Masbro Brook Green

Twenty places and an outdoor space of its own give Masbro Brook Green a small-scale character in the Brook Green Family Centre. Gardening, cooking and music give families concrete reasons to look beyond its size: children can care for plants, explore ingredients and encounter visiting musicians. Parent participation also has a practical shape, with baking, reading and gardening contributing to nursery life.

Ofsted rated Masbro Brook Green Good at its April 2022 inspection. That judgement provides a dated assessment, while the present offer includes science experiments, yoga and French lessons. The nursery has capacity for 20 children in total, and operates at 49 Brook Green, London W6 7BJ.

Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions run during term time. The combination suits different weekly routines, but holiday cover needs separate planning.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) takes practical form here through storytelling, counting real objects, planting seeds and imaginative construction. Children work with language, movement and early number skills through things they can handle and do. Songs and role-play encourage them to speak and listen; sorting, comparing and building introduce mathematical ideas through play.

Child-led exploration sits alongside activities guided by adults. Painting and colour mixing introduce investigation of materials; books, mark-making and early phonics experiences bring written language into the day.

Mini Scientists: Experiments & Discovery introduces investigations such as testing which objects float, watching materials melt and exploring freezing. Children encounter change through concrete experiments. Gardening & Nature Club involves planting and tending living things, with attention to insects and seasons; it connects the growing process with responsibility for looking after plants.

Cooking & Food Exploration adds measuring, mixing and simple preparation, alongside exploration of taste, smell and texture. These activities bring early mathematics into a task with a tangible result. Cooking can also involve parents, giving families a direct way to contribute to children's experiences.

Yoga & Mindfulness includes breathing techniques and work on balance and body awareness. Sports & Movement adds energetic play, cooperation and taking turns. Weekly yoga and gardening sessions give those interests a recurring place in the programme, while French talking groups introduce another language. The curriculum overview sets out these activities alongside the EYFS learning offer.

In April 2022, language development was a major emphasis, with songs, stories and group conversation used to extend children's vocabulary. Activities were planned around what staff knew about individual children. Some adult-led tasks nevertheless lacked clear learning intentions, and some group sessions continued after children had stopped paying attention. That matters because an attractive activity needs both a purpose and a pace children can follow.

Outdoor and Community Life

The nursery's own outdoor area supports gardening and watching seasonal changes. Children can tend their planting and observe birds, making nature something they return to rather than a single topic. Trips to the library add another setting for exploring books.

In April 2022, the garden included equipment for balancing and climbing, plus a mud kitchen where children used mint they had grown in pretend cooking. Searching for insects with magnifiers brought close observation into outdoor play. Staff had also created a reading space outside, responding to children's enthusiasm for spending time in the garden.

Visiting musicians from Trinity College of Music, plus excursions to the London Wetland Centre and a local fire station, extend children's experiences beyond the nursery's own activities.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2022, new children received help adjusting to nursery life and developed close relationships with their key persons. Staff knew children's interests and circumstances, and adults supported sharing and turn-taking. For a child learning to spend time away from home, familiar relationships and help managing interactions were important parts of the day.

Parents can contribute through cooking, gardening and reading, with an annual Family Day bringing that involvement together. This creates practical opportunities to participate in nursery life. A voluntary management committee also includes parents and experienced professionals, giving parent involvement a role in how the nursery is run.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including collaboration with outside professionals. At that time, parents could attend time to talk drop-ins, where staff helped them support their children's language development. The example is useful because it connects support for a child with something families could work on together.

Current wellbeing activities include breathing games, sensory exploration, gentle movement and attentive listening. These provide concrete ways for children to notice feelings and practise calming themselves. Staff undertake training covering safeguarding, paediatric first aid, food safety and other health and safety responsibilities.

Kidz Clean Kitchen supplies freshly prepared meals, with lunch and snacks forming the daily menu. Dietary arrangements include tailored alternatives and regularly reviewed individual plans, so families managing allergies should discuss their child's requirements and current practice before joining.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Families can book mornings from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, or all-day sessions from 8am to 6pm, accommodating both part-day and full-day routines.

The nursery operates for 39 weeks a year, excluding half-term breaks and the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays. Families needing holiday care must plan for those closures.

Applications are emailed to info@brookgreennursery.co.uk. A completed form and a non-refundable registration payment place a child on the waiting list; submitting an application does not secure a place. That payment administers the application and is separate from the deposit required after an offer.

A formal offer and deposit payment by its deadline confirm a place. The non-refundable deposit is credited against the final invoice when a month's leaving notice is given.

Getting There

The address is 49 Brook Green, London W6 7BJ, within Brook Green Family Centre. Nearby bus routes and access to Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush Tube stations provide public transport options.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid sessions. For three- and four-year-olds, universal funding provides 15 hours weekly over 38 weeks, beginning in the term after the third birthday; the nursery spreads that funding across its 39-week term-time contract. Parents meeting the relevant criteria can apply for 30 hours free childcare, and parents applying for that entitlement or two-year-old funding must supply the eligibility code and funding confirmation letter.

The nursery applies for universal funding for its children. Invoices arrive monthly.

For privately paid morning and all-day sessions, a two-course hot lunch is included; during funded hours, lunch carries a separate charge, and families may opt out of additional charges. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

The nursery names Larmenier and St Mary’s among schools in its account of preparation for primary education. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place at Larmenier and St Mary’s.

• Term-time planning. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions sit within a 39-week year. Match that calendar to the care needed during school holidays before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Purpose and pace. In April 2022, learning intentions in some focused tasks needed greater clarity, and lengthy group activities lost children's attention. During a visit, ask how staff now plan those activities and respond when engagement drops.
• Application commitments. The registration payment is non-refundable and puts an application on the waiting list; a later deposit confirms an offered place and has its own leaving-notice condition. Understand both stages before paying.
• Individual arrangements. Dietary plans and tailored food alternatives are part of the meal arrangements. Discuss current allergy practice and ask how settling and any non-food consumables would be organised for your child.

Masbro Brook Green suits families seeking term-time care with a choice between morning, afternoon and all-day attendance. Its small overall capacity, outdoor space and opportunities for parents to participate give the offer a clear character. Science investigations, cooking and gardening provide tangible learning experiences, while visiting musicians and outings broaden children's encounters.

The April 2022 Good judgement sits alongside specific improvements needed in adult-led activities. Families should weigh that dated assessment with the current programme and the practical commitments of a term-time contract, funded-hours lunch charges and the application process.