Montessori by Busy Bees Enfield

Balance boards in the garden and animal toys paired with Dear Zoo give this Baker Street nursery a concrete character: movement, stories and conversation shaped its August 2024 day. Montessori by Busy Bees Enfield has capacity for 68 children, accepting ages from 3 to 60 months.

At its 21 August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest practical examples concerned relationships, language and physical play; the improvement priorities concerned learning challenge and mathematics.

In August 2024, children practised jumping and judging space using balance boards outdoors, while babies learning to walk explored the garden with adult help. Indoors, dough and threading gave children practice using their fingers. These were different routes into physical development, rather than a day built around sitting still.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, its everyday expression included conversation, stories, movement and play. In August 2024, planning considered children's next learning steps, alongside their interests. At the sand table, a conversation about a seaside trip connected play with children's memories and sun protection.

Dear Zoo became an activity as well as a story that month: younger children matched toy animals with the book's pictures. Older children also sought out stories after active outdoor play. Books provided both participation and quieter time.

The August 2024 inspection identified two priorities: activities needed to stretch learning further across the rooms, and mathematical language needed greater attention to measurement and quantity. Counting resources was already part of play. The next step was to develop the thinking beyond counting, with clearer learning intentions for activities, including those involving babies outdoors.

In August 2024, settling arrangements could adapt to families, and children developed close relationships with staff. That flexibility matters when a child needs time to become comfortable with unfamiliar adults and routines.

Everyday care also encouraged independence that month. Children practised handwashing and wiping their noses, connecting personal care with things they could learn to do themselves. Meals and snacks were freshly prepared, and children drank water.

The address is 466-468 Baker Street, Enfield, EN1 3QS. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

In August 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That dated position should be kept separate from a family's current funding and attendance agreement.

• Learning challenge. The August 2024 priorities concerned stretching activities and developing mathematics. During a visit, ask how staff now extend an activity when a child has already mastered its first step.
• Settling pace. Flexible settling was part of care in August 2024. Discuss how that flexibility would work for your child's first days.
• Funding agreement. Funded education covered two-, three- and four-year-olds in August 2024. What would your proposed attendance agreement include for funded hours, meals and non-food consumables?

This suits families seeking year-round weekday care who value stories, conversation and active play. The August 2024 examples make those priorities tangible. Learning challenge remains the key point to explore, especially for a child ready to move beyond an activity's initial task.