Kindred Enfield Nursery & Pre-school

A toddler garden with a mud kitchen and climbing frame, herbs and vegetables to grow, and cinnamon-scented playdough give Kindred Enfield a recognisable character. Practical exploration runs through the day. Children can investigate outdoors, handle different textures and retreat to quiet spaces with books and teddy bears.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, while identifying outdoor learning and communication about children's next learning steps as areas to improve. That judgement is dated. The current offer includes gardening, cooking activities and opportunities for families to take part in nursery life.

At 79 Southbury Road, Enfield, EN1 1PJ, the nursery has capacity for 38 children, accepting ages from 3 months up to 5 years. Full days and half days are offered, with both year-round and term-time attendance options.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the EYFS: exploring materials is one way children learn here. In April 2022, conversations helped develop language, babies practised feeding themselves, and older children helped with snack-time jobs. Those examples make the educational purpose tangible: everyday routines gave children opportunities to practise independence.

Current creative activities include feather-filled playdough, dough scented with vanilla or cinnamon, and cloud dough. These give children different materials to handle and investigate. Books, lending libraries and quieter spaces add another pace to the day, making room for reading alongside more active play.

Gardening Club connects with growing flowers, herbs, vegetables and sunflowers. Children help care for plants, giving them a practical way to explore the natural world. Little Chefs Club links cooking with choosing ingredients, including outings to Tesco’s Little Chefs Club. The connection between shopping and cooking gives an activity a purpose children can follow from ingredient to preparation.

In April 2022, staff developed vocabulary while children explored sensory materials and made playdough. Comparing flour with salt brought descriptive language into an activity children could touch. Mathematical language also arose during play: children counted and compared sizes while making clothing for dinosaurs, and discussed speed during bicycle races.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden is a substantial part of the offer. In the toddler garden, a climbing frame supports climbing and a mud kitchen provides opportunities for imaginative play. Children go outside at least twice a day, with the nursery aiming to make further use of the garden whenever possible.

In suitable weather, outdoor meals may include tea in the garden or a teddy bears’ picnic. Outings also include nearby parks. These experiences extend the day beyond the indoor activity spaces, although families choosing chiefly for outdoor learning should give the April 2022 improvement point proper weight.

At that time, access to gardens supported physical activity, including bicycles and large-scale painting. However, the learning planned outdoors did not consistently meet the needs of children who preferred playing there. Access and educational purpose are separate considerations: a garden needs activities that develop children's interests as well as space to move.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with the child and family. The first session usually lasts one hour, with a parent or carer joining the child in their room and completing an All About Me form. Routines, preferences and individual needs can then shape the transition into nursery.

Later sessions gradually lengthen separation: around one hour, then one and a half hours, followed by two to three hours. The nursery adapts this progression when a child needs more time.

Key workers support activities and children's next learning steps. Daily handovers give parents time to exchange information, while parent evenings, workshops and new parent events offer longer opportunities for discussion. Toilet training is one workshop topic. Staff speaking several languages can also help communication with families whose first language is not English.

Summer parties, garden stay-and-play sessions, story time and Nativity performances bring families into nursery life. These offer different ways to participate, from sharing an activity with a child to meeting other parents. In April 2022, parents received information about care routines, but staff did not share children's next learning steps to help families support development at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities good, with staff collaborating with agencies supporting the children. These are inspection-time findings, rather than a present-day assurance.

The current daily routine includes rest or sleep for younger children after lunch. Children who no longer nap have calm activities and free play instead. Quiet areas provide another option during the day, so the timetable includes opportunities to slow down as well as to take part.

Fresh meals are cooked each day by an on-site chef using an accredited menu. For privately paid care, meals and snacks are included in the fee, alongside nappies, wipes, milk and formula; funded-hours charges are treated separately below.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day sessions run from 08:00 to 18:00. Half Day attendance has two options: 08:00 to 13:00 or 13:00 to 18:00. An early start runs from 07:30 to 08:00, adding care before the standard nursery day.

Year-round attendance covers 51 weeks, while the term-time option covers 38 weeks. The nursery closes over Christmas and New Year. Year-round fees are spread into regular monthly payments; term-time invoices vary with attendance, affecting how families budget for care.

The usual opening window is 08:00 to 18:00, with the early start from 07:30. The daily timetable also gives a later closing time, so that discrepancy deserves clarification before a family relies on evening collection arrangements.

Getting There

The address is 79 Southbury Road, Enfield, EN1 1PJ, and the nursery is a 6 minute walk from Enfield Town Station. Nursery parking and a buggy store give families options for leaving a pushchair or travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

The funding options include 30 Hour Funding for eligible working families with children up to 5 years, starting from the term after a child turns 9 months, and 15 Hour Funding for children up to 5 years from the term after their third birthday; funded hours are applied to the booking pattern with a maximum of 10 hours a day. Both term-time and stretched year-round arrangements are offered, so the annual pattern affects how the entitlement is used across the weeks of attendance.

On funded hours, food, non-food consumables and activities have separate charges. This differs from privately paid care, where meals, snacks, nappies, wipes, milk and formula are included. Families wishing to decline consumables alongside funded hours must notify the nursery in writing, with the next steps then arranged through the manager.

There is no registration fee or deposit. A pre-payment is required and credited against the first full invoice, so it is useful to distinguish that payment from an additional joining charge. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Outdoor learning. In April 2022, activities outside did not consistently suit children who preferred learning there. During a visit, ask how Gardening Club and other garden activities now build on individual children's interests.
• Learning information for parents. Sharing children's next learning steps was an April 2022 improvement point. Ask for an example of how current handovers or parent meetings explain what families can support at home.
• Collection time. Standard hours and Full Day sessions end at 18:00, but the daily timetable gives 18:30 as closing time. Clarify the collection arrangement before planning an evening commute around it.
• Funded-hours extras. Food, non-food items and activities attract separate charges during funded care. Discuss the written opt-out arrangements alongside the proposed booking pattern so the quotation matches what your family intends to use.

Kindred Enfield suits families seeking either full-day attendance or morning and afternoon half days, with a further choice between term-time and year-round care. Its strongest current details are concrete: planting and cooking activities, a toddler garden equipped for climbing and imaginative play, and a gradual settling process shaped around the child.

The April 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, with two clear questions to carry into a visit: how outdoor learning is planned and how children's next steps reach parents. The session range gives families useful choices; the closing-time discrepancy and funded extras need resolving when agreeing the practical arrangement.