Ladybirds Nursery

Birch Centre Hill End Lane, St Albans AL4 0RA
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9.9 101 Reviews
  • Ladybirds Nursery, St Albans
Ladybirds Nursery welcomes babies and children from 3 months to 5 years of age to tranquil surroundings in a parkland setting. It opened in 2003 and is owned and managed by two experienced early years teachers who lead a loyal staff team.

Parents can be confident their child enjoys a broad and balanced curriculum, with both indoor and outdoor play contributing to early development. Staff aim to promote an eagerness to learn, while supporting independent thinking and self confidence.

The aim is to lay the foundations for full-time education by cherishing the importance of the early years.

Please contact the team for their Babybird brochure.

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Care Provided by Ladybirds Nursery

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Privately Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Michelle Gee (Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 20
  • Total Places for Children
  • 61
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 3 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 08:00-18:00
    Tuesday 08:00-18:00
    Wednesday 08:00-18:00
    Thursday 08:00-18:00
    Friday 08:00-18:00
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays

Funding & Fees Guide for Ladybirds Nursery

  • Please contact us for a copy of our current fees or for any information on funding.

  • We offer a discount % for full time places.

Ladybirds Nursery Reviews (101)

Total of 101, showing 1-20
9.9

Ladybirds Nursery has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.879) out of 10, based on 11 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Ladybirds Nursery has 101 reviews.

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Review from Richard W (Father of Child) published on 30 August 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our daughter has loved her two years at Ladybirds! Both in Kingfishers and Preschool classes; she has developed as an individual and as a member of the group. The encouragement, enthusiasm and care shown by all the teachers have made the nursery a joyful part of her life, and we are so happy that we
chose Ladybirds.

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Review from Laura G (Mother of Child) published on 19 August 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Ladybirds is what every parent should dream for their child for a full-time nursery. The children are so well looked after and loved. Our daughter was there from 8 months until she left for reception and she has been so well cared for at every stage. The standard of learning in all rooms, particularly
in pre-school is incredible and really sets them up for reception. As parents we have been given so much support and no question or request has been too much.
We send our own food so nutrition is hard to rate but they are always great with advice and feedback on how they eat. In terms of value for money, childcare in the UK is expensive but relatively I believe the level of care you receive is priceless in Ladybirds and so have given it 5*.
I cannot recommend Ladybirds Nursery enough, we feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful nursery for our daughter.

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Review from Adam T (Father of Child) published on 2 August 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The staff are exceptional, and both of our kids are thriving, incredible how many activities they fit into a single day, love events like sports day, the Christmas play, and graduation, forest school is a dream for the kids, couldn't be happier.

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Review from A M (Mother of Child) published on 8 March 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our daughter has been going to Ladybirds Nursery for around 9 months. She started in the baby room, Doves, and recently moved to the walkers room, Starlings. She absolutely loves the nursery, and so do we. The staff are all so well trained and seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs and caring for little
ones. Our daughter is so happy there and has made some really strong bonds with her key workers and with the other kids. The nursery offers a wide range of activities, and they are well organized into themes by terms. We love that the kids go out as often as the weather allows into the lovely park setting. Parents are kept well informed about each day with an app, with a verbal download at pick up, and with regular newsletters. The only small downside is that lunch/dinner aren't provided, so is a considerable extra effort. But the quality of the overall experience is brilliant and most of that is down to the talent and dedication of the excellent staff.

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Review from Maretha H (Mother of Child) published on 22 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our little boy started at Ladybirds when he was 6 months old. It was so important to us to find the right nursery for our boy. We looked around and visited multiple nurseries but just knew that Ladybirds was the perfect one the moment we walked in. The staff are incredibly kind. You can see they genuinely
care and love the children in their care. We were struck by the beautiful values by which the nursery operates. They use positive words of affirmation to encourage the children. The wide variety of activities they offer, from messy play to daily walks in the park to arts and crafts, really impressed us.
The key workers are all truly lovely and give an in-depth report if your child every day.
We love the fact that the kids get to go outside every day and play in the park, creating a real sense of adventure in them.
I would not have chosen any other nursery for our kids and we feel incredibly grateful to be part of the Ladybirds family.

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Review from Steven L (Father of Child) published on 9 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The nursery is great for my little girl. We were worried if she would like it but now, we know for sure she loves going to nursery. Her key person is caring and understanding as well as the other two people who look after the group of babies/toddlers. The daily update is a great way to experience what
she did in the nursery. The team has been very responsive whenever we have any questions or when we message. Location right in the middle of a park is great for their outdoor activity.

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Review from T B (Mother of Child) published on 10 August 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We can't rate Ladybirds highly enough and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nursery in the area. Our daughter joined the nursery when she was 1 and stayed through to pre-school and she has loved all of it. All of the staff get to know each of the children and therefore are able to give them
the individual care and support that they need. They spend a lot of time outside with the children and encourage and challenge them to become independent young people. It has been the best start for our daughter and thanks to Ladybirds, she is now ready and excited to start school.

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Review from Sam S (Father of Child) published on 9 August 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Fantastic nursery in an amazing location with huge amounts of outdoor space on their doorstep and nearby. Large free car park makes pick up and drop offs very easy.
Huge development in my daughter over two years, and she’s now very much ready for school.
They keep parents informed and involved,
and we were invited to several events throughout the year.
Great variety of indoor and outdoor activities and lots of art projects got brought home. They go out in almost any weather and my daughter is always exhausted at the end of the day. Staff and all very friendly and helpful in the day-to-day and when it comes to admin etc.
Wasn’t our closest nursery, was a 15-30 minute drive for us but we definitely made the right choice and have no regrets and would definitely recommend it to anyone in St Albans.

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Review from Theo P (Father of Child) published on 27 July 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our son is currently in Ladybirds Nursery, graduating in July 2023. He started at Ladybirds Nursery in Sep 2021. I have only good things to say about this Nursery, the care is excellent, they always keep parents informed, and they genuinely care about the progress of children and how to prepare them
for the next step in life. Furthermore, the location where the Nursery is situated is beautiful and green, with easy access for drop off and collection. We have two children, our eldest also attended/graduated at Ladybirds (from September 2019 to July 2021). The high quality has been consistent throughout all these years and I strongly recommend this Nursery. Big thank you to all staff.

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Review from L C (Mother of Child) published on 19 July 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We couldn't fault Ladybirds Nursery, our son has loved attending. The staff are exceptional, not only in what they have taught our son but the way they nurture the kids as well. They couldn’t have given our son a better preparation for school. I would highly recommend.

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Review from Rebecca H (Mother of Child) published on 7 July 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Both of my daughters have attended Ladybirds Nursery at various ages, from 1 to 4, and it has been absolutely wonderful. They have had so much fun and also learned so much. The staff are always so friendly, welcoming and brilliant with the kids, and there's a huge range of activities on offer, including
phonics and basic reading and writing for the preschool kids. They also spend a lot of time outdoors, going on a walk every day, plus forest school for the preschoolers, where they spend a good chunk of the afternoon in the park doing various activities. They are also provided with a healthy snack each day (morning and afternoon), and they do fun cooking activities sometimes too. My youngest daughter is leaving Ladybirds this month and I'm sad that our relationship will come to an end - they've truly been brilliant.

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Review from Iliana P (Mother of Child) published on 6 December 2022
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This is a lovely nursery in a beautiful location. The children spend a lot of hours outdoors which for me is very important. During the preschool year, they do two hours of forest school which is done in a fantastic way where children move, play and learn directly in and from nature and develop while
watching and experiencing things that cannot get in a class. The staff are very caring and my son was always happy to go to nursery even though he was among the youngest ones. He started at eleven months and we had the opportunity to get through all the stages. The nursery is clean and well-organised for babies with a sleeping room. The food is not provided apart from breakfast and fruit snacks and this was fine by us as we were happy to control what he was eating at such a young age.
Finally, I can say although my son is a summer baby, he settled very well at Reception in a completely new school where he had no familiar faces at all. They did a great job preparing him for this!

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Review from Carly P (Mother of Child) published on 17 August 2022
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Ladybirds have been outstanding in the development of both my daughters. They create a safe and fun environment that allows them to explore and find out what they enjoy. The team work hard to get the children ready for school, and it really made the transition to reception much easier. The staff are
very friendly, and they really helped us when our daughter was finding nursery challenging.

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Review from U C (Mother of Child) published on 17 August 2022
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

It's a wonderful nursery with a lovely ambience. The staff and teachers are very friendly, warm and provide excellent care while also supporting the children to learn as they grow from babies to pre-schoolers. Highly recommend the nursery.

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Review from E B (Mother of Child) published on 9 August 2022
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter started Ladybirds from two and a half years old. From the first morning, she walked confidently into the nursery without us and never looked back. She has always been eager to go into the nursery and enjoyed her time there. One of the highlights is they are based in a park so take the children
out for a walk in nature every day. My daughter has just graduated pre-school and has developed amazingly over this past year. Ladybirds have prepared her for school, whether that's academic, sitting still for carpet time, listening to a teacher or other children, and interacting with her peers. Ladybirds have been brilliant at dealing with challenging situations with other children, able to care for everyone involved, ie set boundaries and work closely with parents. The staff there are warm, friendly, fun and genuinely seem to enjoy their jobs (something which was one of my primary focuses when looking around at local nurseries). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ladybirds to any parent.

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Review from Philip W (Father of Child) published on 8 August 2022
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Fantastic nursery providing excellent and balanced environment for children. Location within Highfield Park is ideal as provided easy access to forest walks and gardens which the nursery makes great use of.
Very professionally run by very experienced and knowledgable leadership and staff.

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Review from Orla W (Mother of Child) published on 10 November 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter started in Ladybirds in January 2020 and I can honestly say that her experience there was incredible. She always looked forward to going into the nursery and sometimes didn’t want to go home because it was during her disco! She became more confident and well socialised through interaction
with the staff and the other children. There was a wide variety of activities carried out on a daily basis. The themes were well thought out and really got the kids engaged. She definitely misses all her friends in Kingfishers. We only left because we moved away from St Albans.

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Review from Natasha B (Mother of Child) published on 13 September 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our daughter started Ladybirds when she was 9 months old. She graduated two weeks ago as a happy and confident child, feeling good about the prospect of going to "big school".
The staff are caring, attentive and well-loved by the children. They guide the children as they learn and develop through play,
but also more structured lessons like phonics, writing, science or creative pursuits. It's obvious that the principals bring their unique experience to make this a special place.
I was regularly amazed by the breadth of activities we would see uploaded to the parent portal. It was really nice to see the things they encouraged them to do and the sense of achievement the children would get from the activities. I also love that the children spend time outside in Highfield Park every day; be it walks in the buggies as babies or Forest School in pre-school. The level of education is excellent and it's clear that all the staff feel passionately about it.

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Review from Maria K (Mother of Child) published on 8 September 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our son recently "graduated" from Ladybirds; he joined the nursery when he was only 6 months old and he has loved every single day. There is strong leadership, staff are very caring and attentive, and they benefit hugely from the park setting, spending a lot of time outdoors. Babies receive a lot of
1-2-1 care and attention; we received detailed reports about what our son was doing daily. He was a fussy eater as a baby and the nursery supported us a lot by being actively helpful and engaged. The nursery has a very nurturing culture, and a high rate of staff retention, which means that the kids can bond with their key workers and build a trusting relationship. We were extremely impressed at how well the nursery prepared him for reception! Looking back 4 years ago, we were very stressed about choosing the right nursery for our child - but Ladybirds exceeded by far our expectations and played a huge part in our son's development. We could not be more grateful for all their help and support!

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Review from Vicky B (Mother of Child) published on 27 August 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our eldest son started at Ladybirds in 2018, aged 13 months. From our first visit we knew that it was the right place for our boys. The staff are very caring: they have an excellent rapport with the children and know each of them as individuals, even between rooms. They have fantastic resources, including
its setting in Highfield Park which our boys have loved for their outdoor adventures. The children have close friendships which has been lovely to watch develop. Rarely has there been a day that either of them has been upset at drop-off and, if they have, the staff are always sympathetic and able to distract with encouraging words and activities. The preparation for transition to school has been excellent, and our eldest leaves pre-school confident in his sounds, numbers, and most importantly, in himself. This is in no small part due to nursery, which we often refer to as their “third parent”. We are so pleased that our sons have had the benefit of enjoying their early years at Ladybirds.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.879)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.879) out of 10 for Ladybirds Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 5.0 out of 5 from 11 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.9 out of 5 from 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.977 for Ladybirds Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (126 Excellents x 5) + (3 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 129 Ratings = 4.977

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 4.902 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Ladybirds Nursery is based on 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 61 number of registered child places is 12.2. 11 Positive Reviews ÷ 12.2 = 0.902

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please Contact Us for Latest Vacancies

Awards / Recognitions (13)

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Meet the Team (2)

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Michelle Gee

Job Title: Manager

Joined: 2008

I have worked at Ladybirds Nursery since I gained my qualification Diploma in Childcare and Education in 2008. I have been fortunate to grow both personally and professionally from then, as whilst working at the nursery I gained my Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management. Starting as a nursery practitioner, I have taken on roles such as care supervisor, mentor, room leader and finally Manager. During this time I have worked across all the different ages from 3 months to rising 5's. This has given me a broad knowledge of children's ages and stages of development and I have a passion for helping children meet their true potential in a caring and nurturing educational setting. Seeing them grow throughout their time with us is amazing and the relationships built with them and their families is very special indeed.


Outside of nursery life I enjoy taking time to connect with family and friends, being outside and curling up with a good book.


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Abbie Speed

Job Title: Deputy Manager

Joined: 2020

HI! My name is Abbie, and I am the Deputy Manager at Ladybirds Day Nursery.


Ever since Primary school, thanks to my mum working from home as a Childminder, I knew that I wanted to work with and understand the learning and development of children. This sparked my desire to study Psychology and Child Development at university. After achieving a First class degree, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel and au-pair in Australia and complete an internship teaching English to primary school children in Barcelona before joining the fantastic team at Ladybirds Nursery. I first joined Ladybirds as nursery practitioner before becoming the room leader of Doves (our Baby room) and was later appointed as the Deputy Manager.


One of the many reasons why I love working with children, is being able to be part of and aid their development and growth. Working in the baby room, I am privileged to watch the children's growth and development throughout their nursery journey; watch as they achieve milestones such as walking and learning to talk and their individual personalities and imaginations grow. I also enjoy building strong rapports with the children's respective guardians and carers and learning about their family's cultures, traditions, and celebrations and learning phrases and words of the languages that they may speak.


Frequently Asked Questions about Ladybirds Nursery

What is the Age Range of Children that Ladybirds Nursery accepts?

Ladybirds Nursery accepts Children aged from 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Ladybirds Nursery Open?

Ladybirds Nursery is open: Monday 08:00-18:00, Tuesday 08:00-18:00, Wednesday 08:00-18:00, Thursday 08:00-18:00, Friday 08:00-18:00.

How many Children does Ladybirds Nursery have capacity for?

Ladybirds Nursery has capacity for a total of 61 Children.

How far is Ladybirds Nursery to the centre of St Albans?

1.6 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Ladybirds Nursery to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Ladybirds Nursery has an Enhanced Service – more info.