Hummingbirds Montessori School

A vegetable patch, child-prepared snacks and Friday woodland activities give Hummingbirds Montessori School a clear identity: practical independence and outdoor learning belong together here. Based at 293 Park Road in Kingston Upon Thames, the nursery takes children aged two and a half to five and has 36 places in total. Its age range makes this a choice for families beyond the baby-room stage.

Ofsted rated Hummingbirds Outstanding at its 15 September 2022 inspection. That judgement is dated, but the detail behind it matters: children were making decisions about their play, taking responsibility for everyday tasks and using the outdoor environment to investigate how things work. The current offer combines Montessori learning with garden access, nature activities and afternoon clubs.

Attendance is term-time, with morning provision across the week and afternoon clubs from Monday to Thursday. The distinction matters for families organising care around school holidays as well as the working day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and development, covering the skills children build through play, conversation and practical experiences. Montessori adds a particular way of organising that learning: children select activities, work at their own pace and receive guidance shaped by their interests. At Hummingbirds, that includes everyday practical tasks alongside mathematics, language and creative work.

The classroom has separate spaces for books, art, small-world play and snacks, together with an emotional regulation corner. These give children different ways to participate, whether they want to explore an activity with others or spend time with a book. A morning ends with circle time before children leave or stay for lunch.

In September 2022, children investigated quantity by filling buckets from a water butt, judging when to stop the flow and carrying water to their chosen play space. This was a concrete encounter with measurement and physical effort, rather than an abstract exercise. At the bug hotel, magnifying glasses helped children examine insects, compare their movement and discuss what they noticed.

Conversation also had substance in September 2022. Children considered why someone might use a wheelchair or a white stick, while adults introduced vocabulary and asked questions that encouraged fuller answers. Stories prompted children to remember events and explain their ideas. These examples connect early language learning with the world children are trying to understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden extends the classroom's practical emphasis. A mud kitchen, digging pit, vegetable patch and opportunities for log climbing create different kinds of physical and investigative play. Children can garden, make dens or use bikes and scooters; choosing between the classroom and garden gives them a say in how they spend their time.

Forest Friday runs from 9am to 12.30pm and uses Forest School-inspired activities with woodland themes, a warm snack and a Playball session hosted by Kingston Playball. This is a defined part of the week, rather than a general promise of outdoor education. The nature activities sit alongside movement provision, giving Friday its own character.

Afternoon Clubs follow a different pattern: Monday brings Music with rhythm and singing, Tuesday has Tennis centred on coordination and teamwork, Wednesday's Dance uses movement for expression, and Thursday's Art offers practical creative work. Families can therefore choose an afternoon by its activity as well as its duration. These additions complement the morning learning rather than replacing it.

Family participation includes Diversity Breakfast, Sports Day and a summer picnic. Parents are invited to contribute their cultures, interests and talents, and regular diversity breakfasts and summer concerts also form part of nursery life. Participation offers a practical way for children to encounter the experiences of other families.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is assigned a Key Teacher who follows their development across the curriculum and helps with the move from home to nursery. That gives families an identified person responsible for connecting settling with the child's learning. The role has an ongoing purpose, beyond an initial introduction.

Everyday independence is a recurring thread. Children currently prepare and share a snack buffet; in September 2022, they divided snack-making jobs, handled food preparation, served themselves and cleared their own cups and plates. These tasks make eating part of learning to contribute, use equipment and complete a job.

Children staying after the morning bring a packed lunch, eating together at a long dining table during winter or on garden picnic blankets in summer. Lunch therefore has a social place in the day, while responsibility for providing it remains with families.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and reported strong progress for children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, supported by plans with achievable goals and regularly reviewed interventions. The examples included visual prompts, books in two languages and yoga activities. These are specific support mechanisms, and the findings belong to that inspection date.

The current staff structure includes a SENDCo, a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a safeguarding deputy. Staff receive safeguarding and paediatric first aid training. These are arrangements and roles, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

The emotional regulation corner adds a physical space associated with managing feelings. Together with the Key Teacher role and the nursery's emphasis on children expressing themselves, it gives wellbeing a place in both the classroom layout and adult responsibilities.

Sessions and Attendance

Montessori Morning runs from 9am to 12.30pm, with morning provision Monday to Friday. Monday to Thursday, Afternoon Clubs run from 12.30pm to 3pm. Children staying for lunch can instead be collected at 1.30pm, so an afternoon club is not the only way to extend a morning.

Optional Early Drop Off starts at 8.30am. Forest Friday occupies the Friday morning slot, with the nature and Playball activities described above. The nursery operates during term time, making holiday arrangements a separate part of the family's childcare planning.

The 2025-2026 fee schedule set a minimum of four core sessions each week from the term after a child's third birthday. That is a dated booking condition, distinct from the session times and term-time operating model. Prices for an individual arrangement should come in the nursery's current written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Hummingbirds offers 2 Year Old funding for eligible families, 15 hours Universal Entitlement Funding and 30 hours Extended Entitlement Funding. These operate within its term-time provision. The funded morning period is 9.30am to 12.30pm; the funded afternoon period is 12.30pm to 2.30pm. Those windows are shorter than the complete morning and afternoon club sessions, an important distinction when planning a funded timetable.

Hours and services outside the funded periods carry charges. For families receiving 30 hours funding, afternoon enrichment and any private unfunded hours have associated fees. A funded entitlement therefore needs to be considered separately from the whole attendance package.

Non-food resources carry a Curriculum & Resources fee, alongside a Montessori Education & Sustainability Contribution (MESC). Families provide packed lunches, including when using funded hours; the snack buffet is a separate part of nursery life. The funding and fees information explains how funding, private hours and additional services fit together.

Getting There

The address is 1st Kingston Hill Scout Group, 293 Park Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 5LY. Enquiries can be made through the interest form, by email to info@hummingbirdseducation.com or by telephone on 07546 652362; submitting the form leads to contact about the registration steps.

• Term-time coverage. Morning provision includes Friday, while afternoon clubs run Monday to Thursday. Families needing care through holidays or on Friday afternoons should weigh that timetable against their working arrangements.
• Funding windows and extras. Funded hours start later than Montessori Morning and finish before Afternoon Clubs end. Request a written quotation separating funded time, private hours, enrichment, resources, and how snacks are covered for the intended pattern.
• Settling and support. Arrange the recommended visit with your child and discuss how the Key Teacher would manage settling; where additional support is needed, include the SENDCo and ask how plans would be reviewed.
• Minimum attendance. The 2025-2026 schedule required four core sessions from the term after the third birthday. Establish the current minimum booking commitment before choosing mornings and afternoon clubs.

Hummingbirds suits families seeking term-time Montessori mornings, with the option of afternoon Music, Tennis, Dance or Art from Monday to Thursday. Forest Friday gives the week a separate outdoor strand. The combination of child-chosen activities, practical jobs and garden features gives the offer substance, while the Outstanding September 2022 judgement provides a dated assessment of its quality.

The key decision is how that educational pattern fits the family's care requirements. Funded periods, complete sessions and paid additions have different boundaries, and packed lunches remain a family responsibility. For parents who can work with those arrangements, the nursery offers a clearly defined blend of independence, outdoor exploration and afternoon activities.