Young Discoverers Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Hemel Hempstead for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £5.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2025. Open since 2006, with 52 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price list dated 2025.
| Age | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £5.00Lunch Club £14.00Afternoon, 2.5 hrs £16.00Morning, 3 hrs |
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
2 year funding for up to 15 hours free (5 sessions); 3 and 4 year old funding for up to 15 hours free (5 sessions); extra 15 hours care (30 hours total) to working families.
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
HP1 1JFWhat 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, 31 March 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children settle in quickly and easily. Staff greet children and parents in a warm and enthusiastic way. There is a flexible settling-in procedure. Staff adapt the plan to suit the children. This helps children to become familiar with the pre-school. Staff create a calm, well-planned learning environment. Children actively engage in their play and learning. Staff provide a variety of activities, including chalk drawing, glittery play dough and threading reels. This helps to develop children's small hand muscles. Children follow their interests and use their imagination. Staff encourage children to talk about their creations. This develops their speaking and listening skills. Staff capture children's curiosity and excitement as they turn over a mat to expose bugs and gather children's interests. Staff encourage children to use language and make observations of the world around them.
Children run around, avoid obstacles, such as the trees and bicycles, and explore the garden fully. Children develop their gross motor skills further on an assault course. They balance on planks and jump off blocks. This helps to develop their core strength as they persevere, solve problems and take turns. Staff help children who need help to balance by offering a hand to hold. Staff praise children. This helps develop their confidence and self-esteem. Children's behaviour is good. Staff help children to learn good social skills. They facilitate resolving conflicts. For example, when children argue over holding ducks in the water tray, staff skilfully help them to take turns and share.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- guide staff to focus more sharply on children's next steps in learning n help staff to strengthen interactions with children to extend children's thinking and language skills.
- 31 March 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 24 September 2019Good
- 18 April 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Young Discoverers Pre-School
- 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 £5.00 a session 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.
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.