Nursery on the Heath

Forest days for preschool children and an adjoining sleeping area for babies give Nursery on the Heath two clear points of character. This Hatfield Heath setting takes children from 3 months to 5 years, with rooms that move from early exploration to preparation for school. Outdoor learning has a substantial place in the week. So does the practical business of learning to eat, talk and manage more independently.

At its 21 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and reported good progress for children, with staff identifying learning needs and arranging support promptly. The important qualification concerned the pitch of activities: children needed learning that better matched their development and stretched their abilities. That makes the choice of experiences, rather than simply their number, an important part of assessing the nursery.

The Baby Room, The Tweenie Room and The Barn provide the progression through nursery life. Tiny Talk adds singing and signing for babies, while Jo Jingles brings movement sessions for toddlers. Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside an opening year of 51 weeks, giving families different ways to use the setting.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room caters for babies from three months to two years, combining resources for crawling and sensory exploration with a sofa, an adjacent sleeping area fitted with blackout blinds, and a stable door opening to enclosed outdoor space. Rest has its own space beside the main playroom.

Upstairs, The Tweenie Room combines construction, pretend play, music and messy activities with a comfortable story corner and toileting facilities that include a changing area, potties and a toilet, with communication and growing independence its main emphases. The toileting facilities accommodate different stages; the story corner offers a quieter activity.

The Barn is the preschool room for children approaching three and for four-year-olds, with early reading, phonics, number recognition and languages alongside self-help skills and preparation for school during the summer terms. School preparation includes managing everyday tasks independently.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play and routines build communication, physical skills and relationships alongside early literacy and mathematics. Additional activities complement that foundation.

Tiny Talk uses songs and signing with babies; Jo Jingles gives toddlers opportunities to move and dance. These activities carry no additional charge, and their days change between terms. That rotation matters for families using particular days of the week: the activity pattern is not fixed permanently to one attendance day.

In May 2025, conversation featured in ordinary routines. Babies were beginning to combine words, while preschool children talked about their food and its texture with staff. Food and texture became subjects for conversation. Staff also introduced vocabulary through those exchanges. The examples show how an everyday task can become a learning opportunity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School takes preschool children to a local woodland for outdoor learning on two days each week, with the attendance days rotating between terms. A presentation and a woodland visit precede children's participation. This gives the programme a substantial place in preschool life, rather than making it an occasional outing, and gives families an introduction to the setting in which those sessions happen.

Camp Fire Day closes each block of Forest School sessions in the nursery's paddock, where children put their learning into practice. Away from the woodland programme, children use the front and rear gardens and go outdoors daily in different weather. Suitable clothing is part of making that routine work. Community outings also feature, and the nursery includes visits to a local care home in its activities.

Relationships and Communication

A key person works with the family from settling-in onwards, taking responsibility for understanding the child's needs and using observations to inform subsequent learning. Parents have a defined contact, and children's interests shape planning.

Settling is arranged a month before the intended start. The initial session introduces the key person and gathers the information needed for care; subsequent sessions are adapted to the child and gradually lengthened. The pace reflects individual needs.

In May 2025, parents spoke positively about their children's relationships with staff and felt kept informed about nursery life. Staff discussed children with colleagues, and agency practitioners received an induction when used. Familiar agency staff also helped provide continuity at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Full-time staff have early-years qualifications and paediatric first-aid training. The nursery also has policies covering sleep, medication, allergies and intolerances, inclusion, and child protection. Those arrangements give families specific topics to discuss where a child has additional care needs; they are separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

Homemade food is prepared daily, with nursery cooks working from a seasonal menu that runs over three weeks and discussing special dietary requirements with families. Children in The Tweenie Room and The Barn practise helping themselves to food and pouring drinks, with their key persons sharing the meal and conversation.

In May 2025, older children could explain their allergies and recognise the plate colour used for them. Children also helped serve meals, while younger children practised serving themselves with adult help. These everyday responsibilities offered manageable steps towards independence. Older children took part in daily safety checks too, giving them a role in thinking about how to protect themselves and their friends.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Marketing House, Hatfield Heath, Nr Bishops Stortford, CM22 7EB. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Bank holidays and one week at Christmas are closures, so the attendance year includes a defined winter break.

Full days run from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Half days run either from 7.30am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6.30pm. These are different booking choices within the same opening window: families can use a complete day or choose its earlier or later portion. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01279 730 331.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered to eligible children. Universal funding starts from the term after a child's third birthday and is usually taken as 15 hours a week during term time, with an additional 15 hours for eligible families. These entitlements should be kept separate from the hours a family chooses to purchase privately.

Meals and snacks are included in daily rates. Nappies, wipes and creams are included too, as are milk and formula. This makes the daily-rate arrangement useful for parents who want those routine supplies handled within their childcare bill. The additional learning activities described above also carry no extra charge.

Registration involves returning a form and paying a non-refundable registration charge. Charges change according to the child's birthday rather than the room they occupy, so moving rooms and moving into another charging age band are separate matters. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charging structure.

• Activities matched to development. In May 2025, staff were asked to provide more stretching, age-appropriate learning; a cooking activity interrupted babies' exploration rather than extending it. During a visit, ask how staff adapt the same experience for children at different stages.
• The outdoor timetable. Preschool Forest School runs twice weekly, with days changing between terms, and children need clothing for daily outdoor play. Discuss how the changing timetable fits the days your child will attend.
• Funding and the complete bill. Daily rates include meals and routine supplies, while registration carries a non-refundable charge. Ask for a written breakdown of the proposed funded attendance pattern, private hours and any associated charges.
• Dietary needs. Cooks work with families on special dietary requirements. For a child with allergies, confirm the current meal arrangements and response procedures before joining.

Nursery on the Heath suits families seeking either full-day attendance or morning and afternoon half-day care, especially those who value a substantial outdoor programme for preschool children. Babies have a separate place to sleep, toddlers have opportunities to practise everyday independence, and the additional activities have clear purposes.

The Good judgement in May 2025 gives a positive overall assessment, with a specific reservation about how effectively activities challenge children at different stages. Forest School, gradual settling and inclusive daily rates make a coherent offer. Matching activities to each child's development remains the key improvement point from May 2025.