Tiger Lilies Nursery

Outdoor play gives this small Fulham nursery its character: children have direct access to outdoor space throughout the day, with gardening and hands-on materials adding substance to its emphasis on learning through play. Tiger Lilies Nursery has 16 places in total and accepts children aged 24 to 59 months. Its base is Lancaster Court Community Hall on Darlan Road.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were supported well and children made good progress from their starting points. That is a dated assessment. The practical attraction today is the combination of outdoor access, an individual key person and a term-time timetable offering morning, afternoon and full-day sessions.

The 16 places describe whole-setting capacity, rather than an activity group's size.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care: here, play connects language, movement, early number work, creativity and relationships. These are the everyday foundations of early education, rather than an additional programme unique to Tiger Lilies. Activities are planned around children's interests, giving practitioners a starting point for extending what a child can already do.

High Scope principles also inform activity planning across the areas of learning. The concrete offer includes science, role-play, singing, craft and drama. Natural materials are used for hands-on exploration, while Loose Parts activities give children opportunities to use their imagination and develop ideas. Messy play adds another route into experimenting with materials.

Free play leads into circle time with songs and a story. Key people later lead activities to develop or extend skills, with timings adjusted to children's needs.

In April 2022, language work included introducing unfamiliar vocabulary through stories, alongside rhymes and songs. A puppet in the home area prompted conversations about healthy eating. Those examples show how talk was woven into play: children had something concrete to discuss, rather than being expected to practise language in isolation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can use the outdoor space throughout the day, including in different weather conditions. Gardening activities connect children with nature, while the daily outdoor offer includes a garden area, a football pitch and a tennis court. The outdoor play areas also include swings, a trampoline and a zip-wire. This gives outdoor time a substantial place in the timetable, rather than making it a brief break between indoor activities.

In April 2022, children experimented with recipes in the mud kitchen and discussed the shapes of structures they made using sand. They also practised pedalling bikes and using a hole punch. The contrast is useful: larger movements and the careful work of hands both had a place in children's play.

Football involves movement, taking turns and working with others; Tennis activities include handling balls to practise coordination. Dance and Music brings movement together with sounds and patterns, while Yoga includes stretching and controlled breathing.

Regular outings take children beyond the nursery to markets, libraries, theatres and museums. That extends the opportunities to explore people, places and experiences outside the immediate setting. The outings have educational purposes, with additional risk assessments and parental permissions used for off-site activities.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who observes their play and uses those observations to plan around their interests and needs. Parents contribute information about life at home, making the relationship a two-way exchange. That matters when a child's interests, routines or development change: planning can draw on more than what practitioners see during a session.

Tapestry is the online system used to document each child's Learning Journey. Parents can also communicate through meetings, newsletters and conversations with their child's key person. Regular parents' evenings sit alongside the opportunity for individual discussions, giving families more than one way to stay involved.

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified inconsistent handovers of learning information when a child's key person changed and asked for more information to be shared with parents, some of whom were unfamiliar with the app. These were specific weaknesses in continuity and communication. They show why usable online learning records and consistent staff handovers matter.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A nursery SENCO supports children, families and key people. Assessments are shared with parents, who can add their observations; with parental consent, the SENCO can involve Speech and Language Therapists, Health Visitors and Early Years Inclusion Officers. The key person and SENCO then work together on the resulting strategies and targets. Parents can contribute to assessments and take part in planning individual support.

Safeguarding responsibilities sit with a designated officer and deputy roles. Collection arrangements require parents to identify who will collect their child, with identity checks for an unfamiliar collector. If staff are unsure that a collection is authorised, they contact the parent before releasing the child. These are practical arrangements parents can understand and use.

Families supply meals and snacks, and packed food is kept for the child who brought it; free milk is also offered through the government scheme. The nursery has a published nut-free policy and an approach to managing allergens, making a child's individual allergy arrangements an essential part of planning attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Lancaster Court Community Hall, Darlan Road, Fulham, London SW6 5TB. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by email to info@tigerlilies.co.uk. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; half-terms, bank holidays and summer holidays are closures.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, and full-day sessions run from 9am to 3pm. Afternoon sessions finish at 3pm. These give families a choice between a shorter part of the day and attendance across the opening window, rather than requiring everyone to book the same pattern.

The fees terms specify a minimum of three sessions each week, with grant-funded sessions exempt from that rule. Fees are paid termly in advance. A term's written notice, or payment instead, applies when cancelling a place or changing sessions, so changes to a family's timetable can have consequences beyond the next invoice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, starting in the term after their third birthday, and 15 hours for eligible disadvantaged two-year-olds. The 30-hour working-family entitlement is also offered; the nursery's own accepted age range remains 24 to 59 months. Funding is delivered through the term-time timetable, and eligibility conditions still apply.

Additional private hours can be purchased. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, while the fees and booking terms explain the charging structure. Families who do not want specific optional purchases can discuss the next steps with the nursery.

Resources and general consumables are included in paid fees, but parents supply nappies, wipes and creams. Meals and snacks are supplied by parents, including for funded attendance.

• Communication and handovers. The April 2022 concerns involved information passing between key people and reaching parents. During a visit, ask how a change of key person is handled and how families are introduced to Tapestry.
• Afternoon timing. The afternoon session is written as starting at 12am and finishing at 3pm, which conflicts with the daytime opening window. Confirm the intended start before choosing that pattern.
• Minimum attendance. The fees terms require three sessions weekly and exempt grant-funded sessions, while the FAQ describes three days. Clarify how the minimum applies to your proposed combination of funded and private attendance.
• Packed food and allergies. Parents supply meals and snacks, and the nursery publishes a nut-free policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice and their child's individual arrangements before attendance.

Tiger Lilies suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, afternoon attendance or full days within a 9am-to-3pm window. Outdoor access, gardening, Loose Parts activities and individual learning records give the offer clear substance. Its small overall capacity will also appeal to parents who prefer a compact setting.

The Good judgement from April 2022 provides a useful quality assessment, with communication and key-person handovers the important qualifications. For a family comfortable with school-holiday closures and providing packed food and personal care supplies, the balance is attractive: a play-led day with substantial outdoor activity and several attendance patterns.