Handkerchief Day Nursery

High Street, Kegworth, Derby DE74 2DA
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9.4 49 Reviews
  • Handkerchief Day Nursery, Derby
Handkerchief Day Nursery Kegworth is renowned for its extensive outdoor learning environment, which forms a central part of the nursery experience. Highly experienced Forest School leaders deliver daily Forest School sessions, supporting children as they explore the natural world through hands-on activities. Under close supervision, children are encouraged to use real tools, chop wood, cook over a fire pit, and enjoy experiences such as making hot chocolate, while the discovery cabin provides year-round outdoor learning opportunities in all weather conditions.

Both indoors and outdoors, children are encouraged to explore a wide range of open-ended resources designed to inspire creativity, curiosity, and a sense of awe and wonder each day.

The dedicated and knowledgeable staff team nurtures children’s natural inquisitiveness, supporting learning through exploration and play while building strong relationships with each key child.

Mealtimes are a sensory experience, with the comforting smell of freshly baked bread and the chef’s much-loved lemon drizzle cake filling the nursery. Children are provided with healthy, delicious meals made using locally sourced ingredients, supporting both wellbeing and an appreciation for good food.
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Funding & Fees

F/D £56.50
AM/PM £31.50

Contact Handkerchief Day Nursery to get a personalised quote.

Contact Handkerchief Day Nursery to get a personalised quote.

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Julie Stamps (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 30

Total Places for Children

  • 110

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 08:00-18:00
    Tuesday 08:00-18:00
    Wednesday 08:00-18:00
    Thursday 08:00-18:00
    Friday 08:00-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Parking

  • Onsite parking available.

Handkerchief Day Nursery Reviews (49)

9.4

Handkerchief Day Nursery has a Review Score of 9.4 (9.397) out of 10, based on 14 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Handkerchief Day Nursery has 49 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
  • 49
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Reviewer Connection to Handkerchief Day Nursery
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Total of 49, showing 41-49
Review from Jo (Mother of Child) published on 13 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Fantastic nursery.


My little one has attended for the past 18 months and absolutely loves it. He has wonderful relationships with the staff, particularly his key worker in each room


He is encouraged to progress and is given ample activities and opportunities throughout the day to keep him interested.

He regularly comes home shattered from all the fun he has had!
The outdoor space drew me to the nursery as it is far better than any other nursery I looked around which is important to us as he loves being outside. They also have a forest school where they learn different life skills and he adores this experience.
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Review from Georgina P (Mother of Child) published on 13 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both my children have thoroughly enjoyed their time at Handkerchief. They have learnt so much during their time there and grown into little independent thinkers and movers! Both my kids felt happy and at home at Handkerchief and made great friends with the other children.


The staff are absolutely

brilliant. They are dedicated, positive and supportive and have created a happy and thriving environment for the children to play, learn and develop. There is independent play and also structured activity time and there’s great outside space including forest school as well. There was also additional activities my kids participated in such as little wickets, jo jingles and French.


I was very happy leaving my kids at Handkerchief, knowing they were in very good hands. I would definitely recommend handkerchief nursery to any prospective parents.

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Review from Rachel (Mother of Child) published on 11 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We have noticed such a change in our daughter's development since starting at nursery in October. She is content to play by herself or with the other children and the variety of new experiences she has had so far has been great. The staff are all so friendly and seem to genuinely care about the children
and ensuring they are happy and well. We are very grateful that we have put our daughter into this nursery and that the girls at the nursery are in her life.
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Review from Antonia S (Mother of Child) published on 8 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son loves going to nursery and the girls who look after him. He does different activities each day and spends time playing outside which he enjoys. The girls are very caring and they give him the individual attention he needs, playing and teaching him new things.
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Review from Suzanne C (Mother of Child) published on 7 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son started in babies at 12 months and is now in pre-school aged nearly 4. My daughter started the same and is now in toddlers aged 2.5. Both children LOVE nursery. They are well loved and cared for and have built strong bonds in every room they’ve joined. My children have very different personalities
and have been nurtured and developed according to their personal strengths and needs. They have been given so many opportunities for carol concerts, off-site trips, craft, baking and above all they love Forest School.


If you want your children to enjoy being outdoors the chickens, fireplace and open learning are the routes forward! The food is varied and freshly prepared and the children are encouraged to try lots of different things.
Handkerchiefs have played a major part in the formative years of my happy, healthy, inquisitive, smart, independent, confident children and I highly recommend them.

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Review from Beth S (Mother of Child) published on 7 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My little girl (who is 2 years and 4 months) has been at Handkercheif since she was 12 months old.
She has massively developed in this time and loves all of the opportunities the nursery offers. The staff are friendly and attentive and make her feel valued.
I will definitely send my next baby there.
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Review from David W (Father of Child) published on 7 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Handkerchief have given the best start to my son's learning journey I could have possibly wished for. From when he was a 1-year-old baby to pre-schooling, Handerkerchief has guided him well, giving lots of opportunities to experience life skills. From French lessons and forestry school to learning about
the world he lives in, his vocabulary and expressions have come on leaps and bounds.
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Review from Joanne P (Mother of Child) published on 6 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Handkerchief Day Nursery is exactly what we were looking for in a nursery. Since our daughter has been there she has progressed in many aspects and continues to impress us with her language, numeracy and creative abilities - all which Handkerchief staff have nurtured. The nursery is clean and well presented;
displays are regularly updated, parent contact is very good and you receive a detailed review on your child's day on pick up. The nursery offers enrichment sessions during the day which include Jo Jingles, French, Tennis, Cricket and they even have a hair-dresser and photographer come in! (Of which you will be notified). They regularly put on events to include the parents as much as possible; these include Christmas markets, sports days, coffee mornings, to name a few! Over all, we are very pleased with Handkerchief and know our children are being entertained and well looked after. The staff are lovely and our children are happy there.
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Review from Amanda B (Mother of Child) published on 6 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We recently moved our daughter to Pre-School at Handkerchief and my only regret is not sending her from a baby. This is a truly wonderful nursery set in beautiful gardens, with a huge number of additional activities on offer (yoga, music, cricket, French). In particular, Forest School is fantastic and
the children spend a lot of time outdoors either in the garden (with the hens and the guinea pigs) or on the bikes in the tennis court - our 3 year old daughter comes home buzzing with excitement (and rosy cheeks) every day.


Activities are planned all day long and the 'grown ups' are constantly interacting with the children. Arriving for pick up after 5pm, often they are just starting a new activity - we were really taken aback that the energy levels of the staff are still so high that late in the day.


I was really struck by the confidence all of the children show and this is testament to the care and nurturing they receive from the staff.


A fantastic nursery.

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Current Review Score: 9.4 (9.397)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.4 (9.397) out of 10 for Handkerchief Day Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 14 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.5 out of 5 from 14 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:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.911 for Handkerchief Day Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (155 Excellents x 5) + (11 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 168 Ratings = 4.911
  2. 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 4.486 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Handkerchief Day Nursery is based on 14 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 20 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews, 0.05 Points for the next five Positive Reviews, and finally 0.025 Points for the next ten Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.050, 7th = 0.050, 8th = 0.050, 9th = 0.050, 10th = 0.050, 11th = 0.025, 12th = 0.025, 13th = 0.025, 14th = 0.025, 15th = 0.025, 16th = 0.025, 17th = 0.025, 18th = 0.025, 19th = 0.025, 20th = 0.025) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 = 3.85
    2. 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 110 number of registered child places is 22. 14 Positive Reviews ÷ 22 = 0.636
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (3)

Meet the Team (1)

Julie

Julie Stamps

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2025

I have built a diverse and extensive career in the early years of education, including 16 years leading a preschool within a school setting. My experience also encompasses managing private day nurseries, leading individual rooms, and working as a nanny, giving me a well-rounded understanding of childcare across different environments. 


I hold a BA (Hons) in Education, alongside the NNEB qualification. I am committed to fostering a supportive and nurturing environment for everyone I work with, including children, practitioners, parents, and families. Guided by my Christian values, I take a compassionate and collaborative approach to my work. I adopt a holistic perspective on childcare and firmly believe that all children can thrive and achieve when provided with the right environment and support.


I joined Handkerchief in September 2025, and I love it here because there is so much support. Basically, I just love to make a difference to the lives of the people I encounter.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Handkerchief Day Nursery to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Handkerchief Day Nursery has an Enhanced Service - more info.