The garden is enjoyed by all the children throughout the year. There is a large recently renovated outdoor area with impact-absorbing rubber play surfaces where the children can run around and play on the equipment, as well as a nature garden area. Children are able to play outside whatever the weather, all year round as we have a wonderful purpose-built wooden outdoor classroom structure providing shade and shelter. The pets corner at the Marmalade Cat houses our rabbit hutch and outside run.

            The well-protected pond teems with wildlife too - tadpoles, frogs and insects. We have a wonderful log-pile and a variety of ‘bug-hotels’ attracting a variety of beetles and mini-beasts to fascinate and occupy the children. Growing vegetables and flowers are really popular with the children. Staff members help children dig, weed, plant and water our plants and then best of all pick them for tasting and cooking. We have a visiting gardening expert who holds Gardening Club weekly with the older children throughout the year. Gardening and wildlife focused activities are planned in conjunction with children’s key workers, according to the growing seasons and children’s developmental stages. 

Parent Information


Care of the children
Outdoors
Pre-school room - tigers

The Marmalade Cat       Day Nursery 

Food

Outdoors

"Thank you for all your love and care, and for making the nursery our daughter's second home"

KH, Tring


We’ve got lots of space inside and out and use it for a huge variety of activities. There's a quiet sleep room for the babies, dressing up areas, craft areas, separate quiet areas for stories, reading and enjoying music. All the children enjoy weekly music and movement sessions with our visiting music teacher, gardening club and optional fun Spanish language sessions. The older children can choose books from the quiet room, enjoy time on the computer, craft activities, puzzles, construction or role play. We also take them on short excursions to local places of interest - like the museum, farm or nearby children’s centre.

Baby room - kittens

At the Marmalade Cat we have a broad and balanced curriculum, which is structured towards the social, emotional and intellectual development of each child. We always emphasise the development of independent life skills and confidence, and seek at all times to ensure each child's develops at their own rate. 

Staff in this room work closely together to deliver the curriculum and meet the needs of all the children. We recognise that if a child is in our care all day, they will need time for quiet reflective play, for boisterous play and time for playing in different friendship groups.

Our children are responsible for choosing many of their play activities, and we also have circle time to focus on their interests with reference to the EYFS curriculum. An introduction to numeracy and phonic awareness is experienced through games - learning is always fun in our nursery.

The staff in Kittens ensure that the needs of the babies are met at all times.
Babies need plenty of love and care, as well as a reassuring routine with sleep times, nappy times, time to play and time to go outside Staff use imaginative activities as learning experiences for the children.
As a team, they work closely together to address and meet the needs of each child by planning activities which will promote independence and further the children’s personal growth. Each individual baby’s stage of development will dictate their learning style and needs. Our babies are supported by their key worker, working in close partnership with parents.

Toddler room - cats

The children in Cats room will have many opportunities throughout their day to play. Play promotes all areas of their growth and development through a mixture of adult led and child initiated activities.  The children are encouraged to make decisions for themselves and are supported by the team in the room. Each day there are planned activities (e.g. looking for different coloured and shaped objects in a large tray of rice) which may involve a small group of children or working on a one-to-one basis.
The children also have the opportunity, on a very regular basis, to participate in local trips, e.g. visiting a local farm to see the animals.
Staff work in close partnership with parents and carers to ensure that the children have the very best learning experiences possible.  The role of the key worker is essential in establishing the needs of their children, to scaffold their learning and enhance their growth.

The pre-school room is situated right next to the kitchen… the children get used to the appetising smells, chopping and stirring and sizzling that accompany the preparation of our tasty meals. Our kitchen produces a wonderful menu of snacks and main meals, freshly prepared from scratch every day and eaten with relish by the little ones, according to their dietary needs/preferences. Our trained chef devises regular cooking sessions, encouraging our children to prepare vegetables and fruit, and  make pizzas, biscuits and buns –even our toddlers are budding chefs! Parents are sometimes lucky enough to sample the goodies when they are taken home for sharing!
Our food is of the highest quality, and all meat, fish, fruit and vegetables are bought fresh every week. Our children eat a variety of fresh home-baked breads every week, using flour sourced from the local mill.
Children are encouraged to try different flavours and textures in their food, and new dishes are introduced regularly. Each week children eat dishes made with fresh chicken or turkey, pork, beef or lamb, fish as well as a vegetarian dish.
We cater for vegans and vegetarians, for children with religious dietary requirements, and of course for children with food allergies.

 Our kitchen has the very highest Health & Safety Inspection rating.

We recognise the importance of nutrition and a developing palate in our children, and work closely in partnership with parents in this regard, listening to their comments and having regular taster evenings. Please click the button below to view our menus.