Willows Farm Day Nursery

Willows Activity Farm, Coursers Road, London Colney, St Albans AL4 0PF
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9.8 105 Reviews
  • Willows Farm Day Nursery, St Albans
Willows Farm Day Nursery & Pre-School in London Colney, near St Albans, offers high-quality childcare and early years education for children aged 0 to 5.
Set within the beautiful surroundings of Willows Activity Farm, the nature-based nursery gives children the freedom to explore, learn, and grow through play.

Willows Farm Day Nursery follow the Forest School approach, encouraging confidence, independence, and curiosity through outdoor learning and hands-on experiences. From caring for animals to planting seeds in the gardens, every day is an opportunity for discovery.

Conveniently located just off the M25, Willows Farm Day Nursery welcome families from St Albans, London Colney, and across Hertfordshire.
The qualified team provides a nurturing environment with dedicated baby, toddler, and pre-school rooms, plus access to funded childcare places for eligible families.

Discover why parents call Willows Farm Day Nursery one of the best nurseries in St Albans for outdoor, farm-based learning - book a visit to Willows Farm Day Nursery & Pre-School today.
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Lucy Nicholson (Senior Childcare Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 70

Total Places for Children

  • 188

Age Range

  • from 0 years 2 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • Full-day session: 7:30 am - 6:30 pm
    Morning session: 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
    Afternoon session: 1:00 pm - 6:30 pm

  • Each situation is different and bespoke to your childcare needs. To find out more about our fees, please do get in touch so we are able to build a profile and give you a breakdown of what we believe best suits your child’s needs.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:30
    Tuesday 07:30-18:30
    Wednesday 07:30-18:30
    Thursday 07:30-18:30
    Friday 07:30-18:30

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Willows Farm Day Nursery Reviews (105)

9.8

Willows Farm Day Nursery has a Review Score of 9.8 (9.845) out of 10, based on 41 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Willows Farm Day Nursery has 105 reviews.

Overall Experience
  • 96
  • 6
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
Date Published
  • 105
  • 21
  • 32
  • 41
  • 64
Reviewer Connection to Willows Farm Day Nursery
  • 86
  • 17
  • 1
  • 1
Total of 105, showing 101-105
Review from Michael H (Father of Child) published on 10 August 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I think the nursery is very good. Both my children have benefited from coming here. They always seem so happy to be dropped off and say they have really enjoyed their day at nursery. All the staff are very friendly and helpful, plus they all seem to have great relationships with both my children.
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Review from Kate L (Mother of Child) published on 7 August 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Fantastic care of our son. He is thriving at Willows Farm. He loves it! He loves being with his friends and two members of staff have looked after him to the highest standard!
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Review from Hayley S (Mother of Child) published on 7 August 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Willows Farm Day Nursery is brilliant, my son loves the baby room and he has progressed no end. He loves his key worker and every morning he's desperate to go in to start his day. The setting is wonderful and the trips to the farm are so fun. The nursery lacks air con and is too hot. This could be improved.
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Review from Amber M (Mother of Child) published on 7 August 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son has been coming to this nursery since he was 6 months old. He loves it and is very well cared for and is excited to come. I am happy as a parent and love that my son gets good quality carers and teaching.
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Review from Patricia H (Mother of Child) published on 19 November 2015 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both my daughters attended the nursery for over a year and have experienced all of the rooms between them. They love going to nursery and are very happy. They especially enjoy the regular trips to the farm and the activities like French and football in the pre-school. There are some excellent, consistent
members of staff who they are very fond of.
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Current Review Score: 9.8 (9.845)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.8 (9.845) out of 10 for Willows Farm Day Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 41 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 40 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 4.845 for Willows Farm Day Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (427 Excellents x 5) + (55 Goods x 4) + (6 Satisfactorys x 3) + (3 Poors x 2) ) ÷ 491 Ratings = 4.845
  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 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Willows Farm Day Nursery is based on 40 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 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    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 188 number of registered child places is 37.6, which has been reached with 40 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  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 (1)

Meet the Team (1)

Lucy

Lucy Nicholson

Job Title: Senior Childcare Manager

Hi, I’m Lucy Nicholson, Senior Childcare Manager of Willows Farm Day Nursery & Pre-School! Our Day Nursery offers childcare full of discovery and rich learning experiences, with the daily opportunity to meet the farm animals and enjoy forest school sessions in the great outdoors. We are located in the heart of the countryside of St. Albans, where we provide our children with the best in early year’s education and learn through the ‘Planning in the moment’ child-led teaching approach.

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