Cavendish Lodge Nursery School

A double-fronted villa, gardens at both front and rear, and rooms called Buttercups, Cheeky Monkeys and the Clockhouse give Cavendish Lodge Nursery School a recognisable character. This Streatham setting combines separate provision for babies, toddlers and preschool children with air-conditioned indoor rooms. For families choosing care across the early years, the progression between age groups is an important part of its appeal.

At its February 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement and inclusion Strong standard, the remaining education and care areas Expected standard, and safeguarding standards met. That is a differentiated assessment, rather than a single overall grade. The strongest judgements sit alongside a specific teaching priority: helping less-experienced practitioners make more of children's play.

Cavendish Lodge has 83 places in total and accepts children from six months to five years. That whole-nursery figure should not be read as the number of children sharing a room. Care runs across the year, with weekday opening hours of 8am to 6pm.

Rooms and Ages

Buttercups caters for babies from six months to two years, with three taster sessions before they start to introduce the setting gradually. Toddlers, aged two to three, have more say over their activities within a planned day. Cheeky Monkeys and the Clockhouse are the preschool base rooms, where creative exploration and investigation accompany the move towards Reception, with children beginning the preschool progression at around two and a half.

For two-year-olds, Cavendish Lodge's toddler staffing ratio is 1:4. The baby staffing ratio is 1:3, meeting the statutory minimum. Preschool staffing ratios are 1:4 for under-threes and 1:8 for children aged three to five. These are staffing ratios, not room sizes.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the learning and care framework: children build language, physical skills, early mathematical understanding and social confidence through play and everyday experiences. In February 2026, practical examples included weighing objects and counting toy dinosaurs, connecting mathematical ideas with things children could handle. Stories and greetings in different languages gave children opportunities to listen and try new vocabulary.

There was also room for responsibility. In February 2026, children helped with snacks and put resources away, making independence part of ordinary routines rather than a separate lesson. Younger children explored sensory books, while children also took part in cooking activities and explained their learning. These examples make the curriculum tangible: learning happened through conversation, objects and shared tasks.

Consistency is the qualification to keep in view. In February 2026, some less-experienced staff missed chances to develop learning during play. Leaders' next step was to identify the training and support those practitioners needed, including for interactions outdoors. Attractive activities matter, but so does what an adult notices and adds while a child is absorbed in them.

Outdoor and Community Life

The front and rear gardens give outdoor space a substantial place in the setting's physical layout. In February 2026, children practised balance, climbed and rode bikes outside, and grew fruit and vegetables. Movement and growing offered different kinds of hands-on experience: one involved coordination, the other observing and caring for living things.

Cavendish Library also has a book reservation form for families. It provides a concrete connection with books beyond the nursery day, alongside the stories used in children's learning. The useful detail here is the reservation route itself, rather than an assumed programme of library events.

Relationships have a practical structure. In February 2026, children had a key person, and room changes involved conversations between staff and parents about children's development and next steps. The three pre-start taster sessions for Buttercups add a current, specific settling arrangement for the youngest children. They make familiarisation part of the start, rather than leaving it entirely to the first booked day.

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that early identification, individual learning plans and support informed by speech and language professionals helped children with SEND make progress, with room and school transitions handled effectively. Staff used visual prompts and communication activities, with support reviewed and adjusted. For a parent weighing inclusion, these mechanisms are more informative than a broad promise to meet every need.

In February 2026, school preparation included visits from teachers and exchanges about children's development and individual plans. This was transition work centred on the child, rather than an admissions benefit. Meetings gave adults a way to carry knowledge of the child's needs into the next setting.

Food is cooked at the nursery each day using fresh ingredients, and Cavendish Lodge follows a seasonal menu rotating over four weeks. Families must also submit an injury report when a child has been hurt outside nursery, giving staff relevant information for the child's care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 52 Lewin Road, Streatham, London, SW16 6JT. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and childcare operates across the year. These hours describe the working day; they should not be treated as a separate list of bookable sessions.

Bank holidays and Christmas interrupt the annual pattern. For Christmas 2026, the final childcare day is Monday 21 December, ending at 6pm, followed by a staff inset day on Tuesday 22 December. Reopening is Monday 4 January. That break needs to fit the family's wider care arrangements.

Joining and Charges

An enquiry form connects families with the admissions team for a call about their childcare requirements. Registration for Cavendish Lodge involves an application form and a registration fee, after which an admissions officer discusses the application. Registration does not guarantee a place, so the application stage and an actual offer should be treated separately.

Nursery tours can be booked. They provide an opportunity to look closely at the rooms that would matter for the child's age and to discuss how the settling arrangements would work in practice.

• Teaching during play. The February 2026 priority was better support for less-experienced practitioners, especially outdoors. On a tour, ask how leaders now coach staff to develop children's ideas while they play.
• The youngest children's day. Buttercups offers three taster sessions and a baby staffing ratio at the legal minimum. Ask how the room organises sleep and individual routines, and what group size your baby would usually experience.
• The written care package. Weekday opening spans 8am to 6pm, while registration carries a fee and does not secure a place. Before applying, ask for one written explanation of bookable attendance patterns, funded childcare and which meal or consumable costs apply.
• Christmas cover. The 2026 childcare year ends on 21 December, with reopening on 4 January. Families working through that period need an alternative arrangement for the closure.

Cavendish Lodge suits families seeking care from babyhood through preschool, with separate age groups, substantial garden space and a gradual introduction for babies. The February 2026 assessment gives particular weight to achievement and inclusion.

The reservation is equally specific: teaching during play needs greater consistency among less-experienced staff. For parents, the decision is whether the rooms, year-round operating pattern and approach to settling fit their child, alongside a convincing account of how that teaching priority is being addressed.