Rainbow Smiles

A Quiet Room beside the baby play space, a garden divided for different kinds of play and detailed online updates give Rainbow Smiles a clear practical character. This West Dulwich nursery occupies a detached Victorian house at 117 Rosendale Road, SE21 8HE, and accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. Its appeal lies in the relationship between the physical spaces and the information families receive about their child's day.

At its December 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated Rainbow Smiles Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through collaboration with families and professionals. That judgement is dated. The current offer includes separate baby, toddler and preschool spaces, with play and observation used to shape children's learning.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room emphasises early exploration and comfort; alongside the baby play area, the Quiet Room gives sleeping babies a space away from activity. This is a useful distinction for families whose baby's sleep still determines much of the day. The baby play surface is carpeted, with resources selected for sensory exploration and physical development.

The Toddler Room centres on play, growing independence and curiosity, while the Preschool Room combines guided experiences with play to develop friendships and preparation for school. Across the indoor spaces, carpeted areas sit alongside areas for messier activities. Painting and modelling therefore have an appropriate setting, rather than having to compete with quieter play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the foundation for learning, development and care: children learn through play and interactions, with observations helping staff plan their next experiences. Rainbow Smiles uses both planned observations and those arising during the day, alongside individual profiles. The practical benefit is that planning can respond to what a child is doing, rather than treating everyone as ready for the same activity.

Sand, paint and water offer opportunities to experiment, while quieter areas make room for rhymes, songs and stories. Resources are arranged so children can reach and investigate them. This gives children choices about how to play and makes independent exploration part of the environment itself.

In December 2021, children explored cornflour and painted with sponges as part of developing the physical control needed for early drawing and writing. Staff also combined singing with signs and used visual prompts to support communication. Those examples add substance to the play-based approach: movement, materials and language were connected within ordinary activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The shared garden contains spaces for role play, active play, creative work and exploration with water and sand, alongside grass. Children can use the outdoors for different purposes, rather than simply having a place to run. A rubber safety surface forms part of the outdoor provision.

Relationships and Communication

The Parent Portal brings together information about children's care and development. The Incredible Learning Journal records each child's learning and gives parents a way to discuss observations and contribute what they see at home. That exchange matters: an interest or skill emerging outside nursery can help staff understand the child more fully.

In December 2021, families received daily care and learning updates through an app, and introductory online conversations helped staff learn about children before settling began. Staff comforted babies with quiet singing and offered physical reassurance when children needed it. These are inspection-era examples of how communication and comfort worked together.

Current staffing arrangements include in-house support staff to cover absences, alongside opportunities for practitioners to undertake further study and take on additional responsibilities. Cover is a practical part of that arrangement: development opportunities are supported by a plan for staff absence. Recruitment includes interviews, references and criminal-record checks; these are procedures, rather than a separate assurance about safeguarding effectiveness.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with SEND included funded visits from speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, with staff, parents and professionals working towards agreed next steps. For a family needing additional support, the meaningful detail is the involvement of specialists within the nursery, rather than a general statement about inclusion.

The chef cooks meals daily from fresh ingredients and makes items including bread and baked beans from scratch. The menu gives substantial space to fruit, vegetables and fish, introducing children to different ingredients and flavours.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with closure at weekends and on public holidays. Rainbow Smiles operates across the year, with Christmas closure also part of its calendar. The attendance-day swap policy allows parents to exchange a booked day where this is possible. That condition matters for families with changing work schedules: a swap is an accommodation, rather than an unconditional entitlement.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at info@rainbowsmilesltd.co.uk or on 020 8655 7888. Individual viewings can be arranged.

Funding and Paid Extras

Rainbow Smiles offers government-funded attendance alongside privately paid childcare. Its funding categories cover working parents with children over 9 months, working parents with children over 2, deprivation-related support for over-twos, standard over-three funding and additional over-three funding. Eligibility depends on the relevant scheme; working-parent and additional over-three applications go through national government, while deprivation-related applications go through the family's borough of residence.

Funded attendance can reduce the privately paid fees where a child qualifies. The fees page sets out attendance-day bands, an additional-day rate, a registration charge and a separate settling-in daily charge. Families receive current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

• Lunchtime learning. In December 2021, staff missed opportunities to develop conversation and let children handle utensils independently during meals. During an individual viewing, ask how staff now support both language and practical independence at lunchtime.
• Baby sleep and play. The Quiet Room sits beside the baby play area. Use the viewing to discuss how your baby's sleep routine would work alongside play and feeding.
• Changing attendance days. Swaps depend on whether the nursery can accommodate them. Families with variable working days should discuss how that policy would fit their usual week.
• The funded-hours package. Funded attendance and separate registration and settling-in charges need to be considered together. Ask for a written breakdown of how funded attendance, registration and settling-in charges would apply to your proposed attendance.

Rainbow Smiles suits families seeking care across the year, play organised into different indoor and outdoor spaces, and a detailed connection between home and nursery. The Quiet Room offers a concrete benefit for babies; the Parent Portal and Incredible Learning Journal give parents ways to follow and contribute to learning. The December 2021 Good judgement provides useful context, while the lunchtime improvement point makes everyday independence a worthwhile topic for a viewing.