Old MacDonald's Day Nursery Chorleywood

A ball pool room, a language & literacy room and walks to see sheep or horses give Chorleywood a character that reaches beyond its classrooms. Old MacDonald's Day Nursery Chorleywood occupies three floors on Heronsgate Road, with separate spaces for babies, toddlers and preschool children. There is plenty of variety in the day.

The nursery has capacity for 66 children, accepting ages from 3 months to 5 years. At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall. That judgement provides a dated assessment of the care and education, rather than a guarantee about today's practice.

Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full days serve different family routines. The strongest practical attractions are the choice of attendance patterns, dedicated activity rooms and a daily routine that combines conversation, movement and quieter play.

Rooms and Ages

Babies and Toddlers occupy the ground floor, alongside the kitchen and office. Lower Pre-school accommodates children aged 2 to 3½ years on the top floor, while Upper Pre-school is downstairs and accepts children from 3 years; children in that group are asked to wear uniform.

The building separates different kinds of activity across its three floors. A soft play and ball pool room sits on the lower ground floor, while the top floor contains a messy play room, imaginary room, dining room and language & literacy room (computer room). For parents, this makes the arrangement of the building a useful part of assessing the nursery: children's day can involve more than their age-group classroom.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, conversation, stories, physical play and practical activities give children ways to develop language, relationships and early skills through the day.

Circle time is a period for conversation and learning, and the example routine includes it in both the morning and afternoon. Smaller key-group activities and table-top play sit alongside stories, music and messy play. The structure creates a rhythm, with different opportunities to talk, make, listen and move rather than one continuous stretch of free play.

Challenge Sport & Education provides sport sessions, while Dinky Dancers brings music and dance classes during the year. These are additions to the everyday programme. Their practical appeal is the opportunity to try organised movement and music alongside the nursery's own activities.

In February 2022, older children tested whether objects would sink or float, listened to each other's predictions and took turns with the experiment. They also used marks on paper to record what they discovered. These examples connect early writing with a purpose children can understand, rather than treating pencil work as an isolated task.

Outdoor and Community Life

The example daily routine includes a park visit, a walk to see sheep, horses or shops, or play in the garden or ball pool. These are alternatives within the routine, rather than a promise that every child takes an outing each day. Outdoor activities also have an afternoon slot.

In February 2022, toddlers used dolls and bells to recreate a story about Diwali. That activity brought storytelling, music and cultural learning together through play. It is a concrete example of how children explored celebrations familiar to others in their group.

At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through visual prompts and Makaton signs to explain routines and enable communication, and found strong relationships with parents. These findings concern that visit. They give families specific practices to look for, rather than a broad assurance about support.

In February 2022, parents contributed information about children's independence and their hopes for learning, including when children changed rooms. Staff used that information when planning activities. The value lies in connecting nursery learning with what a child can already do at home.

There was also an important weakness in February 2022: interactions between staff and children varied in quality, and support for less-experienced practitioners needed to become more effective. That matters because the same activity can offer very different learning opportunities depending on the adult's response.

The current example routine allows time for sleep or free play after lunch. Food is prepared by the nursery's cook, with breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea matched to the child's attendance; ingredients include fruit and vegetables from Grocer on the Green and meat from a local butcher.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year except public bank holidays. Families can book mornings, afternoons, full days or a full week.

The enrolment choices include a full day from 7.30am to 6.30pm and another from 7.30am to 7pm. Morning options run from 8am or 8.30am to 1pm; afternoon options run from 1pm or 1.30pm to 6pm. The later full-day finish needs resolving against the stated closing time before a family relies on it.

Initial enquiries precede enrolment: the enrolment form is completed after a place has been offered and accepted. Parents sign the agreement during settling-in sessions, and must read the policies and procedures and sign a childcare agreement before their child starts. The form also requests health information, including allergies, disabilities and chronic conditions, so these needs can be raised before attendance begins.

Getting There

The address is 20-21 Heronsgate Road, Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, WD3 5BN. A rear car park provides access through the garden, and there is also a front entrance facing Heronsgate Road.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with the enrolment form accepting a government funding code for up to 15- or 30-hours free childcare. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• The full-day finish. Opening hours end at 6.30pm, while one enrolment option ends at 7pm. Resolve which full-day timetable applies before matching attendance to work commitments.
• Adult interaction. In February 2022, the consistency of staff interactions and support for less-experienced practitioners required attention. During a visit, ask how staff are supported to extend children's conversation and play.
• Movement between floors. Babies and Toddlers are on the ground floor, with preschool groups above and below. Ask how your child's group uses the activity rooms and how movement between floors is supervised.
• The funded booking. The funding-code option covers up to 15 or 30 hours. Request a written breakdown of the proposed attendance, including how funded hours are delivered and the treatment of meals and non-food consumables.

Chorleywood suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, and those who value separate activity spaces and a day that includes stories, conversation, movement and outdoor opportunities. Challenge Sport & Education and Dinky Dancers add further variety.

The February 2022 assessment supports a positive but measured view. Its concrete strengths deserve attention, alongside the dated concern about uneven adult interaction. The timetable discrepancy also needs settling before the nursery becomes part of a family's working routine.