General Information
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About Us
Originally established in July 1997 St Mary’s Pre-school was a registered charity until becoming a Private Limited Company in 2018. We have continued to work passionately to maintain our high standards in every area and aspect of early care and education and we are extremely proud of our setting.
In July 2021 we were delighted to have attained the gold standard of The Herts for Learning Early Years Quality Standards Award Scheme.
In July 2022 we were graded ‘Good in all areas’ by Ofsted.
Opening Hours
We are open Monday-Friday during school term times, 11:45am – 3:30 pm.
If your child attends the Nursery class then their school day is split between Nursery and ourselves and their school day will be 08:45am to 3:30pm.
Age Range
St Mary’s Pre-school accepts children aged from two years six months to five years old, and we are registered to take up to 24 children in any one session. Children may start any time after they turn two and a half and stay until the time they leave to join a full time school Reception class.
We act as a wrap-around service for the Nursery class of St Mary’s Primary school. If your child turns 4 years old during the academic year between 1st September and 31st August they may join the Nursery class at the Primary school in the September of that year. Their opening hours are 08:45am to 11:45am, and at 11:45am our team takes over the classroom to set up for lunch time. We then have our afternoon session finishing at 3:30pm.
We accept the Government 2-year, 3&4-year, and 30-hour funding for eligible families. We always ensure that our curriculum and planning is suitably adapted to meet the learning and development needs of each child.
Term Dates
Academic Year 2026/27
In 2026/27, schools have 5 staff inset days and 1 occasional day on which to close the school. These are all taken during the school terms template issued by Hertfordshire County Council.
Autumn term 2026
- Tuesday 1st September – Staff inset day (1)
- Wednesday 2nd September – pupils return
- Monday 26th October to Friday 30th October – Half term break
- Monday 30th November – Occasional Day – school closed
- Friday 18th December – Last day of term
Spring term 2027
- Monday 4th January – Staff inset day (2)
- Tuesday 5th January – pupils return
- Monday 15th February to Friday 19th February – Half term break
- Thursday 25th March – Last day of term
Summer term 2027
- Monday 12th April – pupils return
- Monday 3rd May – Bank holiday – school closed
- Monday 31st May to Friday 4th June – Half term break
- Monday 7th June – Staff inset day (3)
- Tuesday 20th July – Last day of term
- Wednesday 21st July – Staff inset day (4)
- Thursday 22nd July – Staff inset day (5)
Fees and Funding
Our fees for 2026-27 are as follows:
- Lunch Club – 11.45am to 12.30pm – £6.50 per session.
- Afternoon Pre-school session – 12.30pm to 3.30pm – £23.50 per session.
- Healthy Snack – .50p per afternoon session (optional)
In addition, we ask for a non-refundable registration fee of £25.00 which includes a school bag, your subscription to your child’s digital Tapestry photo journal, and the initial administration set up costs. Some families may be exempt from certain fees, please contact us for further information.
We offer a mixture of privately paid and funded sessions for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
All places are subject to availability.
We are registered with Hertfordshire County Council and can offer funded places for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Universal 15-hour funded places for 3-4 year olds are available from the term after a child’s 3rd birthday.
We also offer the Government 30-hour funding for eligible working families of 3-4 year olds, this is offered in conjunction with St Mary’s C of E Primary School. The first 15 hours per week of funding is allocated to St Mary’s Primary School, from 8:45am to 11:45am. The remaining 15 hours of funding can be used to provide sessions in the afternoons. As our sessions are 3.75 hours per day, 11:45am to 3:30pm, this amounts to 4 afternoon sessions per week to total 15 hours. If all 5 days are required the 3-hour daily educational sessions will be covered by government funding and our daily lunch clubs will be charged at the above rates.
If your child is eligible for funding there are no additional compulsory charges as long as you do not exceed their eligible 15/30 hours limit with Pre-school, or the 30 hour limit if also attending St Mary’s Nursery class. You will be offered the choice of paying .50p per day for your child’s healthy afternoon snack, or you may opt to provide your own healthy afternoon snack for your child. If your child is in nappies we expect you to provide a small supply of your child’s nappies, wipes, and nappy sacks in their Pre-school drawstring bag which we provide. This will be sent home daily to be re-stocked. During summer months you will be expected to provide your child with a named bottle of suncream for their own use.
We are happy to share your child’s funded hours with another setting, such as another Pre-school or childminder etc, as long as they are also in agreement. The funded hours will be split between the two settings and will need to be agreed in advance. If your total number of funded hours exceeds their eligible limit then we must agree in advance how the funding and private payments will be split.
We accept payments using the tax-free childcare scheme for working families. If you are eligible, this scheme offers a 20% Government contribution for childcare fees via your childcare account.
Further details on funding can be found on the following link.
https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Registering Your Child
If you would like to apply for a Pre-school place, please contact us to request an application form. Early registration is recommended. We also strongly recommend you come along to meet us and view the facilities and resources that we offer. This would also provide an opportunity to answer any questions you may have or discuss any individual needs.
Book a tour
Please call us on 07535 184017 between 11:45am and 3:30pm Monday to Friday to book a tour of our Pre-school.
St Mary’s C of E (VA) Primary School
Although closely affiliated with St Mary’s C of E (VA) Primary School, the Pre-school functions as a completely separate organisation. Please note that children attending the Pre-school are not in any way guaranteed a place at St Mary’s Nursery, which is part of St Mary’s C of E (VA) Primary School and has its own admissions procedures. For further information on the Nursery and School, click on the link below: http://www.stmarys916.herts.sch.uk/
We work with St Mary’s Primary School to offer prospective parent/carer tours of the whole of the Primary School, and we also offer ‘stay and play’ events on some Saturdays throughout the year. Details are advertised on the school’s website and their Facebook page.