Millie's House Nursery & Pre-School, Woodlands Ave

The pre-school classroom in a walled garden and two nursery guinea pigs, Lemon and Frankie, give this Woodlands Avenue setting a character of its own. Children help care for the animals, making responsibility something they can practise rather than simply hear about. The garden classroom also gives the oldest children a clearly defined space within a nursery spread across three floors.

Millie's House Nursery & Pre-School, Woodlands Ave cares for children aged 3 months to 5 years and has 84 places in total. At its 2 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted graded the nursery Good overall. The strongest practical features are the garden setting, opportunities for independence and a funding model with specific afternoon attendance windows.

Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside funded patterns, with the detail important for families fitting childcare around work.

Rooms and Ages

Four rooms divide the nursery environment by developmental stage, with the preschool classroom set in the walled garden. The building extends across three floors. For families considering this layout, the relationship between a child's room, outdoor space and daily movement matters as much as the room itself.

In May 2025, babies had room on the floor to develop movement, while toddlers used climbing equipment. Older children rode bikes around a track, balanced on stepping stones and practised catching and throwing. These were different physical challenges for different stages, rather than a single activity expected to suit everyone.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build skills through play across connected areas of learning. In May 2025, activities were planned around children's interests and their next steps. That makes the purpose of an activity important, as well as whether children enjoy it.

Books had a physical dimension. In May 2025, We're Going on a Bear Hunt was accompanied by experiences involving water, mud and grass, connecting a story with sensations children could explore. Reading spaces and accessible books gave children opportunities to choose for themselves, while staff introduced letter sounds and used picture cards to support early reading.

Independence was also practical. In May 2025, children prepared fruit, helped themselves at meals and poured drinks. They managed belongings and worked on dressing for outdoor play. Low furniture helped even the youngest children reach their own play choices. These small tasks give children repeated opportunities to attempt something before an adult takes over.

Outdoor and Community Life

Lemon and Frankie are part of the current nursery experience. Helping look after the guinea pigs brings care for living things into children's day, with responsibility and consideration attached to a real task.

In May 2025, children also had daily opportunities to explore the surrounding area on outings. Alongside the garden and physical play equipment, this extended their experience beyond their room. Shared discussion included the adventures of Super Ted, giving children something to listen to and talk about together.

Personalised settling was an important part of care in May 2025. Staff worked with families to understand individual needs, rather than expecting every child to settle in the same way. For parents, this makes the exchange of information about routines and preferences a useful part of the transition into nursery.

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and partnership work with the local authority and other agencies supported expected progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These are dated findings about how support worked at that visit.

Communication in May 2025 included updates about children's development and ideas families could use at home. Preparation for the next stage included starting school. The useful point is continuity: parents could connect what their child was working on at nursery with everyday experiences at home.

Staff development included supervision, team meetings and training delivered both remotely and in person in May 2025. There were also two clear areas for further work: some staff needed a clearer understanding of the learning intended within activities, and better judgement about when a child needed additional help. Enjoyable play and well-chosen resources still depend on adults knowing what to do next.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 39 Woodlands Avenue, New Malden, KT3 3UL. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

Full-day and half-day bookings are offered. The Woodlands Avenue funding schedule also sets out an eight-hour day from 10am to 6pm and a seven-hour day from 11am to 6pm. Universal funding uses a five-hour afternoon from 1pm to 6pm during term time.

Using the full stretched entitlement requires attendance on at least three days each week, with seven funded hours on two days and eight on one. The full universal entitlement likewise requires at least three afternoons. These are consequential booking conditions: the funded allocation is tied to particular parts of the day, and attendance outside it is charged privately.

The Woodlands Avenue team can be contacted by telephone or email, and a visit can be arranged through the nursery enquiry form. Settling sessions are charged using the applicable hourly or session rate. Enrolment carries a non-refundable registration charge; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Extended funding is stretched over 51 weeks, providing up to 22 hours each week for eligible families. The branch schedule identifies this arrangement for children aged 9 months to 2 years and for over-threes. Universal funding for over-threes provides 15 hours across 38 term-time weeks.

Funded hours carry no food, activity or consumables charge. Additional attendance beyond the funded allocation is paid at the hourly rate, so families combining funding with longer days need to distinguish the funded window from the rest of their booking.

A sibling discount applies to the eldest child's fees when more than one child in the family attends and the eldest attends full time. It is a conditional reduction, so the attendance pattern belongs in the same discussion as the quotation.

• Afternoon funding windows. Universal funding runs from 1pm to 6pm, while stretched funding uses starts at 10am or 11am. Compare those windows with your working day and the private hours your proposed pattern would add.
• Staff support during activities. In May 2025, some staff needed more help with learning intentions and the timing of intervention. On a visit, ask how staff now decide when to extend an activity or help a child who is struggling.
• A building across three floors. Four rooms and a garden preschool classroom create several separate spaces. During a visit, ask how your child's room uses the garden and how movement between spaces is organised.

This nursery suits families considering full-day or half-day care, as well as those whose routines fit its funded afternoon patterns. The garden preschool classroom and care of Lemon and Frankie give it a recognisable identity, while the May 2025 picture of daily life included practical independence, physical challenges and books brought into play.

The balance is straightforward: a Good inspection position and concrete opportunities for children, alongside specific staff-development work to understand. The funding timetable deserves equal attention. A nursery can suit a child well while its funded hours require careful planning around the family's week.