Magdalen Nursery, The Lodge

A preschool cabin in the garden, rabbits to care for and weekly Playball give Magdalen Nursery, The Lodge a character built around outdoor activity and practical discovery. Its converted Victorian building retains original features, while the garden combines wildlife habitats with space for climbing, sand and water play. There is plenty here for children to do with their hands.

The nursery has capacity for 53 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months. At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective. That assessment provides a positive starting point, but the dated findings also contain useful questions about transitions between activities and the language adults model.

Rooms and Ages

Five classrooms occupy the main building, with babies downstairs and toddlers upstairs. Preschool children have a purpose-built cabin in a quieter part of the garden, equipped with resources intended to extend their learning and prepare them for school. These are different environments for different stages, rather than one shared space serving the whole age range.

The Victorian conversion preserves features of the original property, and natural colours run through the interior. For families choosing between nursery environments, the combination of a converted house and a separate preschool building is a concrete part of the decision: children’s surroundings change as they move through the setting.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In everyday terms, this connects play and activities with developing communication, physical skills and relationships. The framework is the baseline; the garden experiences and visiting sessions give this branch its own character.

Playball takes place weekly, using sports activities to practise coordination, cooperation and movement. Deborah Jayne’s School of Dance also runs sessions combining movement with music. Both add guided physical activity to the outdoor play opportunities, although only Playball carries a weekly frequency.

In August 2022, learning activities drew on children’s interests, with observations and assessments informing what came next. Younger children explored ice in sensory play, while babies experimented with stopping a fountain’s flow using their hands. These examples show how simple materials could prompt investigation rather than requiring children to sit through an explanation.

Books also had a practical role in August 2022. Children used objects to retell familiar stories, and children learning English shared books from home and introduced animal names in their home languages. Reading connected with conversation and children’s own experiences.

Outdoor and Community Life

The landscaped garden has separate areas for exploration, including climbing frames and sand and water play. Encouraging wildlife creates opportunities to observe nature within the nursery grounds. Outdoor learning therefore has both an active side and a quieter, observational one.

Lila and Lucy, the nursery’s rabbits, bring animal care into that experience. Children help feed and look after them, giving them a real task with another living creature to consider. This is a more tangible encounter with the natural world than pictures alone.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND made good progress, supported by collaboration between the special educational needs coordinator, managers and other professionals, alongside specialised staff training. This was a finding about support in practice at that time, rather than a general promise about every future child’s experience.

Relationships were an important part of daily care in August 2022. Staff recognised when babies needed comfort and responded with soothing strategies; children also practised describing emotions through associations with colours. Parents valued updates about development and the advice they received, making communication part of the care relationship.

Two weaknesses deserve equal attention. In August 2022, younger children were sometimes asked to stop an activity before they had been prepared for the change, leaving them distressed or uncertain. Adults also occasionally modelled an incorrect word, reducing opportunities to extend vocabulary accurately. Both concern ordinary daily interactions, so they are useful subjects for a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Lodge, Magdalen Road, London, SW18 3NP. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, with closure for Christmas week and bank holidays. Branch enquiries can be made by telephone or email through the contact route.

The fee schedule uses full days from 8am to 6pm, with early drop-off and later collection charged separately. Funded-only patterns also use 8am to 6pm: one day for the 15-hour entitlement or two days for the 30-hour entitlement, with the funding stretched across 51 weeks. These patterns use only part of the entitlement, capped annually at 510 hours for the one-day pattern and 1020 hours for the two-day pattern. The nursery chooses funded-only attendance days and prioritises Mondays and Fridays, so a funded pattern does not confer a choice of any weekday.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding covers eligible working families with children from nine months to four years, universal provision for three- and four-year-olds, and eligible two-year-olds receiving government support. Private hours can sit alongside funded hours. The 30-hour Complete All-Inclusive Package requires at least three full days, distinct from the two-day funded-only pattern. Stretching the entitlement across 51 weeks reduces the funded hours used each week compared with a term-time pattern.

Meal and consumable costs vary by package. The Magdalen All Inclusive Package bundles food, consumables, activities and additional hours; the Magdalen Options Menu separates those items so families can select additions. Funded-only provision includes a no-cost route, while the government-supported and universal all-in option charges for food and includes consumables and activities within that arrangement. A current written quotation should identify the chosen package and its components.

The waiting-list process requires a completed form and a non-refundable registration charge, with exemptions for funded-only places without additional services and for siblings joining the external waiting list. After an offer is accepted, a deposit is credited against the final invoice rather than the first; funded-only places without additional services may instead require a refundable deposit under the stated conditions. Settling visits are arranged in the child’s base room, preferably shortly before their start.

The meal package uses food freshly prepared by chefs each day, while home-packed food must meet rules including ingredient labelling, ice packs, no refrigeration or reheating, and parental attendance at lunch to manage cross-contamination. The packed-food policy excludes nuts and nut products; its practical requirements matter as much as the choice to bring food.

• Changes between activities. The August 2022 concern centred on younger children stopping play without enough preparation. During a visit, ask how staff now signal changes and help a child who finds them difficult.
• Funded attendance days. Funded-only days are allocated by the nursery, with Mondays and Fridays prioritised. Decide whether that arrangement fits the days your family needs before choosing a package.
• Food from home. Packed lunches come with storage restrictions and a requirement for parents to sit with their child at lunchtime. Discuss how this would work for your family, and confirm current allergy arrangements where relevant.

The garden, preschool cabin, rabbit care and weekly Playball make The Lodge a useful choice for families who value active play and practical encounters with nature. It serves both families combining funded hours with additional paid care and those seeking a funded-only attendance pattern. The trade-offs are concrete: nursery-selected funded days, package-dependent extras and demanding packed-food rules. The August 2022 concerns about activity changes and vocabulary deserve a direct conversation alongside the strengths.