Growing Beans Streatham Preschool

A mud kitchen, multilingual counting and neighbourhood walks give Growing Beans Streatham Preschool a character beyond its small size. This Mitcham Lane setting has capacity for 25 children, with a current age range of 36 to 60 months. Its appeal lies in the connection between practical independence, conversation and learning outside.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The improvement priorities concerned how leaders assessed the benefits of staff training and ensured that agreed practice reached everyday teaching. Those are useful considerations alongside the positive judgement.

Outdoor play is central to the current offer, with space for climbing, running and imaginative activity. Each child has a Key Worker who follows their development and sets individual goals. Families can arrange flexible hours, while teachers can attend during term time under the preschool's fee arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the common framework for learning and care: children develop language, physical skills, relationships and understanding through play and adult guidance. Here, play-based exploration sits alongside a group-wide Forest School ethos, meaning an emphasis on learning outdoors and through nature. It is an approach within the framework, rather than a replacement for it.

In November 2024, children used dough to make Gruffalo figures and invented recipes in the mud kitchen. These examples connect familiar stories with making and pretend play, giving children something concrete to discuss. Dinosaur discoveries provided another starting point: children brushed dirt away from models and practised naming what they uncovered.

Number work also belonged to ordinary activity in November 2024. Children spotted numerals around them and talked about amounts, rather than meeting mathematics only in a separate task. Favourite books prompted conversations with staff, while imaginative cooking introduced vocabulary linked to food and preparation. For parents, this gives a clear picture of learning through things children want to do.

The group-wide activity pattern includes outside educators leading music, Spanish, football, ballet and tennis. These are examples within a changing routine, rather than a fixed weekly timetable. They add adult-led experiences alongside sensory play and children's own choices.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden equipment includes swings, slides and climbing frames, with room for running and sport. This makes physical activity part of the setting itself, alongside daily outings. Outdoor learning therefore has both an on-site space and an outward-looking element.

In November 2024, neighbourhood visits took children to shops and places of worship, including a church and mosque. Library visits gave children opportunities to select for themselves, while journeys brought conversations about road safety and using buses or trains. The practical value is clear: children encounter the wider community while learning how to behave and communicate beyond the preschool.

Regular walks and outdoor play also formed part of the November 2024 day. Indoors, children could choose activities involving drawing and making marks, and sensory tasks required persistence with small movements. Together, these examples show how larger physical activity and hand control both featured in preparation for later learning.

Relationships and Communication

A dedicated Key Worker tracks each child's development and uses observations to shape personal goals. Communication includes updates during the day and detailed handovers afterwards. This gives families a continuing account of their child's experiences, while keeping individual development attached to a familiar practitioner.

In November 2024, staff adjusted a planned sensory forest activity when children's engagement changed. Knowing when to redirect an activity matters as much as planning it: the example shows adults responding to the children taking part. Families also had regular opportunities to discuss progress, with reports and ideas for continuing learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children learning English as an additional language made good progress and that staff-child relationships supported activities adapted to individual needs. During that month, counting together incorporated languages used by children and staff. Home languages therefore had a visible place in shared activity.

School preparation in November 2024 included practising personal care, speaking confidently and managing tasks independently. Children served their own breakfast, washed their hands and helped clear up. These small routines give children opportunities to practise responsibility before moving to the next stage.

Meals are cooked on site, with chefs preparing breakfast, dinner and lunch as well as snacks. The preschool offers accommodation for dietary requirements; allergy-affected families should discuss current arrangements during a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 9 and 9b Mitcham Lane, London SW16 6LG. The preschool operates throughout the year apart from Bank Holidays, with attendance across one to five days each week and a minimum day booking of 10 hours.

Flexible hours are offered, and teachers can attend during term time, with charges varying according to attendance. These are different arrangements to weigh against work schedules and the school calendar. Enquiries and visit bookings can be made through the preschool's admissions team, which supplies a written quotation for the chosen setting.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 and 30 hours of funded childcare are offered for preschool-aged children, with the extended entitlement dependent on eligibility. For year-round attendance, funding covering 38 weeks is spread across monthly bills over 12 months. Funded hours cannot exceed the hours a child actually attends, and additional private hours are charged separately.

For funded attendance, food and non-food consumables carry separate charges, as do activities and outings. These charges are not mandatory: arrangements can be discussed for families to supply food or consumables, or for a child not to take part in the charged activities and outings.

The preschool's additional-charge arrangements begin in the term after a child turns three, and charges reduce proportionally when fewer funded hours are used. There is no imposed attendance pattern for accessing funding beyond the requirement that claimed hours match attendance. The Streatham fees page explains the structure; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Opening times. The Streatham information gives both 7.30am to 6.30pm and 7am to 6pm opening windows. Before planning work around the minimum day booking, which hours apply to the Mitcham Lane preschool?
• Consistency of teaching. In November 2024, leaders needed to assess training's effect more carefully and strengthen follow-through on agreed practice, including outdoors. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how training now changes children's activities and how leaders check consistency.
• Funded extras and food. Food, consumables, activities and outings have separate, non-mandatory charges during funded attendance. Families considering supplying items themselves, especially those managing allergies, should agree the practical arrangements before joining.

Growing Beans Streatham Preschool suits families seeking outdoor activity and practical school preparation, with either flexible hours across the year or term-time attendance for teachers. The garden, neighbourhood experiences and individual Key Worker goals give that offer substance. The Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by clear November 2024 priorities around training and consistent practice. The attendance commitment and funded extras deserve careful attention when weighing the fit for family life.