitioners with first-aid training. These are identifiable responsibilities within the care structure; they do not replace the dated safeguarding judgement.

Staff receive ongoing training and development support. For parents, the useful connection is between that support and everyday practice, including the routines and hygiene reminders highlighted for improvement in February 2024. At that time, reminders to clean hands after using a tissue were inconsistent, despite children developing personal-care skills more generally.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks each year. The nursery closes during the week between Christmas and New Year; bank holidays are also closure days. The year-round calendar is useful for families whose childcare needs continue beyond school terms, while the Christmas closure needs separate planning.

Enquiries use an online form, followed by contact from the nursery team to discuss childcare needs and offer a personal tour.

Getting There

The address is 23 Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1AD, on the main High Street. Elstree and Borehamwood train station is a 2 minute walk, making the location useful for families incorporating rail travel into their day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 hours funded childcare, and funded entitlement can be combined with paid hours. The group-wide funding arrangement stretches entitlement across the year, so families need to consider how their funded hours fit the attendance they choose rather than treating the headline entitlement as their weekly booking.

For funded places, meals and non-food consumables, including sunscreen, wipes and nappies, attract separate charges; trips and hours beyond the entitlement also cost extra. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page explains the funding structure.

• Help with transitions. In February 2024, some children needed better support to understand routines. During a personal tour, ask how staff would prepare your child for changes between activities and provide extra settling support.
• Everyday hygiene. February 2024 brought an improvement point about consistent hygiene reminders, including after tissue use. Ask how those habits are now reinforced throughout the day.
• Funding and the calendar. Funded places carry separate meal and consumables charges, while Christmas and bank-holiday closures affect attendance. Assess the written quotation alongside the care you need across the year.

Monkey Puzzle Borehamwood suits families seeking year-round childcare near Elstree and Borehamwood station, including those combining funded entitlement with paid hours. Its strongest foundations are the February 2024 account of relationships and language development, alongside development records families can follow through Famly. The decision deserves attention to the everyday details: support during transitions, consistent hygiene habits and the full cost of a funded attendance arrangement.