Cherubins Day Nursery, Ladywell Lodge

A garden used for Forest School, a Pet Corner and a baby sleep room give Ladywell Lodge its character. Outdoor discovery sits alongside practical care: children have space for movement and exploration, while babies can rest in a room separate from their play. This is a nursery with several stages of early childhood under one roof.

Cherubins Day Nursery, Ladywell Lodge cares for children from 3 months to 5 years at Slagrove Place in Ladywell, London. It has 125 places in total; that is whole-setting capacity, rather than the size of any room or daily group. At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

The strongest practical features are the age-based rooms, substantial outdoor space and a separate place for babies to sleep. Breakfast and afterschool care also extend the offer to older children.

Rooms and Ages

Stargazers takes babies aged 3 to 16 months, with a separate sleep room containing cots and activities directed towards their early development. Keeping sleep apart from the main room gives rest its own space rather than making it compete with play.

Jasmine serves children from 16 months to 2 years and combines activities children choose themselves with practitioner-led work in small groups. Saffron and Daisy are the rooms for two- to three-year-olds, with exploration indoors and outdoors and space for physical play, imaginative activity and construction.

Willow, Blossom and Oak are the preschool rooms, where purposeful play combines children's own ideas with activities planned by adults and preparation for school. The progression is clear: younger children explore and choose, while older children continue learning through play as they develop skills for their next stage.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through play, with staff planning experiences across its areas of learning. Children have opportunities to initiate activities as well as join those organised by practitioners. This is the common early-years framework; the garden sessions and animal care add recognisable features to Ladywell Lodge's offer.

Forest School brings learning outdoors into the secure garden. Pet Corner introduces children to nature and the responsibility of caring for animals, while yoga and multi-sports add opportunities for movement. These additions give children different ways to participate: through physical activity, exploration and care for living things.

In February 2022, babies explored books by handling pages and flaps, while older children worked with numbers and encountered different written scripts. Activities involving sorting toys and attempting to use chopsticks exercised hand movements relevant to later writing. Learning was rooted in things children could handle and try.

There was also a teaching weakness in February 2022: adults occasionally let children remain disengaged instead of helping them find another activity. The improvement request concerned making support for curiosity and participation more consistent. That is a useful distinction for parents: having activities ready and helping a child engage with them are separate tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large outdoor area includes playground equipment and spaces for quieter play as well as movement and creativity. Construction materials and opportunities for role play give outdoor time more purposes than simply running around.

In February 2022, children used a sandpit, pushed wheelbarrows and practised balancing on stilts. They also helped care for chickens. These examples show the breadth of outdoor experience at that time, from physical challenges to the everyday responsibilities involved in looking after animals.

Relationships and Communication

Babies have a key person who acts as their parent's main contact, sharing information through conversation and written communication books. That gives families an identified relationship through which to discuss their child's day and care.

The separate sleep room has cots, allowing babies to rest away from the activity of the main room. In February 2022, staff also supported babies with separation from family members and followed care routines familiar from home. For a young baby, that connection between home routines and nursery care is a meaningful part of settling.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, children needing extra learning support making steady progress, and assessment informing work with outside professionals and parents, including preparation for school. These are dated judgements about practice at that visit.

In February 2022, staff used visual reminders to explain expectations, including guidance for using the climbing frame. Children took part in practical tasks around lunch, such as preparing tables and clearing plates. Everyday routines provided opportunities to practise independence alongside play.

Home languages were a less consistent part of the day in February 2022. Although resources represented children's backgrounds and some children shared languages with staff, opportunities for children speaking languages other than English needed better planning. For multilingual families, this is a specific point to weigh alongside the wider account of inclusion.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. The closing time matters for families arranging work and collection: the daily window ends at 6pm.

For children aged 4 to 10, Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8.45am and Afterschool Club starts at 3pm, both Monday to Friday. Collection from selected neighbouring schools uses a nursery minibus or walking taxi. Holiday club care is also offered for this older age group.

Getting There

The address is Ladywell Lodge, 1 Slagrove Place, London SE13 7HT. Ladywell train station is nearby; the Lewisham team can be contacted on 020 8690 1371 or at lewisham@cherubinsdaynursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is part of the offer. In February 2022, the nursery received early-education funding for children aged two, three and four; that dated participation should be kept separate from an individual family's entitlement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Engagement in learning. The February 2022 improvement request concerned more consistent adult support when children lost interest. How practitioners respond to a reluctant participant matters as much as the activity itself.
• Home languages. In February 2022, opportunities to recognise and share languages familiar from home needed further planning. This deserves particular attention for families raising children in more than one language.
• The family's daily arrangement. Afterschool schedules conflict, giving finishes of 6pm and 6.30pm; the latter specifies term-time-only care. At a Lewisham tour, confirm the applicable collection time and term-time pattern, and discuss how your child's room, settling arrangements and funded-hours charges for food and consumables fit together.

Ladywell Lodge suits families who value outdoor play and animal care alongside age-based rooms, and those seeking breakfast or afterschool care for older children. The baby sleep room and key-person communication give its youngest children's care a practical shape. Forest School and Pet Corner give the learning offer character.

The Good judgement dates to February 2022. Its two teaching priorities, keeping children engaged and giving home languages a fuller place, remain useful decision points rather than details to lose beneath the grade.