Gumboots Nursery & Pre-School

Children helping shape their nursery rules, a garden tree used for climbing and imaginative play built around their interests give Gumboots a recognisable character. In July 2023, these were concrete parts of daily life at this East Dulwich setting. Children had a voice in what happened around them. The emphasis was on participation, conversation and learning through doing.

Ofsted rated Gumboots Good on 12 July 2023. Today, the nursery has capacity for 87 children from birth to five, at 171-173 Crystal Palace Road, London SE22 9EP. That is the whole nursery's capacity, rather than the size of any child's group.

Attendance is built around full days, with all-year booking plans for two, three or five days a week. The practical attraction is a clear working-day window; the important care question is how consistently each child spends time with their key person.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical experiences help children build skills alongside their everyday routines. Gumboots' July 2023 activities show how that could work in practice, with staff planning activities around children's interests and extending learning through questions.

In July 2023, babies explored sand alongside an adult, while young toddlers painted standing up at cellophane stretched around an overturned table. The toddler activity had a physical purpose, encouraging coordination and strengthening the muscles used to hold the body upright. Different developmental stages shaped the activity. These examples describe the nursery at that time, rather than a fixed timetable for children joining now.

Older children used a talking stick to organise a conversation about favourite ice creams. Discussing taste and texture gave them something specific to describe, while taking turns meant listening mattered as much as speaking. Staff added questions to extend the discussion. Ordinary interests became opportunities to practise language and conversation.

A role-play chop shop, also used in July 2023, brought together several children's interests. Within that shared pretend setting, children worked through mathematical problems, disagreements and ways of helping each other. Preparation for school centred on social confidence and emotional skills, alongside learning through play.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2023, the garden included a tree children could climb and a branch they could swing from. Children also explored real tools, with staff organising supervision and assessing risks. The physical challenge mattered: children had opportunities to judge what they could manage, rather than only use equipment in a prescribed way.

Weekly children's meetings gave older children a part in shaping nursery rules in July 2023. Younger children made choices through pictures and books, including selecting rhymes. Participation therefore took different forms according to children's stage of development. Speaking in a meeting was one route; pointing to a picture was another.

Relationships deserve close attention here. In July 2023, experienced practitioners carried large key-child workloads, which put pressure on the time available to deepen individual relationships; strengthening those relationships was the required improvement. Staff turnover had also been high. Neither point establishes the position today, but both make continuity of care a useful priority when choosing Gumboots.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well supported through work with outside professionals, including speech and language therapists. That is a dated judgement. It gives families a concrete account of support at the visit, rather than a general promise about every child's experience.

In July 2023, managers worked in rooms alongside practitioners, and staff meetings and training supported consistency in practice. Adults modelled courteous behaviour and used reminders and praise to help children manage interactions. The emphasis was on showing children how to behave, as well as telling them.

Parent ideas also influenced practical arrangements in July 2023: staff photographs were placed outside rooms after families' suggestions. This was a small, tangible response that helped parents connect faces with the adults caring for their children. It also illustrates why communication and familiarity belong alongside activities in a family's assessment of nursery life.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Days run from 8am to 6pm. Gumboots offers full-day sessions only, and its all-year plans cover two, three or five days each week. Full-day bookings require at least two consecutive days, including a Monday or Friday. Families seeking a shorter weekly commitment can therefore choose fewer days, but the daily session remains the same.

Opening days are Monday to Friday, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Extra-day requests can be made up to two weeks ahead; cancelling an extra session requires two working days' notice to avoid being charged. These arrangements make the regular booking pattern the foundation of attendance, with extra sessions handled separately.

Funding and Paid Extras

Gumboots offers private childcare and funded hours through Working Parent funding, the Two Year Old Offer, Universal funding and Extended Entitlement. Eligibility conditions apply. On an all-year booking, the funded allowance is stretched over 51 weeks: the 15-hour schemes deliver 11 hours weekly, and the 30-hour scheme delivers 22. Funded hours therefore need to be considered alongside the full-day booking commitment.

The booking-plan fees include meals across the day, with breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks covered. For a private place, acceptance brings a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit; cancellation at least six weeks before the agreed start allows the deposit to be returned, while later cancellation does not. At the end of attendance, the deposit is credited to the fees account. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Key-person continuity. Large key-child workloads and staff turnover affected relationships in July 2023. At a visit, ask how Gumboots now protects regular time with each child's key person and handles staff absence.
• Consecutive full days. The minimum booking includes two consecutive days and a Monday or Friday. Compare that requirement with your working week before choosing a two-, three- or five-day plan.
• What to bring. Meals are included in the booking-plan fees. Ask which nappies, wipes and other care supplies your family should bring, so the daily practical arrangements are clear.

Gumboots suits families whose week fits its two-, three- or five-day all-year plans and who value children having a say in their learning. The July 2023 examples of conversation, imaginative play and physical challenge give substance to that appeal. Full-day-only attendance and the consecutive-day requirement make the booking fit important; key-person continuity deserves equal weight in the decision.