Roxeth Mead Nursery

A converted house, surrounding gardens and a hard play area give Roxeth Mead Nursery a clear physical character in Harrow-on-the-Hill. Its offer combines outdoor exploration with an optional enhanced package that includes individual teaching and visiting professionals. There is a practical choice to make here about both the nursery day and what families pay for alongside it.

At its 9 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. Children aged three months to five years are accepted. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside a full term-time day, with additional care before and afterwards and a separately charged holiday club.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the foundation for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, this brings together communication, physical development and learning through activities and play. Roxeth Mead's optional Enhanced Provision adds personalised teaching in mathematics, writing, phonics and reading, including individual sessions and teaching in small groups. Families can choose basic provision instead. That distinction matters when comparing the experience as well as the bill.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted learning to children's stages of development, gave communication substantial attention and encouraged creativity. The examples were tangible: babies responded to singing, toddlers expanded their vocabulary and preschool children retold stories. For parents, the useful point is the progression between those experiences rather than an early push towards formal work alone.

In January 2025, an icy patch in the garden became an opportunity to investigate how water changes in the cold. Children discussed what they could see and feel. Singing, dancing and making sounds with instruments also featured in the day, giving children different ways to express themselves alongside conversation.

Zoolab is named among the visiting professionals included in Enhanced Provision. The same package includes cooking, music, dance, yoga and sport lessons, plus visits and trips. These additions belong to the paid enhanced option; they should be weighed as part of that choice rather than assumed to accompany basic funded childcare.

Outdoor and Community Life

Gardens and a hard play area provide different surfaces for outdoor activity around the converted house. This is a useful physical counterweight to the individual and small-group teaching in the enhanced offer.

In January 2025, children used scooters and other wheeled toys in a large outdoor area, practised avoiding obstacles and chased hoops. Staff adjusted physical challenges to what children could already manage. Those examples connect outdoor play with balance, coordination and trying something more demanding, rather than treating the garden simply as a break from learning.

In January 2025, staff helped children recognise feelings and settle disagreements calmly. Children formed friendships and showed consideration towards one another. The approach gave everyday social encounters a purpose: children practised expressing an emotion and responding to someone else's needs.

Practical independence was part of the same routine. During that January 2025 visit, children gathered their outdoor clothing and practised fastening it with staff support. Preparation for school took the form of manageable daily tasks, including learning to do more for themselves.

Communication with home has a concrete place in Enhanced Provision. EYLOg is the channel for daily communication, while a newsletter goes home each half term. These give families both frequent contact and a broader update, although they form part of the enhanced package. In January 2025, parents also understood what their children were learning and how to support it at home.

In January 2025, parents were encouraged to send nutritious packed lunches and snacks.

For children needing additional support, the joining process asks families to submit relevant documentation, including an education, health and care plan, other special educational needs information or reports from a previous nursery. That creates a specific opportunity to share a child's needs during admission; it does not by itself establish how support will work day to day.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is Buckholt House, 25 Middle Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, HA2 0HW. Enquiries can be made by email to info@roxethmead.com.

During term time, the full day runs from 8.30am to 3pm. A morning session finishes at midday after an 8.30am start, while the afternoon session runs from midday to 3pm. Breakfast Club covers 8am to 8.30am; After School Club runs from 3pm to 4pm, followed by Extended after School Club from 4pm to 5pm. Care ending at 5.30pm or 6pm requires advance agreement with the nursery leader.

Holiday club has its own pattern. Its standard day runs from 9am to 3pm, with morning attendance from 9am to midday and afternoon attendance from midday to 3pm. During holidays, Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am, and the afternoon extensions run from 3pm to 4pm and 4pm to 5pm. Holiday care carries an additional charge.

Provision spans 48 weeks: 33 term-time weeks and 15 holiday-club weeks. The nursery closes for two weeks at Christmas and two at the end of August, as well as Bank Holidays. The fees terms also specify five staff training days of closure each year, although the term dates list holiday club on some inset days.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours of basic EYFS childcare each week. Funded early education starts in the term after eligibility begins; participation in the scheme does not guarantee a place. Additional paid childcare is offered, including holiday provision.

Enhanced Provision is separately charged and parents can opt out when applying. Consumables are included within this charged package, alongside the teaching, activities and communication described above. The choice between enhanced and basic provision is made before families sign up, making it a substantive part of the booking decision.

A registration charge accompanies the application, and a deposit is required with the admissions paperwork after registration and assessment. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page explains the funding and enhanced-provision structure.

• Attention in larger groups. In January 2025, some children became distracted during longer group activities, affecting others too. Improving their organisation was the action required. At a visit, ask how larger gatherings now keep children involved.
• The enhanced option. Individual teaching, EYLOg communication and consumables sit within separately charged Enhanced Provision, which parents can decline. Compare the basic and enhanced quotations against the experience you want for your child.
• Care beyond the core day. Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and holiday attendance offer different patterns, but care until 5.30pm or 6pm needs advance agreement. Establish the complete pattern before relying on a later finish, including which staff training dates involve closure and which have holiday club.
• Starting with a baby. The accepted age range begins at three months. Use a visit to discuss how settling and sleep would be organised for your baby.

Roxeth Mead suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full term-time day, with holiday care as a separately charged extension. Its converted-house setting and gardens provide a recognisable backdrop, while personalised teaching and visiting professionals give the enhanced option substance.

The central decisions are whether that enhanced package is right for your child and whether the attendance pattern fits family life. The January 2025 concern about attention during larger groups also deserves a direct conversation. This is a nursery to assess through those concrete choices, alongside its dated Good judgement.