St Nicholas Day Nursery

Bennetts End House, Eastwick Road, Hemel Hempstead HP2 4JQ
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9.9 98 Reviews
  • St Nicholas Day Nursery, Hemel Hempstead
Occupying a converted manor house, St Nicholas Day Nursery is one of the oldest nurseries in the country. The home from home nursery was refurbished in 2020 providing a new, modern feel inside their converted grade 2 listed manor house setting. The nursery offers exceptional care, enriched by unique learning opportunities for your child. One such experience is child-friendly cooking classes, helping to equip children with valuable skills and deeper knowledge of the cooking process.

Inside, there are four rooms carefully designed with age-appropriate resources to aid the learning and development of your little one.

The homely setting is surrounded by extensive and secure grounds offering all age groups a vast area for physical activities. The garden, which was redesigned and refurbished in 2017, includes a mini woodland nature walk and growing area in order to give children the opportunity to further explore and extend their play.

The nursery place strong importance on outdoor learning and the children engage in regular forestry sessions throughout the week in order to explore and discover the outside world. Each age group also has their own garden space to explore.

St Nicholas is central to local schools and over the past 50 years have built strong links so that the children’s transition from nursery to school is as easy and smooth as possible – for both the children and parents!

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Care Provided by St Nicholas Day Nursery

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

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Frankie Bignall (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 17
  • Total Places for Children
  • 75
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 0 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:30
    Tuesday 07:30-18:30
    Wednesday 07:30-18:30
    Thursday 07:30-18:30
    Friday 07:30-18:30
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Funding & Fees Guide for St Nicholas Day Nursery

  • AM/PM Session £52.90
    Full Day Session £86.60
    Short Day £71.50


    We're making childcare more accessible to families:


    * FREE nursery childcare for siblings of registered children!*
    * Fully flexible
    * No meal, consumable or enhancement charges
    * Part & fully funded places available


    * Terms and conditions apply

  • A £100 non-refundable registration fee is required to secure a place. Exact days of attendance should be confirmed no later than 6 weeks prior to the child’s start date. Any changes are subject to availability.
  • Parking

  • There is a small parking area available for parents and visitors.


St Nicholas Day Nursery Reviews (98)

Total of 98, showing 81-98
9.9

St Nicholas Day Nursery has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.938) out of 10, based on 27 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time St Nicholas Day Nursery has 98 reviews.

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Review from Sarah N (Mother of Child) published on 15 July 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This Nursery is fantastic.
My daughter has been at St Nicholas for 3 years and is about to start school. She has developed into a bright confident child and is well prepared for the next step in her education. I have the staff to thank for this with their endless enthusiasm and patience with each child.
I
have never had a single complaint to voice regarding St Nicholas. They have been accommodating and understanding with regard to my ever changing work pattern and will always try their best to help.
There is a fantastic team of consistent staff who appear to genuinely love what they do. There is also a very low staff turn over.
The atmosphere is lovely and on sunny days all the children are free to play in the beautiful garden closely observed by staff members.
Both my daughter and I will miss St Nicholas and the close relationships we have built during this time.
Thank you to each and every member of staff and may you continue to provide this excellent service.

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Review from Sue W (Mother of Child) published on 18 April 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has been going to the nursery since he was 8 months old. His development has continuously been progressing really well during his time there. He enjoys coming home and showing me and my partner his creations and talks about all the exciting activities he has been doing as he is now in the preschool
room. My son's favourite part of nursery is their large wonderful garden with growing area and mud kitchen that he loves to explore.

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Review from Karen F (Grandmother of Child) published on 23 March 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We are pleased with our grandson's progress and he is really happy at nursery.

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Review from Joanna A (Mother of Child) published on 23 March 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has been going to nursery since he was 10 months old, the staff are always friendly and understanding whenever I have concern with his development. He always enjoys going in the big garden to play football. My sons confidence has come on loads since attendning nursery.

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Review from Helene C (Mother of Child) published on 23 March 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter goes to St Nicholas Nursery full time and has done since 8 months old. My son also attended this nursery when he was 2 years old to starting school. There is a 9 year age gap between my children and in the time my son and daughter started hardly any of the staff had changed which is a really
good sign from my perspective. I had no hesitation in sending my daughter here. Both my children have and will be more prepared for school life. The staff, care and facilities here are excellent.

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Review from J M (Father of Child) published on 23 March 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter seems very happy at this nursery. She is encouraged to do what she enjoys and we feel she learns a lot. The staff are very friendly and our daughter appears to love them all dearly. The staff are also very approachable and are happy to answer questions.

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Review from Pilar P (Mother of Child) published on 22 March 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

St Nicholas is a place where my son feels happy to go. I love the way of teaching let them discover things on their way. They are free of trying and experimenting around the class but also helping them to choose another ways and games. Teachers are friendly and kind.

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Review from Charlotte H (Mother of Child) published on 6 March 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

As a younger parent I was very apprehensive about taking my daughter to nursery, I found all of the staff very friendly and easy to talk to. My daughter LOVES going to this nursery, she looks forward to seeing the other children and she has become close to a lot of the staff. The nursery itself is lovely,
big bright rooms with lots of stimulus for the children of all ages. A huge garden that is used all war round, and healthy hot meals daily.


I could not recommend St Nicholas enough, I feel 100% confident knowing my daughter is there whilst I'm at work.


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Review from Sue P (Mother of Child) published on 29 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has attended St Nicholas nursery since he was 9 months old and he has always enjoyed his nursery days. I would highly recommend this nursery it is a big decision choosing the child care provider to look after your precious children. I have 100% trust in St Nicholas Nursery.

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Review from Mbie S (Mother of Child) published on 29 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My child likes coming to nursery. My child has nice friends and doesn't want to go home at the end of the day. Her teachers are very nice and good with her. They understand and guide her as much as possible.

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Review from Chris W (Father of Child) published on 29 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter thoroughly enjoys her time at the nursery. The staff are amazing. My daughter tells me each evening how much she has enjoyed her day and what she has learned throughout the day. The learning is great along with strong teaching methods and caring staff.

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Review from Jason L (Father of Child) published on 17 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Highly recommend the nursery as we've noticed the positive impact its had on her development. We feel very happy and pleased at leaving her in the care of the staff as they are all lovely and our daughter has created bonds with particular staff, which puts us at ease knowing she's in safe hands and
also having lots of fun.

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Review from Tracy A (Mother of Child) published on 17 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

All three of my sons enjoy or have enjoyed their time at St Nicholas. The staff are always very helpful and do so many activities with the boys. The large garden is a bonus and the children love to play outside. They always help out in emergencies and are flexible with extra shifts.

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Review from K S (Mother of Child) published on 8 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The nursery is well organised and equipped for the children's care and learning. The staff and management genuinely care for the children and my son thoroughly enjoys attending and I cannot recommend them enough. Thank you.

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Review from Louis S (Father of Child) published on 8 February 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

All the staff at St Nicholas are caring and experienced, we had the usual concerns and worries when we first sent our daughter to nursery and we needn't have worried.

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Review from M W (Mother of Child) published on 24 November 2015
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

The nursery has always been great. My son has done very well, and has particularly settled when in pre-school. The nursery have been very supportive with understanding the change in circumstances. What has been frustrating is the accounts department where I have had to phone and report errors on invoices.
Though they have been rectified it, it would be nice to have a quality check before sending invoices out.

Reply from Claire Jones, Chief Executive Officer at St Nicholas Day Nursery

Thank you for your review. We have listened to our customers' feedback regarding our invoice process and have recently implemented new invoicing software to improve our service.


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Review from Michael F (Guardian of Child) published on 18 November 2015
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have used this nursery for the past 3 years and found everything to be positive about it. The staff are all well qualified for the task and very informative as to the progress of the children in their care. Indoor and outdoor activities are well organized as are any events that are planned. Food,
hygiene and cleanliness on the whole site is excellent. I would recommend nursery to anyone be it friends or family.

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Review from Dave C (Father of Child) published on 22 September 2015
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We had 2 kids in St Nicholas, over the space of 8 years, and they both loved it. In addition to this, both of our kids progressed really well intellectually whilst at the nursery and both are excelling at school.
The open space and gardens first attracted us to St Nicholas and they certainly maximise
the outdoor time, letting the kids play outside at every opportunity.
The building is old but well maintained, and there's been some redevelopment over the last couple of years which has also really helped.
The teachers have always been very friendly and both kids have really liked all the teachers they had as they progressed through the nursery.
There's only been a couple of issues over the years, which you'd expect over 8 years, although there's never been anything more than minor things (such as paint on clothes, or not being changed after water play and being left in wet clothes - always with the less experienced staff). However, whenever we've raised issues such as this, they have always been addressed quickly and they've never happened again.
I would also highlight the good work of the team in the Sun Hill Day Care head office - we had a few issues over the years with childcare vouchers and invoices and they always sorted all of our problems very quickly.
All in all, we've had a fantastic experience with St Nicholas over the years, they developed the kids really well, looked after them and ensured the kids enjoyed their experiences.
I would recommend St Nicholas Nursery very highly.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.938)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.938) out of 10 for St Nicholas Day Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 27 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 27 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 4.938 for St Nicholas Day Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (306 Excellents x 5) + (16 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 324 Ratings = 4.938

  • 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 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for St Nicholas Day Nursery is based on 27 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 75 number of registered child places is 15, which has been reached with 27 Positive reviews. Points = 1

  • 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.

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Awards / Recognitions (7)

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Meet the Team (1)

Frankie

Frankie

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 2007

Qualifications: NVQ3, DSL, Paediatric First Aid, Food Hygiene


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