Fulham has long been a popular choice with families looking to settle in south-west London, thanks to its plethora of green spaces, family-friendly eateries and large period properties perfect for family life. To meet this demand, there’s now a large selection of nurseries in Fulham for families to take their pick from.
Whether you’re looking for a day nursery, a nursery school, or want your child’s early years to be informed by Montessori teaching methods, you’ll be able to find the perfect nursery in Fulham, London to meet your requirements.
We’ve detailed our favourites below- and have included information on the curriculum, class structure, food available, Ofsted rating and price for you to get a feel for the best nursery for your little ones.
Fulham’s Day Nurseries
The day nurseries in Fulham, London that have made it onto our list all take children from aged three months. They are open for a full day of play and learning which makes them a perfect choice for working parents.
The Little Tug Boat, located just off the Fulham Palace Road, is family-run and set in a beautiful Victorian house to encourage a homely feel for all little ones attending.
It’s owned by a husband and wife team who follow a ‘learn well’ ethos: learning through play following the Early Years Foundation Stage. Learning takes place indoors and outdoors (whatever the weather!), and lots of physical activity is encouraged alongside more static learning.
Nursery Structure: The nursery is divided into three rooms; the ‘First Mates’ baby room for nine babies ages three months to two years, the ‘Captains’ toddler room for up to 12 two to three-year-olds, and an ‘Admirals’ pre-school room for 16 three to five-year-olds.
Food: Children attending the nursery enjoy three meals plus a snack a day, all made from scratch onsite using high-quality ingredients. Any dietary requirements will be supported.
Ofsted: Outstanding
Price: Price depends on how many days a week the child attends; parents can choose from two to five days a week. The Little Tug Boat is registered to offer universal 15 hours a week entitlement for three to four-year-olds, and an extended 15 hours for those eligible.
Anything else?: The nursery doesn’t offer half days.
If you’re looking for a family-orientated nursery in Fulham for your child then Parsons Green Nursery might be for you. They have a light, bright space, which is extremely well-organised, just off the New King’s Road.
The staff at Parsons Green Nursery believe that close attention should be paid to every child, as an insight into potential can be found even at a young age. They put great importance on making sure parents are involved at every step and keep family values and good manners at the forefront of their teaching.
Nursery Structure: The youngest children, who are aged from three to 20 months, have their own room and a separate ‘Cot room’ for sleeping in. There is a 1:3 teacher to child ratio for this age group. 20-month- to 40-month-old babies are in a ‘Transition’ room; this is divided into two groups based on age. Children from three and a half to five years old get a preschool education. Extracurriculars include French, dance, cookery and PE.
Food: Parsons Green Nursery employs a specialist Nursery caterer who delivers hot food three times a day. They also offer a free nutrition advice service to any parents who feel they might need it.
Ofsted: Good
Price: Available upon request.
Beau Peeps Nursery
Beau Peeps is a small independent nursery in the Fulham Broadway area. They made it onto our list thanks to their flexible opening hours and location carefully designed with children in mind: it has magnetic walls, mezzanine levels and different colours and textures. An all-weather garden for digging, climbing and growing completes the space.
The curriculum is unique to the nursery, but follows the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and is underpinned by the Montessori principles of learning through doing.
Nursery Structure: The nursery is divided into two rooms; the children learn through play upstairs, while downstairs the teaching focusses on the Montessori philosophy and preparing the children for the next stage of education. Having a mix of ages (18 months to five years) means that the children get to learn from each other and develop friendships outside their age group.
Food: The children at Beau Peeps enjoy meals that are prepared on site daily. The nursery staff place particular importance on manners, encouraging children to eat with a knife and fork and keeping a note of what they eat. The children can also sit at a breakfast bar to watch the food being prepared- and can even have a go themselves if they’d like to.
Ofsted: Good.
Price: available on request.
Fulham’s Nursery Schools
Nursery schools tend to take children from around two or three years old, and structure lessons more formally to prepare children for graduating to mainstream schools. The below are our recommendations for the best nursery schools in Fulham.
The Melrose House Nursery School organisation has locations in Fulham and in Southfields. The Fulham branch, located on Finlay Street just off the Fulham Palace Road in a Victorian house, takes children for five mornings and three afternoons a week.
Tuition follows the Early Years Foundation Stage which focusses on literacy, maths, arts and design, alongside softer skills like communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. There’s a real focus on building confidence and happiness to ensure they will hit the ground running at mainstream school.
Nursery Structure: Children are separated by age and also benefit from individual tuition to ensure that the staff are totally on top of the needs and requirements of each child.
Food: Melrose house provides appropriate meals and snacks for children- we particularly like how accommodating they are for individual dietary requirements.
Ofsted: Outstanding
Price: Available on request.
Pippa Pop-Ins is a chain of nurseries with two branches on the New King’s Road, just a few minutes from Parsons Green Underground station. They’re one of the most well-established nurseries in Fulham, London- they’ve been around for almost thirty years- and are owned by the Gosling family.
Unusually for a nursery school, Pippa Pop-Ins will take children from the age of one. They place a special focus on child-led learning and have traditional standards alongside a respect for the individuality of each child. Children are able to attend for morning, afternoon and full day sessions, and enjoy plenty of extra-curricular options as well as school trips around London.
Nursery Structure: Pippa Pop-Ins pupils are grouped by age; the ‘Tiddly Pops’ are for children aged one to two, the ‘Dragonflies’ are aged two to three and the ‘Transition’ group are aged three to four.
Food: Food is prepared on-site by a nursery chef. Particular importance is put on the quality of ingredients used: the meat is locally sourced, they cook with organic produce where possible and the children are given plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Vegetarian options are also available.
Ofsted: Both sites on the New King’s Road are rated Outstanding.
Price: Available on request.
Montessori Nurseries in Fulham
There’s a good selection of Montessori nurseries in Fulham. For the uninitiated, the Montessori teaching method was developed by Maria Montessori, and is based on the observation that children develop by interacting with their environments (in other words, they learn by doing) and by taking the lead in a specially prepared environment.
The Fulham branch of Little People, on Lillie Road, offers full and half days for children aged three months to five years. They have a lively, stimulating space with everything children need to engage with and learn from their surroundings.
In line with Montessori methods, there’s a real focus on play, with children enjoying messy and sensory play and a forest school, as well as physical activity- the toddlers are even taught yoga every day.
Children at Little People are also taught maths, Spanish and IT, and enjoy swimming and football lessons- it’s a really well-rounded education to prepare them for mainstream school.
Nursery Structure: Children are not strictly divided by age, but move groups when teachers feel they are ready to do so. The youngest start off in a special baby room, and then move to the ‘Butterfly Room’, a large open space specially designed for toddlers, when they can walk comfortably. At around age two and a half, the children move to the ‘Ladybird Room’, in a suite shared by the Pre-School group. Here there is a space for art, an IT suite and two classrooms for other lessons.
Food: Children are given three meals a day made from organic and locally-sourced produce, plus fruit for a snack twice a day. We like how varied the menus are well-to-week.
Ofsted: Outstanding.
Price: Little People accept government funding for 15 or 30 hours a week, depending on eligibility, and also all childcare vouchers.
Dawmouse have two nurseries in the Fulham area, each taking children from ages two to five years old. They offer half days Monday to Friday, with the option to stay for the afternoon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The staff at Dawmouse believe that for a child to succeed at school, learning has to be enjoyable and take place within a happy atmosphere. Children are taught from a curriculum that is derived from the Montessori teaching method. It is divided into practical life skills, sensorial activities, language development, maths, culture, creative and physical development.
Nursery Structure: In keeping with the Montessori methods, children are not strictly divided by age.
Ofsted: Both locations are rated good by Ofsted.
Price: Available upon request.
If you’ve got any questions about properties in the area, one of our Fulham estate agents will be more than happy to talk through our current portfolio and how the area is a must for families.
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