Highlights from the Ofsted inspection carried out at Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School on 22nd January 2026:

“The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.”

“Staff and leaders know children well. Children feel safe and secure. They arrive happy and seek out their key worker ready to start their day. Staff use their detailed knowledge of each child to support them to recognise, express and manage their emotions and to develop a secure sense of emotional wellbeing. As children transition across the setting, time is taken for settling in, moving only once children are truly settled with their new key worker and room.”

“Children arrive eager to start their day and settle quickly into their learning. They remain engaged in activities for prolonged periods and contribute confidently, sharing their thoughts and ideas. All children develop as curious and motivated learners. Children with barriers to their learning make expected progress in all areas of their learning and development.”

“Staff offer lots of praise and reassurance, which helps to build children’s self-esteem. Children feel safe and secure to explore and engage in learning. They happily join in with activities, showing increasing independence and willingness to have a go and explore. They share their achievements, ask questions and show an interest in each other’s ideas.”

“Children’s language is supported from a young age as staff use signs to support understanding of the setting’s routine. This continues as the children move through the setting as staff encourage them to use spoken word alongside. Activities are planned with purpose, based on children’s interests and what children need to learn next.”

“Leaders deliver regular training and updates to staff to improve aspects of their practice. The setting’s special educational needs designated leaders works closely with all staff to offer mentoring and build on their knowledge. Monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure that assessments of children’s current stage of development are accurate. Leaders ensure that the progress check for 2-year-old children is completed in partnership with parents.”

“Children are greeted by friendly staff on arrival and settle well. They benefit from a calm, welcoming and nurturing environment, which promotes their wellbeing and welfare. Children demonstrate secure attachments with all staff. Children are confident and curious in their learning environment. A well-embedded key-worker system is in place, with information shared between staff members to ensure consistency for all children.”

“Before children start at the setting, staff gather a wealth of information to support the process. An individualised approach allows key workers to work closely with families to meet their needs during this time. ”

“Staff and leaders have a good understanding of the backgrounds of the children who attend. This has led to a focus on children’s personal, social and emotional development within the curriculum. Children work together to complete tasks and show genuine concern when their friends are upset. All children demonstrate focus in their listening and attention for significant periods of time for their age. This is key in preparation for their next stage of learning. ”

Read the full Ofsted report for Partou Sycamore House

Upon registration, you will be asked to pay a £75 registration fee (non-refundable) or a £75 registration deposit to reserve your child’s nursery place (see terms and conditions for eligibility).

What’s included in our fees? 

Our full fees are clearly broken down into care, meals & snacks and consumables fees for full transparency. 

Care fees include: trained, qualified team members taking care of your child, regular updates about your child and their progress at nursery, a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities tailored to the needs of your child, and use of the nursery building facilities. 

Meals & snacks fees cover the cost of all food and drinks whilst your child is in our care. Meal and snack times are a very important part of Partou nursery life, learn more about how we make food and nutrition enjoyable and educational for children in our care.

Consumables include; important daily care items needed such as nappies, wet wipes and sun cream. 

Discounts

Only one discount can be applied at any time:

• 5% discount for eldest child for siblings.
• 5% discount for Blue Light Card holders.

Terms & conditions apply 

Other key information

• We’re closed on Bank Holidays.
• We’re closed between Christmas and New Year.
• Charges apply across 52 weeks of the year, including Bank Holidays. 

Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School is proud to offer funded childcare places 

Funded childcare is a government incentive fulfilled by Local Authorities which aims to provide financial support for eligible families accessing childcare at an OFSTED registered setting. Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School work with Heretfordshire Local Authority to apply childcare funding for eligible families.

Funding typically covers 15 or 30 hours per week for the 38 term weeks of the year across a maximum of 10 hours a day which will be applied in different ways depending how many weeks of the year your child is in childcare: 

• Children who are in year-round childcare will receive “stretched” funding. This means that their 15/30 hours over 38 weeks will be stretched over 51 weeks of the year so children accessing year round childcare at Sycamore will receive 11.17/22.35 hours of funded childcare per week. 

• Children who have term-time only childcare places will receive 15/30 hours funding per week over 38 weeks of the year. Term-time only places are limited and are subject to availability.

Government funding for childcare only applies to the care fee (as described above). Meals & snacks and consumables fees are fully chargeable for all sessions including funded.  

Many families are eligible for government funded childcare, see our childcare funding guide for more information.  

Term duration and dates

The 2025/2026 terms dates set by Hertfordshire for Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School are below so you can see which term dates funding is applicable for:

Please note that when you access funding in the term can impact the hours you are eligible for within that term period. 

Our team will be able to assist you with any funding and term questions you may have.