Kindred Windmill Montessori Nursery School

A sizeable garden and a connection to Maida Vale Library give Windmill a clear identity: outdoor play and books have a place alongside its Montessori character. This Shirland Road setting cares for children aged three months to five years and has 39 places in total. Its appeal lies in the combination of a smaller nursery, daily garden time and regular library trips.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 9 September 2022 inspection. That judgement provides a useful starting point, but the detail matters more: children explored practical problems, chose activities and talked through their ideas, while emotional support and waiting during routines needed attention.

Attendance is term-time only, with full-day, morning and afternoon bookings. That makes the calendar as important to a family's decision as the learning approach.

Learning and Activities

In September 2022, the curriculum combined Montessori with the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, this meant play and practical activities across areas of learning, with staff considering children's interests and what they needed to learn next. Montessori sat alongside that shared framework rather than replacing it.

The practical examples were revealing. Children considered the balance of a cylinder tower and discussed the meaning of their chalk drawings. In the role-play area, they prepared pretend salad for friends and adults. These were opportunities to investigate, explain and imagine, rather than simply complete an adult's task.

Today's daily pattern includes activities led by adults around art, literacy and numeracy, alongside free-flow play, circle time and enrichment. The alternation gives families a useful picture of the offer: children have time to choose their play as well as join planned activities. Gardening, Spanish, football, yoga and STEM are included in the enrichment list. Caterpillar Music is also a named enrichment activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is a substantial part of the nursery's character, with children using it daily. The morning programme includes at least an hour outdoors, and outdoor play also features in the afternoon. For families choosing childcare in central London, that is a concrete part of the day to weigh alongside indoor learning.

In September 2022, garden play included rolling balls along guttering, comparing their speed and working out how to repair the arrangement when it fell. The example connects physical play with investigation: children could test an idea, notice a problem and try a solution.

Maida Vale Library is attached to the setting, and regular trips bring books into life beyond the nursery's activities. Community participation also includes donations to a local food bank. These are different forms of connection: one centres on reading, the other introduces children to helping people beyond their immediate circle.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with the child and parent meeting their key person and completing the All About Me book together. The usual sequence comprises three sessions, with two separation sessions following that first meeting. Parents are encouraged to leave when they feel ready, and further sessions can be added if a child finds settling difficult. The flexibility matters more than treating the initial sequence as a fixed deadline.

Weekly newsletters, seasonal parties and summer concerts provide different ways for families to stay connected. Newsletters support regular communication; shared events offer opportunities to take part in nursery life. In September 2022, parents received updates about learning and progress, while a parent representative passed suggestions and comments to the manager. Communication therefore included both information going home and feedback coming back.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), making good progress. In September 2022, staff also worked with outside agencies when children needed additional support and used children's home languages to help explain activities. Conversations, songs and stories gave language practice a place throughout the day.

There were two important qualifications to the positive picture. In September 2022, adults did not always respond consistently to changing emotional needs, and the organisation of meals and snacks left children waiting too long. These findings concern ordinary moments that can shape a child's experience: reassurance when feelings change and routines that keep pace with their needs. They deserve attention alongside the learning activities.

Primary-school teachers are invited to meet children at the nursery as part of preparation for moving on. Meeting a future teacher in a familiar setting can support the introduction; it is transition work, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 62 Shirland Road, London, W9 2EH. Opening hours are 8.55am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, and the attendance year covers 38 weeks. School holidays fall outside that pattern, so the calendar needs to fit the family's care arrangements.

Booking times are slightly different from the opening window: Full Day runs from 8.55am to 3.10pm, Morning from 8.55am to 12.10pm and Afternoon from 12.10pm to 3.10pm. A lunchtime session, from 12.10pm to 1.10pm, is also offered. Full-day and shorter bookings therefore serve different schedules, with collection times tied to the chosen session.

Getting There

Windmill is in Maida Vale, Westminster, attached to Maida Vale Library. The stated station journeys are an 8 min walk from Warwick Avenue Station, a 12 min walk from Maida Vale Station and a 14 min walk from Royal Oak station.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted, including 30-hour and 15-hour entitlements, within the term-time offer. Private sessions are also sold. Funded attendance carries separate charges for food, non-food consumables and activities, so funded hours and the total bill are different parts of the calculation.

Meals and snacks during funded sessions are charged separately, as are non-food consumables, including nappies where applicable. The Nursery Consumables Policy provides a route for families who do not want consumables alongside funded hours: they must give written notice of that choice and follow the nursery's next steps. This is a decision about the charge structure, not simply the number of hours attended.

A pre-payment is required and credited against the first full invoice; there is no registration fee or deposit. Charges are calculated weekly and invoiced monthly, with additional ad hoc bookings paid in advance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Term-time coverage. Attendance covers 38 weeks, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns. At a visit, discuss which pattern fits your week and how the term dates align with your family's calendar.
• Emotional support and routines. September 2022 findings called for quicker responses to children's changing feelings and less waiting around meals. Ask to hear how staff now handle these moments, including when several children need support together.
• Funding extras. Food, non-food consumables and activities carry separate charges on funded sessions. Review the written quotation and the consumables arrangements together before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Music and enrichment. Caterpillar Music sits alongside Spanish, gardening and other activities. Use the visit to discuss what the music sessions involve and how enrichment fits your child's age and interests.

Windmill suits families seeking term-time care with a choice of morning, afternoon or full-day attendance, and who value daily outdoor play and regular contact with a library. Its garden and Maida Vale Library connection give the offer substance beyond the Montessori name.

The September 2022 picture combined practical exploration and close relationships with weaknesses in emotional responsiveness and routine organisation. A decision should give both sides their proper weight. The strongest fit is a family whose calendar matches the term-time model and whose priorities include books, outdoor activity and a gradual, adaptable settling process.