Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Raynes Park, Durham Road

A growing garden, nature sessions and a lending library give Durham Road a clear character: children have space to explore, things to tend and books to share. Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Raynes Park, Durham Road caters for children from three months to five years at 12-14 Durham Road, London, SW20 0TW. Its capacity is 100 children in total, a whole-nursery figure rather than the size of an individual group.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its November 2024 inspection. The useful detail behind that judgement includes care routines shaped with parents, practical cooking activities and opportunities for children to become more independent. There were also two clear priorities: more consistent teaching support and better opportunities for children to share their backgrounds and languages.

For family planning, the nursery opens Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Outdoor learning and communication with parents are central parts of its current offer.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning and care. At Durham Road, its November 2024 daily-life examples included counting fruit for smoothies, handling tools and practising pouring water: learning connected to tasks children could take part in themselves.

Elements of the Curiosity Approach sit alongside that framework. Here, the approach involves natural resources and a homely setting intended to encourage imagination, creative thinking and problem-solving. Dedicated spaces for making art, moving to music and other creative activities give those interests a physical place in the nursery day. For parents, the useful question is how those resources connect with their own child's interests and next steps.

Practical learning had a clear sequence in November 2024. Babies handled objects and investigated sand, building the hand control they would later use with tools and cutlery. Children also helped themselves to meals and poured drinks. These were small, usable steps towards managing everyday tasks, with preparation for writing emerging through physical practice.

Shopping trips supplied ingredients for the nursery's make and bake activities in November 2024. Children prepared fruit and operated a blender to make smoothies, bringing counting and technology into the same experience. Regular yoga and multisport sessions added movement, while singing and action songs engaged older children. This gives a concrete picture of the learning observed at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supports outdoor play throughout the year, with an all-weather outdoor space extending its usefulness. Growing Garden gives children a practical way to learn about plants by looking after them. That makes nature something they can care for as well as explore.

Forest School sessions provide opportunities to investigate nature in the grounds or at a nearby location. Regular outings also take children into the Raynes Park community. These experiences extend the places and people children encounter during their nursery time; the outing frequency is regular rather than a fixed weekly schedule.

A specialist games provider visits each week, using activities that involve sharing, counting, coordination and working together. In November 2024, community experiences also included regular visits to a library and a care home. Babies had outdoor tummy time and practised managing steps and slopes, while toddlers investigated textures in a sand pit. Outdoor experiences reached across ages.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2024, key persons gathered information from parents to shape care around familiar home routines, including agreed plans for weaning babies. Children who struggled with separation received reassurance, could keep comforting belongings from home and had individual story time with staff. These details matter for families whose child needs familiarity while adjusting to nursery.

Communication now includes Famly, the secure app used for updates and reports about children's development. It gives parents a way to follow achievements and areas needing further attention. Nursery events and family activities add opportunities for contact, while the lending library offers books as another shared resource.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and recognised that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefited from staff seeking specialist advice and support. The current offer includes a SENCo role and support tailored to individual needs. This provides a specific point of contact for discussing a child's requirements.

During November 2024, staff responded sensitively when children found emotions difficult to express and gave them time to think and contribute ideas. Rolling mealtimes allowed more uninterrupted play and opportunities for children to manage tasks themselves. Care and learning were connected through everyday routines.

An on-site chef cooks fresh meals, and food is prepared daily. For families, that places meal preparation within the nursery's own operation.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with care offered across the year and closures at Christmas and on bank holidays. The Durham Road address is 12-14 Durham Road, London, SW20 0TW. Keeping those closure periods in the family calendar matters when arranging work and holiday cover.

Getting There

Raynes Park train station and nearby bus stops are close to the nursery. This gives families public transport options when planning their journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. Families considering funding should distinguish their child's entitlement from the attendance arrangement they choose.

• Consistency of teaching. In November 2024, staff occasionally missed opportunities to help children stay involved or take learning further. Ask how practitioners now recognise when a child needs extra help or a greater challenge.
• Children's backgrounds and languages. The November 2024 improvement priority included giving children more opportunities to understand and share what makes them individual. Look for concrete examples of how family languages and experiences shape activities.
• Your child's nursery day. Outdoor exploration, weekly games sessions and practical activities are substantial parts of the offer. On a visit, discuss how these fit your child's age and interests, alongside the attendance pattern and funded-hours arrangement your family needs.

Durham Road suits families who value outdoor exploration, practical learning and regular communication about their child's development. Its growing garden, natural resources, lending library and weekly games sessions give parents concrete features to weigh. The November 2024 care examples also show why familiarity between home and nursery matters here.

The balance rests on those strengths and the teaching priorities identified in November 2024. Families seeking weekday care across the year have a clear opening window to work with, while consistency of individual learning support deserves attention when choosing.