Old MacDonald's Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Rickmansworth for from 2 years up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 2006, with 66 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Up to 15 free hours Universal Funding is available to all children from the beginning of the term after their 3rd birthday. You may be able to receive up to a further 15 free hours Extended Funding subject to government eligibility criteria being met, entitling your child to 30 free hours per funded week.
Worth knowing. The entitlement of up to 15 or 30 free hours Early Education per week is for 38 weeks, not 52 and excludes the cost of meals and consumables. Spring term – 11 weeks, summer term – 13 weeks, autumn term 14 weeks. Whilst our setting participates in free entitlement to Early Education for 3 and 4 year olds, this does not guarantee the availability of a place.
What childcare usually costs in Hertfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hertfordshire 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
WD3 5BNWhat 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.
- 3 March 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 4 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy attending the nursery. They arrive and eagerly wait for staff to greet them at the door. Children begin to make friends from a young age. Babies enjoy interacting with one another. They pass toys to each other and smile as staff praise them for sharing. This helps the youngest children to begin to develop their confidence.
The oldest children show high levels of respect for one another, such as when they complete a sinking and floating activity. They listen with interest as their friends make predictions about what will happen to the different objects. They wait patiently for their turn to drop items into the water. These high levels of concentration and engagement help to prepare children for the next stage in their learning.
Children from different cultures feel valued and included at the nursery. They learn about festivals that their friends and staff in the room celebrate. Toddlers begin to act out stories that they have recently heard. For example, children play with dolls from a story about Diwali. Their friends play musical instruments, such as bells.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support less-experienced members of staff to develop their professional knowledge and interactions with children to a consistently high standard.
- 4 February 2022Good
- 3 September 2015Outstanding
- 24 February 2011Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Old MacDonald's Day Nursery
- What it costs
- Nappies
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
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.