The Futures Nursery

An enclosed garden, a dedicated sleep room and a gradual settling programme give The Futures Nursery a clear practical character: space to play, somewhere to rest and time to get used to unfamiliar people. Daily contact through TeachKloud, its parent communication app, keeps families connected to the small details of their child's day.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with children making good progress, including those needing additional support. That judgement has a date attached. The two improvement priorities were more consistent teaching of hygiene in the baby room and better guidance for older children's early drawing and writing.

Based in Plumstead, the nursery has 43 places in total. Its current care offer starts at six months and extends to five years; families can book full or half days, subject to a minimum attendance pattern.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, the day brings together play, language, early maths, movement and creative activity. Adult-led learning sits alongside time when children choose their own play. A second activity period later in the day includes stories, art and small-group projects, giving the afternoon its own purpose.

Music, sport and yoga are included enrichment activities. The named sessions Kinder Garden, Sing & Sign and Play Phonics are also included in the day; their content is a useful subject for a visit, rather than judging the offer from the names alone. The parent pack connects Play Phonics with preparation for school in the preschool room.

In June 2023, everyday play supplied concrete learning opportunities: older children compared the weight of sand, toddlers practised putting on shoes, and babies worked on balance by climbing a small slope. Conversations around a book about emotions helped children put feelings into words. These were ordinary activities with clear educational purposes, rather than learning confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can choose between indoor play and the enclosed garden, with spare wellies supporting outdoor use in wet weather. This gives movement and fresh air a place within the daily routine, rather than restricting them to one fixed outdoor period.

In June 2023, outdoor experiences included smelling herbs and bathing dolls with water. Children also learnt about living things and caring for them. These details show how physical activity, sensory exploration and early understanding of the natural world could meet in the same stretch of play.

Relationships and Communication

Settling takes place through three visits over a week, with parents able to remain while their child becomes comfortable. The pace follows the child. Free settling sessions also reduce the financial pressure attached to those first introductions.

TeachKloud sends parents photographs and notes about their child's day. Face-to-face handovers add another channel for sharing the day. For parents, the value lies in having both a continuing record and a chance to discuss something directly.

In June 2023, key persons regularly discussed children's development with families, and staff worked with schools on the transfer of older children. Assessments helped identify where a child needed more support, while contact with parents and professional advice formed part of the response to special educational needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A sleep room provides individual cots or mats, while children who are awake can take part in quiet activities. Rest therefore has a designated space within a day that also includes busy play. Security arrangements include coded doors, CCTV at entry points and signed child handovers; a designated safeguarding lead is on site each day.

The on-site chef prepares meals using mostly organic ingredients, with breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks on a two-week menu rotation. Allergy arrangements include individual care plans approved by parents and the chef, so families managing an allergy should discuss current practice before their child starts.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 12 The Slade, Plumstead, London SE18 2NB. Opening hours run from 7am until 7pm on weekdays. Full-day and half-day bookings have a minimum of three days of the chosen pattern each week; these are attendance options, separate from the overall opening window.

The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for three working days in August for staff training. Those closures matter when arranging care alongside work commitments. Visit enquiries can be made through the booking form or by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 15- and 30-hour funded places for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds, and receives Tax-Free Childcare payments. The parent pack also describes funding from nine months for children attending at least three full days. Eligibility remains a condition of funded childcare.

The term-time arrangement runs over 38 weeks, allocating 30 funded hours across three days. The stretched arrangement applies funding across two days per week at 11 hours and requires at least three attendance days. Families should compare the whole attendance pattern, including paid time, rather than treating the funded entitlement as a complete booking on its own.

Private fees include meals, nappies, wipes and enrichment. Funded arrangements have separate consumables charges, with the funded-day charge covering nappies, wipes, trips and enrichment; meals remain part of the inclusive food offer. A non-refundable registration charge applies. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Room moves and toilet training. Children must be fully potty-trained before moving into preschool. During a visit, ask how readiness, toilet training and room moves fit together for your child.
• The June 2023 improvement priorities. Baby-room hygiene teaching and older children's pencil use needed greater consistency. Ask to see how practitioners now build these skills into play and everyday care.
• Attendance and funded extras. Full and half days each have a three-day weekly minimum, while funded attendance carries separate consumables charges. Request a written quotation for the exact pattern you intend to use.
• Enrichment and allergies. Kinder Garden and Sing & Sign sit within the included programme. Use the visit to understand what these sessions involve and, where relevant, confirm how your child's allergy plan will work in practice.

The Futures Nursery suits families seeking either full-day attendance or half-day care with a regular weekly pattern. Its strongest practical features are the gradual settling process, TeachKloud communication, enclosed garden and planned space for sleep. Those details make the offer easier to assess against a young child's routine.

The Good judgement from June 2023 is a useful quality marker, alongside two specific teaching priorities that deserve attention. Room transitions and the cost structure of funded attendance are the other decisions to resolve before choosing a pattern. The appeal is a combination of everyday care, play and regular parent contact, rather than a single headline programme.