Lynton House Day Nursery

A Georgian house, a large garden and room moves alongside familiar friends give Lynton House Day Nursery its character. Separate spaces serve babies, toddlers and preschool children, while outdoor play brings the ages together.

At its 9 August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding highly engaged children, close relationships with staff and education that supported their learning well. That is a dated judgement. The current offer includes care from three months to five years, with capacity for 60 children in total.

Baby diaries and coordinated room transitions support continuity. Full-day attendance and a shorter funded-hours-only day have different charging arrangements.

Rooms and Ages

Willows & Maples are the baby rooms, where sensory exploration and routines resembling those at home shape care; Elms combines toddler play with shared meals, communication and support for toilet training; Oaks adds more structured preschool activities, including language, mathematical thinking and imaginative play. These are different stages of the same progression, rather than a single programme applied across all ages.

The age bands are guides: babies are generally three months to two years, toddlers two to three, and preschool children three and over. Moves take place in January, May and September, so children can change rooms alongside peers they already know. Familiar relationships therefore remain part of the transition, rather than everything changing together.

The large outdoor area gives children contact with other age groups alongside their own room’s activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, with children developing skills through play, conversation and practical experiences. It is the common foundation for early years provision. At Lynton House, planning also follows children’s interests, while preschool activities combine freely chosen play with more structured learning.

Book of the Week gives children a choice in what they hear: during circle time, they vote for a book or an activity. Golden Rules are agreed by children and staff and cover everyday conduct, including tidying, indoor voices and walking indoors. These give children concrete ways to practise making decisions and understanding shared expectations.

Daily Yoga introduces self-regulation through breathing, movement, feelings and relaxation. Weekend News brings home experiences into conversations and planning, giving children something personal to contribute.

In August 2022, babies explored books by pointing at illustrations and trying simple words, while older children used books to investigate riddles. Physical activities included pushing wheeled toys up garden slopes, cutting tape to uncover objects and making letters with chalk. These examples show how movement, language and early writing were woven into play at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play continues in wet and dry weather, so children need suitable clothing throughout the seasons.

Visits to the residential home behind the nursery bring children and residents together for play and conversation. The inclusive private rate also covers enrichment that may include gardening, cooking, dance, language activities and minibus excursions. The possibilities extend to farms, garden centres and train outings, but these are examples of what may be included, rather than a fixed timetable of trips.

Relationships and Communication

The babies’ daily diary covers sleep, food, milk, nappies and activities. Parents can add developments from home and telephone for updates, helping information follow a baby between home and nursery.

Baby routines stay close to those at home. In August 2022, communication with key persons helped staff adjust these routines, while older children shared weekend news with friends.

Staff work with parents on toilet training when children are ready. Toddlers share meals and have time for rest and self-chosen play.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and coordinated support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with staff sharing information with other professionals and responding to gaps in learning. These findings belong to that inspection, rather than a fresh assessment of current practice.

The manager holds both the designated safeguarding lead and special educational needs coordinator roles. Current collection arrangements require advance notification and a password when someone different collects a child. Visitors sign in and remain accompanied, while office-controlled electronic door systems manage access to the building.

The nursery employs its own bank staff rather than using outside agencies. Its stated staffing ratios are one adult to three children under two, one to five for two-year-olds and one to eight for children aged three to five. These meet the relevant minimums; they are not an enhanced staffing offer or a measure of room size.

Food is cooked in the nursery kitchen by its cook, using an 11-day menu rotation, with vegetarian and dairy-free requirements accommodated. The allergy policy asks families of children with severe allergies to supply their food at a reduced daily rate, so this arrangement needs to be agreed for the individual child.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, closing for public and bank holidays and over Christmas and New Year, with the stated Christmas closure running from 24 December to 2 January.

Children must attend at least two days each week; two full days are the suggested booking for consistency. Private daily attendance includes a full-time Monday-to-Friday pattern and bookings of two to four days. Funded-hours-only attendance runs from 8am to 6pm and is a termly opt-in or opt-out arrangement, with two months’ notice required to change it.

The longer daily session lasts 11 hours, but only 10 can be claimed as funded time, so the extra hour is privately charged. Selecting the funded-hours-only window avoids that additional hour charge. Changes to ordinary attendance days require a month’s written notice and depend on whether the nursery can accommodate the request.

Getting There

The address is Lynton House, Epsom Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 1LJ. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01372 575040 or through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working-family funding is offered for children aged nine months to four years, alongside universal funding for three- and four-year-olds. The 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements are stretched across the nursery’s 51-week year, giving a consistent weekly allocation rather than restricting delivery to term time.

For private attendance, the inclusive fee covers meals and snacks, milk alternatives, nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream, as well as additional experiences. Families provide sun cream for children with allergies, and the severe-allergy food arrangement is separate from the usual inclusive meal provision.

Funded hours have a different structure: food, non-food consumables and activities beyond the curriculum are covered by a separate voluntary charge. The funded-hours-only option removes the additional private hour charge; the voluntary extras arrangement remains a separate consideration. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the funding and fees information explains the structure.

A payment made once a place is confirmed is credited against the final invoice. Fees are paid monthly in advance, with bank transfer, childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare accepted. Absence through sickness or holidays does not attract a refund, which matters when calculating the cost of a regular booking.

• The funded day has its own boundaries. Funded-hours-only attendance runs from 8am to 6pm, while the longer day includes an additional privately paid hour. At a visit, discuss which window fits your working pattern and how the voluntary extras charge operates.
• Consistency requires a regular booking. Attendance is at least two days a week, with two full days suggested. Consider whether that commitment works alongside your other childcare arrangements and the Christmas closure.
• Room moves follow a shared timetable. January, May and September transitions keep peers together, with ages treated as guides. Ask how your child’s readiness and familiar relationships will shape their move.
• Severe allergies change the food arrangement. Families supply food under the severe-allergy policy, with a reduced daily rate. Confirm current allergy practice and the individual arrangements during settling.

Lynton House suits families seeking regular full-day attendance or the shorter funded-hours-only pattern, with practical communication especially relevant to parents of babies. Daily diaries, peer-group room moves and a garden shared across ages give the offer substance beyond its Georgian setting.

The August 2022 Outstanding judgement provides a historical quality assessment. Families should weigh the regular attendance commitment and separate funded extras alongside the continuity offered between home and nursery.