Building Blocks Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in London for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2023. Open since 2001, with 80 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Fully funded 15- or 30-hour sessions.
Worth knowing. The 15-hour sessions run all day on Monday and Tuesday, plus either Wednesday morning or Wednesday afternoon, or all day on Thursday and Friday.
What childcare usually costs in Merton
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Merton from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
SW19 3QHWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
- 2 December 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 17 December 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 30 November 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff consider the learning environments effectively to ensure that children are calm and relaxed. They spend their time talking and playing with the children, which motivates them to play. This sensitive and warm approach ensures that children feel safe and happy in the nursery. Staff plan a rich and ambitious curriculum for all the children. For example, they introduce dry sand to babies to enable them to explore various materials. This aids children's creativity well.
Toddlers practise their physical skills as they blow bubbles and exercise on an obstacle course.
Staff build on children's individual experiences outside of the nursery. For example, they take children to the nearby supermarket to buy items such as fruit for the story 'Handa's Surprise'. In addition to promoting children's awareness of the world around them, staff talk to children about what they buy, which helps to promote their language skills. At mealtimes, staff encourage children to do age-appropriate tasks for themselves to develop their independence skills. Children respond well to this and help staff, for example, to hand out bowls and cutlery. Staff sit with the children and engage them in conversations, which makes mealtimes social occasions. They teach children how to behave well. Children learn that 'sharing is caring'.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- build on the good practice of providing staff, particularly new and less-confident staff, with more-targeted support to raise the levels of education to the highest level.
- 30 November 2023Good
- 15 March 2018Outstanding
- 5 August 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Building Blocks Nursery
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.