Sowing & Growing Nursery and Preschool

Speech and language give Sowing & Growing Nursery and Preschool its clearest identity. Specialist communication training, Elklan Communication Friendly Settings Accreditation and a forest-like garden shape the offer at Chatsworth Baptist Church in West Norwood. For parents, the useful distinction is the attention paid to how children communicate, alongside the spaces in which they play.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision. The current communication accreditation adds a concrete feature: staff training addresses making the environment accessible to children with different communication abilities and recognising speech, language and communication needs.

The accepted age range is 3 to 60 months. Pumpkins, Sunflowers and Chestnuts are its baby, toddler and preschool rooms. Full-day bookings and Flexi-Days provide different attendance arrangements, although the minimum-booking terms need attention before families commit.

Rooms and Ages

Pumpkins is the baby room, Sunflowers the toddler room and Chestnuts the preschool room. These separate stages give families a clear room structure to discuss as their child grows. Room moves matter here as much as the initial choice of room: a child changes familiar adults, routines and companions, so preparation is a useful part of the care arrangements.

The purpose-built setting includes a forest-like garden. Community Play Things helped equip the nursery, with equipment and wall colours selected deliberately. Those physical choices sit alongside an emphasis on play and exploration, rather than a day built solely around adult-led tasks.

Learning and Activities

Activities connect with EYFS, the framework for children's learning, development and care, through play, communication, relationships and early literacy. Sowing & Growing adds specialist speech and language training for staff. Its approach links imaginative play with conversation, giving practitioners opportunities to introduce words while children explore their interests.

Elklan Communication Friendly Settings Accreditation recognises the nursery's communication work; the associated training addresses accessible communication and identifying children who need additional help with speech or language. This is more useful to parents than a broad promise of language-rich care because it identifies the staff practice behind the approach. An in-house speech and language therapist also provides specialist communication training and can be booked privately.

At the December 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified inconsistent use of everyday opportunities to extend vocabulary, including personal-care routines and conversations with older children, and asked for further staff support. The distinction matters: having specialist training and an accreditation does not remove the need for skilful conversations throughout an ordinary day.

In December 2022, babies explored glue while adults supplied words for what they were doing, and older children talked about stories. Books supported shared attention as well as vocabulary: babies brought them to adults and pointed at pictures. These examples show language being connected to a child's immediate experience, rather than treated only as a separate activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden gives outdoor play a recognisable setting. In December 2022, outdoor learning included water play and opportunities to develop hand skills, concentration, mathematical understanding and interaction between children. Bikes and a climbing frame also featured in outdoor routines, with adults helping children use equipment safely and consider others nearby.

Chatsworth Baptist Church is a named community partner as well as the nursery's address. The collaboration concerns the purpose-built setting and the church's service to local families. Parent workshops and birthday packages extend the nursery's contact with families beyond the ordinary childcare day, while training opportunities help parents use its communication approach at home.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts before the first attendance day. An allocated key worker contacts families approximately 6 weeks before their child joins to arrange settling sessions, and an induction pack supports preparation. That gives parents a named role to work with and a planned opportunity to share the routines that matter to their child.

In December 2022, staff followed babies' home routines and used settling information to establish what children could already do and what they needed next. Babies practised feeding themselves, while older children served meals. Independence was therefore part of everyday care, with expectations adjusted to children's stage of development.

Room changes also received preparation in December 2022. Development information passed between key persons, staff discussed children's individual needs, and parents received information about the move. Photos and observations were shared through an online portal, alongside conversations about learning and ways to continue it at home. For families, these are concrete examples of communication covering both everyday progress and a potentially significant change in routine.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO liaises directly with parents of children with special educational needs or English as an additional language. Specialist communication training and access to private speech and language therapy provide additional routes for discussing a child's needs. These are mechanisms for support, rather than a promise that every child will require or receive the same intervention.

Millie’s Mark is the nursery's paediatric first aid accreditation. It is a specific training-related feature; the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection. In December 2022, children also practised recognising emotions and expressing distress so that others could understand and help them.

Zebedees supplies freshly prepared daily meals, and the nursery provides snacks; its meal preparation takes account of allergies, intolerances and food preferences. Meals follow the Eat Better, Start Better initiative, which guides the nursery's approach to early-years food.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Chatsworth Baptist Church, Chatsworth Way, London SE27 9HN, with access from Idmiston Road. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks; closures include bank holidays, a Christmas week and 5 staff-training days.

Full-day sessions run from 7.30am to 6.30pm. The full-day tariff specifies a minimum of 3 days for every age group and says a Friday may be required when booking that minimum. Flexi-Days allows bookings of 1 or 2 days each week on eligible days, subject to availability and a rolling 2-month agreement, with permanent bookings taking priority.

The contact terms also offer half-day attendance for children aged 2 to 5, with a minimum of 4 half days, or 2 full days, and require a Monday or Friday. Those terms differ from the all-age full-day minimum, making the precise contract a material decision point. Extended hours run from 7am to 7pm and require at least 24 hours' notice.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone. The waiting-list policy gives weight to length of time waiting, fuller attendance patterns, full-day bookings, sibling or existing connections, and requests from children already attending to increase their days. It is a durable allocation policy, rather than a statement about current vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with charge terms covering entitlements of 15 hours per week and 30 hours per week. Private childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page sets out the booking and charge structure.

Private-session pricing includes meals, snacks, Kit & Kin nappies and Aptamil baby milk. Funded hours have a separate arrangement: from April 2026 to March 2027, children under 3 have no supplement, while over-3s attract a supplementary charge for extras such as food, resources and specialist activities. Families who prefer to supply meals or nappies can discuss alternative arrangements; the quotation includes applicable extras.

Joining the waiting list involves a non-refundable registration payment. Accepting a placement involves a further deposit credited against the final invoice, subject to the cancellation terms. Ending attendance or reducing days ordinarily requires 2 months' notice, with exceptions for specified changes or errors by the nursery. These terms make the written offer important even where the daily pattern suits a family's routine.

• Attendance terms differ. The full-day tariff requires 3 days across all ages, while the contact terms allow children aged 2 to 5 to attend 2 full days or 4 half days. Before accepting an offer, establish which minimum and weekday condition will govern your contract.
• Language in ordinary routines. December 2022 brought a specific improvement point about extending vocabulary during care and conversation. At a visit, ask how the Elklan training now shapes these moments in Pumpkins, Sunflowers and Chestnuts.
• Funded extras and food needs. The April 2026 to March 2027 supplement distinguishes under-3s from over-3s, and alternative arrangements can be discussed for meals or nappies. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food-handling practice and the extras included in their quotation.
• Moving between rooms. The nursery has separate baby, toddler and preschool rooms, with planned key-worker contact before joining. Ask how settling and later room moves will be paced around your child's familiar routines.

Sowing & Growing suits families who value a communication-led approach, specialist staff training and a defined progression from baby room to preschool. The forest-like garden and the church partnership give it a recognisable physical and community setting. Its December 2022 Good judgement provides a useful inspection baseline, with the language-development improvement point remaining relevant to a visit.

The attendance offer serves both regular full-day bookings and Flexi-Days arrangements for fewer days, with half-day terms also requiring clarification in the contract. The best fit depends on matching that pattern, the funded-extras arrangement and the notice terms to the family's actual week.