Sinclair House School

Montessori learning on Munster Road and Friday Forest School in Bishops Park give Sinclair House School a recognisable Fulham character. This nursery combines practical, child-led work with languages, movement and outdoor exploration. At its 15 June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, with positive findings about children's learning and relationships, alongside improvements needed in uninterrupted learning and understanding emotions.

Babies can join from 8 months. Lower Nursery occupies 159 Munster Road, while Upper Nursery, for children from 2 years, is at 196 Munster Road; both premises have purpose-built gardens. There are 72 places across the setting, a whole-nursery figure rather than a room size.

Morning sessions, full days and additional afternoon sessions sit alongside Term Time and Day Care attendance. The important qualification is the attendance commitment: children joining at 8 months start with at least three mornings each week, increasing to five mornings from age 3.

Rooms and Ages

The two-site arrangement separates the youngest children from the older nursery stages. Lower Nursery starts at 8 months, and Upper Nursery starts at 2 years; movement through the classes takes account of development as well as age. That makes the progression more considered than a birthday alone determining every move.

Upper Nursery 2 begins from age 3 and brings the five-morning attendance expectation.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, covering the skills they build through play and everyday experiences. Montessori adds the nursery's chosen approach: accessible materials, practical tasks and opportunities for children to investigate at their own pace, with adults guiding their work.

The Montessori curriculum includes sensory learning and practical life alongside language, mathematics, physical activity and creative work. Exercises connect with everyday tasks rather than remaining abstract. Materials are within children's reach, so choosing and using them is part of the learning itself.

Weekly French and Spanish lessons add language exposure, while music and sports involve specialists from the Prep School. Termly projects give children a subject to investigate in greater depth. These additions sit alongside the early years framework; they do not replace it.

In June 2023, babies explored oats by moving them between containers, while older children made collages and experimented with drawing materials. Physical play included tunnels and low platforms for babies, and balancing, climbing and wheeled toys for older children. Those examples show how sensory exploration, coordination and creative choices worked together during the nursery day at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School gives Upper Nursery a Friday morning in Bishops Park, using the natural setting for practical exploration, problem-solving and learning about manageable risks. The nursery also includes outdoor work in its Montessori day, supported by the gardens at both premises. Outdoor learning has a recurring place in the timetable.

Tuesday Sports sessions serve Lower and Upper Nursery, with the older group using a local park. Sports Day takes place in the Summer Term, giving parents an opportunity to see the skills children have practised. Babies have weekly Soft Play outings, providing a different setting for movement and sensory exploration.

For Upper Nursery, weekly Show & Tell has a theme and involves bringing an item from home to explain to the group. It gives speaking and listening a familiar starting point. Afternoon attendance brings another selection of activities: staff lead cooking, gardening and science, alongside externally delivered dance and yoga classes. The afternoon therefore changes the child's experience as well as extending the hours.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is gradual and adapted to the child. A typical settling period lasts 1-2 weeks, with time at nursery increasing according to the sessions attended and the child's response. The minimum morning pattern is intended to establish continuity, but the settling process itself allows individual pacing.

My Montessori Child is the secure communication system for daily information about meals, sleep and nappy changes. It also carries weekly observations about development, shared on Fridays; a verbal handover accompanies collection. Parents receive both the practical account of the day and a continuing picture of learning.

In June 2023, staff kept babies' care routines familiar by following arrangements from home. Children also practised everyday independence, including managing coats and shoes, putting resources away and feeding themselves. For families, these are useful details of the care approach observed then, rather than promises about how quickly an individual child will master a skill.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A special educational needs co-ordinator forms part of the nursery team. Toilet training is approached with parents and follows signs of the child's readiness, rather than a fixed age deadline. All team members hold current paediatric first aid certificates during their employment, and ill children are expected to stay at home; families are contacted for collection if illness develops during the day.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, with staff able to recognise concerns and follow reporting procedures. This is a dated judgement about practice, separate from the nursery's current staffing arrangements.

Two June 2023 improvement points deserve attention. Care tasks sometimes interrupted children who were absorbed in an activity, and work on recognising emotions needed further development. Both affect the substance of the day: children need time to complete their exploration and support to understand their own feelings and those of others.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8am to 2pm, full days from 8am to 6pm, and additional afternoon sessions from 2pm to 6pm. An additional 2pm to 3.30pm session is also offered. Term Time and Day Care are separate attendance options, with termly instalments for the former and monthly instalments for the latter.

The three-morning minimum applies when children join at 8 months; from age 3, the expectation becomes five mornings each week. Additional mornings, afternoons or full days can be booked. Families choosing mornings should therefore weigh the weekly commitment as carefully as the collection time.

Nursery applications follow registration date, with sibling priority. Registration involves a non-refundable charge, waived for fully funded places, and enrolment involves a deposit. The deposit is lost if the held place is not taken up; it becomes refundable on leaving after at least one term's notice. Full fees remain payable during a family's holiday absence.

Getting There

Lower Nursery is at 159 Munster Road, Fulham, London SW6 6DA; Upper Nursery is at 196 Munster Road, Fulham, London SW6 6AU. Foldable buggies and scooters can be stored compactly at the Upper Nursery site, which is useful for families making journeys on foot with younger siblings.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 2024-2025 fee terms describe 15-hour funding for eligible children aged 9 months and over and 2 years and over, subject to means testing and an eligibility code; the three-year-old 15-hour entitlement is not means tested and is applied to children attending at least five mornings weekly. Those terms exclude 30-hour funding across all age groups. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Snacks, catered lunches and afternoon tea are charged separately, and parents can choose a packed lunch instead of a catered lunch. Zebedees supplies the meals, with separate menus for dietary requirements and menus sent to parents beforehand.

The fees page also separates insurance, PTA membership and My Montessori Child charges, with trips invoiced termly. These categories matter when comparing the overall attendance cost rather than the session charge alone.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families use the school's own admissions process for entry to its independent provision.

• The weekly commitment. Three mornings are expected at entry from 8 months, rising to five from age 3. During a personal tour or Open Day, discuss how gradual settling will work within the pattern your family intends to book.
• Calendar coverage. Term Time and Day Care descriptions give 36 and 46 weeks respectively, while the daycare description gives 35 and 45 weeks. Agree the exact attendance calendar and closure dates before arranging work cover.
• Learning routines. June 2023 improvement points concerned interruptions to activities and children's understanding of emotions. On a tour, ask how care tasks now fit around sustained play and what children use to explore feelings.
• The complete care bill. Meals and several other categories carry separate charges, while the 2024-2025 funding terms have age and attendance conditions. Request a current written quotation covering your intended funded and private hours, including who supplies nappies, wipes and other consumables; families managing allergies should also confirm current catering practice.

Sinclair House suits families seeking Montessori learning with regular outdoor experiences and language teaching, whether they choose morning sessions or full days, and whether their calendar follows Term Time or Day Care. Bishops Park Forest School and My Montessori Child give the offer practical substance: one expands the learning setting, the other keeps parents informed about care and development.

The five-morning expectation from age 3 is a substantial commitment, and the June 2023 improvements remain sensible questions for a visit. Families comfortable with that attendance pattern have a clearly defined educational approach to consider, with afternoon activities providing a different experience from mornings alone.