Highbury Lodge Day Nursery, Hitchin

A sensory garden, a mud kitchen and a French class give Highbury Lodge a recognisable character: outdoor exploration sits alongside language learning, with daily garden access for every child. The practical appeal is straightforward. Children have opportunities to investigate, imagine and spend time outside as part of their nursery day.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 3 October 2023 inspection, highlighting responsive teaching and children's independence. That judgement belongs to October 2023; the strongest examples were everyday interactions rather than elaborate activities, including conversations during play and children taking responsibility at lunchtime.

Highbury Lodge has capacity for 83 children, with accepted ages from 2 to 60 months. Its address is 11 Highbury Road, Hitchin, SG4 9RW. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 6.30pm on weekdays.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences help children build language, explore ideas and develop independence. At Highbury Lodge, a French class adds another language to that foundation. The sensory garden and mud kitchen provide different settings for exploration and imaginative play, rather than making outdoor time simply a break between indoor activities.

In October 2023, children chose their own activities indoors and outside, while practitioners responded to their interests. Babies moved towards the eating area when ready for lunch. Children who had moved between rooms could revisit familiar spaces, with staff aware of their movements and welcoming them back. Those examples put children's choices into practical terms.

A paint spill became a learning opportunity in October 2023. Young children helped clean it up while practitioners introduced language about absorption. Staff also allowed time for children to consider questions before answering, and extended activities at appropriate moments. Everyday mishaps and conversations became material for learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily access to the garden gives outdoor play a regular place in the timetable. Highbury Lodge has achieved an Eco-Schools Green Flag award, and its Eco-Committee brings children and practitioners together to organise Green Initiatives. Environmental activity therefore includes children's involvement in what happens within the nursery.

A trip to Molly’s Tea Room connected imaginative play in the home corner with a real experience in Hitchin. Children ate afternoon tea using china crockery, practised manners and talked about their food; conversation continued during the walk back. This was a specific outing arising from an interest in role play, rather than a recurring trip programme.

Relationships and Communication

In October 2023, settling arrangements were adapted to individual children, and children developed trusting relationships across the staff team. Practitioners knew what interested them and used that knowledge when moving between the building and garden. For parents, the useful detail is that familiar relationships extended beyond a single member of staff.

Support for families also extended beyond the nursery day in October 2023. Parents received guidance and opportunities to continue their children's learning at home. Staff had training opportunities and could discuss their work openly with leaders. These are dated examples of how the nursery connected care, family support and staff development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described pre-start assessment of additional needs, including an inclusion walk with parents so the environment could be adapted before children began attending. This gives families a concrete example of support planning: identifying practical barriers early and making changes to the space.

Lunchtime encouraged independence in October 2023: older children arranged their table settings, helped themselves to food and poured drinks. Practitioners used raw ingredients to prompt discussion about the meal. Eating was also an opportunity to practise everyday skills and conversation.

Sessions and Attendance

Highbury Lodge opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, across 52 weeks of the year, with public holidays and inset days excluded. The opening window gives working families an early start and an evening collection point. The nursery closes for two inset days as well as bank holidays, so those dates matter when planning care across the year.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01462 434317 or by email at highbury.lodge@childbase.com. There is also an enquiry form for a return call.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2023, Highbury Lodge provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fully inclusive package is part of its offer, making the contents and treatment of funded hours a useful subject for the funding question below.

• Funding and the inclusive package. Highbury Lodge offers a fully inclusive package and provided funded early education in October 2023. At a visit, ask which funded entitlements and attendance patterns apply now, and how meals, snacks and non-food consumables are treated within your proposed booking.
• Planning for closures. Bank holidays and two inset days interrupt the year-round opening pattern. Build these into your childcare arrangements before choosing regular days.
• Support before starting. An inclusion walk with parents formed part of additional-needs planning in October 2023. For a child needing adjustments, discuss how that planning would work for their routines and access to activities.

Highbury Lodge suits families who value daily outdoor play, environmental participation and an introduction to another language, alongside weekday opening hours that extend into the evening. Its October 2023 judgement provides a strong quality reference, with practical examples of responsive interactions and growing independence. The sensory garden, mud kitchen and child involvement in Green Initiatives give parents concrete features to weigh when deciding whether the nursery day fits their child.