Cookham Dean Nursery

Cookham Dean Nursery (Tythe Barn) was our first nursery to open in 1991. It is located in the safe and secure grounds of a private house in the Dean and is surrounded by beautiful open countryside and away from main roads. It is a small, friendly 24 place nursery – our baby room cares for 6 children, toddler room 6 and pre-school 12 children.

Sarah Letton - Manager 

Sarah qualified in 2001 and has been Manager at Cookham Dean since November 2006; she has many years' experience in day-care settings and trained at our nursery in Burnham. Sarah very much enjoys her time with the children. Since qualifying Sarah has kept her knowledge of childcare up to date and has attended many courses, including Safeguarding Children, Health & Safety, First Aid and Behaviour Management.

What Sarah says about her nursery ....

"Our unique 24 place nursery creates a home from home environment for the children in our care. We are within walking distance of the local woods and the turkey farm, which are fantastic adventures for the children. We are also very lucky to have use of the garden to the rear of the main house, where the children can enjoy nature walks and a vegetable patch.

Our small groups allow our creative team to plan a range of marvellous opportunities for the children to experience and ensure that they are getting the very best out of what we provide. The staff and parents have worked hard to develop an effective partnership, including introducing Parent to Nursery days and other family events such as an annual fun day and Christmas concert!

 All the children go into the garden twice a day. The pre-school children room experience outdoor activities, such as water channels, balls, hoops, investigation equipment, balance beams, building blocks, sand, weaving and a nature area.

The babies' and toddlers' outdoor area is separate to that of the pre-school children. The toddlers love to put on their puddle duck suits and wellies to splash in the puddles! They have access to a sand tray, a climbing cube, ride along toys and are able to mark make on low level clipboards, using a variety of materials. Babies can enjoy the comfort of soft play mats and a picnic blanket whilst outside."

Opening Hours

We are open 7.45am until 6pm Monday to Friday and close for Bank Holidays and for one week at Christmas.

We provide childcare on a full or part time basis. Parents can choose full or half day sessions according to what best suits their needs (subject to availability and ½ days at the Manager’s discretion).

Morning session 7.45am - 12.30pm       Afternoon 1.30pm - 6.00pm        Full Day 7.45am - 6.00pm 

Feedback from Parents

“Thanks again for the wonderful care you are giving XX and for your patience with him. It is so important for me to know he is well cared for and loved when away from home – I'm sure most parents say that!”

“If I haven't said before I wanted to say how great it is to see the pictures of what you have been doing as it really gives me a great understanding of what she is up to in a given day - so thank you!”

Feedback from “Parent to Nursery Day”

“I was pleased to see such a variety in the activities/learning and development for the children. It was great to see the staff being so aware of each child and their input where necessary, each child was given encouragement to ensure they contributed/learned from the activity. I was just so impressed with the staff's level of awareness of each individual child and how well they meet each child's needs”.

Ofsted Report 2011

"The staff take great pride in helping and supporting the children develop and learn.  Consideration is given to their individual needs and in evaluating the activities, allowing the staf to provide for their continuous progression".

"The staff plan a wide range of interesting activities, whilst encouraging the children to take the lead during play.  For example, the children wanted to go to the moon so they designed and made a large rocket.  As a team, they made a decision about whether to add windows, a control panel and steps.  They then made consideration to the food they would take with them and so they made 'moon biscuits', whilst carefully measuring and weighing the ingredients".

"... the children display a strong sense of contentment and security.  They are confident to confide in adults, as they share a warm and affectionate relationship".

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