Opening hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday : 07:30 - 18:30
Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School
Ofsted: Expected standard·
4.9(29 parent reviews)
·36 Hadham Road, BISHOP'S STORTFORD, CM23 2QS · Hertfordshire
Number of places
72 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Jan 2026
Local authority
Hertfordshire
About this day nursery
Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School, located in BISHOP'S STORTFORD, has been providing childcare on non-domestic premises since 2013, catering to children aged 0-4 years. The nursery operates Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 18:30, all year round.
Following its latest Ofsted inspection on 22 January 2026, the nursery received an overall rating of Inadequate. Despite this, the inspection highlighted that safeguarding standards are met, with leaders and staff creating an open culture to identify and manage concerns proactively.
The staff are noted for knowing the children well, supporting emotional development, and effectively gathering important health and dietary information to keep children safe. The nursery also uses signing to aid communication for the youngest and non-verbal children.
While the outdoor environment is currently being developed to better support an ambitious curriculum, leaders are actively working on improvements. The nursery has robust processes in place to identify and address gaps in children's learning and development, with a strong focus on inclusion and support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs.
Parents have praised the setting for its effective communication and the strong relationships children build with their key workers since the last inspection.
What it's like
Children are greeted by friendly staff on arrival and settle well, benefiting from a calm, welcoming and nurturing environment that promotes their well-being and welfare. They demonstrate secure attachments with all staff and are confident and curious in their learning environment. Robust processes are in place to look for gaps in children's learning and development, and swift action is taken to create plans to reduce these gaps.
Safeguarding standards metStrong child-staff attachmentsIndividualised learningEffective communicationSEND provision
Key facts
Term time / All Year
All_year
Established
2013
Ofsted Inspection — new report card
Expected standard
Last inspected Jan 2026
Grade summary
Exceptional
—
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
—
Urgent improvement
—
Each dot represents one of the six inspection categories. Headline is the average of the six grades, rounded up.
Category grades
AchievementExpected standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routinesExpected standard
Children's welfare and wellbeingStrong standard
Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
InclusionExpected standard
Leadership and governanceExpected standard
Age range
0 to 4
Registers
Early Years Register
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School
Last inspected 22 January 2026
What it's like to attend
Children are greeted by friendly staff on arrival and settle well, benefiting from a calm, welcoming and nurturing environment that promotes their well-being and welfare. They demonstrate secure attachments with all staff and are confident and curious in their learning environment. Robust processes are in place to look for gaps in children's learning and development, and swift action is taken to create plans to reduce these gaps.
Inspector highlights
- Safeguarding standards are met, with leaders and staff fostering an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
- Staff and leaders know children well, supporting them to recognise, express, and manage their emotions.
- Leaders ensure important information about children's health and dietary needs is gathered and practices are effective to keep them safe.
- Signing is used to support communication for the youngest babies and nonverbal children, enabling them to have a voice.
- Children arrive eager to start their day and remain engaged in activities for prolonged periods.
- Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour, building warm, positive relationships and managing routines consistently.
Areas to develop
- 1Leaders should make better use of the outdoor environment to support the progress of children who prefer to play and learn outside.
- 2Leaders should continue to embed curriculum changes and ensure high-quality teaching across all areas of the setting.
Inspection #10405135 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
Leaders implement effective systems to identify disadvantaged and vulnerable children, taking swift action to help reduce barriers to and close gaps in their learning. The setting's special educational needs designated leaders work closely with all staff, offering mentoring and building on their knowledge. Leaders proactively use additional funding to create ramps for non-mobile children to move freely around rooms and the garden area.
Outdoor space
The outdoor environment is not yet fully developed to ensure that children who prefer to play and learn outside can consistently access an equally ambitious curriculum. Leaders are working to ensure this reflects the setting's curriculum and have made plans to improve the use of the outdoor environment.
Parent Reviews of Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School
4.9
(29)
Sobi Bb
8 months ago
Sycamore House is an amazing nursery. The staff are so warm, caring, and genuinely dedicated to the children. Our little ones have grown so much in confidence, speech, and imagination since joining, and absolutely love they're key workers. The activities, outdoor play, and recent garden improvements are fantastic too. We couldn’t be happier and would highly recommend Sycamore House to any family looking for a nurturing and supportive environment.
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Leanne Clark
8 months ago
The staff at Partou a Sycamore House are amazing. My daughter was here from her 1st birthday up until she left for school. She has fantastic key workers from the acorns room all the way up to the oak room. The management team is always helpful and friendly but most importantly takes time to know the children too. We will miss all the staff and the setting. Thank you for all your support
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Leonor De Sousa
8 months ago
Sycamore has been exceptional with my daughter this last year. My little girl can struggle with separation anxiety and every single key-person in the Oak room are brilliant with her and make sure she’s happy and settled. A massive and special thank you to Charelle who has been such an important part of our little girls journey and has really helped build up her confidence. They have formed such a strong bond which is beautiful to see! I could not recommend this nursery enough.
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Taylor Harding
2 months ago
I have had two children at sycamore house over the years, my youngest in his last year there and I have nothing but nice things to say about all parts of the nursery. All the staff are amazing and take the time to get to know you personally as well as your child and the nursery it’s self has always been amazing 🤩
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Catherine Wigley
9 months ago
I really recommend Sycamore House. Our little one has been there for a year in the baby and toddler room and they adore all the staff! They've come on so much since attending, especially in terms of speech and imagination. The staff are always very accommodating to any requests and needs we have, and have helped us on countless occasions when we've needed extra sessions at the last minute. I felt very supported in the early days when it was difficult to leave them at nursery for a whole day and the support has continued throughout.
Read on GoogleReviews from Google for Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Date: November 2013
The most recent inspection point has been hidden because the parsed entry didn't match the headline Ofsted rating (Inadequate). We're re-checking it against the original report.
- September 2025Inadequate
- March 2022Good
- January 2018Good
- August 2014Good
- November 2013Requires improvement
Frequently asked about Partou Sycamore House Day Nursery & Pre-School
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