Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Maple Road

Hard to overstate how big a part of our lives nursery is as working parents with no local family support - we’d be lost without Dicky Birds Day Nursery. We’ve had three children go through two Dicky Birds settings, before, during and after the pandemic years and it has been a consistently brilliant experience for our family, mainly thanks to the love and care of the talented staff who really make it a second home. It’s been transformative for all our children’s confidence. Our third child is currently at Maple Road and loves the setting and all the staff so much, she toddles in and out of there every day beaming. I live for the photos of the messy play (the staff are extremely creative and I especially love that I don’t have to feel guilty about not doing messy play at home!), garden time and the trips to the river and cherish the weekly updates on what they are learning so I can share in the same songs, books and themes at home. Early years is undervalued, but we are so grateful for the Dicky Birds team

Amazing nursery, my son loves it here and skips in most days. The staff are incredible! He’s always learning and out and about in the outdoors which is great. He’s learning lots of sports which I think is so important and one of his favourite parts.

Dicky Birds Day Nursery had gone through a period of staff shortage in 2022 with many experienced staff leaving. This meant that there were occasions when they had to turn children away because they just didn't have the staff available to meet the required ratio. However, they seem to be fully staffed now and the new staff have been wonderful. The food is also delicious (I've tried it!) and my little one frequently has more than one serving. Management can do a better job of communicating staff changes, such as giving parents sufficient heads up about staff leaving, introducing new joiners etc. But otherwise, the team are great and my little one is happy there.

They do varied activities and the food is really good. I couldn’t ask for more from a nursery and its staff!

I will split my review into the child development and overall nursery management categories. Regarding development, I think that the practitioners are doing a fabulous job. Our daughter adores the nursery and knows the names of a decent number of practitioners she had interacted with and also the names of the children in her room. We are receiving regular updates on her progress. Management-wise, there used to be quite a few issues with the staffing shortages that negatively affected parents in the mornings as we had to wait for staff replacements and had been given at short notice. I assume that this had also been putting a high stress load on the practitioners (who had been handling it amazingly well) and consequently children. However, the situation seems to have improved. On the food note, the meals that they serve for lunch and tea seem varied and healthy, but the breakfast is not nutritious enough (no eggs), at least from what I've seen.

We love Dicky Birds. Our older two attended another DB nursery, and my middle one attended Maple Road for a few months when we moved. We tried another nursery with our youngest because it had slightly longer hours and was in a more convenient location for us. But we missed DB, the quality of care, the lovely staff and the ethos so we came back and are so pleased. It’s even better than we remember. The staff have been great in both rooms so far. My son bounces in every morning and is happy when we pick him up. I couldn’t recommend the nursery more highly.

Staff go above and beyond to make sure your little one is safe, cared for and happy. We can speak to them about issues we are having regarding difficulties with getting our child to sleep, potty training etc and despite being super busy they give you that time and advice which is really helpful. We attended a lovely Christmas event that the nursery put on which was fab, my daughter had lots of fun and it was a chance for the parents to meet too. Food and drink were great and once again staff really went that extra mile, on a Friday evening I might add- which we all know is precious time to unwind at the end of the week. Really appreciate their efforts.

My little one is excited for nursery each day and always comes home with a smile.

We have been with Dicky Birds for quite some time. Our firstborn daughter is now at school and our youngest is turning three. Over the years there have been some minor changes in regards to the management team and the company ownership, but this doesn’t seem to stop the amazing team to continue providing a nurturing environment full of wonderful experiences. The staff are very friendly and knowledgable.

Activities are varied - walks, learning, science experiments, dancing, yoga etc.

My son previously attended many years ago. My daughter currently attends and is in the Starlings room. She started her journey in the Ducks and has worked her way up the rooms. She is very excited to go in every day and see her friends and the team in the room. I can not fault the care that we have received and you can see how hard all the staff work in the nursery. She comes home happy which is what my main hope is. The nursery displays as you enter the nursery are fantastic and very appealing! As a family, we cannot find a fault with the nursery.

I would recommend the nursery 100%. It is worth every penny!

We love Dicky Birds! The staff are amazing, it’s a very nurturing and caring place and my little ones have both loved going. They always have great activities to keep the children entertained and there is a lot of variety day to day. I would definitely recommend!

But on the whole, a really positive experience and had no major issues.

When my child started to stand on her own they seemed as excited as I was. My child is always happy to go to nursery.

I would recommend to other parents.

We are so grateful for the love and care he is receiving from all staff.

They did an amazing job during the pandemic - they offered flexibility on places and fees, increased hygiene and put the kids first. This did lead to changes, but the management team remain committed to making the nursery a warm and welcoming environment.

I couldn’t be happier with Dicky Birds, Maple Road. The staff are so kind, warm and attentive. I have seen my shy little girl become a confident, playful, well mannered and well-fed little cherub. She runs into school each day to hugs and smiles from all and clearly enjoys her day there. She learns so much there and comes back to tell us all about her day - her vocabulary is astounding. We had recently emigrated to the UK when we enrolled our child in Dicky Birds. Our greatest anxiety around moving to the UK was whether she’d be happy and settle into nursery having had her own nanny her whole life. Thank heavens for the team - they have taken all those fears away from us and we are forever grateful to them. We are number one fans of Dicky Birds and highly recommend them.

Thank you to all who are involved in this wonderful nursery!