Ladybird Montessori School

A private woodland space alongside a Montessori classroom gives Ladybird Montessori School a clear identity. At this Highgate setting, children can work with hands-on learning materials indoors and explore nature in an enclosed forest area on site. Outdoor learning is part of the everyday offer, rather than something dependent on a trip elsewhere.

Ladybird accepts children aged two to five and has 24 places in total. At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective, with positive findings about communication, emotional support and relationships with families. There was also a specific improvement point about giving children more time to tackle practical tasks independently.

Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns. That makes the combination of educational approach and calendar central to the choice: this is a setting for families whose childcare arrangements can accommodate school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven areas of development, covering children's language, physical development, relationships and early learning. Here, those areas are incorporated into Montessori programmes: children learn through practical activity, conversation, creative play and work with materials suited to their development.

Montessori adds a concrete way of exploring ideas. Materials introduce number, shape, measurement and pattern, while language resources give children opportunities to express themselves. Stories and games sit alongside those resources, so mathematical learning is connected to play rather than confined to a single activity. Practical-life and sensorial materials are also used to encourage independence and care for the surroundings.

The classroom is arranged into areas for different kinds of activity, including reading, practical skills, creative play and learning together. Its bright, spacious layout provides the indoor counterpart to the garden and woodland. Staff observe children's work and introduce challenges matched to their interests and stage of development. For parents drawn to Montessori, that combination of materials, observation and practical tasks is more useful than the label alone.

Language runs through the day. Songs and poems accompany books and early work linking letters with sounds; art, movement and imaginative play give children other ways to communicate ideas. These are different routes into expression, with opportunities both to listen and to contribute.

In September 2025, children experimented with the sounds in their names and made marks using different resources. Staff added vocabulary to play and used storytelling and singing to encourage conversation. Children also worked together on ramps made from pipes and blocks, bringing construction and shared problem-solving into the same activity.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified a limitation in practical tasks: adults sometimes intervened before children had enough time to work things out, reducing independent practice with small movements and problem-solving. That matters within an approach which gives practical materials such a prominent role. The useful distinction is between having suitable resources and allowing children enough time to use them for themselves.

Little Supernova’s adds a music, dance and drama class on Tuesday mornings, with a separate charge. This gives the timetable a named performing-arts activity alongside the classroom's everyday songs, movement and role play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School means outdoor learning through practical exploration of the natural environment. Ladybird's own enclosed woodland supports activities including making shelters, searching for bugs and building dens, with sessions taking place in all weather. Daily access to the garden and on-site forest gives outdoor activity a regular place in children's experience.

The garden serves a different purpose from the woodland. Children can read, garden, make art, play games and explore science outdoors. Having both spaces broadens the kinds of activity that can move outside: a book or creative task need not depend on a forest session.

In September 2025, woodland activities included watching food change when heated over a campfire. Children also used rope swings and balanced on tree stumps. These examples show the practical substance behind outdoor learning: observing change, judging movement and trying physical challenges.

Trips take place each term, with parks, farms and theatres among the destinations. Families are invited to themed celebrations at the end of each term, while end-of-year events include Sports Day, a graduation celebration and a teddy bears’ picnic. The events give parents opportunities to join nursery life beyond individual progress discussions.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2025, each child's key person helped build a relationship with their family, and new starters received reassurance while getting used to routines. This gives settling a personal point of contact. For a young child adjusting to a new place, familiarity with an adult is as relevant as familiarity with the timetable.

Communication has several routes. Parents receive daily information about their child's development, work goes home with photographs, and interviews with the child's key teacher take place at least once a term. Online updates provide an additional channel, while newsletters are emailed twice a term or when needed. The combination allows families to follow everyday activity and have a more deliberate conversation about development.

Parents can also arrange a meeting about concerns affecting their child's growth or development. Staff observe individual needs and interests when planning the next challenge, linking those conversations with what children actually do in the classroom.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In September 2025, staff helped children talk about feelings and used pictures to support emotional understanding. Turn-taking was practised, and the Golden Rules encouraged considerate behaviour and respect for others. The emphasis was on making expectations understandable to young children, with prompts and conversation alongside routines.

At that time, staff also worked with external professionals to shape additional support and learning opportunities. This is a concrete support mechanism rather than a blanket promise about what every child will need or receive.

Parents supply lunch and the midmorning snack; fruit, vegetables, milk and water are also offered. Ladybird has a no-nut policy, so families managing allergies should discuss current practice when visiting.

Children wear their own comfortable clothes and bring a spare set. That is a practical fit with outdoor activity and hands-on play, where ease of movement and a change of clothing matter more than a uniform.

Sessions and Attendance

Ladybird operates at 224 The Scout Hall, Sheldon Avenue, London N6 4ND. Opening hours are 8.45am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 12.30pm, afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.15pm, and full days from 8.45am to 3.15pm. The minimum weekly booking is three mornings or two full days. For children over three, the nursery recommends attending five mornings to make the most of its Montessori curriculum; that recommendation is separate from the minimum booking requirement.

There are three terms each year, lasting between 11 and 12 weeks, with dates following local private schools. Holiday cover therefore needs to be planned separately. Enquiries and tour bookings can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Ladybird offers the Universal 15 hour free offer for qualifying three- and four-year-olds and the 30 Hour Funding offer for parents meeting the government eligibility conditions, subject in both cases to accepting an agreed services package. Attendance follows the term-time calendar. The package condition is an important part of the funding arrangement, rather than a detail to separate from the entitlement itself.

Private sessions are also offered. Parents provide lunch and the midmorning snack, and the Tuesday-morning Little Supernova’s class carries an additional charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page sets out the booking and funding structure.

A registration charge applies when joining the nursery. The deposit is credited against the final term's fee, but is not refunded if a child's name is withdrawn before their first term begins. Families should treat those withdrawal conditions as part of the joining decision.

• Independence in practice. The September 2025 improvement point concerned adults helping too quickly during practical tasks. On a visit, ask how children are now given time to attempt threading and other hands-on challenges before help is offered.
• The term-time calendar. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions end within the nursery's term dates. Compare the three-morning or two-full-day minimum with your weekly needs and arrangements for holidays.
• Funding with a services package. Both funding offers are conditional on accepting agreed services. Before committing, ask what the package covers and how its charges apply to your intended attendance pattern.
• Food from home. Lunch and the midmorning snack are parents' responsibility. Allergy-affected families should confirm how the no-nut policy works in daily practice, including the food and drinks offered by the nursery.

Ladybird suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or full days within a term-time Montessori setting. Its strongest practical attraction is the combination of a classroom organised for hands-on activity, a garden and private woodland on site. Outdoor learning has tangible substance here.

The Good September 2025 judgement provides a positive inspection position, while the independence improvement point gives parents something specific to explore. The decision rests on that educational mix fitting alongside the weekly minimum, holiday calendar and funding-package conditions.