Miss Daisy's Nursery School, Belgravia

Shopping lists, baking ingredients and thank-you cards give learning a practical purpose at Miss Daisy's Nursery School, Belgravia. In December 2024, children explored nearby businesses, helped plan shopping outings and thanked the people who supported them. The neighbourhood became part of their learning. At its 11 December 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that teaching helped children make excellent progress.

The setting is at 28 Eccleston Street, London SW1W 9PY, with capacity for 60 children and an age range of 20 to 60 months. It operates during term time, with morning, afternoon and full-day sessions. The combination deserves attention from families who want nursery learning connected to everyday independence, rather than activities that end when the materials are put away.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children's communication, physical development and growing independence develop through their experiences and play. It is the foundation of provision, rather than an extra programme. Belgravia's practical learning gives that framework a concrete expression.

In December 2024, children used saws, nails and hammers with guidance on handling tools safely. Staff joined their play and introduced ideas that encouraged them to try something new. These were opportunities to work with real materials, make decisions and practise careful movements. Dough modelling also exercised their fingers, while climbing, running and yoga offered different ways to move.

The Belgravia and Chelsea enrichment programme includes Little Kickers and Blueberry Music as optional activities alongside EYFS provision. These are group enrichment choices, with children who do not participate continuing their EYFS learning. Their optional status matters when deciding which parts of the nursery experience to include in a family's booking and budget.

Outdoor and Community Life

Local exploration had a clear purpose in December 2024. Children visited businesses including a hairdresser and dentist, learning about the services around them. Shopping for baking ingredients brought planning into the experience: children made their own lists before going out. Thank-you gifts and cards added a reason to think about other people.

Nature exploration took place both at the nursery and in local parks. Alongside the tool activities, this gave children opportunities to investigate their surroundings and practise handling materials. The useful distinction is the connection between an outing and what children do with it afterwards. Buying ingredients, baking and thanking a business linked separate experiences into something children could understand.

Each child's key person reviews their development through Formative Reviews, which help identify where additional support may be useful. The SEND policy applicable to Belgravia provides for a SENDCo in each nursery, working with parents and outside professionals. Families therefore have both an everyday contact and a role responsible for coordinating additional support.

Support follows an assess, plan, do and review cycle. Parents contribute to the intended outcomes and receive the plans, allowing strategies to be used at home where appropriate; a review follows after six to eight weeks. This gives a family something more concrete than a general promise of inclusion: agreed actions, an opportunity to assess their effect and a point at which to change them.

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged SEND arrangements exceptionally well organised and safeguarding effective, with staff identifying needs promptly and developing individual plans with parents. Those are dated findings. The current admissions policy asks families to discuss additional needs and allergies early, so that reasonable adjustments and the nursery's ability to provide the required support can be considered.

Everyday independence also featured in December 2024. Children served food and helped clean their plates and cutlery; toddlers worked at cutting food themselves. Conversation gave them practice in explaining what they needed, including asking for more food or assistance. Staff allowed time for children to contribute their ideas, rather than supplying every answer.

There were nine staff at that visit, eight holding childcare qualifications between levels three and six. Parents received detailed information about children's development. Transition work included links with other providers, helping information and support carry into the next setting; this is preparation for moving on, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3.30pm, and full days from 8.30am to 3.30pm. The Belgravia fee schedule gives a Friday closing time of 12.30pm, so the afternoon and full-day windows need to be read alongside that exception. Attendance is term-time, with closure during school holidays.

Under-threes attend a minimum of five mornings, with optional afternoons; over-threes have a minimum of five mornings and three afternoons. That is a different proposition from choosing isolated nursery days: the morning routine remains consistent while afternoon attendance increases. The practical decision is how that rhythm fits work, other care and a child's readiness for a longer day.

Admissions are non-selective under the policy applying to Belgravia. Enquiries go through the nursery's contact form or admissions team. Visits can be arranged individually or in small groups, as well as through open-day tours.

Funding and Paid Extras

The Belgravia schedule provides for 15 Hours Funded and 30 Hours Funded booking options, subject to eligibility. Funded childcare itself carries no charge; additional private hours and voluntary extras are accounted for separately. The nursery's attendance model is term-time.

During funded hours, meals and snacks and nursery supplies, including educational and crafting materials, carry separate voluntary charges that parents can decline individually or altogether; optional enrichment runs alongside the EYFS provision. Funded-entitlement-only attendance has its own booking arrangements, so it should not be assumed to reproduce a family's chosen paid pattern.

A non-refundable registration charge and a deposit apply except where a child accesses funded entitlement only. The deposit refund is subject to the required leaving notice, completion and return of the Deposit Return Form within two years of leaving, and the contractual conditions permitting deductions or retention. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funded childcare, additional hours and chosen extras should be distinguishable within it.

• Friday collection. The Belgravia schedule closes the nursery at 12.30pm on Fridays. Build that shorter day into the working week and discuss the intended collection pattern during a visit.
• Morning routine and afternoons. Booking patterns start with five mornings and add afternoons. Ask how the transition to longer attendance would work for your child, rather than choosing solely by the final timetable.
• Funding and extras. Meals, supplies and enrichment sit outside the funded childcare charge, with voluntary charges for funded hours. Before accepting a place, request a written breakdown of the chosen extras and the booking pattern that applies without them.
• Individual support. Belgravia's admissions policy considers needs and reasonable adjustments before entry. Use a visit to discuss your child's specific requirements and how the key person and SENDCo would put an agreed plan into practice.

Belgravia suits families seeking a regular term-time morning routine, as well as those combining mornings with afternoon or full-day attendance. Its December 2024 practice connected learning with useful tasks: planning a shopping trip, handling tools, serving food and expressing a need. Those details give the Outstanding judgement substance.

The choice turns on fit as well as quality. Five-morning booking patterns, the shorter Friday and voluntary extras charged during funded hours all shape family life. For parents who value practical independence and can accommodate that attendance rhythm, Belgravia merits serious consideration.