Welcome to Jesters Nursery in beautiful rural Bicknacre

We are thrilled with how our beautiful natural cedar wood Nursery, with dedicated separate cosy Baby Cottage and Baby Nook in Bicknacre has supported local families with childcare for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers from 0-5 years since 2017.

A home from home environment
This “little” nursery provides the perfect home from home environment with our team specialising in nurturing babies and under 3s. The children spend their influential, formative years focusing on care, wellbeing, curiosity and learning through play and we expertly transition pre-schoolers to our Danbury Nursery School to prepare for more formal education.

Fully integrated co-location Nursery and Nursery School
Jesters are blessed to have two nursery settings in the adjacent villages of Bicknacre and Danbury that provide for natural transitions. In June 2024, to make most of our location, our unique School Readiness Programme and also rise to the demand of further Government funded places, we decided to join the two settings to continually bring out the expertise in both these settings and further our offer for all- for the benefit of our children and families.

Jesters Bicknacre Nursery and Jesters Danbury Nursery School better meets the needs of the children’s age and stage of development with the deployment of our teams in a more targeted manner with one fully integrated early years provision, co-located over two sites.

Jesters Danbury Nursery School – the home of School Readiness
Jesters Danbury capitalises on and dedicates itself to our School Readiness Programme, operating as a distinct and exceptional satellite Nursery School, preparing our pre-schoolers for the transition to primary education. We welcome both Jesters Bicknacre children transitioning up and new children wanting to gain the best start on their journey to primary school.

Our vision is ‘Building Futures for the Next Generation’ and we are so excited that this collaboration will build on our excellent reputation. We have always promoted aspirational visions and our ethos is influenced by contemporary and forward thinking, to be at the forefront of modern practice and to complement our already successful ‘Hybrid approach’ to childcare, learning, development and welfare.

Continued journey
Our Bicknacre Nursery setting is nestled alongside our long-standing Kids Club- for Breakfast, After School and Holiday childcare for 4-12 year olds providing continuous high quality childcare. Many of our Kids Club children we have known since joining us as babies and it’s a privilege to continue to be part of their journey.

Bicknacre Nursery had our very first Ofsted inspection in May 2022 and are extremely proud to have received an OUTSTANDING rating. We are delighted that it showcases what this wonderful setting has to offer.

As you can see there are 5 areas of Inspection that are given judgements (including Overall Effectiveness). Crucially, all 5 must deliver 2 Statutory cornerstones; Learning & Development and Safeguarding.

Here are just a few highlights from many, arising from our Inspection on the 19th May.

“What is it like to attend this early years setting? The provision is outstanding.”

“Children are at the centre of practice at this inspiring nursery.”

“Children’s emotional needs have been prioritised.”

“The environment is carefully organised to be rich in possibilities.”

“All children display high levels of independence – encouraged to make choices.”

“Children’s curiosity develops even further when outdoors in all weathers.”

“Staff expertly extend each child’s thinking, which ignites their spark to learn more.”

Read the full report here >

On top of this, we are also delighted to have been selected as one of the TOP 20 NURSERIES 2022 in the whole East of England by the highly regarded daynurseries.co.uk. This is a thrilling accolade and our heartfelt gratitude goes out to our amazing families for not only recognising the commitment to our Vision, to build futures for the next generation, but also for sharing their experiences with the wider community.

If we’ve ‘ignited your spark to learn more’ about Jesters too, why not book your showaround visit?

Come and see why we’re a TOP 20, OUTSTANDING setting and learn about our exceptional School Readiness Programme which see children transition seamlessly to our Danbury Nursery School preparing for formal education…

Email: bicknacrenursery@jesterskids.org
Tel: 01245 222865