Banana Moon Day Nursery Croydon

A separate sleep room, a natural adventure area and food cooked in an on-site kitchen give Banana Moon Day Nursery Croydon a practical character: rest, outdoor movement and meals each have a clear place in the day. This Whitestone Way nursery takes children from three months to five years and has 73 places in total. The youngest children share the Babies & Teenie Moons provision, followed by Mini Moons and Full Moons.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) received good support through staff working with other agencies. That assessment also carried clear improvement points: coordination between practitioners, responses to parents’ concerns and the consistency of teaching oversight needed attention. Those qualifications matter alongside the grade.

Full days and separate morning and afternoon sessions give families different attendance options. The strongest current practical details are the gradual settling process, a dedicated place for babies to sleep and the Parent App, which connects daily routines with learning updates.

Rooms and Ages

Babies & Teenie Moons brings together children under two in a calm setting for the youngest age group; the baby-stage emphasis includes sensory exploration through texture, colour and shape. Movement between baby stages depends on confident mobility, rather than a stated birthday alone. That gives parents a useful developmental reference for understanding the early progression.

Mini Moons, for children aged two to three, encourages independence through choosing activities and potty training, with spare clothing brought from home.

Full Moons serves children from three onwards, emphasising play, activity choices and preparation for school; a key person observes development and records progress to guide individual learning.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the statutory framework for early learning and care: here, children learn through play, with adults observing their interests and development to decide what comes next. It is the common foundation for provision, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery.

The group-wide Banana Moon Early Learning & Development Programme uses children’s interests to plan play and the learning environment. Its principles include child development, wellbeing and supporting parents, as explained in the curriculum overview.

In July 2023, children explored fruit through conversation about its appearance and feel, while number activities involved matching discs and pegs and comparing length. These examples show how talk and mathematical ideas could sit inside hands-on play. Adults asked questions and allowed children time to answer, rather than filling every pause themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play across the year uses the playground and natural adventure area for movement and exploration.

In July 2023, children cycled, balanced and climbed in the garden; older children built with foam blocks and played with balls, while babies received help with their first steps.

A summer fundraising fayre brought families together for games and stalls in support of CAYSH, the local charity helping young homeless people. The proceeds went to the charity.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows a gradual three-day introduction. On the first day, a parent stays for an hour and meets the keyworker; staff also gather information about the child’s preferences and development. The second visit lasts two hours with the parent away, and the third lasts three hours. Further settling sessions are free if a child needs more time. The sequence gives families a defined starting plan with room to extend it.

Contact continues during settling through telephone calls and messages to the keyworker in the Parent App. The group-wide app also shares sleep, snacks, learning observations and photographs, and allows feedback from home. Learning journals help connect the day’s experiences with the child’s next steps. For parents, the value lies in seeing both the routine and the learning, rather than receiving photographs alone.

Communication deserves careful attention, however. In July 2023, parents received progress updates, but staff and managers did not respond consistently when families raised concerns about care or learning. The app provides a communication channel; it does not, by itself, settle that finding about how concerns were handled.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The dedicated sleep room has wooden cots and gentle lighting, with individual bedding laundered on site. Staff make regular checks, CCTV covers the room, and established home sleep routines guide the arrangements. A separate resting space allows babies’ sleep to be planned apart from active play. The reception also houses a CardiAid automated external defibrillator, installed through the network-wide Little hearts, bright futures initiative and accessible to the local community.

In July 2023, support for children with SEND involved collaboration with agencies already involved in their care and learning. Staff also used information gathered from parents to plan children’s next learning steps. For families needing additional support, that describes a specific way of working rather than a blanket promise about provision.

Entry uses fingerprint recognition for authorised adults, while other visitors wait for a staff member to admit them; CCTV operates across the nursery. These are access arrangements, not a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement. In July 2023, the improvement work also included better coordination during meals and outdoor routines, and more effective oversight of practitioners’ teaching.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 394 Whitestone Way, Croydon, CR0 4FJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with operation across 51 weeks and closures for bank holidays and a Christmas week.

The booking patterns are a full day from 7.30am to 6.30pm, AM from 7.30am to 1pm and PM from 1pm to 6.30pm. The nursery recommends one full day or two half-day sessions each week. This is a recommendation, rather than a stated compulsory minimum, and the separate sessions make a meaningful difference for families whose childcare needs cover only part of the day.

Fees remain payable during a child’s sickness or holiday absence, and billing includes bank holidays. Families should factor those terms into the cost of their intended attendance pattern. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0203 876 7551 or through the contact form.

Getting There

Parking in the bays in front of the nursery requires a permit requested from the office. That condition matters even for a short collection or drop-off stop.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid childcare. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the fees page provides the enquiry route for fees and funding.

Snacks and meals are included in nursery fees. Food is cooked in the on-site kitchen, with two hot meals daily, a separate weaning menu for younger babies and menus changed frequently; the nursery’s dietary policy provides for allergies and other dietary needs.

• Communication and teaching consistency. The July 2023 improvement points covered practitioners’ coordination, responses to parents’ concerns and monitoring of teaching. At a visit, ask how room teams organise routine changes and how a concern is followed through to a response.
• Settling around your schedule. The introduction progresses from an hour with a parent to longer visits without them, with additional sessions free when needed. The staged visits require time alongside your working commitments.
• The full attendance cost. Meals and snacks are included in fees, while sickness and holiday absences remain payable. For your proposed funded pattern, what entitlement and delivery arrangement applies, and how are meals and non-food consumables treated in the written quotation?
• Food allergies. The dietary policy covers allergies and individual requirements, with a separate baby weaning menu. Allergy-affected families should confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before agreeing a care plan.

Banana Moon Croydon suits families choosing either full-day attendance or separate morning and afternoon sessions, especially those who value a staged introduction and a dedicated sleeping space for babies. Daily outdoor play, food prepared on site and app-based learning updates give the offer practical substance.

The July 2023 Good judgement sits alongside improvement points that affect everyday family experience: consistent teaching, staff coordination and the handling of concerns. The facilities and communication tools are useful; the quality of the relationships and responses around them deserves equal weight in the decision.