Sticky Fingers Montessori Day Nursery

A ten-cube Pink Tower and weekly meetings with older neighbours give Sticky Fingers Montessori Day Nursery a recognisable character: practical learning sits alongside contact with the wider community. Its home is a bright church hall on Garratt Lane, with an enclosed garden and outdoor play space. There is room to explore indoors and out.

The nursery accepts children aged 16 to 59 months. At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective, recognising a curriculum shaped around children's interests and learning needs. That positive assessment comes with specific teaching improvements to weigh, rather than an unqualified endorsement.

Weekday opening runs from 8am to 6pm, with morning, core-day and full-day routines described below. The appeal is the combination of Montessori activities, visiting teachers and community experiences, rather than opening hours alone.

Learning and Activities

Montessori here means helping children attempt everyday tasks themselves, with adults demonstrating and guiding rather than doing everything for them. It sits alongside the EYFS, the framework for children's learning, development and care, expressed through play, practical activities and supported interactions. Independence is a daily practice: handling materials, sharing activities and learning to manage personal routines.

For children aged 16 months to three years, the emphasis includes separating from carers, learning toilet routines and playing alongside others. Painting, cooking and play with sand or water provide ways to explore and express feelings; movement and music develop coordination. The youngest children are also encouraged to participate in the weekly dance class. This is a broad early-years day, with practical self-care woven into it.

The preschool curriculum, described for ages three to five, introduces tasks such as threading, pouring and polishing. Sandpaper letters combine touch with letter sounds and shapes, while the Pink Tower uses ten cubes as part of number work. These are concrete materials children can handle, giving the Montessori approach a more useful meaning than its name alone. Gardening and simple geography extend learning beyond those tabletop activities.

The morning routine combines Montessori work with individual adult support; later activities include stories, songs and group work, alongside indoor or outdoor play. Lunch is also a learning opportunity: children help themselves to food while staff sit with them, with conversation and manners encouraged. Rest and quieter activity follow. The routine makes space for both concentration and a slower pace.

Outdoor and Community Life

The fenced garden provides an outdoor counterpart to the hall. In March 2025, children made mud pies and explored marks on a large scale outside. Those activities gave them opportunities to work physically and experiment beyond small tabletop materials.

Sparkle takes preschool children into the church each week to spend time with older community members through games, singing and art. That creates repeated contact across generations, rather than a single special visit. Pyjama Drama adds imaginative play through movement, music and drama, while weekly ballet uses stories and movements such as hopping and skipping.

For children over three, Active Little Angels runs a year-long sports syllabus covering activities including football, tennis and athletics, with an emphasis on movement, balance and coordination. A sports day takes place at the academic year's end. Other experiences include Zoolab visits, watching chicks hatch and butterflies develop, and outings to farms, the theatre, parks and the local library. These outings have no stated weekly pattern and should be understood as part of the broader activity programme.

Relationships provide the starting point for care. In March 2025, key persons knew children's interests and personalities and used that knowledge when planning activities. Children needing reassurance could share a story and reconnect with their key person. For a child who takes time to settle, this is a more meaningful detail than a general claim of warmth.

Communication also formed part of everyday practice in March 2025. Staff gathered parents' observations about learning at home, provided daily updates and discussed children's development regularly. Parents received ideas for supporting learning beyond nursery. This gives families a role in the child's learning, rather than limiting communication to practical handovers.

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified interruptions when staff left children's activities for tasks colleagues could have handled, uneven encouragement for less confident children, and children not always making expected progress in mathematics, which prompted additional group work. The improvement priorities were clearer staff understanding of how to extend learning and stronger support for children who needed help to participate. These concerns matter most for families whose child tends to hang back: access to an activity is only useful if an adult helps them engage.

The current preschool routine includes a quiet period after lunch. It also places adults alongside children as they eat and encourages self-serving, so care and independence share the same part of the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Sticky Fingers is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, for 47 weeks annually. The morning session runs from 9am to noon. The routine marks core-day home time at 4pm and full-day home time at 5.55pm; the latter is distinct from the 6pm closing time. These options give families different lengths of nursery day to consider.

The nursery is at St. John the Divine Church Hall, Garratt Lane, Earlsfield, SW18 4EH. Earlsfield overground station is a short walk away. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email through the nursery's contact route.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2025, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation fact, rather than a promise about an individual child's entitlement. The funding and charge question to resolve before joining is set out below.

• Teaching continuity. The March 2025 concerns involved adults interrupting learning and giving more attention to confident children. At a visit, ask how staff now stay with activities and encourage children who hesitate to join in.
• Choosing a day. A morning session ends at noon, the core day at 4pm and the full-day routine at 5.55pm. Discuss how your intended attendance fits the activities and quieter periods your child would experience.
• Funding and charges. Funded early education was part of the March 2025 offer. Before committing, ask for a current written quotation explaining the applicable entitlement, its attendance pattern, and responsibility for meals and non-food consumables.

Sticky Fingers suits families drawn to practical Montessori learning and regular contact beyond the nursery, whether they want a morning session or a core or full day. Sparkle, visiting activity teachers and hands-on learning materials give the day substance. The enclosed outdoor space adds another setting for exploration.

The balance is clear: a Good judgement in 2025, alongside teaching concerns that deserve a focused conversation. Families should weigh the appeal of the programme against how consistently their own child would receive encouragement and sustained adult attention.