Buttercups at Chiswick

A townhouse nursery with a summer woodland escape gives Buttercups at Chiswick its character. Playrooms occupy a four-storey Edwardian building, while Forest School takes children to the garden and mini forest at Chiswick Lane. The distinction matters: everyday outdoor space here is a compact town garden, with the larger setting used for seasonal sessions.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 6 February 2020. Buttercups accepts children from 3 to 60 months and has 40 places in total. For parents of the youngest children, the more useful size detail is the under-two playroom’s cap of 12, alongside a separate sleep room.

The youngest children have a dedicated playroom, with sleeping accommodated separately rather than in the activity space. Children aged two to three use rooms equipped with furniture and play resources made from natural materials, including bamboo and wood. Preschool children occupy the top floor, so the building’s layout separates the stages of nursery life.

Montessori sessions form part of the preschool offer. Forest School, outdoor learning through activities such as camp building, tool use and exploring nature, runs on Fridays during the summer months at the sister site in Chiswick Lane. This is a seasonal outing arrangement, rather than a woodland area within the Grange Road nursery’s own grounds.

The compact garden supplies outdoor play at the nursery itself. Music and Movement and Cooking are among the additional activities, bringing musical and practical experiences alongside the room-based day. Families choosing primarily for outdoor provision should weigh both parts of the arrangement: the town garden and the summer sessions elsewhere.

Each child is assigned a key person when they start. Settling is handled gradually, recognising that children adjust at different speeds; a consistent member of staff gives families a named role to build that relationship around.

The separate sleep room is an important practical feature for babies and younger toddlers. It gives rest its own space within a building that also accommodates older children’s play.

CCTV operates throughout the nursery, and staff have first-aid training and enhanced DBS checks. These are arrangements for care and safeguarding, rather than a current judgement on their effectiveness. A nursery cook prepares meals fresh each day and caters for dietary requirements.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 38 Grange Road, Chiswick, London W4 4DD, close to Gunnersbury Station. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with attendance across 51 weeks.

Full days run from 8am to 6pm. Parents without funding can instead buy attendance in blocks of 8am to 1pm, 1pm to 4pm and 4pm to 6pm, combining them within a day. Booking only the middle or final block is restricted to one such session per week. Shorter attendance can attract a higher hourly rate, so a shorter day does not necessarily produce the lowest bill.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use the 30 hour scheme or the 15 hour scheme. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, giving a maximum of 22 or 11 funded hours respectively each week. Funded attendance requires at least 10 hours weekly.

The funded window is 11am to 6pm from Tuesday to Thursday, and 10:30am to 6pm on Mondays and Fridays. Families attending on two or three days face daily caps of seven funded hours, or seven and a half on Mondays and Fridays. Funded-only attendance must use the full funded window for the day, up to the child’s entitlement.

Meals and consumables carry no separate surcharge, including for funded-only attendance. Additional purchased hours are charged separately; funded families buying extra hours must book a day that starts at 8am or finishes at 6pm. An attendance surcharge applies below 20 hours where private hours are bought. The hourly rate falls as more chargeable hours are booked.

A non-refundable registration charge applies to joining the waiting list, except for funded-only parents who supply eligibility proof and select attendance within their entitlement. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the Chiswick fees page explains the charging structure.

• Townhouse layout. Preschool occupies the top floor and the youngest children have a separate sleep room. During a visit, ask how movement between floors fits around your child’s day.
• Seasonal woodland sessions. Friday Forest School uses Chiswick Lane during summer. Ask how children travel there and which age groups participate.
• Attendance priorities. Booking priority favours longer attendance and days aligned with opening and closing times. Compare the quotation for your intended pattern carefully, especially if buying fewer than 20 hours.

Buttercups at Chiswick suits families considering full days or combined shorter blocks, with a separate sleep space for younger children and seasonal Forest School for outdoor exploration. Its compact garden and multi-floor layout deserve attention alongside the Outstanding judgement from 2020. The attendance and funding rules are equally consequential: the best fit depends on the hours a family actually needs.