United Reformed Church Pre-School and Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Harpenden for children from birth to 8+, open 08:30 to 15:00, 4 days a week. £67.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 1992, with 45 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Full Day Session (9am - 3pm) £67 Our full day session incorporates the morning session and the afternoon session including lunch club.
One published rate, dated Sept 2026. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
2-Year-Old Funding; 3 & 4-Year-old 15 Hours funding; 30 Hours Funding; Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).
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
AL5 4EDWhat 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.
Ofsted inspector, 1 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children flourish in this stimulating learning environment. They are extremely excited to arrive and separate from carers with ease. The dedicated manager and her nurturing, enthusiastic team are at the door to welcome them. Children thoroughly enjoy dressing up as story characters for book week. They delight in showing off their outfits to staff, who enthusiastically encourage them to find the corresponding book.
Children experience exceptional learning opportunities in the nursery. The manager and her team plan an extremely interesting and challenging curriculum based upon children's interests. All activities are very carefully planned and adapted with clear intent for individual children's learning. For example, sand is used exceptionally well to support children's sensory development and mark-making skills.
Furthermore, staff skilfully incorporate children's mathematical development by encouraging them to sort and count insects buried in the sand.
- 1 February 2022Outstanding
- 26 February 2014Outstanding
- 2 July 2010Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for United Reformed Church Pre-School and Nursery
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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.
- Is £67.00 a day still the rate? 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.
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.