Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

West Riding, Bricket Wood, St Albans AL2 3QR
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9.4 15 Reviews
Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans offers childcare to children from the age of three months up to the age they start school.

The nursery is a single storey building with windows on both sides meaning the three large rooms are filled with natural light. There are double doors at the end of the nursery so each room has its own access to the large gardens.

The nursery building has plants and natural resources inside giving it a fresh and calm atmosphere.

Nursery founder Sarah Charles has worked hard to ensure her nurseries celebrate the magic moments in childhood.

The Vision of Canopy St Albans is to empower the next generation to positively change the world in their own unique ways

The Values are;

(1) At Canopy St Albans they are - Nurturing and passionate people

(2) Practising in - An engaging, inclusive environment

(3) Ensuring - Empathetic parent partnering

(4) Fostering - A lifelong love for learning
... Read more
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care

Person in charge

  • Karishma Dhamecha (Owner)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 17

Total Places for Children

  • 83

Age Range

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

Funding & Fees

  • Full Day (7.30 am-6.30 pm) - £85.00
    AM Session (7.30 am-1pm) - £63.00
    PM Session (1 pm-6.30 pm) - £63.00
    School Time (8.30 am-3.30 pm) - £74.00
    Drop In (Two Hours) - £27.00

  • To enable your child to develop their relationship with their key worker and to settle into the nursery routine, Canopy ask for bookings of at least 2 sessions per week.


    The nursery also offers flexible, drop-in sessions on certain days of the week which can be booked on a week-to-week basis.


    The nursery aims to be as flexible as possible to fit in with your family’s childcare requirements but spaces are always subject to availability.


    Fees are subject to review by Canopy, and the nursery may amend them by providing you with one months’ notice. If the fees are due to change because of your child’s age, the new fee rate will apply from the first of the month following that change.


    Terms and conditions apply.


    Please contact the nursery for more information regarding pricing.

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 & 1 week at Christmas

Parking

  • The nursery has free onsite parking and space for parent drop off & pick up.

Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans Reviews (15)

9.4

Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans has a Review Score of 9.4 (9.364) out of 10, based on 15 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans has 15 reviews.

Overall Experience

  • 13
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Date Published

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Review from Sonal P (Mother of Child) published on 7 August 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has absolutely loved her time at Canopy St Albans, she settled in straight away and has excelled in her environment and was there since September 2023. She is a very different girl today compared to when she started. Great staff, really clean and friendly environment, a really great place
for out young people to learn.
I found that all the staff were really helpful and child-focused. The management team are brilliant, they made us feel very welcomed from the get go and provided regular updates on our daughter's progress. As a family, we have been really happy with Canopy St Albans and we will all miss it there!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're absolutely delighted to hear how much your daughter enjoyed her time at Canopy St Albans and how much she has grown since joining us. It means the world to our team to know that she felt settled and supported, and that you felt welcomed and informed throughout her journey with us.Creating a nurturing, clean, and child-focused environment is at the heart of everything we do, and it's incredibly rewarding to know that this was your experience. We'll truly miss having your family as part of the Canopy community and wish you all the very best in the next chapter. Thank you again for your kind words and support!

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Review from V B (Mother of Child) published on 6 August 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 1.0 out of 5

Avoid this nursery setting if your child is SEN. Although they list themselves as inclusive, the nursery setting really struggled with our three year old with very little basis as to exactly what they were struggling with apart from being unable to meet his needs in comparison to other children.
The
local authority had put in place a number of strategies for the setting to follow, which were not followed through in full, funding applications were delayed and there was a complete fabrication on accidents and incidents. Their communication is beyond poor and they were not acting in the best interest of our child.
Ultimately they washed their hands of him when they were unable to meet his needs, obtain appropriate funding, and lacked sufficient training for neurodivergent children.
Management in particular the directors - aren't nice to deal with, they are difficult and don't understand SEN children or the SEN Code of practice. When questioned they were very quick to remove our child.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

At Canopy St Albans, we are committed to supporting all children, including those with special educational needs, and we strive to work closely with families and external professionals to provide the best care and support possible. This approach means that we currently work successfully with a number of SEN children and their families.We cannot comment on individual cases due to confidentiality, but unfortunately there are circumstances where, despite our best efforts, we acknowledge that the support we can deliver is not sufficient for the needs of a child.We wish you and your child all the best for the future.

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Review from S W (Mother of Child) published on 29 July 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 1.0 out of 5

I removed my child from this nursery earlier this year as I completely lost confidence and trust in them to care for my child.
When dealing with the final incident that led to us removing our child, communication from management was extremely poor. There was a lack of transparency about how the incident
occurred until we persisted to try and understand the detail. Even then we were still unclear on how it could have happened under appropriate supervision.
The frequency of Staff turnover was a red flag and ultimately, detrimental to our child, who rarely had more than a few months with key workers/room staff before there were changes, which is extremely difficult for children of such a young age.
We were initially happy, our child had a fantastic key worker for the first 9 months and then she left, after which, updates regarding my child became so infrequent that felt I had lost touch with their development there. I would not recommend Canopy to other parents.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you for your feedback. We take children's safety and wellbeing extremely seriously and, following the incident, we reviewed CCTV footage and thoroughly examined our supervision protocols, environment, and policies to ensure we were meeting our high standards.Our records show we responded promptly in person, by phone, and by email. We are disappointed to hear this did not meet your expectations, as we are committed to clear, open, and honest communication with all families.We understand how important consistency is for young children and acknowledge that staff changes can be unsettling. While staff turnover does happen from time to time, we work hard to maintain strong transitions and continuity of care.We're grateful for your earlier positive comments about your child's first key worker and are genuinely sorry that your experience changed. Feedback like yours helps us reflect and continually improve, and we wish you and your child all the very best for the future.

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Review from Maisie W (Mother of Child) published on 7 October 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son started very upset and clingy to me, Canopy Children's Nursery assured me that this will get better and they were totally right. He is now happy to go in and seems to have come on leaps and bounds since going here.

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Review from Shannon W (Mother of Child) published on 7 October 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has attended Canopy Children's Nursery for the last 4 months. I was really nervous about him attending any form of childcare but once meeting the staff and seeing the set up inside I was put at ease. The staff made us feel so welcome on the induction and took a real interest in my child - his
wellbeing, likes and dislikes and things I would personally like to see him learn and play at nursery. Since attending Canopy, my son has come on leaps and bounds in his development and interacts with children better than he did before, has learned new skills and majorly improved with his communication. We receive regular observations with photos to see exactly what he's been up to. The app works great to communicate with staff and know what he is eating, sleeping and his nappy changes throughout the day. I couldn't recommend Canopy enough and I'm so happy my son has joined.

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Review from Emma E (Mother of Child) published on 4 June 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My 3 and 1-year-old go to canopy nursery and I genuinely have nothing bad to say. They both settled there extremely quickly and my 3-year-old is upset on the weekends when we tell her we aren’t going to nursery today! The staff are very friendly, caring, and professional and I know my children are in
safe hands. The food is great and there are lots of great activities for the children. I see my son as a bad sleeper but they have been great at dealing with this and haven’t said any negative comments. I would highly recommend Canopy! It’s also very modern and clean. There’s a lovely big garden too! If my children ever hurt themselves they call straight away and my children are very well looked after!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave such an amazing review for Canopy St Albans! We appreciate all the positive feedback, you have provided covering so many elements of our setting that we have worked hard on! It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team.

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Review from Bobbie F (Mother of Child) published on 31 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We couldn’t be happier with our experience at Canopy Nursery. From the moment we visited, it had such a welcoming atmosphere. The staff are nurturing and genuinely care about each child’s well-being and development. Our son has thrived here since June 2023 and has built so much confidence and made lovely
friends.
The facilities are great and our son absolutely loves being outdoors. The activities are engaging and encourage our son to learn in innovative ways. Communication with the staff is excellent and we love receiving our updates on the app. There is such a variety of food and it’s great to see him eat foods that he has not tried at home.
Overall, Canopy has exceeded our expectations. Would highly recommend it to any parent for their children.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such an amazing review for Canopy St Albans, this past year has flown by. We really appreciate all the feedback you have provided, it's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team.

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Review from Jessica R (Mother of Child) published on 31 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our son has been very happy at Canopy and loves participating in the yoga and forest school sessions. We love the preschool room leader and she makes lots of effort to keep us updated on progress and tips on things we can do at home to compliment what they are learning in class. He has made some lovely
friends and talks happily about all the things he has done during the day. We have found them really flexible when we have needed extra days for any reason and have been very impressed with the quality of the food and equipment at the setting.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave such an amazing review for Canopy St Albans! We really appreciate all the feedback you have provided, it's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team.

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Review from Sam S (Mother of Child) published on 24 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been going to canopy for almost 6 months now and she absolutely loves it. The staff are really friendly, and professional and always keep us informed throughout the day so we know what she has been up to. We’re happy with The Canopy and my little one is too!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team!

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Review from R V (Mother of Child) published on 24 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We recently moved into the area with our 3-year-old and 1-year-old daughters. We had to change nurseries for my 3-year-old due to the move and choosing this nursery was the best decision we made! She asks us every morning if we are going to nursery and gets ready very quickly which she hasn’t done before!
Their 121 interaction with her is amazing and she feels very secure and loved here, and we have seen a massive improvement in her behaviour and conversations! This is the first nursery my youngest has been to and she also loves it! We are very pleased with how welcoming and kind the staff at this nursery are and would recommend it to anyone!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team! Both of your children are a delight to have in our setting.

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Review from Leora L (Mother of Child) published on 24 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been at Canopy Nursery for nearly 3 months and absolutely loves it! She has learned so much since joining and gets so excited before we drop her off. She has some medical conditions and needs specially prepared food and assistance with eating and drinking. I was worried about how a nursery
would manage but the staff at Canopy have been excellent and managed all her needs so I know she is in the best hands.
Canopy sends out regular updates on an app and adorable photos as well as weekly observations. She has started talking loads since going and always surprises me with new words and gestures she’s learned at nursery.
The nursery is also so clean compared to others I’ve seen, the staff are all so friendly and my daughter gets very excited to see them. The food menu always looks so delicious, I just wish I could take home leftovers for myself!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such an amazing review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team!

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Review from Becky M (Mother of Child) published on 22 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My child started Canopy in January 2024. This is their first nursery setting and has adjusted brilliantly. The staff have been attentive, professional and friendly making the transition easy and manageable. Communication is consistent, in person and via a parent platform that's easy to access. The setting
is purposeful and engaging for the learners and my child couldn't be happier.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you so much Becky for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will make sure to pass your kind comments on to the team!

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Review from Claire R (Mother of Child) published on 16 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We could not be happier with Canopy! Our daughter absolutely loves it there which ultimately is the best thing we could ask for. All of the staff are lovely and care so much about the children. They do a variety of activities and the progress discussed has shown since being there is amazing to see.
The facilities are great, class sizes are small and communication is wonderful. I just wish it would have opened a few years ago so I could have sent my son there too!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will pass your kind comments onto the team!

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Review from Alexandra M (Mother of Child) published on 15 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter started at Canopy in November 2023, and I’m very happy with the noticeable progression that she has made. The facilities are modern, bright and clean. They do a lot of creative activities throughout the day, which my daughter loves! The staff are very responsive, helpful and provide detailed
overviews of my daughter’s day at pick up. Most importantly, my daughter is very happy and comfortable with the staff and she enjoys going, which is very reassuring! I would highly recommend!

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you Alexandra for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will pass your kind comments on to the team!

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Review from K H (Mother of Child) published on 15 February 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son is really enjoying Canopy Nursery. He settled very quickly and comes home happy every day. We love seeing the updates from the nursery staff about the activities he has done and what he’s been eating. The outside space is amazing.

Reply from Karishma Dhamecha, Nursery Director at Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Canopy St Albans, your feedback is very important to us. It's wonderful to read you are enjoying your experience with us and we will pass your kind comments onto the team!

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Current Review Score: 9.4 (9.364)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.4 (9.364) out of 10 for Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.6 out of 5 from 15 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.8 out of 5 from 13 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:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.581 for Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans is calculated as follows: ( (153 Excellents x 5) + (3 Goods x 4) + (8 Satisfactorys x 3) + (4 Poors x 2) + (11 Very Poors x 1) ) ÷ 179 Ratings = 4.581

  • b) 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 4.783 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans is based on 13 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 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

    • ii) 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 83 number of registered child places is 16.6. 13 Positive Reviews ÷ 16.6 = 0.783

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • 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

News (0) & Events (0)

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Awards / Recognitions (0)

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Meet the Team (0)

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Frequently Asked Questions about Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans

What is the Age Range of Children that Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans accepts?

Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans accepts Children aged from 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans Open?

Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans is open: 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.

How many Children does Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans have capacity for?

Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans has capacity for a total of 83 Children.

How far is Canopy Children's Nursery St Albans to the centre of St Albans?

3.5 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

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