Under the Willow Nursery

198a Croxted Road, London SE21 8NW
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9.3 26 Reviews
  • Under the Willow Nursery, London
Under the Willow Nursery is located in the heart of Dulwich Herne Hill, Brixton, in a purpose-built, eco-friendly building.

The nursery follows the teachings of Maria Montessori, a pioneer in early education whose teaching methods promote independence and a love for learning. The Montessori method, along with the EYFS curriculum, allows children at Under the Willow to flourish as individuals and build their social, physical and emotional skills.

Indoor and outdoor play areas provide a wide variety of sensory play equipment designed to boost children's learning and creativity.

The experienced cook provides three meals and two snacks a day, which are made from organic, free-range produce as much as possible.
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care

Group/Owner

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 20

Total Places for Children

  • 37

Age Range

  • from 0 years
  • to 5 years

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:30
    Tuesday 07:30-18:30
    Wednesday 07:30-18:30
    Thursday 07:30-18:30
    Friday 07:30-18:30

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & 1 week at Christmas

Under the Willow Nursery Reviews (26)

9.3

Under the Willow Nursery has a Review Score of 9.3 (9.341) out of 10, based on 6 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Under the Willow Nursery has 26 reviews.

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Reviewer Connection to Under the Willow Nursery
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Total of 26, showing 1-20
Review from C G (Mother of Child) published on 28 November 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our little man has been attending Under the Willow since I finished my maternity leave last January. Handing over our precious child to anyone can be extremely daunting, especially for first-time parents. The three-day settling-in sessions were ideal for us, as we needed to work. Many other places seemed
to stretch the settling-in period over two two-week spans, which was not feasible for us.
From the moment you walk through the gates, you are greeted by warm, smiling faces who embrace your child as if they were their own. My biggest worry was whether he would be comforted and cuddled if he became upset. Suffice it to say, he has received all the love and care we hoped for.
The team has a great understanding of child development, and they engage the children in incredible activities. My little boy loves going to nursery and sometimes even refuses to leave. I can breathe easy knowing he is in kind, nurturing hands with Marta leading the team! We highly recommend this nursery!
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Review from Hannah C (Mother of Child) published on 7 July 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We have sent all three of our children to this nursery and have a really great relationship with the staff and the setting.
Our youngest is currently in the pre-school room and has extra needs. The staff are always so inclusive and really delight in seeing him progress. He always comes out happy after
each day and I am reassured in the day with updates and photos through the app. The food is freshly prepared on site, visits are made to forest school regularly and the garden has a lovely atmosphere with many activities for the children. Indoor learning is fun and informative. My son loves to come home with his baking and artwork to show us. We highly recommend this nursery to any new parent!
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Review from A B (Mother of Child) published on 4 July 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We've been so happy with our experience at Under the Willow. The staff at this nursery are incredibly caring, with very low turnover, which makes a big difference. The range of activities they offer is amazing - always fun, creative, and often things I'd never think to try at home. The staff truly go
the extra mile to make everything feel special, not just for the children but for the parents too, with thoughtful touches like handmade cards for Mother's Day that create lasting memories. The food is freshly prepared on site every day, which gives us real peace of mind. The outdoor space is fantastic, with everything a child could wish for - sandpit, slides, swings, even a little botanical garden. We're constantly impressed by how much effort the staff put in and how much our child learns and grows while having so much fun.
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Review from Christina A (Mother of Child) published on 11 September 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Nothing but praise for Under the Willow!
The nursery has been like a home away from home for my son, who's been there from 1yr right through to pre-school before moving onto big school.
My son has flourished under the care of the Under The Willow. He is leaving to start school as a confident, inquisitive,
kind and empathetic boy who has a thirst for learning and exploring - and the team have played a huge part in shaping the wonderful person he has grown to be over the last 4yrs.
The entire team (management and all teachers) have also gone above and beyond to offer support to me as a parent. Their care extends beyond the child and they build a brilliant and supportive relationship with the whole family.
It's been a total pleasure to have Under The Willow be such a positive and lasting part of my son's early years education and we will miss them all dearly.
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Review from Philippa C (Mother of Child) published on 4 September 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Between our two boys, we have been coming to the nursery for 5 years now, both of them started in the baby room at under a year old and have stayed in the preschool room. It has been a lovely nurturing environment for them to grow up in, and having some of the key members of staff there for the entirety
has been key in making them feel safe and secure. We have been really pleased with their development and the way their confidence has grown, the communication from the staff has been good and the extra activities of forest school, football, baking and trips to the park have been great. They have also made some wonderful friends which helped our eldest transition well into school and I hope will be the same for our youngest in September. We would definitely recommend our experience to others.
Reply from Kim Bradley, Owner at Under the Willow Nursery
Hi Philippa, thank you for the review. We are so happy that your boys enjoyed their time with us. We value our team so much and are pleased you appreciated our long serving staff whom work…read more
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Review from Mark D (Father of Child) published on 4 December 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter loved her time at Under the Willow, formed great relationships with the staff, developed her enthusiasm for learning, and left feeling ready and well-prepared for school. They were great with us as parents, and I would certainly recommend them.
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Review from A R (Father of Child) published on 27 July 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Overall I'm happy with my child's education and care. My only issues are around staff churn (too many new people in less than a year), although my child's key person has not changed yet. We also feel that the potty training support could have been better. The inset days when the whole nursery is closed
is also an issue for working parents - hoping these will be changed for shorter period of time (couple of hours) across multiple days. Otherwise, good set of activities (sports, baking, music, arts and crafts, sensory play), plenty of pictures of the activities (through a mobile app), forest school trips, park trips and even a museum one. There are also plenty of project celebrations and parent events.
Reply from Mary Haynes, Owner at Under the Willow Nursery
Hi Adrian, Thank you very much for your review and feedback. We do our best to suit working parents as much as possible. We have started to have some inset days during the school holidays to support…read more
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Review from Laura N (Mother of Child) published on 11 July 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our son started attending the pre-school at Under the Willow Nursery when he turned two. The staff are friendly, enthusiastic, caring and provide a lovely environment for the children to learn, explore and thrive! We particularly liked the incorporation of Forest School trips into the nursery week
which gives a fantastic opportunity for the children to be immersed in nature and gain independence. Since attending the nursery, our son has grown in confidence and really enjoys learning. Every day has a different focus and our son has taken part in baking, football, gardening and yoga. The food menu is healthy and nutritious and is cooked on site by the nursery chef. All of the children sit down to eat together and it is lovely to see them all enjoying their food! We have had a great experience with Under the Willow and are very thankful to the staff members who have supported our son over the years in preparing him for primary school. Would highly recommend this nursery.
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Review from K H (Mother of Child) published on 25 October 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The staff are wonderful, my little boy has excellent care and rushes into nursery every day so he clearly loves it. There is a nice garden area and it is set far back from the main road. We are very pleased so far.
Reply from Kim Bradley, Head Teacher at Under the Willow Nursery
Thank you for your kind words about our nursery. We are pleased to hear how happy your son is with us.
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Review from Abigail G (Mother of Child) published on 18 October 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter never had a day when she didn't want to go to nursery and we were all so happy with our experience with Under The Willow. During our time there, staff turnover seemed low, and morale very high - we were impressed with the management and communication. Food was wonderful (better than at
home!), healthy and warming. Her keyworker really took the time to find what made our daughter tick and there was always a happy, upbeat energy at drop-off and pick up. We miss it.
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Review from Jo M (Mother of Child) published on 22 September 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We had a lovely experience at Under the Willow with both our children. Our daughter was appropriately stretched and cared for, with great activities and lovely staff and our son, who has severe special needs, was brilliantly supported. The nursery applied for an EHCP on our behalf and the chef cooked
special food for his dietary needs. Highly recommended.
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Review from Alex L (Mother of Child) published on 6 September 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been at Under The Willow nursery for over a year and a half now, having started when she was just over a year old. She loves it and is visibly very happy to go in each morning. We have found the team at the nursery very engaged - they clearly have an excellent knowledge and understanding
of each individual child and their needs and are very good at communicating with parents about this regularly, both formally and informally. It’s also clear that a lot of thought goes into providing a variety of activities and exercises for the children, to make nursery fun as well as meeting objectives for early years learning and development. We chose Under The Willow nursery partly for the nursery environment which is great, with a garden and plenty of outdoor space set well back from the road, and indoor areas all on one level. The menus are also good and certainly meet with my daughter’s approval! We’re very happy with our choice, and we’ve now signed up our new baby to start in autumn 2022.
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Review from Rebecca H (Mother of Child) published on 17 February 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Unlike many parents, I had no worries leaving my five-month-old baby at Under the Willow, even in a pandemic. As my oldest had attended from six months, I knew how well he would be cared for and looked after and how he would thrive in such a nurturing environment. My oldest went there till just over
two when he transferred to the Outdoor School (which we love!) and my youngest has now been there for three months and both are loving it. They have helped wean him and even getting him to nap - something that is mission impossible. Importantly, I value the ethos of the nursery and the emphasis on learning through play and can see the benefits of this in my eldest child with his imagination and vocabulary and social skill. Additionally, I value the staff there, particularly because of how hard they have worked through the pandemic and the regular communication they provided. This nursery has been amazing and I would totally recommend it to anyone.
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Review from Karin N (Mother of Child) published on 11 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter has been attending UTW full time since she was 7 months old. We found everyone to be extremely helpful and accommodating from the outset, allowing us to view the nursery on two separate occasions before we signed up. The team are down to earth, professional, always smiling and extremely
approachable. As our baby was quite young when she joined, we felt a bit apprehensive but she absolutely loved it from day 1. In fact, she likes it so much that she brings us her coat and shoes in the morning when she is 'ready' to leave. We love the Montessori approach, especially the promotion of independence, wooden toys, amazing healthy freshly prepared meals and the fact that the kids spend a lot of their time playing outdoors and gardening. Parents are kept well informed about their child's progress via an app with regular updates and pictures and are encouraged to share observations at home also. We are extremely happy and cannot recommend this nursery highly enough!
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Review from Hannah C (Mother of Child) published on 3 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We’ve been very happy with this nursery for our children - it has a calm, friendly and fun feel. The building is modern and purpose-built. The outdoor space isn’t huge but they have made really good use of it, with gardening opportunities and fun play equipment and the weekly forest school mornings
are also great. The staff are excellent and everything about the nursery feels well organised, there are lots of activities going on each week - gardening, cooking, music etc. Would definitely recommend it- our children are really happy there.
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Review from Jane B (Mother of Child) published on 2 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My 3-year-old son has been at UTW since he was 10 months old and my youngest is about to join. I would highly recommend the nursery. The staff are caring, patient, hard-working and enthusiastic. They receive and give daily feedback in a consultative way tailoring their approach accordingly. I recently
asked what they are doing to ensure the children will be school ready and I can see a shift in their teaching with my child since. I have seen some turnover in permanent staff over the years which is to be expected. The recruitment happened quickly though with a good brief explanation of the changes and backgrounds of new staff who were then introduced successfully with little disruption. There doesn’t appear to be a reliance on agency staff or too high a turnover. I have been very impressed with my child’s key workers. Each having their own style but each ensuring my child is developing and learning new skills. My child runs into nursery each day so I take that as a very good sign!
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Review from Neika E (Mother of Child) published on 2 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son started at UTW in October at the age of 22 months. It never took long for him to settle in even though he was the youngest in his class. The team at UTW are very helpful and I get a report every day on how he is doing and what we should work on at home. The activities are fantastic and he is
allergic to eggs but still manages to bake (without eggs) every Monday and bring his cooking home. Massive thank you to the whole team for looking after our boy. His speech is coming along nicely and he eats every single meal. He now runs inside and looks forward to going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Review from Deepti S (Mother of Child) published on 2 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been attending Under the Willow for over two years and she started when she was 8 months old. My daughter was incredibly well taken care of as a baby and now receives bespoke attention from teachers as a toddler. The nursery (much like a lot of other nurseries) has had some significant
shifts in staff and management, which has led to brief periods of uncertainty but the nursery has righted itself and children are always well taken care of. The food is fantastic (I wouldn't mind being given lunch boxes from the nursery, myself) and the nursery uses fresh and varied food so children are exposed to variety. The nursery also offers music classes (great music teacher), does baking/cooking and makes short trips to a forest school, nearby, that they have an arrangement with. My daughter is comfortable in her own skin, is confident, and eats well; all of which the nursery has certainly contributed to.
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Review from M S (Father of Child) published on 4 November 2020 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very happy with everything about Under the Willow. The staff have shown great levels of diligence and professionalism at all times, from when we first paid a visit through to now, when our daughter has been full-time at the nursery for four months. We particularly love getting updates and photographs
of all the activities they get up to.
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Review from Pontip P (Mother of Child) published on 29 September 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has attended school outdoors since it opened. I cannot speak highly enough of the service given. My daughter is given the freedom to learn and explore nature whilst being looked after to a high quality. The food given is tailored to her needs which so very important. My son attended the
summer camp and was taught such incredible skills that could simply not been given at another childcare setting. Highly recommend.
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Current Review Score: 9.3 (9.341)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.3 (9.341) out of 10 for Under the Willow Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 6 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.4 out of 5 from 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.930 for Under the Willow Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (66 Excellents x 5) + (5 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 71 Ratings = 4.93
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 4.411 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Under the Willow Nursery is based on 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 = 3.6
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 37 number of registered child places is 7.4. 6 Positive Reviews ÷ 7.4 = 0.811
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Under the Willow Nursery

What is the Age Range of Children that Under the Willow Nursery accepts?

Under the Willow Nursery accepts Children aged from 0 years to 5 years.

What Days & Hours is Under the Willow Nursery Open?

Under the Willow Nursery is open: Monday 07:30-18:30, Tuesday 07:30-18:30, Wednesday 07:30-18:30, Thursday 07:30-18:30, Friday 07:30-18:30.

How many Children does Under the Willow Nursery have capacity for?

Under the Willow Nursery has capacity for a total of 37 Children.

How far is Under the Willow Nursery to the centre of London?

4.5 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Under the Willow Nursery to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Under the Willow Nursery has an Enhanced Service - more info.