Lavender Nursery

Snail discoveries, homemade flags and lunchtime responsibilities give Lavender Nursery's June 2023 account its character: children learning through small, tangible experiences. At its 22 June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective.

Based in Mitcham, the nursery has capacity for 72 children aged 24 to 59 months. The principal improvement point from June 2023 was consistency in staff's support for communication and language, including how they took learning further.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: play, communication and growing independence belong together in the day. In June 2023, staff planned around children's interests and next learning steps, rather than treating activities as isolated entertainment.

A garden encounter with snails became an opportunity to collect materials for their homes and draw what children had discovered. Older children put their names on flags for sandcastles, connecting early writing with something they were making. These were practical reasons to observe, talk and write.

In June 2023, preparations for sports day included balancing, throwing and racing. Children also poured drinks, served food and helped prepare lunch tables. Independence had everyday tasks attached to it.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children's emotional needs effectively and used signing and visual resources to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, although communication support was inconsistent across staff.

In June 2023, children had close relationships with practitioners, while small-group conversations gave them opportunities to contribute. Staff helped children share and take turns, with a consistent response to behaviour. Links with specialist agencies and liaison with other providers supported individual needs and continuity when children moved on.

In June 2023, parents received information about care and learning through meetings, workshops and stay-and-play sessions, alongside ideas for home. Staff development included key-person training, supervision and observations of practice; team meetings were used to review what needed attention. Safeguarding training, recruitment checks and risk assessments formed part of the arrangements at that date.

Lavender Nursery is at Lavender Children's Centre, Lavender Park Pavilion, Lavender Avenue, Mitcham, CR4 3HL. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for a summer week, a Christmas week and five training days.

In June 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation fact rather than a promise of a particular funded attendance arrangement today.

• Language development. The June 2023 improvement point concerned uneven communication support. On a visit, how do practitioners now extend conversation and learning consistently across the team?
• Holiday cover. Summer and Christmas closures each last one week, alongside five training days. Families needing care across the year will need to account for those breaks.
• Age range. Care starts at 24 months. This is an option for families choosing provision beyond the baby stage.

Lavender Nursery suits families seeking weekday care for children beyond the baby stage, with opening hours extending into late afternoon. Its June 2023 strengths lay in practical independence, relationships and learning drawn from children's interests. The communication improvement point deserves attention alongside those strengths; the dated judgement should frame expectations rather than stand as a description of every aspect of care today.