High House Nursery

A farmhouse setting, a spacious Baby Room and regular outdoor learning give High House Nursery its character. Based at High House Farm in Takeley, it has capacity for 103 children aged 3 to 59 months. The combination makes this a nursery to consider for families who value room to explore alongside an age-tailored day.

The April 2023 judgement was Good, with improvements needed in teaching consistency, the sequence of learning and checks on risks. Those qualifications matter alongside the grade. This is a positive inspection judgement with specific work attached to it, rather than an unqualified endorsement of every aspect of provision.

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with care across the year apart from bank holidays and a week over Christmas and New Year.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room combines a spacious interior with natural resources, giving the youngest children materials to investigate as well as space for play. The Pre-School room has an emphasis on preparation for school, with creative activities adapted to the children's stage of development.

These are different emphases within the same setting: exploration for babies and preparation for the next stage for older children. The useful question for a family is how those broad priorities translate into their own child's day, especially when moving between stages.

Learning and Activities

EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) provides the framework for learning, development and care, with children developing skills and understanding through learning through play. Activities and developmental programmes are adapted for each age range. The practical emphasis is on children learning through what they do, rather than simply listening to instructions.

In April 2023, story work included returning to a book across the week so children could revisit language and remember familiar parts of the story. Babies explored shaving foam with their hands. Older children counted cars before matching number symbols to numbered parking spaces, connecting a familiar play interest with early mathematical ideas.

There was a limitation to that approach in April 2023: planning leaned too heavily on children's interests rather than the next steps in their development. Staff needed to build learning in a clearer sequence and allow children enough practice before moving on. For parents, the distinction is between an engaging activity and an activity that deliberately develops a skill.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular opportunities to learn outside give children time for movement and exploration. In April 2023, outdoor physical play included climbing, sliding and balancing on coloured beams, with more challenging play used to develop awareness of personal safety.

Checks on play areas also needed strengthening at that time, including a clearer understanding of each staff member's responsibilities. Outdoor challenge and careful preparation belong together; the inspection findings make both relevant to a family's assessment of the setting.

Settling sessions introduce a child to their key person, making that relationship part of the start of nursery life. Termly parent meetings provide time to discuss individual needs and development, while daily information sharing and an open-door approach allow conversations between those appointments. That gives families both planned discussions and more immediate contact.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including working with parents and passing observations to other professionals to support early intervention. These are dated findings about practice, rather than a guarantee about an individual child's experience today.

In April 2023, children joining preschool received help to settle, and staff used behaviour strategies that encouraged children to recognise feelings and seek assistance. Children also showed consideration for one another, sharing resources and responding when another child fell. Those examples give substance to the account of relationships within the nursery at that time.

Menus are developed by the nursery chef together with a paediatric dietician, with different age groups' needs taken into account. This makes the food planning relevant across the nursery's age range, rather than treating babies and preschool children as having identical needs.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is High House Farm, Mill End, Takeley, Bishop's Stortford, CM22 6PL. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am until 6pm, and operates across the year with closures for bank holidays and one week during the Christmas and New Year period.

Families can contact the nursery on 01279 870898, and tours can be booked. The weekday opening window gives working parents a clear starting point for planning their routine; the holiday closures also need to fit their arrangements for care.

Getting There

Takeley puts the nursery within easy reach of the M11, a useful practical detail for families whose journeys use that route. The farmhouse setting is close to Stansted Airport, making its location relevant to airport-based working routines too.

• Learning beyond a child's interests. In April 2023, planning needed clearer developmental steps and more time to practise new skills. During a visit, ask how staff choose and review the next learning goal for an individual child.
• Outdoor checks. April 2023 findings called for stronger risk-assessment procedures and clearer staff responsibilities. Ask how checks are carried out before children use the outdoor areas.
• Your attendance and funding plan. The weekday opening window is 8am to 6pm. Which booking pattern, funded-hours arrangement and meal or consumables terms would apply to your child?

High House Nursery suits families seeking a farmhouse setting, regular outdoor learning and age-tailored activities, with weekday opening hours that can support a working routine. The spacious Baby Room and structured opportunities for parent conversations are concrete reasons to consider it.

The April 2023 Good judgement provides a positive starting point, but teaching sequence and outdoor risk checks deserve attention alongside it. The strongest fit is for parents who value exploratory play and a key-person relationship, and want to understand how those experiences build towards their child's next developmental step.