Butterflies Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Wimbledon for babies from 3 months up to school age, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 February 2023. Open since 2014, with 56 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Working Parent 15-hour entitlement for 1- and 2-year-olds (570 hours); 15 hours Universal entitlement for all 3- and 4-year-olds (570 hours); 30 hour Working Parent Entitlement (1,140 hours); Early education funding for eligible children aged 9 months to 3 years from working families; eligible 2-year-old children whose families are receiving additional forms of Government support.
Worth knowing. Butterflies Childcare does charge for meals, consumables and an Enhanced Provision Rate to cover items not funded by the Government. A limited number of free-at-the-point-of-access places are available.
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 3SBWhat 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.
- 23 March 2022 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 8 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children show a strong sense of belonging and are excited to arrive at the preschool, staff welcome families warmly. Children demonstrate they feel secure as they follow the daily routines. For example, they enjoy carrying simple tasks such as tidying up and eagerly tell staff where something needs to go away. They separate from carers with ease, put their bags away and join their friends to play and explore. Therefore, they are developing their independence skills. Older and younger children play harmoniously together. Children learn the importance of using good manners. Staff are good role models. They demonstrate polite and respectful behaviour to children and offer gentle reminders to support children with the preschool rules.
Children practise their speaking and listening skills. Younger children listen to stories with staff. Staff provide ongoing commentary as they play alongside the children. Children use their imagination and are creative with the available resources. They use magnetic shapes to build enclosures for their farm animals and make model dinosaurs with the play dough. Children enjoy using their number skills as they count, older children eagerly explain the value of 'zero' to their friends.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to engage effectively with children when joining their play to enhance their learning further n refine the organisation of routines during the day to minimise waiting time particularly for younger children.
- 8 February 2023Good
- 22 April 2022Needs improvement
- 24 January 2017Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Butterflies Pre-School
- What it costs
- Meals
- 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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.