Buckingham Montessori School, Edgware

Low shelves, a dedicated baby garden and a Sensory Room give Buckingham Montessori School, Edgware a recognisable character: children can choose practical activities, spend time outdoors and use a quieter space when they need one. The setting welcomes children from 3 months to 5 years at 19-25 Buckingham Road, Edgware, HA8 6LY. Its Montessori approach centres on choosing activities and learning through handling materials, with adults guiding the work.

At the 28 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. There were also concrete improvements to make: hygiene around an internal drain and the updating of policies. Those points matter alongside the strengths in teaching.

Full-day and half-day attendance are both offered. For families, the appeal is the combination of practical learning, separate spaces for different stages and an attendance model that includes shorter sessions.

Rooms and Ages

The Nest serves babies from 3 months to 2 years, combining sensory equipment and early practical activities with a no-shoe environment and its own baby garden. For babies under 2, staffing is one adult to three children. That outdoor space gives the youngest children somewhere intended for their stage, rather than relying entirely on the older children's gardens.

Leaves Room, for children aged 18 months to 2 years, emphasises language, sensory learning and practical tasks as walking and independence develop. Caterpillar Room serves children aged 2 to 3 years, using pouring, sorting and threading alongside songs and stories to practise self-help and early mathematical ideas.

Sunny Room takes children from 2 years 8 months to 4 years, introducing letter sounds, early writing and Montessori mathematics alongside cultural learning. Rainbow Room, for ages 3 to 4, combines creative work and role play with early reading and number activities. Butterfly Room also serves ages 3 to 4, with organised, accessible materials supporting independent choices and preparation for school.

These room arrangements give parents something concrete to compare with their child's stage of development. A newly confident walker, a toddler practising everyday tasks and an older child beginning to write have different emphases within the same setting.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the required framework for children's learning and care: everyday activities develop language, movement, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding of the world and creative expression. Montessori supplies the approach used alongside it. Children select materials from low shelves, handle them directly and work at their own pace while practitioners observe and guide.

The Montessori curriculum guide gives tangible examples: pouring jugs for practical tasks, colour tablets for sensory exploration and golden beads for mathematics. This makes the approach easier to understand than a curriculum label alone. Children can work with quantities and practise coordination through objects they can hold and manipulate.

Named activities extend that everyday programme. Phonics Club uses sound games and songs; Maths Club explores counting, shapes and patterns through practical activities. Art Club introduces painting, collage and textures, while Dance & Drama Club combines movement with stories and role play. Wiggle & Giggle brings jumping, stretching and balance games, and Arabic Club introduces words, songs, stories and letter recognition. These are nursery learning activities, with physical, creative and language experiences alongside the main programme.

The Studio room has mirrors, soft flooring and a dance bar for music, movement, dance and drama. Daily yoga also forms part of the routine. These details make movement a visible part of the provision, with a specific indoor space as well as outdoor opportunities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Four gardens provide climbing frames, balance beams, mud kitchens and covered areas, together with bikes, trikes and sand and water stations. Free-flow access connects outdoor activity with the nursery day. Children can use the spaces for movement, imaginative play and sensory exploration, rather than treating the garden solely as a break from learning.

Weekly visits to the local park add an outing beyond the premises. Older children aged 3 to 5 also visit museums, galleries and farms. The value is in the change of setting and the experiences beyond their usual rooms; the park visits have a regular place in the programme.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person, giving families a familiar practitioner who knows their child and follows their development. Settling begins with three supervised sessions. The staged arrangement starts with parent and child together, then introduces time apart before the child stays with their key person.

That gradual separation gives staff time to learn about home routines, favourite activities and preferences as well as helping the child become familiar with the room. It is a practical part of joining, rather than an expectation that a new child immediately manages a complete nursery day.

Parentzone provides updates covering activities, meals, nappy changes and developmental milestones, including photographs. Verbal conversations remain part of communication, and progress discussions can be arranged with staff. For parents balancing work and childcare, the combination offers daily detail and an opportunity for a fuller conversation when needed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SENCO staff observe development, prepare individual plans, arrange specialist referrals where needed and work with families. The Sensory Room contains a sensory swing, light panels, sound toys and tactile stations, providing another environment for exploring movement, light and touch. These are specific support mechanisms; the room complements individual planning rather than replacing it.

At its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with SEND exceptionally strong, while identifying policies that needed updating and a hygiene problem around an drain inside the side entrance used by children. The hygiene action carried a deadline of 30 June 2024; the affected area was outside a classroom, and the finding did not have a significant effect on children's safety.

Babies follow their individual routines, including sleep patterns discussed with parents. Children attending for the whole day are offered a rest period, usually after lunch, with restful activities for those who do not sleep. The approach allows rest to respond to the child rather than requiring everyone to sleep.

Food is prepared in the nursery's own kitchen, and meals and snacks are included in sessions. The allergy policy uses individual risk assessments, warns that cross-contamination cannot be ruled out and that the nursery may be unable to cater for every child's individual dietary needs, so families need to discuss their child's requirements and current practice.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The booking choices are a full day from 8am to 6pm, a morning from 8am to 1pm or an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm; half-day sessions are also offered. The registration form requires a minimum of three sessions.

Attendance runs across the year rather than through term-time-only places. The nursery opens for 51 weeks, with closures for bank holidays, a Christmas week and staff training days. An early start from 7.30am can be arranged in advance for an additional charge. Families whose work begins early therefore have an option beyond the usual opening time, subject to booking it beforehand.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the online form. Registration involves a form, a one-off registration charge and a deposit. Parents must give at least one month's notice to change attendance hours or withdraw their child; withdrawal notice must be written.

Getting There

The address is 19-25 Buckingham Road, Edgware, London HA8 6LY, with Edgware station on the Northern line a 10-minute walk away. Parking is on Buckingham Road and neighbouring streets, and bus routes stop on Station Road.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 15 Hours Universal, 15 Hours Disadvantaged and 30 Hours Extended funding, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions, as well as Tax-Free Childcare payments. Funded entitlement is claimed during 38 weeks within year-round attendance, with the other 14 weeks charged at the full nursery rate; term-time-only places are not offered.

The 15-hour arrangement uses three sessions of five hours, while the 30-hour arrangement uses three full days. This distinction matters when matching funded attendance to a working week. Additional private childcare sits alongside the funded entitlement.

Parents supply nappies, baby wipes and sun cream. A non-refundable registration charge applies, and the deposit is returned after the child leaves once account balances have been cleared. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page also explains monthly payment arrangements.

• The May 2024 actions. Updating policies and improving hygiene around the side-entrance drain were required or recommended at that time. During a visit, ask what changed and how these arrangements are maintained.
• Year-round funding. Funded entitlement is used across 38 weeks within year-round attendance, with the remaining 14 weeks charged privately. Request a written breakdown for the attendance pattern you intend to use, including how meals are treated during funded hours.
• Allergy planning. The allergy policy recognises a risk of cross-contamination and uses individual risk assessments. Discuss current kitchen practice and your child's requirements before agreeing attendance.
• Room progression. Leaves Room overlaps with The Nest, while Sunny Room begins before age 3. Ask how the move between rooms would work for your child and how familiar relationships are maintained during that change.

Buckingham suits families seeking Montessori activities with tangible materials, outdoor access and a key-person relationship, whether they need full days or morning and afternoon attendance. The Sensory Room, Studio room and named learning clubs give the offer substance beyond its curriculum label.

The decision also needs practical scrutiny: year-round attendance affects the funding calculation, and the May 2024 policy and hygiene findings deserve a clear explanation of subsequent changes. For parents who value independent activity and want shorter sessions as well as full days, this is a nursery with a clearly defined educational approach and useful specialist spaces.