High House Nursery Ltd
Good★ 4.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Bishop'S Stortford for children from birth to 5, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2023. Open since 2003, with 103 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Essex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Essex from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
CM22 6PLWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
- 20 September 2022 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 12 April 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Leaders have worked hard and sought support from other professionals to raise standards since the last inspection. Children and babies show that they feel safe and secure in the nursery. They happily separate from parents and know the routine when they arrive. Children of all ages demonstrate that they are confident communicators and show very good independence. Staff sit with them and engage them in conversations. Children enjoy listening to stories. The introduction of a book of the week provides repetition of language and helps children to recall stories and repeat familiar phrases. Children enjoy purposeful social interaction and build close relationships with staff, and their behaviour is good.
Children are keen to explore the range of toys and interesting activities offered.
Babies have fun, developing their curiosity as they push their fingers and hands though shaving foam. Pre-school children persevere with chosen tasks and thoroughly enjoy number recognition activities. They are introduced to the concept of counting cars and once they are confident, staff add number symbols, encouraging children to use their knowledge to match these to numbered car parking spaces.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- extend the monitoring of staff practice further to ensure that they receive focused feedback and coaching to embed a purposeful curriculum of what they need children to learn and to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level n support staff to plan meaningful, sequential learning opportunities and ensure that children have plenty of time to develop and practise their new knowledge and skills to support future learning n strengthen current procedures for assessing risk to ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of their responsibility.
- 12 April 2023Good
- 4 October 2022Needs improvement
- 9 September 2021Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for High House Nursery Ltd
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.