Olive Tree Day Nursery & Preschool

In June 2025, water, dough and early conversations gave this Croydon nursery's youngest children a hands-on introduction to learning. At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Olive Tree Day Nursery & Preschool Good and judged safeguarding effective. The setting accepts children aged 3 to 60 months.

The inspection picture combines purposeful activities with two clear areas for development: calmer changes between activities and more consistent help with children's emotions. Those details matter as much as the overall grade.

In June 2025, babies explored leaves in water and manipulated dough, while toddlers handled sand, buckets and tools. These activities gave younger children opportunities to explore textures and practise small hand movements. Older children worked on literacy and explored how exercise and food affect their bodies.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, June 2025 examples included counting, recognising patterns and shapes, and beginning to understand time: learning brought into practical activities.

During that month, staff built activities around children's interests and existing knowledge. Conversations, songs and shared stories supported language practice; babies exchanged sounds with adults. Cultural and religious celebrations, alongside trips, introduced children to experiences beyond their immediate routines.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children made good progress and received effective support for special educational needs and disabilities, including collaboration with families, contributions to education, health and care plans, and work with the local authority inclusion team.

In June 2025, a key-person arrangement helped children develop familiar relationships, while staff exchanged information with parents about their wellbeing. Additional funding supported resources for use both at nursery and at home. Recruitment checks, induction and ongoing staff supervision were also in place.

Emotional support was less consistent. In June 2025, some upset children received insufficient help to understand their feelings or the effect of their actions on others. Busy changes between activities, especially in preschool, also reduced opportunities for children to take responsibility for practical tasks.

The address is City House, 420 London Road, Croydon, CR0 2NU. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

In June 2025, the nursery provided government-funded childcare and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. This is a dated account of participation rather than a promise of a particular funded attendance arrangement.

• Preschool routines. In June 2025, changes between activities became noisy and gave children too little responsibility for helping with tasks. Calmer routines would give independence more room to develop.
• Help with emotions. The June 2025 findings identified uneven responses when children became upset or disruptive. Consistency matters for children learning to express feelings and understand others.
• Attendance planning. The nursery opens across the year between 8am and 6pm on weekdays. Which booking pattern and funded-hours arrangement would fit your family's needs?

Olive Tree suits families seeking care for younger children through to preschool age, with weekday opening across the year. Its June 2025 strengths were practical learning, familiar adult relationships and individual support. The balance rests on everyday routines too: emotional guidance and preschool transitions deserve attention alongside the Good judgement.