Chiltern Day Nursery

A shared garden and three jewel-named rooms give Chiltern Day Nursery a clear identity: a small Sutton setting where children spend time with their own age group and also mix outdoors. With 22 places in total, it accepts children from three months to five years. The whole-setting size is useful context, although it should not be mistaken for the number of children in any individual room.

At its February 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, inclusion, welfare, behaviour and routines, and leadership to be at Strong standard, with Curriculum and teaching at Expected standard and safeguarding standards met. That is a differentiated assessment, rather than a single overall grade. Teaching consistency remains the central improvement point, alongside substantial strengths in care and support.

Gems, Topaz and Ruby organise the nursery day by stage of development. Babies have home routines carried into their care, toddlers practise sharing and independence, and preschool children combine freely chosen play with more structured learning. Full-time and part-week attendance are offered, with a minimum of two days each week.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, Gems serves the youngest stage, from three to 24 months, combining sensory investigation through play with routines kept close to those at home. Sight, touch, sound, smell and taste provide the starting points for exploration. For parents, the practical emphasis is continuity: a baby's familiar rhythm remains relevant after childcare begins.

The Toddler Room, Topaz caters for children aged two to three, using their interests to shape play, with messy activities indoors and outside, shared meals at tables and time to rest. Toilet training is undertaken with parents when the child is ready. This stage brings everyday independence into the learning day, rather than treating it as a separate task.

The Pre-School Room, Ruby serves children from three to five, pairing child-chosen play with planned activities involving language, mathematical ideas, creativity and physical development. Stories, counting games, music and role play give those areas concrete expression. School preparation here includes practice in communicating and responding to others, alongside opportunities to imagine and create.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, communication, physical activity and experiences that build early understanding. It is the common foundation for provision, rather than an extra programme. Ruby's balance of freely chosen and structured activities shows how that framework translates into a preschool day.

Children also help shape what happens around them. The group-wide Book of the Week practice gives them a vote during circle time, while Golden Rules are agreed with children and staff to guide everyday behaviour. These are concrete opportunities to make choices and understand shared expectations. Group-wide daily Yoga sessions involve movement, breathing, feelings and relaxation, giving children a way to practise slowing down.

Enrichment can include cooking, gardening, dance and language activities, alongside excursions by minibus. The range includes farm visits and journeys to duck ponds or Pets at Home, although these are possible experiences rather than a fixed timetable. Forest School is also among the possible additions, with a designated leader role. Its outdoor learning approach sits alongside the nursery's everyday garden play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden is shared across the age groups, allowing babies, toddlers and preschool children to play together as well as spend time in their own rooms. Astro turf and non-slip decking form part of the outdoor space following its renovation. These are tangible features of a nursery whose day includes outdoor play in wet weather as well as sunshine.

In February 2026, outdoor activities gave children opportunities to develop movement skills, while tools were used to practise coordination. Mathematical learning also included questions and problem-solving. Those examples show learning extending beyond a seated activity: physical practice and early thinking were built into what children did.

Relationships and Communication

For babies, the daily diary brings the detail of care back to parents: it records sleep, food and milk, nappies, activities and general wellbeing. Parents can add experiences or milestones from home and telephone during the day for an update. This creates a two-way exchange, rather than a handover concerned only with whether a child has eaten or slept.

The group-wide Weekend News practice gives families another route into planning. Children share experiences from home, helping staff connect nursery activities with their interests. Settling also involves discussion of dietary needs and access to the menu, so familiar routines and practical care requirements can be considered together.

Staffing includes room leaders, practitioners, assistants and apprentices, with continuing development supported through a company training academy. The nursery recruits its own bank staff rather than using outside agencies. That describes how cover is organised; it does not establish who will be working in a particular room on any given day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and disabilities made good progress with individual plans, specialist input and adapted activities, while identifying the need to make high-quality teaching consistent throughout the nursery. The useful distinction for parents is between support tailored to a child's needs and the remaining work on the consistency of teaching across ages.

A deputy and SEND manager role gives inclusion a defined place in the staffing structure. In February 2026, staff worked with families and specialists on emotional regulation, and adapted feeding or sleeping routines where children needed a specialist approach. Babies' sleep arrangements took account of what helped them feel secure at home. Staff also supported dressing and toilet training as steps towards independence.

Collection arrangements require advance notice and a password when someone different collects a child. Visitors sign in and are accompanied, and staff control access through the front door. These are practical procedures, separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

Food is cooked in the nursery kitchen, with an 11-day menu cycle and dietary discussions during settling; dairy-free and vegetarian requirements can be accommodated. The private inclusive rate covers meals and snacks, while funded hours have a separate voluntary contribution covering food, non-food consumables and additional activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Chiltern Day Nursery is at 3 Chiltern Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5QP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with public and bank holidays excluded and a Christmas closure from 24 December until 2 January. The annual fee calculation uses 51 weeks.

The attendance options include full-time weekdays and daily bookings for two to four days a week. A minimum of two days is required; the funding arrangements recommend two full days for consistency. These booking choices are distinct from the opening window, which sets the boundaries for collection and drop-off.

Changing attendance days requires a month's written notification, and a change depends on whether the nursery can accommodate it. Persistent late collection attracts an additional charge. Absence for illness or holidays does not bring a refund, so those terms matter when comparing the total commitment with a family's working pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working-family funding is offered for children aged nine months to four years, alongside universal funding for three- and four-year-olds. The entitlements are stretched over the nursery's 51-week opening year, giving a consistent weekly allocation rather than concentrating funded hours into school terms. Additional attendance beyond funded hours is paid privately.

For private childcare, the inclusive rate covers nappies, wipes and sun cream, as well as food and enrichment. Funded hours have a separately charged contribution for meals, non-food consumables and activities beyond the curriculum; that contribution is voluntary. The distinction matters because a funded allocation and an inclusive private booking have different charge structures.

A deposit is requested after a place is confirmed and credited against the final invoice when a month's termination notice is given. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and tax-free childcare or childcare vouchers are accepted. Current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and charge arrangements explain what the different categories cover.

• Teaching across age groups. Consistency of teaching was the February 2026 improvement priority. On a visit, ask how staff turn children's interests into sustained learning in Gems, Topaz and Ruby.
• The youngest room. There are 22 places across the whole nursery, and children mix in the garden. Ask how many babies normally share Gems and how outdoor play is organised between ages.
• The attendance commitment. The minimum is two days a week, changes require a month's written notification, and holidays or sickness do not reduce fees. Consider whether that pattern fits your family's likely attendance.
• Funded extras and dietary needs. The funded-hours contribution is voluntary, while dietary requirements are discussed during settling. Ask how the contribution choices would work for your booking and confirm current practice for any allergy or medical feeding need.

Chiltern suits families seeking either full-time weekday attendance or a part-week pattern of two to four days, with care organised across three age-related rooms. The shared garden, baby diaries and parent-linked planning give the offer practical substance. Its compact overall capacity is another useful consideration, provided families distinguish that figure from room size.

The February 2026 assessment gives care and inclusion considerable weight, while keeping teaching consistency firmly on the agenda. For parents choosing this nursery, the decisive conversation is how those daily care arrangements and learning experiences will work for their own child's stage, routine and attendance pattern.