Oak Tree Pre-School Nursery, Wimbledon

A church-ground setting with a mud kitchen, a neighbouring field and weekly library outings gives Oak Tree its Wimbledon character. Cooking reaches beyond the kitchen too: the nursery chef leads a classroom cookery session each week, connecting food with something children can help make. These are concrete reasons to consider the setting, especially for families who want outdoor play and everyday experiences to shape the nursery day.

Oak Tree Pre-School Nursery, Wimbledon has 32 places in total for children aged one to five. It operates from Fellowship House in the grounds of St Mary’s Church, with a Toddler Room and a Pre-School Room rather than a long roster of separately named age groups.

At its August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that work with parents and other professionals gave children with special educational needs and/or disabilities targeted support. Two improvement points temper that positive assessment: children needed more consistent help to join learning opportunities, and daily routines needed greater flexibility around individual needs.

Attendance runs across the year, with two day lengths offered from Monday to Thursday. Friday is a closure day. That is a decisive practical consideration for parents planning their working week.

Rooms and Ages

The Toddler Room combines large windows with low furniture and resources labelled where children can see them, supporting independent choices alongside activities planned around individual interests. The Pre-School Room is the nursery’s largest room, also with large windows, and uses play linked to children’s interests to build independence and prepare for school.

Room progression is more than a change of space. In August 2024, children preparing to move between rooms had settling sessions, including opportunities for younger children to eat with older children; parents were involved in the move into preschool. Familiar experiences helped bridge the change rather than leaving children to adjust to a new room all at once.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, conversation, exploration and growing independence. Here, planning responds to children’s interests and combines adult-planned experiences with time for children to choose their own play. The framework is the foundation; visiting sessions in singing, yoga, multi-sports and tennis add other experiences to the day.

The August 2024 learning examples make that approach tangible. Younger children poured water through funnels of different sizes while adults introduced mathematical vocabulary. Older children made pretend passports for an airport game, giving imaginative play a recognisable purpose. These activities brought language and thinking into something children were already doing, rather than separating learning from play.

Books also prompted practical activity in August 2024. Older children acted out a story about pigs and experimented with building a house using sticks and straw, while younger children explored story-related puppets and props. Sharing materials and working out how to build something gave children opportunities to contribute ideas as well as listen.

The participation concern matters alongside those examples. In August 2024, adults sometimes missed the point at which a child playing independently needed help to become more involved or take an activity further. Enjoyable resources alone do not settle that question. The adult response is part of the learning experience too.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed garden separates different kinds of play: an outdoor creative area and mud kitchen sit alongside a quiet reading area and imaginative corner. Access to the large field beside the church adds room for running, parachute play and kites. The combination gives children options for energetic activity and quieter occupation.

Weekly visits to the local library take books beyond the nursery rooms. Other outings include the village stables, the common and Wimbledon Park, where children feed the ducks. Only the library visits have a stated weekly rhythm; the other destinations broaden the setting’s connection with its surroundings.

Outdoor provision needs to be read alongside the routines concern. In August 2024, access outside followed fixed times, which did not consistently accommodate children who preferred learning outdoors. For a child strongly drawn to outdoor play, how staff respond to that preference is an important part of assessing the nursery.

Relationships and Communication

Famly is the communication app used at Wimbledon, bringing messages, photographs and videos to parents as they are shared. Parents can add photographs and accounts of experiences at home to their child’s learning record too. That makes communication a two-way exchange: staff can see interests beyond nursery, while families receive more detail than a brief conversation can carry.

In August 2024, staff handled nappy changing and toilet learning with sensitivity, and involved parents in room transitions. Those are useful care details because they concern moments when a child needs patience and continuity, rather than simply an engaging activity.

Independence also took practical forms during August 2024: children practised pouring drinks, managing the toilet and using cutlery. These small tasks linked preparation for school with everyday care. They gave children something real to do for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The August 2024 inspection asked staff to make routines more responsive and help every child participate more fully in learning experiences. These are specific areas for improvement, rather than a general warning about the setting. Families whose children need extra encouragement to join play, or whose needs do not fit a fixed timetable, should make them part of their visit discussion.

The nursery chef prepares fresh meals and sometimes uses produce grown by the children in the nursery garden; dietary requirements are catered for, including medical, cultural and ethical needs. Weekly classroom cookery gives children another way to explore food, while older children also help lay the table and serve one another.

At mealtimes, staff eat with small groups of children and help with cutlery and eating. This makes meals part of the social day as well as a care routine. Children have opportunities to talk with adults and friends while practising useful tasks.

Sessions and Attendance

Special Full Day runs from 08:00 to 16:30, and Full Day from 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Thursday. The minimum booking is two sessions each week. Morning and afternoon sessions are not offered, so the earlier finish still involves a day beginning at the same time as the longer option.

Care operates throughout the year, excluding bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year. There is no term-time-only pattern. Families therefore need to plan around an annual arrangement and the Friday closure, rather than assume the nursery follows school terms.

Enquiries begin through the enquiry form. A non-refundable registration charge secures a waiting-list place; after a childcare place is offered, a deposit is due within five working days. Its return within a week of leaving depends on at least three full calendar months’ notice and compliance with the nursery’s policies and procedures.

Getting There

The address is Fellowship House, Parish Office, 30 St. Mary's Road, London, SW19 7BP, within the grounds of St Mary’s Church. The setting is within walking distance of Wimbledon Village and a short distance from Wimbledon Station.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers universal funding of 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds and working-parent funding of 30 hours for children aged nine months to four years, subject to eligibility and the setting’s accepted starting age. Entitlements are stretched across the year, giving approximately 11 or 22 funded hours each week respectively rather than the term-time weekly amount.

Funded attendance carries separate supplements for food and drink, consumables, activities and celebrations. These charges are included in the funded-day totals, so a funded entitlement does not mean that the entire attendance bill disappears. Current prices belong in a written quotation from the nursery; the fees and funding information explains the charging structure.

Private childcare is also offered. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and sickness or holidays do not attract refunds or discounts. Those terms matter for families comparing the cost of a regular booking with the days their child is likely to attend.

• A four-day week. The two day options operate Monday to Thursday, with at least two weekly sessions. Establish how that pattern fits your working week before arranging a visit.
• Starting age. The starting ages given are 12 and 18 months. Confirm the accepted starting age and room arrangement for your child before progressing an enquiry.
• Participation and outdoor choice. The August 2024 improvement points concerned help to join learning and routines that responded unevenly to individual needs. During a visit, ask how staff support a child who stays on the edge of an activity or wants additional outdoor time.
• The funded-day bill. Food, consumables, activities and celebrations attract supplements, while the deposit return depends on notice and policy compliance. Request a written quotation for your chosen attendance pattern and discuss any medical dietary requirements alongside it.

Oak Tree suits families seeking year-round attendance with either a 16:30 Special Full Day finish or an 18:00 Full Day finish, and who can work with a Monday-to-Thursday week. Its appeal lies in concrete experiences: weekly library outings, classroom cooking, a garden with different play areas and access to a neighbouring field.

The Good judgement from August 2024 provides a positive inspection position, with clear improvement points around participation and adaptable routines. For families considering it, the strongest visit discussion is therefore about how adults respond to their particular child, alongside resolving the starting age and understanding the full funded-day charge structure.