Kido Elephant Park

Picture windows, a garden and French and Spanish sessions give Kido Elephant Park a clear character: an urban nursery with space for outdoor play and languages woven into the week. Children aged 3 months to 5 years attend its Bodley Way setting within the Elephant Park Development. The physical setting is a draw. The detail of teaching and communication deserves equal attention.

At its August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while asking for clearer developmental information for parents, more carefully tailored activities and stronger outdoor learning. Those priorities matter alongside the bright rooms and curriculum additions: attractive surroundings and engaging activities need to translate into learning that fits each child.

Full days and morning or afternoon sessions provide different attendance options, with paid extensions around the core opening hours.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play supporting communication, physical skills and growing independence. Kido Elephant Park combines activities guided by adults with play children choose themselves. Project work adds opportunities to investigate a topic rather than move straight from one unrelated activity to another.

French and Spanish sessions take place through the week. STEM projects introduce science, technology, engineering and maths through exploration, while Explorer Day activities use discovery and project work. These additions sit alongside the EYFS; they do not replace it. For parents, the useful distinction is between the framework every nursery follows and the particular experiences a child has here.

The group-wide Kido Club provides online activities linked to individual learning goals. It gives families another way to continue learning at home, rather than keeping all activities within nursery hours.

In August 2024, toddlers practised counting while shaping sand, children shared books with staff and identified pictures, and preschool children eagerly showed adults their writing. These examples connect early learning to familiar play. Independence also featured in ordinary routines, including younger children persevering with putting on their socks.

The same August 2024 findings identified activities that did not always take enough account of children's understanding or backgrounds. Some children lost interest in discussions they could not yet follow, and resources did too little to represent the different cultures within the setting. That is a meaningful qualification to the international curriculum: language sessions and an international identity need to be accompanied by everyday activities children recognise and understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

Large picture windows bring daylight into the rooms, and the garden gives children somewhere to move, play and explore outside. The nursery also incorporates community exploration, including parks, libraries and cultural places. These experiences extend the day beyond indoor activities and introduce children to their surroundings.

In August 2024, outdoor water play encouraged children to join in together, while slopes and steps offered physical challenges for younger children. However, outdoor activities sometimes provided fewer opportunities to learn, including for children who engaged best outside. The garden is therefore a practical asset, with the planning of learning there an important point for families to explore.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows an individual plan, developed with the key person and management using information from parents about their child and family requirements. This makes the starting point the child's routines and needs rather than a single timetable applied to everyone.

The Kido app carries updates about eating, sleep and toileting, and parents can send messages to staff through it. It also carries event information. Conversations at collection and drop-off complement the app, giving families a direct way to pass on information that affects the day.

In August 2024, babies received gentle reassurance when separation was difficult, and children sought comfort from familiar adults. Staff and parents also worked together on toilet training. These are concrete examples of the relationships behind everyday care, rather than a promise that every child will settle at the same pace.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that targeted funding and advice from specialists supported children with SEND, but teaching was not consistently adapted to their needs and parents occasionally lacked clear information about continuing developmental gaps. For families needing additional support, the important issue is how advice becomes an individual activity plan and how progress is explained.

In August 2024, leaders had introduced technology to improve communication and were reviewing children's assessments and staff support. Dietary handovers had also been revised to protect children's health. These were actions at that time, rather than evidence that every improvement priority had been completed.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 3 Bodley Way, London, SE17 1FN. Core opening hours run from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; paid early and late extensions take the opening window to 7.30am and 6.30pm. Extensions require advance booking and agreement.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. Half-day attendance is also offered, and additional sessions can be arranged subject to availability. This gives families a choice between a complete nursery day and attendance during either part of it.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for public bank holidays, a Christmas week and two staff training days. A Parent Information Form forms part of enrolment, followed by arrangements for settling sessions. Two calendar months' notice applies when leaving; the fee terms also require two months for changes to the booking pattern.

Getting There

Elephant and Castle station is a short walk away. The setting's position within the Elephant Park Development makes its relationship to the surrounding neighbourhood part of its practical appeal.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15-hour and 30-hour funding are accepted, with entitlement stretched across the year. Additional private hours are charged separately, so the funded entitlement and the full attendance pattern remain different parts of the calculation. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Meals, snacks, milk, nappies and wipes are included in fees, including funded attendance patterns; the food partner is Nursery Kitchen, and families cannot bring their own food under the nursery's allergy and handling policy. The nursery publishes a nut-free food policy and can adapt menus for dietary needs, with vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian choices but no Halal or Kosher provision.

For children over 3, voluntary incidental charges contribute to curriculum enhancements, and parents can opt out through the manager. A deposit is credited towards the final invoice when the leaving-notice condition is met; fully funded places do not require a deposit. These distinctions matter when comparing the total arrangement rather than just the funded hours.

• Individual teaching and progress updates. August 2024 findings raised both the adaptation of activities and the clarity of developmental information. During a visit, ask how staff explain your child's next steps and adapt activities when extra support is needed.
• Learning in the garden. Outdoor learning was an August 2024 improvement priority. Ask for examples of how garden activities support communication and other areas of learning alongside movement and water play.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funding is stretched, and voluntary enhancement charges apply for children over 3. Review a written quotation for your chosen morning, afternoon or full-day pattern, including any extended hours and the effect of opting out of incidentals.
• Dietary fit. Meals are included in fees, and Halal and Kosher meals are excluded from the menu offer. Families affected by allergies should confirm current food-handling practice and the adaptations their child needs.

Kido Elephant Park suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with French and Spanish, project work and a garden adding substance to the nursery day. Individual settling plans and app updates make the care arrangements useful to parents as well as children.

The balance rests on how those experiences are delivered. Clear progress conversations, activities adapted to individual needs and purposeful outdoor learning are the right measures against which to judge the offer, alongside its bright rooms and convenient attendance choices.