Nightingale Montessori Nursery, St Michael's

In January 2024, independence took a practical shape at St Michael's: children prepared snacks and selected resources within reach. Nightingale Montessori Nursery, St Michael's combines a Montessori approach with an upper-hall setting at St Michael’s Church and outdoor experiences on Wandsworth Common. The appeal is concrete: everyday tasks become opportunities to learn.

At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective, with strong support for children's confidence, independence and emotional development. That judgement belongs to that visit. The current age range is 24 to 60 months, with 32 places in total; capacity is a whole-setting measure, rather than a daily group size.

Morning, afternoon and whole-day attendance give families different ways to use this term-time nursery. Its character comes from the combination of practical learning, woodland activities and a sessional timetable, rather than extended hours across the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing communication, physical skills and social development into everyday play and routines. Montessori adds an emphasis on children doing things independently. In January 2024, resources were arranged within children's reach so they could select activities themselves, while preparing food gave them real tasks to manage.

Numbers were part of those tasks. During January 2024, children explored quantities through fruit, considered the weight of apples and drew on earlier experience to use an apple slicer. These examples matter because counting was connected to something children could handle and discuss. Staff extended an activity rather than treating mathematics as a separate exercise.

Music and French sit alongside Drama, Ballet and Football as additional classes included in private fees. These give children experiences beyond the Montessori activities, although funded attendance has a separate extras structure. Forest School, outdoor learning through practical encounters with nature, includes woodland activities such as building shelters and searching for small creatures.

Outdoor and Community Life

The main indoor space is a large hall on the top floor, used exclusively by the nursery, with an outdoor play area beside the entrance. That arrangement makes the wider outdoor programme significant: St Michael's children visit Wandsworth Common daily, and Forest School takes place in nearby woodland.

Shelter building, sensory walks and log climbing bring movement and observation together. Children also explore the wildlife and plants around local ponds and woodland. The common is part of the learning programme, rather than simply a nearby landmark.

In January 2024, frequent outings included sessions with a local group of older people. Those encounters gave children opportunities to practise consideration for others beyond their immediate nursery friendships. The current application process also includes parental permission for park and library visits, connecting attendance with experiences outside the hall.

Relationships and Communication

Before starting, families are invited to an induction with their child during the preceding term. This gives children a chance to become familiar with the surroundings alongside someone they know, before nursery attendance begins.

In January 2024, a key-person arrangement and weekly staff discussions helped practitioners share their knowledge of individual children. Conversations with parents covered development, and staff worked together around milestones such as toilet training and recognising additional support needs. For families, the useful detail is the combination of a personal relationship and information shared across the team.

Parents also had a role in decisions during January 2024 through a parent-teacher association. Discussions included hot meals and additional activities. That was a practical form of involvement: families could contribute to choices affecting the nursery day, rather than only receiving updates.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The application form gathers information about allergies, disabilities and learning difficulties. The terms require families to report medical conditions and infectious illness, and children who are unwell should stay at home. These are arrangements for sharing health information, rather than a promise about a particular child's care.

A staff role covers first aid, health and safety, and food hygiene. In January 2024, children also discussed feelings and respect for other people and their surroundings. Emotional learning therefore had everyday contexts, including relationships and shared activities, rather than being confined to a separate lesson.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St. Michael's Church & Hall, Cobham Close, London SW11 6SP. Attendance is term-time, with closure during school holidays. Morning sessions run from 9am to 12.15pm, Monday to Friday; whole-day sessions run from 9am to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday.

Afternoon attendance includes a 1pm to 3.30pm pattern, Monday to Thursday, alongside a 12.20pm start option. Families can choose attendance days, and lunch club extends the morning until 1pm. The application offers early drop-off from 8.45am.

Names go on a waiting list, with sessions offered six months before entry subject to availability. Siblings have priority, as do children already attending afternoons when moving to mornings. These are allocation rules, rather than an indication of how many places are free.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance includes 15 hours Universal funding, Working parents 30 hours funding and the 15 hours early learning entitlement for families receiving additional support. Attendance follows the term-time model. Eligibility conditions apply, and the universal entitlement begins in the term after a qualifying child's third birthday.

Private fees include the additional classes, drinks and break-time snacks; outings and workshops attract separate charges. Funded attendance has an Agreed Package of Services, a separately charged package described as covering optional activities, snacks, a My Montessori child login and consumables. Non-food consumables are charged through that package, so they need to be considered separately from the funded hours themselves.

Lunch can be brought from home or ordered as a hot meal from V&Me, with families arranging and paying the supplier directly. Break-time snacks are included in private fees but charged through the funded extras package.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Fees are billed by term and payable at its start; a registration charge is non-refundable, except that children eligible for funding when they start have no registration charge. An acceptance deposit is credited against the final term's fees after outstanding charges, subject to correct notice.

Withdrawal requires a full term's written notice or fees in lieu, with the terms making an exception for the final nursery term. These conditions deserve attention when planning a start date or a move to school.

• The upper-hall setting. The nursery uses a top-floor hall and an outdoor area by the entrance. At a visit, explore how your child will manage the stairs and how the indoor day connects with outings to Wandsworth Common.
• Choosing session boundaries. Morning, afternoon and whole-day patterns serve different routines, while the afternoon can start at 12.20pm or 1pm. Agree the precise afternoon and early-drop-off arrangement when choosing attendance.
• Funded hours and extras. The Agreed Package of Services separates snacks, activities and consumables from funded attendance, while hot lunches are paid directly to V&Me. Establish which extras you want in the written quotation; allergy-affected families should also confirm current food arrangements.
• Commitment and notice. Offers follow a six-month allocation timetable, and the deposit's final-term credit depends on correct notice. Read the withdrawal conditions alongside your intended attendance period before accepting.

St Michael's suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or whole days within a term-time routine. Its strongest combination is practical independence and daily use of Wandsworth Common, supported by the Outstanding judgement from January 2024.

The upper-hall premises, session boundaries and separate funded extras are meaningful parts of the decision. For a family whose timetable fits, this is a nursery with a clear educational character: children learn through tasks they can attempt themselves and experiences extending beyond the hall.