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Monkey Puzzle Cheam, Sutton

Monkey Puzzle Cheam, Sutton is a day nursery in Sutton for children aged 1 to 3, with 84 registered places. Ofsted report card, 19 November 2025: Strong standard in 4 areas, Expected standard in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery, Priory Crescent, Cheam, Sutton, SM3 8LR

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
1 to 3 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
84 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
22 March 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 19 November 2025

Who runs it

Monkey Puzzle Cheam, Sutton is run by Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries (Sutton) Limited (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Strong standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
  • Achievement: Expected 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 19 November 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are settled and arrive eager to start their day. Children are highly confident learners and readily talk with staff about their needs. All children remain thoroughly engrossed in activities throughout the day, helping to support their learning and development. Staff work closely in partnership with parents to support children's next steps in learning and transitioning to other rooms. This greatly supports children's ability to make secure progress with their learning from their starting points. Babies thoroughly enjoy activities that support their physical development. Staff give children plenty of space to move their bodies in different ways and to enhance their emerging physical skills. Babies pull themselves to stand and start to learn to coast around furniture. Early walkers have safe spaces to practise their new-found skills. Other babies learn how to use ride-on toys to further enhance their physical development.

Children thrive in a safe learning environment where they feel valued and supported. They show great pride in their work. Staff praise children well for their efforts, which builds their self-esteem. Inclusion is embedded securely in daily practice. Any barriers to learning are swiftly identified and escalated to parents and the relevant agencies to aid children's learning and development. Support for children who speak English as an additional language is particularly strong. Staff work in partnership with parents to help understand the words children use in their home language. Children quickly develop key skills in English, which helps them to settle in quickly and develop friendship groups in the nursery. Children readily talk to each other in their home languages as well as English as they happily engage in role-play activities. They develop the key skills they need ready for their next stage in learning.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are proactive in training staff to identify when children need extra help and support. Staff use additional funding well to support children's learning and development. They identify where there are barriers to some children's learning and adapt the curriculum to prevent gaps emerging. Recent evaluation has helped staff identify the need for more outside play for children. Staff's attendance at forest school training has improved their knowledge and helped them to adapt the outside curriculum to be more educational for children.

Staff attend regular meetings with other professionals. They work in partnership to identify targets for children's next steps in learning. Staff and parents meet regularly to assess the progress children are making both at home and in the nursery. This collaborative working greatly supports children's overall progress with their learning and development. Staff are highly skilled in adapting activities to meet the differing needs of the children taking part. This enables all children to be able to take part and learn from all activities on offer. Leaders successfully review the impact of early intervention and the adaption of activities on children's learning to ensure staff are able to close gaps in children's learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders fully understand the importance of a good quality curriculum to aid children's learning and development. Staff ask children effective questions during activities, helping to positively support children's communication and language development. Staff build on children's interests effectively to help plan an enjoyable and exciting curriculum that supports children's learning and development. Overall, staff build on what children already know and extend this further. At times, staff step in too quickly and rush activities. On these occasions, children are not given enough time to think and work out how to complete tasks for themselves.

Staff are skilled in making sure that all aspects of learning are covered in their planning, enabling all children to make progress across all sevens areas. Staff are skilled in adapting activities to support all groups of children and in reducing gaps in learning. Physical development across the nursery is a key strength. All ages of children have access to a broad range of resources. Older children show great skill in the forest school area, developing important skills ready for their transition to school.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make secure progress given their starting points and, overall, are well prepared for their next stage of learning. Children recall well what they have been taught. For example, older children discuss road safety and recall how they tell their parents to stop at the red lights when they are in the car. Children are motivated to learn and take part in activities. However, they do not always have enough time to fully absorb what they are being taught.

Children are confident talkers and readily discuss with staff what they are doing. Children who speak English as an additional language are able to recall the new words they are learning and use these in the right context to form sentences in English. Babies babble in response to questions and start to form their first words. They actively name animals and match the sounds to the toys in front of them.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They create an extremely positive learning environment where all children help and support each other. Staff have a secure bond with all children. Children are seen to approach staff confidently for cuddles during play. Staff talk to children about what they are doing and if they need anything. This greatly helps the children's personal and social development. Children readily help each other. For example, in the forest school, they step in to help others use the water containers to fill pots and pans to make potions.

There is a culture of respect and kindness in the nursery, starting in the baby room and going right through to the older children in the pre-school room. Staff expertly teach children of all ages the importance of being kind and listening to others. Leaders work closely with parents to monitor children's attendance. They work with parents to address barriers that are stopping children attending to ensure children are happy and settled in the nursery.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff work together to provide healthy and nutritious meals for children. Staff are vigilant during mealtimes to ensure there are no choking risks. Oral health is consistently supported by leaders and staff. Staff work closely with parents to establish routines for children, for example matching children's sleep routines at nursery to home. This allows children to be well rested to support their learning. Staff are also highly considerate of children's individual needs, working with parents and medical professionals to support children's development.

Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe and the importance of healthy lifestyles, taking note of children's backgrounds. They ensure that all children have access to outside spaces and activities to develop their physical skills. Staff are highly compassionate, especially during children's care routines. They talk to children, for example, asking their permission before changing nappies. Children also learn how to wipe their own noses and faces.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have addressed all the actions set at the last inspection and made significant progress. The quality of practice has greatly improved since the nursery had a change of leadership. Leaders are highly reflective with regards to practice and clearly identify areas they wish to improve. Some improvements are still in their infancy. However, training has been booked for staff, and leaders are providing their own coaching and support to make improvements. Leaders and staff have worked hard since the last inspection to bring about positive changes to the curriculum for the children.

Specific training for staff has improved their knowledge and ability to identify and provide early intervention for children who have barriers to their learning. This professional development has enabled staff to close gaps in children's learning and development and obtain referrals where they are needed to support children further. Leaders work with staff to ensure they are not overworked and have regular breaks. This helps to support staff's overall wellbeing.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should enhance the support for staff to be more confident in allowing children the time they need to think and complete tasks for themselves.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 19 November 2025. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 19 November 2025: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 4, Expected standard in 2
  • 27 June 2025: Full inspection, Inadequate (report)

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

  • Busy Bees Day Nursery at Cheam - Day nursery, Sutton SM3 8ET, ages 0 to 4, 88 places, 0.2 miles
    Ofsted, 27 August 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Fairlands Pre-School - Pre-school, Sutton SM3 9AB, ages 2 to 4, 26 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 17 April 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Bright Horizons North Cheam Day Nursery and Preschool - Day nursery, Sutton SM3 9BZ, ages 0 to 4, 80 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 12 September 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Busy Bees At Cheam Park - Day nursery, Sutton SM3 8QS, ages 0 to 4, 79 places, 0.5 miles
    Ofsted, 30 October 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Cheam Baptist Church Pre-school - Pre-school, Sutton SM3 8QF, ages 2 to 4, 60 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 24 September 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Monkey Puzzle Cheam, Sutton on the Ofsted website