Fennies Wimbledon
Fennies Wimbledon is a day nursery in London for children aged 0 to 4, with 84 registered places. Ofsted report card, 9 January 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.
17 Elm Grove, Wimbledon, London, SW19 4HE
Key facts
- Type
- Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 0 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 84 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 20 June 2018 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:45 - 18:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 9 January 2026
Who runs it
Fennies Wimbledon is run by Fennies Day Nurseries Limited (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
- Achievement: Strong standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
- Leadership and governance: Strong standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 9 January 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
The setting has made significant progress since the last inspection. With new managers and many new staff in place, the team has quickly bonded and worked cooperatively to make improvements. It has successfully met all actions and recommendations set at the last inspection and quickly embedded consistent ways of working. As a result, children benefit from a well-organised and welcoming learning environment. Staff have improved their supervision of children through careful consideration of changes to the layout of the group rooms. In addition, staff training and consistent practice have led to significantly fewer accidents or incidents occurring.
All children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or face other barriers to their learning, make strong, steady progress from their starting points. Changes to the curriculum planning ensure that staff know children's individual learning needs and interests. They use this information to plan a broad range of activities and outings that fully enhance children's learning experiences across all areas of learning. Children are purposefully engaged in play. They develop impressive independent learning skills while selecting toys and following their own interests during play. Staff work with parents to encourage children's regular attendance and offer effective support to help to promote children's personal self-care skills, such as toilet training. This accumulation of skills ensures that children thrive and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.
Children are happy and settled, showing close relationships with staff and each other. Daily routines are fully embedded across the setting. The highly effective support staff provide enables children's transitions between activities and daily routines to flow seamlessly. This creates a nurturing and inclusive environment for all children, including those who have SEND or face barriers to their learning.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who have other barriers to their learning are supported extremely well. As a result, they make secure and sustained progress from their starting points. Staff know the children well and make ongoing adaptations to promote children's inclusion. Staff complete training and implement clear strategies and targeted individual support that promotes children's learning extremely effectively. For example, children keenly participate in specific activities aimed at helping them extend their attention. They benefit from close staff support, which enables them to successfully join in group activities and daily routines alongside their friends.
Trained and skilled staff, including the setting's special educational needs coordinator, work very effectively with parents to promote the early identification of children with SEND. They promptly initiate the assessment process and work with professionals and other agencies. This ensures that children receive the support they need. Staff also support children and parents when children make the transition on to school. Leaders track the use of any additional funding. For example, they obtain additional resources and ensure higher staff ratios for specific activities and outings. This enables children with SEND to make the best progress while promoting inclusion in all learning experiences.
Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
Staff have significantly improved the quality of the curriculum and teaching. As a result, all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or who face barriers to their learning, make impressive progress from their starting points. Consistent practice across all group rooms enables staff to monitor children's progress effectively and plan activities that successfully promote children's individual learning needs. The key-person system is embedded in staff's practice, and children's transitions between group rooms are well planned, minimising any disruption to children's learning.
Staff in all group rooms fully enhance children's communication and language skills. They consistently engage children in meaningful conversations during play and everyday routines. They use props and key words in children's home languages and in English to aid children's communication. Staff sing songs and plan well-sequenced group story times. For example, when staff read a familiar story, all children have a prop or story picture. This supports children's engagement and enjoyment of the story as they anticipate their turn to hold up their prop and enhances their personal, social and emotional skills effectively. Staff expertly extend their learning further by encouraging children to copy movements that help them to understand early mathematical concepts such as prepositions and size. Staff seize opportunities to extend children's learning further. For example, when children line up to go outside, staff encourage children to count the children in the line and add one more, helping them to understand addition through real-life experiences.
Achievement: Strong standard
All children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or face barriers to their learning, fully engage in adult-led activities and free play. They flourish as they develop their active learning skills as they are keen to explore and try new things. Babies and younger children freely explore, developing their physical skills while cruising around furniture and using low-level climbing equipment. They enjoy reaching and catching bubbles and snuggle in to look at books with staff. Toddlers extend their vocabulary during group story times when naming the animals they see in the book. They learn new words such as 'light', 'dark' and 'shadows' when using torches and their fingers to make shadows on the wall. They enjoy the praise given by staff for their efforts and achievements.
All children enjoy an exciting range of activities and outings that successfully develop their skills across all areas of learning. Regular outings in the local community and trips to museums help children to consolidate their learning and develop their understanding of the world. Older children develop their free creative expression while using a range of materials to make things. They draw pictures and make good attempts to write their names, showing secure early writing skills. Children consistently develop skills across all areas of learning, ensuring they are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
Staff encourage children's regular attendance and share information with parents to support children's routines at home. Children behave extremely well and have good relationships with staff and each other. Staff skilfully support all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or face barriers to their learning, to actively learn about sharing and taking turns during play. As a result, children show consideration for others, and any disruptions to their play are minimised. Staff are good role models and embed well-planned daily routines and consistent ways of working, which promotes children's positive behaviour. Staff help children to express their feelings and emotions and develop the skills to regulate their behaviour.
Staff consistently promote inclusion, ensuring that all children can participate in activities, enhancing children's positive behaviour towards others. They encourage children to follow their own interests and make choices during play. For example, older children develop their creative skills while using junk boxes and a range of creative materials. They show high levels of concentration when making their own models, actively sharing resources and showing pride in their achievements as they talk to each other about what they have made. Babies show confidence as they explore climbing equipment and clap with staff to celebrate their achievement of independently using the slide.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
The securely embedded key-person system enables all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or face barriers to their learning, to build strong bonds with staff. This promotes children's sense of belonging and enables staff to monitor and promote all children's wellbeing effectively. Staff work closely with parents, consider their views and make insightful adaptations to promote children's wellbeing. Children have abundant opportunities to gain physical exercise during outside play in all weather. They show pride when they put on their coats and hats independently and enjoy praise given by staff.
Children follow well-established daily routines exceptionally well. They benefit from sociable mealtimes and adopt healthy eating habits. They take turns to choose the foods and amount they want to eat. Older children help to clear away after mealtimes and use the bathroom independently. Babies feed themselves and then keenly wipe their face and hands. Mealtimes are relaxed, enabling children to eat at their own pace. These embedded routines fully promote children's self-care and physical health. In addition, staff work closely with parents to support children's toilet training and sleep routines. Staff ensure that children's dietary needs are known and respected. Children learn about a variety of foods during cooking activities. They write shopping lists, go to the local shops and make foods such as pizza or pumpkin soup that they then eat for their tea.
Leadership and governance: Strong standard
Leaders have empowered the new managers and staff to make significant progress since the last inspection. Strategic planning and oversight have ensured that areas for improvement are targeted and monitored. Staff's continuous professional development through regular training and mentoring enables them to improve their knowledge and skills and embed their roles and responsibilities effectively. Consequently, the quality of teaching and care routines have significantly improved. Staff understand the procedure to follow if they have any concerns about children's welfare. They work closely with parents to ensure that children's individual needs are met.
All staff work cooperatively together, promoting consistency of care and learning opportunities for all children. Highly effective systems are in place to ensure that all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or face barriers to their learning, thrive and make the progress they are capable of. Their transitions to the next stage of their education are planned effectively, ensuring children are well prepared for this change. Staff seek training opportunities and relevant funding so that they can adapt to the changing needs of the children attending and provide the highly effective support and care for them to thrive.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 9 January 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)
Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.
The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.
Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.
Source: Ofsted reports
Funded childcare hours in England
All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.
Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.
Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.
The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.
Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)
Other nurseries nearby
- Dicky Birds Pre School Nurseries Ltd - Dundonald Road - Day nursery, Wimbledon SW19 3PH, ages 1 to 4, 54 places, 0.2 milesOfsted, 13 February 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Maria Montessori Children's House - Day nursery, London SW19 4NZ, ages 20 to 50, 0.3 milesOfsted, 7 September 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Building Blocks Nursery - Day nursery, London SW19 3QH, ages 1 to 4, 80 places, 0.3 milesOfsted, 30 November 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Acorn Nursery - Pre-school, London SW19 3QB, ages 2 to 4, 24 places, 0.3 milesOfsted, 5 October 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Butterflies Pre-School - Day nursery, Wimbledon SW19 3SB, ages 2 to 4, 56 places, 0.4 milesOfsted, 8 February 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Schools nearby
- Dundonald Primary School - Primary, 0.2 miles
- Wimbledon School of Art, 0.2 miles
- Wimbledon Chase Primary School - Primary, 0.3 miles
- TCES National Online School - All-through, 0.3 miles
- Hall School Wimbledon - All-through, 0.3 miles