The Blackheath Day Nursery

Green space gives The Blackheath Day Nursery its character: a playground within the Blackheath Sports Club grounds, seasonal access to the field and Forest School for preschool children at certain points in the year. Outdoor learning has a clear place alongside indoor play. This is a setting for families who value room to move and opportunities to explore nature.

At its January 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that children made excellent progress through ambitious teaching and purposeful play. That judgement belongs to that visit. The current offer accepts children from 3 months to 5 years, with named age groups running from Tiny Stars to Shooting Stars.

Full-day attendance has a minimum booking of two days each week. The practical attraction is continuity across school holidays, with a gradual settling period before the start date rather than an immediate move into the usual attendance routine.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Stars covers 5–18 months; Bright Stars takes children from 18 months to 2 years; Shining Stars covers 2–3 years; and Shooting Stars is for children aged 3–5. These stages give parents a useful outline of how children move through the nursery, while the overall accepted age range begins at 3 months.

Separate rooms serve babies and preschool children, and equipment and decoration are chosen for each age group. The building also has a playground within the sports grounds. For families comparing settings, the combination of age-based indoor space and outdoor access matters more than the room names alone.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the required framework for learning through play, conversation, movement and adult-guided activities. It covers children's communication, physical and social development alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. It is the common foundation for early years provision; Forest School adds opportunities for preschool children to explore nature at certain times of year.

In January 2022, learning included small-group and larger-group stories and discussions, with activities planned around children's interests and care needs. Older children drew body parts, practised forming letters and discussed a story about digestion. The connection between talking, listening and making marks gave school preparation a concrete shape, rather than reducing it to practising handwriting.

Toddlers explored their own features with mirrors in January 2022, while adults introduced vocabulary and allowed time for answers. Toothbrushing also became a subject for conversation. These examples show how everyday experiences could become opportunities to develop language and understand personal care.

Creativity was practical, too. In January 2022, younger children combined leaves and toy animals with singing, while older children adjusted homemade play dough after deciding that it needed more flour. Music, movement and experimenting with materials sat alongside discussion. Children had something to do, something to notice and something to explain.

Cooking remains part of the current nursery offer. Children sometimes prepare food connected with festivals and different countries, including Divali. This gives food a role beyond mealtimes: children can take part in making it and encounter the occasions associated with it.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School involves exploring and learning from nature, with the preschool provision operating seasonally. Access to the sports field is also at certain times of year. Families should therefore read the outdoor offer as a combination of playground use and seasonal opportunities, rather than assume that every outdoor activity happens throughout the year.

In January 2022, the outdoor area included wall decoration and carved patterns, letters, numbers and animals. Small clay animals hidden among plants encouraged searching and conversation. Bikes, scooters and cars gave children opportunities to judge space along the paths, while a large block area supported building and explaining their ideas.

A mud kitchen offered imaginative play in January 2022, and children also had field space for running. During nature activities, they climbed trees in turn and followed pathways in single file. The outdoor experience brought together movement, exploration and cooperation, with different activities requiring children to think about both their surroundings and other children.

Relationships and Communication

Settling takes place during the week immediately before a child's start date, across Monday to Friday, with time at nursery increasing each day. Parents remain for the first session to discuss routines, policies and their child's needs. Admission forms arrive by email beforehand, leaving the first session for exchanging information as well as helping the child become familiar with the setting.

That arrangement has a practical implication: the settling week needs space in the family diary before the normal booking begins. It also gives parents an opportunity to explain feeding, comfort and other individual needs directly, rather than relying entirely on forms.

Daily communication includes children's achievements, and the team supports families with bilingual language skills. In January 2022, babies sought reassurance and cuddles from familiar key people, and adults knew children's interests and care needs closely. The relationship was part of daily care as well as the planning of activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with additional needs exceptionally strong, with targeted help enabling their participation and independence. Current leadership roles include a Designated Safeguarding Lead, a SEND Officer and a deputy SEND Officer.

A keypad controls entry, with its code changed frequently, and the nursery prohibits mobile phones and cameras on the premises. Staff induction covers policies, safeguarding and child protection, and all staff have paediatric first aid training. These are concrete arrangements parents can discuss, rather than substitutes for a current assessment of care.

The cook prepares food on site each day, using seasonal menus on a four-week cycle. The food policy accommodates allergies, religious diets, vegetarian children and babies at different weaning stages.

Illness can affect attendance even when a child has a regular booking. After vomiting or diarrhoea, the nursery requires a 48-hour interval from the last episode before return. Non-prescribed medicines for specified minor conditions require parental permission, while Calpol is reserved for emergencies and is followed by collection and a 24-hour exclusion period.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks each year. Full-day sessions are offered, with at least two days of attendance each week. Those are the opening hours; the full-day booking is the attendance pattern.

School holidays remain within the operating year. Closures are bank holidays and one week between Christmas and New Year, so families using the nursery throughout the year need a separate arrangement for those periods.

One-off extra days can be booked in addition to normal attendance when the legally required staffing is present. This offers a way to add a day to an established pattern, with staffing as an explicit condition. Changes to regular attendance days require at least one month's written notice and depend on availability.

Families register interest through a form specifying preferred weekdays and the intended start date, after which the nursery contacts them to discuss options. Registering interest does not guarantee a place. Contact is also possible by email at contact@blackheathnursery.com or by telephone on 020 8305 2526.

Getting There

The address is Rectory Field, Charlton Road, Blackheath Sports Club, London SE3 8SR. For satnav, the nursery directs drivers to SE7 7EY, which leads to the sports-ground gates; the distinction matters when planning a journey to the site.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered from 9 months until children turn 5. Eligible children can receive 30 funded hours from the term after turning 9 months; from the term after their third birthday, children can claim 15 funded hours, with a further 15 subject to the stated criteria. The nursery also accepts Tax Free childcare payments.

A holding deposit is taken around six months before the start date, retained until the child leaves and then refunded or applied to the final balance. Payment is monthly in advance, with invoices issued each month. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page explains the payment and funding arrangements.

• The youngest children. The accepted age range starts at 3 months, while Tiny Stars begins at 5 months. During a visit, ask how care for a child below the Tiny Stars age band is organised and how the move into that group works.
• A two-day commitment and a settling week. Regular attendance starts at two days weekly, and settling runs through the preceding working week. Plan both around work and family commitments, rather than treating settling as part of the usual booking.
• Seasonal outdoor learning. Forest School and field access operate at certain times of year. On a tour, discuss how the playground and seasonal provision fit into your child's age group's day; weekday visits must be booked by email.
• Food and the total bill. Meals accommodate dietary needs, and funded hours have eligibility conditions. Ask for a written breakdown covering meals, snacks and consumables for your intended booking, and confirm the current arrangements for any allergy.

The Blackheath Day Nursery suits families seeking regular full-day attendance on at least two weekdays, with the possibility of adding occasional extra days when staffing permits. Its sports-ground setting, seasonal Forest School and cooking activities give parents concrete reasons to consider it.

The January 2022 Outstanding judgement supports the quality of the nursery at that time. Today's decision also turns on practical fit: the settling week, the minimum attendance commitment and the seasonal nature of field access. Families who value outdoor exploration alongside age-based rooms have a clear starting point for a visit.