Imagination Preschool & Nursery, Battersea Park

A garden used through every season, a child-led teaching approach and unusually frequent parents’ evenings give Imagination Preschool & Nursery, Battersea Park a clear identity. This independently operating nursery adjoins St Mary's RC School in Battersea, accepting children from 12 months to five years and offering 60 places in total. Its school-side address should not be mistaken for a shared admissions arrangement.

At its 6 August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective, with strengths in children’s relationships, language development and preparation for school. The reservations were practical rather than abstract: how staff organised transitions and kept group learning purposeful. Those details matter more than the grade alone.

Attendance requires at least four full days each week. This is a substantial commitment, and the nursery’s communication, settling arrangements and daily routines deserve close attention alongside its creative curriculum.

Rooms and Ages

Observers, Explorers and Inventors are the names used for the baby, toddler and preschool groups respectively. Across the Battersea Park setting, there are two classrooms, each with capacity for 30 children. These are classroom limits, not the size of each named age group or the number attending on any particular day.

For children under three, learning emphasises physical development, communication and language, and personal, social and emotional development. Once those foundations are secure, the day expands into mathematics, literacy, expressive arts and understanding the world. That sequence gives younger children room to develop movement, relationships and conversation before extending into more specific learning.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS links children’s learning and care: here, that means opportunities to talk, move, explore materials, develop relationships and encounter early reading and number work. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery.

Imagination’s teaching approach draws from Montessori, Steiner and Reggio Emilia, combined into a creative pedagogy led by children’s interests. Music, movement and learning outdoors are used to connect the areas of learning. The practical proposition is that children can explore ideas through activity and expression, rather than having learning confined to a seated task.

In August 2025, children chose activities and explored construction resources, using tools to make and repair their creations. Staff joined play to develop learning, alongside activities led by adults. Younger children experimented with colour through rainbow painting; older children explored measurement by filling cylinders with sand. These examples show how making, talking and handling materials can carry early mathematical and creative learning.

Small language groups and listening activities were also part of the day in August 2025. Stories gave younger children opportunities to hear unfamiliar vocabulary, while older children exchanged ideas in conversation with staff. The emphasis was on using language, not simply hearing it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden functions as another teaching space and is used throughout the year, including in different weather conditions. That makes outdoor learning part of the ordinary day rather than a fair-weather addition. Families should expect their child’s nursery experience to include time outside across the seasons.

In August 2025, outdoor activities included practising ball skills and cooperating with other children. The garden therefore served both movement and social learning. Its value lies in what children do there, as well as the space itself.

Relationships and Communication

A key educator becomes each child’s main contact for daily learning and wellbeing. Assignment takes place within the first three weeks, allowing staff to see which adult the child most naturally connects with. For parents, this creates an identifiable person with whom to share changes at home, interests and concerns.

Settling comprises three sessions, each lasting an hour. A parent stays alongside the child for the first; during the remaining sessions, the parent waits in reception after a brief period accompanying them. If a child becomes very distressed and staff cannot comfort them, the parent is brought back. The arrangement gives separation a defined structure while retaining a response to the individual child.

Communication has two named channels. Tapestry carries photographs, observations and learning updates, while Parentmail handles direct email correspondence. Parents’ evenings take place every six weeks, and developmental targets are agreed with families each term. This combines a continuing view of nursery life with regular opportunities for a more substantial discussion.

During the first four to six weeks, staff observe strengths and possible barriers to learning and undertake a baseline assessment. Initial developmental targets are agreed during an entry assessment around six to eight weeks after starting. Parents therefore have a role in deciding next steps, rather than merely receiving a completed assessment.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional support begins with a conversation between the key educator and parents. The SENDCO can then involve external professionals with parental consent, including Speech and Language Therapists, health visitors and the Wandsworth Early Years Inclusion Team. A SEND support plan sets small, specific targets for the key educator to work on daily. This is a described route from identifying a concern to putting support into practice.

Children who need a daytime sleep use floor mats between noon and 2pm, with individual bed linen supplied. Families can share a comforter preference or established sleep routine with the key educator. The important practical detail is the shared daytime rest arrangement, which families can weigh against their child’s usual sleep habits.

Zebedees supplies meals and snacks fresh each day; food is brought in rather than prepared in a nursery kitchen. Allergies, intolerances and dietary requirements are recorded before starting and passed to the supplier, making accurate information from parents part of the food arrangements.

Moving on to school is made concrete through a transition report and a photo booklet showing the new setting, including the classroom, uniform and teacher. Where possible, the receiving teacher visits the nursery. These measures help children anticipate familiar details of their next environment; they do not confer an admissions advantage.

In August 2025, leaders observed staff practice and provided feedback and training. That is a useful account of how teaching was reviewed at the time, rather than a claim about current staffing numbers or deployment.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The full-day attendance model requires a minimum of four days weekly, and the nursery operates for 51 weeks annually, closing for a Christmas week and bank holidays. Families needing an occasional day or a lighter weekly commitment should weigh that minimum carefully.

A nursery uniform is compulsory. Children also keep labelled indoor shoes at the setting; Crocs and open-toed footwear are excluded from that indoor option. These are everyday preparation requirements, alongside choosing clothing suitable for garden use.

Getting There

The address is 7 St Joseph's Street, London SW8 4EN, adjoining St Mary's RC School but operating independently of it. The nursery entrance is beyond the school entrance on St Joseph’s Street, while vehicle access follows Lockington Road.

Battersea Park, Queenstown Road and Vauxhall are the named nearby stations. Enquiries can be made by email at battersea-enquiry@imaginationpreschool.co.uk or by telephone on 020 7498 6455.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at the adjoining school. Families still need to use the local authority admissions process for a state-school place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is accepted for eligible children, with 15 or 30 hours per week described. Funded families pay a top-up covering services and resources beyond the funded hours. Eligibility and the nursery’s substantial weekly attendance commitment are separate considerations.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Securing a placement involves a non-refundable registration charge covering administration and settling sessions, plus a refundable deposit returned within 30 days after the child leaves. Payments are collected by Direct Debit on the first day of each month.

Signing the contract brings a financial commitment: changing your mind afterwards incurs two months’ fees. A start date can be changed once with at least a month’s notice; otherwise charges may begin from the original date. These terms deserve attention before signing, especially when a family’s return-to-work date is uncertain.

• A substantial weekly commitment. The minimum is four full days, across a year-round attendance model. Decide whether that matches both your working week and the amount of nursery time you want for your child.
• Transitions and group learning. In August 2025, Ofsted identified uneven organisation of routines and group activities, leaving some children distracted or missing the intended learning. During a tour, ask how staff now coordinate transitions and adapt group activities for children with different levels of engagement.
• The complete funded-place quotation. Funded attendance includes a top-up for extra services and resources. Ask for an itemised written quotation explaining which additional services and resources the top-up covers.
• Rest and dietary routines. Sleeping children use mats during the midday rest period, and food comes from Zebedees. Discuss how your child’s sleep routine would fit, and confirm current allergy handling with the nursery before accepting a place.

Imagination suits families seeking a creative, garden-based nursery experience who can commit to at least four full days a week. Regular parents’ evenings, a named key educator and digital learning updates give parents several ways to stay involved, while the SEND support process describes specific steps when additional help is needed.

The Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, but the August 2025 concerns about transitions and group activities remain useful questions for a visit. The decision is also practical: this is a substantial attendance and contractual commitment, with shared classroom and midday rest arrangements to weigh against your child’s needs.