Partou Dulwich Sports Ground Day Nursery & Pre-School

Aeroplanes outside the window and dough butterflies on the table give this Dulwich nursery a recognisable character. In July 2025, babies practised climbing on a baby gym while staff turned their interest in passing aircraft into conversation; older children explored symmetry through making butterflies. Everyday interests became opportunities to learn.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 1 July 2025, finding that its curriculum supported children's progress. Partou Dulwich Sports Ground Day Nursery & Pre-School accepts children from 3 months to 60 months.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and daily routines all contribute to learning. In July 2025, mathematical ideas appeared in pretend shopping, with children making lists, adding items and comparing sizes and shapes. This gave counting a practical purpose rather than treating it as an isolated exercise.

Younger children's experiences were physical and sensory. During July 2025, toddlers explored foam, while babies used the steps on the baby gym to practise moving. The Zoom song extended babies' interest in aircraft through singing and conversation; Row your boat brought toddlers together in pairs for shared actions. Music served different purposes for different ages.

Daily outdoor play was part of the July 2025 routine, giving children opportunities to practise movement and coordination. Story sessions also encouraged older children to contribute their own experiences, including talking about holidays and naming countries. Conversation grew out of something children wanted to share.

In July 2025, dough butterflies also gave children a concrete way to investigate matching sides. Symmetry became something they could make and discuss, alongside the counting and comparisons in their shopping play. Younger children joined songs by copying movements, linking listening with physical participation. These examples give parents different ways to picture learning at each stage: handling materials, joining an action and explaining an idea.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified arrangements for supporting children with SEND alongside parents, but asked for stronger support for speech delay and more purposeful staff supervision to improve teaching consistency.

During July 2025, settling began with parents sharing familiar words from their child's home language. Staff also explained nappy changes before starting and used singing to help babies feel comfortable. These small routines made care more understandable to young children.

Independence extended to mealtimes: in July 2025, toddlers served themselves and cleared their plates afterwards. Staff used songs to signal tidying and gentle reminders to guide behaviour, while helping children practise sharing and taking turns. Feedback to parents included ideas for continuing learning at home, connecting nursery experiences with family life.

In July 2025, staff monitored development, used that information to spot emerging gaps and planned what children would work on next. This made the speech-delay recommendation especially relevant: tracking development and deciding how to respond were separate parts of the work.

Health routines accompanied outdoor play in July 2025. Staff took steps to protect children from sunshine and prompted them to drink in hot weather. Older children also showed care towards younger children, while staff recognised children's achievements. Care therefore included both practical routines and the everyday relationships between children of different ages.

The address is Dulwich Sports Ground, 102-106 Turney Road, London SE21 7JH. In July 2025, the nursery occupied a self-contained building within the sports ground.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Attendance runs across the year, with closures for bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas. That Christmas break is an important consideration for families whose working year continues through the festive period.

In July 2025, the nursery provided funded early education. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Speech development. July 2025 brought a specific recommendation to strengthen support for speech delay. At a visit, ask how staff now plan and review that support for an individual child.
• Teaching consistency. Staff supervision was another July 2025 improvement point. Ask how supervision now translates into changes in everyday teaching.
• Christmas closure. The nursery closes for two weeks at Christmas as well as bank holidays. Families needing care then should factor that break into their arrangements.

This suits families who value learning through ordinary experiences: movement for babies, shared songs for toddlers and practical maths for older children. The July 2025 examples give substance to that choice. The recommendations on speech support and staff supervision deserve equal weight, especially for a child whose language development needs additional attention.