About us
An old house, a big garden and a lot of wellies.
Margaret Ellis opened Hollyhock House in 2009 in a Victorian house on Orchard Lane, named after the hollyhocks by the front door. It’s still independent and still run by her.
We’re not part of a chain and we don’t want to be. We’d rather know every family by name, keep our staff for years and spend the money on a cook and a garden than on head office. Eighteen of us look after up to 48 children a day.
The veg beds behind the house
One
Outside every day
Rain, wind or sun, every child gets time in the garden every day. That’s what the waterproofs are for.
Two
One key person
Each child has one grown-up who knows them best, does most of their care and talks to you every day.
Three
Food made here
Our cook makes breakfast, lunch and tea in our own kitchen, with vegetables from the beds when we have them.
The team
The grown-ups your child will spend their day with.
Manager and founder
Margaret Ellis
Room
Whole nursery
Qualified
[Qualification, e.g. Early Years Teacher Status]
Loves
Planting seeds in the veg beds every spring
Deputy manager and SENCo
Amira Haddad
Room
Whole nursery
Qualified
[Qualification, e.g. Level 5 in Early Years]
Loves
Cornflour gloop, the messier the better
Forest-school lead
Tom Whitlow
Room
Sunflowers
Qualified
[Forest-school qualification]
Loves
Building dens out of fallen branches
Room leader
Josie Barker
Room
Buttercups
Qualified
[Level 3 Early Years Educator]
Loves
Treasure baskets and singing at nap time
Room leader
Hannah Pryor
Room
Bluebells
Qualified
[Level 3 Early Years Educator]
Loves
Jumping in puddles, wellies optional
Room leader
Priya Nair
Room
Sunflowers
Qualified
[Qualified teacher status]
Loves
Reading stories in very silly voices
Inspection
Ofsted rating: [your rating]
Last inspected [month, year]. Unique reference number (URN) [000000]. Replace these placeholders with your own details and link to your full report.
Registered for
[48] children aged 0 to 5
Paediatric first aid
[All staff, renewed every 3 years]
Policies
Read how we work.
Safeguarding and child protection
PDF →
Behaviour
PDF →
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
PDF →
Health, illness and medicines
PDF →
Complaints
PDF →
Privacy notice
PDF →
Come and see us
The best way to choose a nursery is to visit one.
Look round with your little one, meet the room leaders and ask anything you like. Visits take about 45 minutes, any weekday.