Wimbledon / South Wimbledon Nursery Recommendations

[jlivingston]

Hello,

I'm pregnant with my first and trying to research good nurseries in the Wimbledon area. I'm based in the South Park Gardens area of Wimbledon.

Does anyone have kids/babies in any of the Wimbledon nurseries and would recommend them?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Hi, I have several friends who have sent all their kids to The Garden Room and rave about it. Location wise, it didn't work for but it's perfect for SPG.

Many friends and I used Wimbledon Day Nursery. The owner is lovely and her own child was looked after there since she was a baby. They have two sites facing each other. The newer building is lovely and bright with bigger outdoor space. The older building is also fine though. We were based in the older building (as no space left in the new one). Downside is that the outdoor space felt small but the key thing for us is that my child loved the staff in his room and his key worker was lovely. Staff are all very friendly too. We were very happy for the time we were there.

We visited Orchards Nursery when it opened and, whilst it sounded great - lots of wooden toys, healthy cooking onsite etc - I was far from impressed by management, the organisation and the key worker they had proposed for my child. We turned it down. I understand they are under new management though.

If you're in SPG, I would certainly check out The Garden Room. If you need full time hours, then I'd also check out Dicky Birds on Queens Road.

HTH.

Hello OscarLucinda,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply with such useful information.

I've got an appointment to view Dickie Birds on Queens Road and I've just contacted Wimbledon Day Nurseries to view them as well. Someone else has recommended Wimbledon Day Nurseries too, so that's a good sign.

I couldn't find much information on the internet about The Garden Room and failed to even find their website. I shall do more searching.

As for the Orchards Nursery, that's useful to know. Certainly sounds good in principle like you say but if the management and key workers are no good then that's pretty key. I may well try to look round it to see if the new management is better.

Last questions, if you have the time and it might not be something you can answer. I don't suppose you know how early generally people book into the nurseries in advance of a place? Not that there is much I can do about it now, but might speed up my decision. I guess I'll also find out how long the waiting lists are at each nursery as i'm sure it depends on the siblings thing and time of year. Also wondering if most people sign up to a few nurseries just in case and then see which offer a place at the time you need it? Aware there is often a deposit to register.

Thanks again so much for all your help it's much appreciated.

Hi there, I think the Garden Room is very much word of mouth and it's also fairly small. I think they don't need to rely so much on a website as they have a solid local reputation. I think they may also be Montessori in their approach too.

I'm not sure what people do now as it's been a while since mine were at nursery. When I out my first down, there was only really Dicky Birds and the wait list was really long. I put my child down for Dicky Birds and WDN when I was a few months pregnant!!! I then had a nail biting wait for a place which i got only just in time for my return to work when my child was 15 months old. Yes, the waiting list was that long!

I think as there are more choices now, so it may be easier getting nursery places. Lots of new ones have since opened. If you have a fixed date for needing childcare though because you're returning to work, I'd suggest registering as soon as you can.

Some other nurseries that friends have used (and which seem to have good feedback) include Nature on Pelham Road and Banana Moon on Russell Road.

Re the Orchard, I walk past them everyday and they never seem to have many children there. It seems to be lacking in atmosphere. Something to bear in mind

I mean Nature Nurture!

Hello,

Thanks again for all the info! So helpful.

I'll be putting my name down on some waiting lists asap I think, just to be on the safe side as I do have a fixed date I need to return to work.