London’s top nursery and pre-schools

I want to highlight several of the most popular pre-school choices in Central London that I have often heard recommended by other parents. 

• Broadhurst School (Hampstead): a small pre-preparatory school for children aged 2 to 5. The youngest children attend 3 hours per day, the older children 6 hours per day. This nursery is known to provide children with excellent preparation for the tough North London 4+ and 5+ assessments at top prep schools.
• Chelsea Pre-Prep and Nursery (Chelsea): is an outstanding rated pre-school offering early education for children aged 2.5 to 6. It is located in St Andrew’s Church Hall in a small side street running parallel to King’s Road.  The impressive list of fun activities offered to children includes Chelsea Ballet School and Little Kickers sports lessons, music and drama, French and animal care
• The Kindergartens - a group of nursery schools in SW London founded by a former head of Thomas’s Clapham, Carol Evelegh. Pooh Corner in South Kensington is very popular.
• Ladybird School - a popular nursery school in South Kensington, located on a lovely garden square. Run morning and afternoon sessions for children aged 2 1/2 to 5 and holiday sessions.
• the Minors Nursery School and Rolfe’s Nursery School (Notting Hill) – these are both part of the Alpha Plus Group and are a popular choice for parents who like to see their children to continue on to Pembridge Hall and Wetherby
• Miss Delaney’s (Holland Park) – Frances Delaney runs two nursery schools in Holland Park that provide a happy environment for children in beautiful surroundings. 
• Ringrose Kindergarten Chelsea – an academically oriented kindergarten for children aged 2 1/2 to 5. Located in the St Luke’s Church Hall in Chelsea. Describe themselves very much as a “school” rather than a “playgroup”.
• Roche School Nurseries – a very popular group of Montessori nurseries in Fulham, Wandsworth and Keswick for children from 2 to 5. Excellent for parents who want their children to learn a lot in a child friendly and playful setting.
• Strawberry Fields Nursery (Notting Hill) – I have heard great things about this nursery from Notting Hill parents and it has a glowing Ofsted review. It is very popular so do make sure to visit the nursery in person and register early
• Tadpoles Nursery (Chelsea): another extremely popular nursery with an outstanding Ofsted rating and a glowing report. Its founder Claire Dimpfl was inspired by Maria Montessori’s methods when she opened Tadpoles in 1993: “My wish is for every child to be ready to become independent learners, to explore and to be excited to learn and be happy and comfortable”. Tadpoles lists the prep schools children usually move on to and they include many of the top schools profiled on here, such as Cameron House, Hill House, Glendower Prep etc. Tadpoles was actually featured briefly in a clip of the Daddy Daycare programme – the focus of the show is very different but you can meet the head teacher and see the facilities.

While these are great pre-schools, as they generally run from around 9am to 3pm, they may not be the best option for working parents looking for full day care. Full-time nurseries that also offer a varied pre-school curriculum and extracurricular activities are:

• Active Learning (Fulham, West Hampstead, Crouch End and other locations): I first heard about Active Learning from a working mum who said she chose it because it was one of the few nurseries she could find that open their doors at 7.30am. They have several locations in London and you will need to visit your chosen neighbourhood to form your own impression, but generally they offer much more outdoor space and a wider variety of play areas than other nurseries in space-constraint London! Even toddlers move from outdoor play to a reading room, their home room over to a ballet room or performance room to ensure the kids stay active and enganged on a long day. The curriculum includes music, dance, drama, French, storytime, yoga, outdoor play and others, providing a very varied and stimulating environment for young children. They offer half-days as well as full days.
• The Little Tug Boats Nursery is an extremely popular family-run nursery for children aged 3 months to 5 years in Fulham. Parents with children at the nursery rave about the caring staff as well as the excellent learning progress of the older children. Unusually for London nurseries, they have a beautiful garden, too. It’s important to get on the waiting list early to secure a place.
• London Early Years Foundation: this chain runs 25 nurseries across Central London, many of which are rated outstanding. They are open 51 weeks of the year from 8am to 6pm and offer part-time as well as full-time places. Due to its scale, it is able to offer competitive fees and great value for money.
• Peques Anglo-Spanish Nursery (Fulham): this is a very popular choice for working parents in Fulham who want their children to thrive in a warm and loving environment while also getting ample intellectual and physical stimulation. The nursery in bilingual Spanish and English and also teaches the older children Mandarin several times a week. They make sure to spend some time outdoors every day and I have been told by current parents that another benefit of the Spanish background of the nursery is the mediterranean inspired food. I know two working mums with children at Peques who rave about the place. I decided against it because my daugther is already growing up trilingually (and none of these three languages is Spanish or Mandarin!) so I thought it would be a bit too many languages for her, but if it wasn’t for that it would certainly be top of my list.