Tomberries Nursery

Natural play and a family-run character give Tomberries Nursery its starting point. This Southfields setting uses natural learning materials, balances children's own choices with adult-led activities, and keeps parents connected through Tapestry, an online account of children's learning and development. Its appeal lies in that combination of everyday play and communication with home.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Tomberries Good and found safeguarding effective and the arrangements for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) good. Two practical weaknesses also matter: activities did not consistently accommodate every child, and some routines involved excessive waiting. These are useful points to explore alongside the positive judgement.

Tomberries accepts children from nine months to five years and has capacity for 60 children in total. Attendance is built around full days, with a minimum commitment of three days each week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children learn through play, conversation and activities that build on their developing abilities. Tomberries combines opportunities for children to choose their own play with activities led by adults. Natural resources support exploration and self-directed choices, while practitioners use children's interests to shape activities.

Forest School, described here as learning outdoors, is one of the inspirations for that approach. It is an influence on the nursery's learning rather than a separate attendance pattern. Music and yoga sessions, together with museum and gallery visits, add different experiences to the nursery day.

In October 2024, babies exercised their hands through dough play, while older children used scissors and glue sticks for craft work. These examples show how an activity can develop as children gain control and confidence: manipulating a material comes before handling tools. The emphasis was on building from what a child could already do.

Conversation was woven into play at that time. Adults responded to babies' sounds and sustained exchanges with older children; familiar rhymes and songs gave children opportunities to join in. For parents, those examples offer a more useful picture of language learning than a list of educational aims alone.

Outdoor and Community Life

During October 2024, preschool children took weekly walks to a local park to explore wildlife. Outdoor play also involved running, jumping and splashing in puddles, giving children ways to practise movement alongside their exploration of the natural world.

Learning about the wider community took practical forms. In October 2024, toddlers used toothpaste and a toothbrush on pretend teeth, connecting discussion of dentists with looking after themselves. Children also investigated potatoes and onions by examining their interiors. These were concrete experiences: familiar objects became opportunities to notice, compare and talk.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person approach gives relationships a defined place in care, with an emphasis on children forming attachments to a familiar adult. Parents and practitioners work together around children's needs and interests. Tapestry extends that relationship beyond conversations, allowing parents to view observations, development updates and reports about their child.

In October 2024, family photographs were displayed to help children feel connected to home. Staff gathered information from parents about children's development and used observations to plan subsequent learning. That exchange matters because a child's interests and abilities are seen in more than one context: information from home can inform what happens during the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In October 2024, staff worked with parents and other professionals, using information-sharing arrangements to support children with SEND. The practical mechanism was collaboration around a child's development, rather than expecting families and nursery staff to work separately.

The staff team receives training in safeguarding, paediatric first aid and food hygiene, and recruitment includes DBS checks. These are care arrangements rather than an additional quality judgement. The dated safeguarding finding belongs to the October 2024 inspection.

Social learning also involved doing things together. In October 2024, children made flapjacks to share, and toddlers practised taking turns with dough tools. However, waiting to wash hands before lunch sometimes lasted too long for younger children, making it harder for them to maintain their behaviour. The organisation of an ordinary routine therefore deserves as much attention as the activity itself.

Sessions and Attendance

Full-day care runs from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Children must attend at least three days each week, including Monday or Friday, or both. This is a substantial weekly commitment, so the fit depends on the family's working pattern as well as the child's care needs.

Tomberries operates for 51 weeks each year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Registration requires a completed form, signed terms and conditions, and a registration charge. Joining the waiting list carries a separate non-refundable charge; places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Enquiries can be made through the online contact form, by telephone or by email. Families can also register their interest using a form that asks for their preferred days and start date.

Getting There

The address is 271b Wimbledon Park Road, Southfields, SW19 6NW. Southfields Underground station is nearby, making the station a useful reference point for families planning their journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tomberries offers Universal 15 hours and Extended 30 hours free childcare entitlement, with funding stretched across its 51-week operating year rather than delivered only during the 38-week term-time year. Eligibility still determines which entitlement a family can use; participation in funding does not change the nursery's full-day booking rule.

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and snacks are included with full-day care. Nappies and wipes are included too, reducing the everyday supplies families need to bring for that arrangement.

A registration charge and the non-refundable waiting-list charge should be considered separately from childcare costs. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Three-day commitment. The minimum is three full days each week, with Monday or Friday included. Consider whether that pattern matches your regular care needs before joining the waiting list.
• Participation in group activities. In October 2024, some children disengaged because activities were not sufficiently adapted. On a tour, ask how practitioners adjust a shared activity for children with different abilities and interests.
• Waiting during routines. The October 2024 concern included younger children waiting too long before lunch. Ask how handwashing and other transitions are organised now.
• Funded attendance costs. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, while the booking model requires full days. Ask for a written breakdown distinguishing funded hours, additional paid hours and any funded-place meal or consumable charges.

Tomberries suits families seeking a consistent pattern of at least three full days each week, including Monday or Friday, across most of the year. Natural materials, outdoor learning influences and Tapestry give the offer useful substance, while included meals, nappies and wipes simplify the practical side of full-day care.

The October 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position. Its concerns about participation and waiting are equally relevant to a decision: families should use a tour to understand how those everyday arrangements work for their child.