Mindful Nurseries, Addiscombe

Natural objects for play, an upstairs baby room and an under-the-stairs sensory nook give Mindful Nurseries, Addiscombe a recognisable character. Children can move between indoor activities and the garden, while babies have space for quieter routines. The emphasis is on exploration and growing independence.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The practical strengths include individual settling arrangements and hands-on learning, although opportunities to use home languages and time to answer adults’ questions needed attention.

Children are accepted from 3 months to 5 years. Full-day and half-day bookings run across the year, giving families a choice between longer attendance and shorter sessions.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room serves children aged 3 to 24 months, with sensory exploration, real-life resources and soft play upstairs, garden time when weather allows, and a sleep room for naps. Individual routines shape the day: some babies rest while others continue with quieter activities. That matters for families whose baby’s sleep pattern does not match a fixed group timetable.

Breakfast can bring babies together with older children downstairs before their upstairs routine begins. Later activities include early pretend play and messy art. These give the youngest children several ways to explore, rather than expecting them to join one activity together.

For older children, toddler spaces and preschool resources sit within the nursery’s mixed-age offer. A sensory room and the under-the-stairs sensory nook add alternatives to busier play. The nook is a retreat, while movement between indoors and outdoors gives children another choice about where to spend their time.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS framework guides learning through play, including children’s communication, physical skills and relationships. It is the common foundation for early years provision. Alongside it, The Curiosity Approach uses natural materials and everyday objects to encourage exploration. Here, that means children can investigate real things and choose activities, with planned experiences alongside their own interests.

In April 2025, staff used play dough differently according to each child’s learning needs: children explored textures, combined colours, made shapes and practised taking turns. One activity could therefore involve both physical skills and social learning. Adults also introduced words about shape and size during play, alongside counting and recognising numerals.

Books, rhymes and early mark-making featured in April 2025. Children discussed characters, joined songs and experimented with marks before formal writing. There was a clear language emphasis, but adults sometimes moved too quickly after asking questions. Children needed more thinking time before responding, and multilingual children needed more chances to hear and speak their home languages.

Outdoor and Community Life

Free movement between the garden and indoor spaces makes outdoor play part of the nursery’s everyday offer. In April 2025, children also tended plants and discussed the origins of fruit and vegetables. Gardening connected looking after something living with learning about food.

The nursery participates in HEYL, a scheme supporting early years health, wellbeing and development. Its themes include eating, oral health and physical health. This adds a named health programme alongside the practical independence that runs through the nursery day.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2025, settling arrangements were adjusted to each family and child, helping children get to know their key person and other adults. For a child beginning nursery, the useful detail is the flexibility: settling was shaped around the individual rather than treated as an identical process for everyone.

Parents and staff discussed learning together in April 2025, and families were encouraged to share what children did at home. This gave staff another way to connect activities with children’s interests. The exchange worked in both directions, with nursery learning and home experiences contributing to planning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified learning gaps, worked with other professionals to target support for children with SEND, reviewed their progress regularly and supported good progress, including for children learning English as an additional language. That is a positive dated judgement about how support worked in practice.

Babies received comfort and had room to move in April 2025. The current baby routine also allows sleep and quiet play to happen according to individual needs. For older children, everyday independence included preparing snacks with safety knives in April 2025, alongside learning when and why to wash their hands.

Vegetarian and pescatarian meals are included in private fees, and baby meals accommodate different dietary stages, including purées and finger foods. For parent-supplied meals, the food policy prohibits nuts and nut products, requires detailed labelling and allows allergen restrictions to change according to current needs.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm and operates for 51 weeks of the year. Full-day and half-day bookings are offered throughout the year. It closes on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas, so those breaks need to sit within the family’s childcare planning.

Getting There

The address is Lamberts Place, Croydon, CR0 2BR. On-site parking for dropping children off and a buggy park provide practical options for families travelling with young children.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0203 848 9740 or by email to addiscombe@mindfulnurseries.com. Direct Debit is an accepted payment method, alongside Tax-Free Childcare accounts and vouchers from most providers.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is accepted. An Addiscombe offer combines 30 hour funding for two- and three-year-olds only with two full days or four half days, subject to eligibility, availability and its terms. Additional paid hours are kept separate from funded entitlement on invoices.

Private fees include meals, nappies and wipes. For funded hours, food and hygiene consumables are charged separately, with optional enrichment also itemised; the charges policy sets out the arrangements. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Families can request to opt out of individual bundle elements each term, with requests due 10–15 working days before the new term and management review required. Parents choosing to supply nappies and wipes must bring the day’s supply and take unused items home; an emergency charge applies if nursery supplies are needed. Parent-provided food is not reheated, and opting out of enrichment can involve supplying materials and taking them home daily. After an enrichment opt-out, parallel core provision may not always be possible. Where suitable provision cannot reasonably be delivered, the policy allows a different funded attendance day subject to availability, an alternative EYFS core activity or an occasional charge waiver.

• Language development. In April 2025, children needed more opportunities to use their home languages and more time to answer questions. At a show-around, ask how staff now build both into daily activities, especially if your child is multilingual.
• Baby routines and mixed-age time. Babies have an upstairs routine, while breakfast can be shared downstairs with older children. The Addiscombe show-around lasts 30 minutes; use it to discuss how your baby’s sleep, meals and play fit those arrangements.
• Funded extras and opt-outs. Funded hours carry separate food, consumables and optional enrichment charges, with termly opt-out conditions. Consider whether supplying daily items and collecting them again fits your routine.
• Food allergies. Parent-supplied meals face labelling and allergen rules, and restrictions can change with current needs. Allergy-affected families should confirm the arrangements for their child before attendance.

Mindful Nurseries, Addiscombe suits families choosing either full-day attendance or half-day sessions who value exploratory play, garden access and attention to a baby’s individual routine. Natural resources and the sensory nook give that approach a concrete setting.

The Good judgement from April 2025 supports a positive assessment, with language practice the clearest area requiring attention. For families using funded hours, the separate extras and opt-out arrangements are an equally important part of the decision.