Tots and Scholars Nursery and Preschool, Sullivan Way

A garden campsite and shopping lists for carrot-cake ingredients capture Sullivan Way's character: children's interests become things to build, discuss and do. At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding across all areas, with strong language development, cooperative behaviour and close relationships with families among its findings.

The setting occupies The Meeting Hall in Elstree and has 60 places in total, accepting babies through to five-year-olds. Its educational offer combines play with language lessons and creative activities. The most compelling examples concern children using their learning for a purpose, rather than simply completing an activity.

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with breakfast club running from 7.30am to 9am. That gives families a substantial daily window; the club's specific hours sit below.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing together play, communication, physical development and growing independence. Alongside this, the group-wide approach includes Montessori principles; Spanish and French lessons add language experiences, while drama, dance and sports classes broaden the activities offered.

In July 2025, staff extended conversations about growing plants by introducing words for hydration and foundations. Children also explored syllables through the vocabulary of plant growth. This connected language with something they were investigating, giving unfamiliar words a practical context rather than treating vocabulary as a separate exercise.

Mathematics had a similarly tangible purpose that month. Older children built a numbered bridge for a story character, identifying gaps and writing the missing numbers. Children ready for more demanding work explored mathematical vocabulary too. The activity combined recognising numbers, writing them and solving a problem within imaginative play.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2025, a family camping experience prompted staff to create a campsite in the garden. Children helped build tents and used pretend campfires to explore safety and food. Their experiences outside nursery became shared play, with construction providing a reason to think through how things fit together.

Community activities also gave learning a destination. That month, children wrote shopping lists before visiting local shops for baking ingredients. Regular art sessions with residents of a nearby care home brought contact with another generation, while cultural music and dance sessions introduced different ways of life. These were experiences beyond the nursery room, with conversation and participation built into them.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and highlighted the attention given to children's emotional wellbeing. Older children practised yoga daily, using breathing to explore calmness; younger children used mirrors to connect facial expressions with feelings.

Communication with home had practical substance in July 2025. After parents explained that teaching ideas were difficult to reproduce at home, staff began sharing weekly activity videos online. Demonstrating the activity made the guidance easier to use. Children also shared family experiences through the online communication system, linking home interests with nursery play.

Monthly family gatherings that July included games evenings and football matches. These gave families opportunities to spend time together beyond routine conversations about their child. Within the nursery, children shared materials, encouraged each other and worked jointly on tasks. Everyday cooperation formed part of the experience alongside planned activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Meeting Hall, Sullivans Way, Elstree, WD6 3DG. Weekday opening runs from 7.30am until 6pm, and breakfast club operates between 7.30am and 9am. Enquiries can be made through the Sullivan Way enquiry route.

The nursery operates for 50 weeks each year. Closures include bank holidays, a Christmas week and some staff training days, so its calendar matters for families arranging continuous childcare around work.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2025, the nursery offered government-funded places to eligible children. Eligibility remains a condition of that provision. Families should obtain a current written quotation for prices.

• Care for the youngest children. The accepted ages extend from babies to five-year-olds, while the children attending in July 2025 were aged two to four. On a visit, ask how baby care, sleep and settling are organised for your child's stage.
• Annual closures. The 50-week calendar includes bank holidays, a Christmas week and staff training days. Families needing care throughout the working year should account for those breaks.
• The learning balance. Montessori principles sit alongside EYFS, with Spanish, French and creative classes adding to the offer. Ask how those elements fit into the day for your child's age.

Sullivan Way suits families who value learning built around children's experiences, community contact and practical communication with home. The July 2025 examples are persuasive: constructing a campsite, shopping for baking ingredients and demonstrating home activities on video all give learning a clear purpose. Weekday care and the early breakfast club provide useful options for working routines, while the annual closure calendar needs to fit the family's plans.