Fennies Raynes Park, Amity Grove

A cooking studio linked to Inventors and gardens opening directly from two rooms give Fennies Raynes Park, Amity Grove a practical, hands-on character. Children can move between making, exploring and outdoor play, rather than having all their learning organised around the same indoor space. For parents, the appeal is concrete: facilities that support different kinds of activity within the nursery day.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding arrangements effective. The improvement point was specific: noise in the toddler room sometimes interrupted children's concentration. That deserves attention alongside the positive judgement.

Based at 9 Amity Grove in London, the nursery accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. Its offer combines specialist-led learning, cooking and outdoor access with personalised settling and digital updates for parents. A standard day and a separately charged Early Start serve families with different morning schedules.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers Room accommodates babies aged 3 to 18 months, with sensory experiences and early movement as its emphasis, while feeding and sleeping routines are adapted through communication with families. Those everyday routines matter as much as an activity programme at this age. A baby learning about sounds and textures also needs familiar patterns of care.

Discoverers Room, for children aged 18 to 36 months, emphasises communication and increasing independence in eating and toileting, with direct access to its own garden. This joins practical self-care with opportunities to explore. The progression is towards doing more for themselves, rather than simply taking part in more adult-directed activities.

Inventors Room serves children aged 3 to 5 years, combining early number work, literacy and STEAM subjects with resources drawn from real-life experiences and free-flow garden access. The cooking studio is connected to this room. For preschool children, it provides another setting in which to follow instructions, handle materials and work together.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS Statutory Framework provides the foundation for children's learning, development and care: here, that means learning through play, conversation and exploration, alongside growing independence. Fennies Inspire is a group-wide enhancement delivered through specialist-led sessions, adding experiences intended to develop language, creativity and problem-solving. It sits alongside that foundation.

Group-wide Artist of the Month gives the art work a recognisable thread. A visiting art specialist introduces a different artist each month, with activities drawing on their work. Children therefore encounter different ways of making art, rather than being given one repeated technique. Book of the Month is another group initiative, while the branch's Lending Library lets families take books home. That creates a useful connection between nursery reading and family reading.

The cooking studio offers daily food activities, including mixing, measuring and working from recipes. It is a strong practical addition: children use their hands, follow a sequence and share a task with others. The experience brings number language into something tangible, with ingredients and instructions rather than an abstract exercise.

In September 2024, children's interests helped shape activities, and staff introduced unfamiliar ideas alongside those interests. Babies experimented with water and containers, while older children recreated story sequences through sensory play. These examples give the inspection-era curriculum texture: children were handling materials and acting out ideas, rather than only listening to adults.

Outdoor and Community Life

Growing areas and a sandpit add different textures and tasks to outdoor play. Discoverers and Inventors each have a garden connected to their room, so outdoor activity can be part of the flow of the day. The spaces support both movement and quieter investigation.

Nature walks and library trips extend learning beyond the nursery. Outings depend on the weather and what children are exploring; previous destinations have included farms, shops and a fire station. This is an interest-led offer, rather than a fixed weekly excursion programme. In September 2024, outdoor activity also included negotiating hills and tunnels and making pretend food in mud kitchens.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with a short visit attended by both child and parent, with the parent staying onsite while the child becomes familiar with the room and team. The settling period is free and generally lasts one week, with an extension to two weeks where needed. That gives the first separation a gradual structure instead of treating the starting date as a single abrupt change.

In September 2024, settling arrangements were adjusted to individual children, and parents were invited to transition evenings before room moves. The distinction matters: getting used to nursery and moving to another room are separate changes, each requiring attention. The evenings gave parents a role in understanding the next stage.

Famly App carries updates about sleep, meals, activities and developmental milestones, together with event reminders and nursery news. For a parent spending the day elsewhere, that is a practical way to follow the child's routine. The Lending Library adds something different: a shared resource families can use together at home, rather than another stream of notifications.

Parent support also had a practical emphasis in September 2024. Workshops covered sleep, weaning, behaviour and potty training, while meetings connected nursery learning with ideas for home. These topics address the everyday questions that often dominate family life during the early years.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Personalised support plans are developed with parents, carers and external professionals. The central specialist team includes SENCO support, and regional inclusion support covers additional needs and children learning English as an Additional Language. These are identifiable mechanisms for planning support around a child.

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked effectively with families and professionals to support children with SEND, using signing and visual communication aids. That dated finding gives substance to the support arrangements: communication tools were being used in practice, alongside collaboration with parents.

A monitored entry system controls access, and visitors are accompanied by an educator. These are security arrangements, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement. Regular handwashing is built into children's routines, with evening cleaning and a quarterly deep clean supporting the care of the environment.

Fresh food is prepared by the onsite kitchen team, with menus changing twice a year and meals adapted to dietary needs. The seasonal changes give children opportunities to encounter different foods, while individual requirements remain part of meal planning.

Sessions and Attendance

The standard day runs from 7:45am to 6pm. Early Start, from 7am to 7:45am, is separately charged. These are different booking components: families using the earlier start should account for it alongside their standard day.

The nursery operates throughout the year, Monday to Friday, closing for bank holidays and the Christmas period. Enrolment can take place throughout the year. A free waiting list is also offered, a durable joining arrangement rather than an indication of current vacancies.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form, and tours can be booked. The joining charges include a deposit credited against the first month's fees and a non-refundable registration charge; the registration charge does not apply to funded-only attendance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

The address is 9 Amity Grove, Raynes Park, London, SW20 0LQ, a 2-minute walk away from Raynes Park train station. A space for drop-offs and pick-ups provides a practical car option alongside the station connection.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts government childcare funding, including the 15 and 30 hours free childcare for working families, subject to eligibility. Private childcare is also offered. Funding and additional paid attendance should be considered separately when assessing the cost of a proposed schedule.

Private fees include food, drinks and snacks, as well as nappies, wipes, suncream and personal care consumables. For funded attendance, food and consumables attract separate voluntary supplements, already incorporated into the quoted fee structure. Families may opt out and supply their own items after meeting the nursery manager to discuss the relevant policies.

Invoices are issued before the following month, with payment due before its first day. Annual fee changes are calculated in July and applied to September's invoice. These terms make the written quotation useful for more than comparing a day rate: it should reflect the attendance pattern, funding treatment and extras together.

• Toddler-room noise. In September 2024, the room could become loud enough to interrupt chosen activities. During a tour, ask how its layout and daily organisation now protect quieter play and conversation.
• Early mornings. Early Start is a paid addition to the standard day. Decide whether the earlier morning fits your routine before comparing the overall quotation with another setting.
• Funding pattern. Funded attendance has separate voluntary food and consumables supplements, with an opt-out arrangement. Ask whether your intended funded hours are delivered term-time or stretched, and have the proposed arrangement set out in writing.
• Room progression. Discoverers includes children younger than two as well as older toddlers. Ask how room moves are planned around development and how care is organised across that age span.

Fennies Raynes Park, Amity Grove suits families choosing either the standard day or that day with a paid Early Start, who value hands-on activity and regular communication about care. The cooking studio, connected gardens and book borrowing give that offer substance. Personalised settling and support planning add useful structure around the child's individual needs.

The Good judgement from September 2024 sits alongside a clear toddler-room improvement point. For families assessing this nursery, the strongest combination is practical learning space, gradual introductions and usable parent communication, with quieter toddler activity an important topic for the visit.