Jigsaw Day Nursery

A baby garden built for changeable weather, preschool swimming at Canons Leisure Centre and vegetables grown outdoors give Jigsaw Day Nursery a character that extends beyond its rooms. On the edge of Cricket Green in Mitcham, it accepts children aged three months to five years. The outdoor spaces deserve attention: babies have their own play area, while planting and composting give older children practical ways to explore growth and decay.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Jigsaw Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well through collaboration with parents and professionals. That judgement has a date. The practical strengths for families today include individual baby routines, a key person for each child and activities that connect indoor play with the garden.

Full-time care and daily bookings sit alongside a three-day minimum attendance policy. That minimum is an important part of the decision for parents seeking a smaller weekly commitment.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars accommodates babies from three to 24 months, combining books and cushioned areas with an adjoining weatherproof garden so that early language experiences and outdoor play have space of their own.

Ladybirds, for children aged 24 to 36 months, combines early mark-making with sensory baskets, sand and water activities and a covered construction area beside the room, giving toddlers different ways to practise handling materials and expressing ideas.

Butterflies serves children aged three to five years, with independently accessible creative resources, role-play, number activities and a carpeted place for books, bringing early literacy and mathematics into a day that also makes room for children's interests.

The progression is tangible. Babies have space designed around their stage; toddlers experiment with materials; preschool children have more opportunities to select resources and develop their own play. These are different room arrangements, rather than a single activity list applied across every age.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children develop communication, movement, early reading and number skills through play and guided activities. At Jigsaw, this includes exploring books, experimenting with materials, counting and making sense of the world outdoors. The framework is the starting point; the added activities give families more to weigh.

Le Club Français brings French sessions into the nursery, with a separate charge. Swimming is optional for children aged three and above, taking place at Canons Leisure Centre on Mondays and Tuesdays during school terms with the centre's swimming instructors. Gymnastics is arranged on Wednesdays. These activities are organised by special arrangement, so they sit alongside the nursery day rather than defining every child's attendance.

In December 2022, children explored real produce, including plantain, avocado and yam, through smell, taste and close examination. Older children explored dinosaurs and volcanoes, extending their vocabulary through the subjects that interested them. Younger children used puppets with songs. Those examples show how practical materials and conversation were combined, rather than treating learning as a sequence of worksheets.

Outdoor and Community Life

The main playground separates babies' play from the space used by toddlers and preschool children. Sand, water, construction and role-play continue outdoors, while a wildlife area gives children something living to investigate. There is also a bus garage for exploring transport through play. Indoor themes have somewhere to expand.

Seasonal flowers and vegetables, together with composting, give children opportunities to care for growing things and discuss what changes over time. A sensory area provides another option when a child wants quieter play. Outdoor activity continues in different weather, with children dressed appropriately, so the garden is part of the routine rather than reserved for sunny days.

Topic-related outings can include the library, common or city farm, and a summer day trip usually takes children to a country farm or zoo park. These are occasional experiences, with family notification for trips beyond walks to the park or shops. They add real places to subjects explored through play.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who follows their development, records progress and handles individual needs. Parents can discuss both the daily programme and their child's progress with that member of staff. This gives the family a clear point of contact, while other staff also spend time with the children.

Settling begins with a meeting about the child's needs, relevant family circumstances and parental concerns. Children can bring a familiar object, and the approach allows time to adjust before longer periods at nursery. For a baby accustomed to a particular pattern of feeds or sleep, that conversation has a practical purpose.

Baby routines are planned with parents, including sleeping and feeding at individual times. Daily reports cover activities as well as meals, toileting and sleep, giving families details they can use at home. In Ladybirds, the carpeted area becomes a nap space during the afternoon. Rest has a place within the room's changing daily use.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional needs can involve liaison with professionals such as a speech therapist or health visitor, with parents kept informed. For children with little experience of English, families are encouraged to share useful words from their home language. These are concrete communication arrangements, rather than a general promise that one approach will suit everyone.

In December 2022, staff used attention buckets to help children concentrate, sharing information with families and working with the SEND coordinator and outside professionals. The same visit identified two areas needing work: meaningful opportunities to use home languages and greater independence for older children at meals. Those points matter alongside the positive judgement, especially for bilingual families and parents keen to develop self-care.

Food is cooked each day in the nursery kitchen, using a four-week seasonal menu that accommodates vegetarian and religious preferences. Medical dietary requirements are addressed through individual adaptations, and food can be adjusted for children who are weaning.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays, a summer week usually beginning with the August bank holiday and a week at Christmas. Families need to distinguish those opening weeks from billing: fees are payable across 52 weeks.

Full-time and daily bookings are offered, with a three-day minimum attendance policy. Payment is monthly in advance, and collection beyond the agreed attendance attracts an additional charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Applications use a nursery-place form, completed and returned to Jigsaw. The nursery office handles funded-only enquiries, and there is an online virtual tour. These provide an application route and an initial look at the spaces before the settling arrangements begin.

Getting There

The address is 1 Cricket Green, Mitcham, CR4 4LB, overlooking the cricket grounds. Transport options include buses 118, 127 and S1, Mitcham Junction for rail and Mitcham on Tram Link.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour entitlement for eligible children aged nine months, two, three and four, and extended 30-hour funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds. The extended entitlement is delivered as a stretched package of care, with charges tailored to the family's attendance preferences; participation does not establish an individual child's eligibility.

For extended funding, the nursery requires the eligibility code by the middle of August for a September start, the middle of November for January and the middle of March for April. These recurring deadlines matter when planning attendance. French sessions have a separate cost, and swimming is optional and separately charged; gymnastics fees are advised at the beginning of the school term. The fees and funding page sets out the charge structure.

• Minimum attendance and billing. A three-day minimum and payment across 52 weeks shape the commitment, although the nursery opens for 50 weeks. At a visit, discuss how the proposed booking fits the family's working week and the closure calendar.
• Language and independence. December 2022 improvement points concerned home-language opportunities and older children's participation at meals. Ask to see how these are handled now, using examples relevant to your child.
• The complete quotation. French and swimming carry separate charges, and extended funding is stretched. Does the written quotation distinguish private bookings from the stretched extended-funding package and itemise the separate activity charges?
• Activity arrangements. Swimming is term-time provision for children aged three and above, while French sessions come into the nursery. During a visit, clarify which activities fit the intended attendance days and how the swimming arrangements work.

Jigsaw suits families seeking either full-time attendance or daily bookings that meet its three-day minimum, especially those who value outdoor play and individual baby routines. The baby garden, planting activities and swimming at Canons Leisure Centre give the choice substance beyond a general promise of learning through play.

The December 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with clear improvement points to explore. Balance the room arrangements and activities against the minimum booking commitment, closure weeks and stretched funding model. For families whose schedule fits those terms, Jigsaw offers a concrete mix of care, play and additional experiences.