Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road

Indigo Square, 84 Brighton Road, Surbiton KT6 5PP
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9.6 38 Reviews
  • Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road, Surbiton
Dicky Birds Day Nursery, Brighton Road in Surbiton, offers a warm and enriching environment where children are encouraged to grow, explore and thrive. Rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted (March 2025), the nursery features bright rooms, spacious outdoor areas, and a unique “Foundations for the Future” room to enhance learning for children aged 2-5. It offers bespoke educational programmes such as Make & Bake, Move & Groove, Innovate & Investigate, and Forest School sessions. A dedicated on-site chef provides nutritious meals, while strong parent partnerships are supported through the Famly app and a dedicated parent information shed. With a central location near Surbiton station and local parks, Dicky Birds Brighton Road combines convenience with a high-quality, child-centred approach to Early Years education.
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Funding & Fees

To find out our fees guide and more information, please speak to our helpful customer service team any time between 8.30 am – 6.30 pm, send us an email or visit our website.

Contact Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road to get a personalised quote.

Contact Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road to get a personalised quote.

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Julia Donovan (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 35

Total Places for Children

  • 75

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 08:00-18:00
    Tuesday 08:00-18:00
    Wednesday 08:00-18:00
    Thursday 08:00-18:00
    Friday 08:00-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road Reviews (38)

9.6

Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road has a Review Score of 9.6 (9.615) out of 10, based on 17 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road has 38 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
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Reviewer Connection to Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road
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Total of 38, showing 21-38
Review from S M (Mother of Child) published on 22 March 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 3.0 out of 5
The staff deserve so much praise for the dedication and care they take for their children but more recently with new management and a new company takeover, the standard of the nursery has dropped. The gardens are messy, there doesn't seem to be as many activities set up for the children, and the kids
seemed to be hurried through rooms so they can take more kids in the older room (potentially before they are ready) so they can lower staff quarters. Of course, there is the ongoing issue of being turned away at the door on a morning and being asked to wait which has been super stressful for both staff, children and parents. The price seems to keep increasing but the quality of the setting doesn't.
I used to highly recommend this nursery but now I simply say the staff are great, and it's okay.
Reply from Charlotte Whyatt, Marketing and Communications Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadHi, thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. We would like to apologise for your experience with us. Our dedicated team is so passionate about providing exceptional childcare and education. The difficult decision to turn away families is not one that’s made lightly and done to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of the children in our care. Please be assured that your concerns are being taken seriously and if you would like to discuss anything further, please don't hesitate to contact our customer services team on 0800 028 4500.
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Review from Esther-Lee I (Mother of Child) published on 25 January 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 1.0 out of 5
This nursery has many issues. Staff turnover is extremely high, to the point they turn you away pretty much every morning. They don't have the decency to even call you to apologise. They make you come in and then tell you at the door they have no staff. They also use an agency which most respected nurseries
don't do. So you have no clue who's with your child, how they are with your child, you get no updates, they currently have an issue with the garden where the manager is trying to "win back" in her exact words. They try to run a nursery on a housing development and the neighbours constantly complain about the nursery noise.
You don't get told what they have eaten, you don't even get photos, and you hardly get communication.
The staff at the nursery have begged me to report the manager of Brighton Road, as I have been told by staff she is mean to them and yells at them constantly. Probably why there's no staff.
No parking outside, and everything is squashed. Avoid at all costs.
Reply from Charlotte Whyatt, Marketing and Communications Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadHi, thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. We are committed to providing an exceptional childcare service and we would like to reassure you that your comments are being taken seriously. The health and safety of our children are paramount, and we have taken the decision to use agency staff in order to remain compliant with ratio requirements. Building a strong relationship with our families is important to us and our team strives to share photos and updates throughout the day so we can all enjoy the children's many fantastic achievements. If you would like to discuss anything further, please don't hesitate to contact our customer services team on 0800 028 4500.
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Review from B K (Mother of Child) published on 23 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Absolutely delightful nursery. Keep it up! Super satisfactory and reliable nursery. Can't recommend it enough. Every member of staff is caring and loving. Staff mix in gender, culture and are also well above the standard nursery. My kids love everything about the nursery.
Reply from Charlotte Whyatt, Marketing and Communications Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadHi, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're so glad to hear that both of your little ones are having such a great time with us. Our hardworking team is so passionate about what they do.
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Review from M M (Father of Child) published on 7 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 1.0 out of 5
We had our son in Dicky Birds for a few years, but since new management started not only he has always been unhappy going in, but since they don't have enough staff on many occasions, they refused to let us in (which is challenging if you have a demanding job to suddenly take a leave) or had to queue
outside the nursery for over 2 hours (an issue when your son does not want to go in, in the first place and you need to get to work).
When we pick him up, it seems he was just rolling in the dirt the whole day, without anyone paying much attention.
They are expensive, understaffed, and poorly managed I would not recommend this nursery at all with the current system they have in place.
Reply from Charlotte Whyatt, Marketing and Communications Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadHi, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Turning away families is always a last-resort decision that is made with the safety of the children in mind. We must remain compliant with statutory ratio requirements to ensure we're able to properly fulfil the needs of all the children in our care. Our settings are experiencing challenges with recruitment which is something we are working incredibly hard to overcome.
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Review from S S (Mother of Child) published on 15 June 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our son has been attending Dicky Birds for almost two months now and really seems to love it - if we walk past on days where he isn't in, he runs up to the door and knocks to go in! The staff in Swans Room are all really friendly and enthusiastic, always with smiles on their faces. We are expecting
a new addition to the family in the summer and we've already signed her up for a place when she turns one. Thank you Dicky Birds Team!
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you kindly for taking the time to review your nursery, it is very much appreciated. Your feedback will be passed on to the nursery management team.
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Review from C H (Father of Child) published on 28 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
The staff at Dicky Birds have always been outstanding. Both of our children are very happy there and get up to all sorts of activities, which really does seem to nurture their development and creativity.
That said, some of the changes implemented since the nursery was sold have been negative. This
includes:
1. Moving “Robins” to an underground room full time. When we joined the nursery we were assured this room was only to be used as an extra room.
2. Losing the on-site chefs and then experimenting with a system that left children hungry.
3. Stopping jolly phonics.
4. Communicating important changes like the above only after the event, and even then using management speak and technical terminology e.g. arguing in favour of "phonological awareness and oral blending", without clearly explaining what actually happens in the classrooms now.
5. Moving billing from a system that made sense to one that is completely impossible to follow.
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you for your feedback, we can reassure you that we are taking your concerns seriously and we have escalated your comments to the relevant person. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us.
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Review from A P (Mother of Child) published on 26 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Dicky Birds Brighton Road is a good nursery. The staff is warm and they seem to really enjoy spending time with children. Being relatively small, it has the cosiness of a home too. There is a park nearby and the management seems to constantly think of ways to improve children’s nursery experience.
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you kindly for taking the time to review your nursery, it is very much appreciated. Your comments will be passed on to the nursery management team.
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Review from K R (Mother of Child) published on 25 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A great nursery, both my kids have been happy attending Dicky Birds and it’s great to see all the different activities they do. The staff are caring and keep parents informed. We would recommend Dicky Birds.
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you for taking the time to leave a review; it is very much appreciated.
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Review from L S (Mother of Child) published on 25 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
The overall experience with the nursery is good - in particular their use of outside time in the garden and daily walks. However, I feel there is a big issue with staffing, whereby the standard differs greatly by room. This is reflected in the quality of communication back to parents, use/lack of use
of tapestry, and the ability to have structured discussions about how your child is progressing. I also believe this stems from the management of the nursery which has constantly changed over the past 2-years and there is no clear leader maintaining a consistent standard across all rooms and staff.
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you for your feedback. We can reassure you that we have taken your concerns seriously, and we have passed on your comments to the nursery management team. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us on 0800 028 4500.
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Review from K B (Mother of Child) published on 25 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I just love this nursery. The staff are everything you could want in people looking after your child. I have found them brilliant from the first phone call; understanding, accommodating and reasonable. It struck me that they would see my son as an individual and do right by him, which has continued.
The team are brilliant, and the whole settling in process worked so well with excellent communication throughout. They know what they are doing and my husband and I trust them to make an environment where our son is happy and will flourish. Couldn’t recommend it highly enough! The outside space in the first room isn’t great but the children are taken out at least once a day to make up for it.
Reply from Jessica Lawrence, Marketing Executive at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you kindly for taking the time to review your nursery; it is very much appreciated. Your feedback will be passed on to the nursery management team.
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Review from Andréa R (Mother of Child) published on 1 July 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son has been at this nursery from when they first opened their doors in 2018. I can say with my hand on my heart that once you have visited a Dicky Birds Nursery, no other establishments will even come close. There is such a warm and welcoming atmosphere in all their rooms. And even though the nursery
is in itself gorgeous and wonderfully decorated, it really all boils down to their staff. From the admissions team, all the way through to management…they go above and beyond to make sure you and your little one(s) are happy. I feel completely reassured every single morning that my child is going to be looked after and cared for to the highest standard, and this is priceless. The staff are simply amazing. The way my son has developed over the past three years is incredible. I’d like to take all the credit for this, but I can’t! They do so much with them. During the pandemic, they were absolute superheroes in keeping the nursery open. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.
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Review from Caroline D (Mother of Child) published on 28 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son has loved joining the duckling’s room from his induction in November 2020 and he has continued to thrive. All the staff, especially his two key workers, are compassionate and thoughtful. He’s out for an adventure every day to the park which I think is really important.
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Review from William (Father of Child) published on 26 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
We’re impressed with the variety of offered activities and the overall supervision. One criticism is the lack of continuity among our child’s key person. I think we’ve been through 3 or 4 during the past one and a half years. That said we are generally pleased with the caliber of individuals the nursery
employs.
Reply from Natali O'Farrell, Administration Manager at Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton RoadThank you for taking the time to feedback to us about your experience with us. We are really pleased that you have been impressed with our activities, supervision and our team overall. We are sorry to hear about your experience regarding continuity with your Key Person. Continuity is so important for children and we have a Key Person and settling process in place to support this. When team members do leave it is important that we plan to make the transition from one Key Person to another as smooth as possible for our children and families and that we communicate these changes well. We will certainly take your comments on board so we can reflect and continue to improve our practices.
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Review from Izabela (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very good experience with the nursery. My son is very happy every time he goes there and learning many things. Staff are very friendly, giving you feedback each day. They go out for walks and in the garden every day. I highly recommend.
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Review from Amy G (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
We have had a really positive experience with Dicky Birds. My son always comes back happy after a fun-filled day. He has learnt a lot since starting at the nursery and I’m hoping that this will continue.
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Review from Riaan P (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our son has been at Dicky Birds Brighton Road since he was approximately fourteen months old and both parents and child have been very happy throughout. Staff are great with the kids, the nursery has good quality toys and equipment, they follow a good learning and nutritional plan and keep us updated
throughout. We would have liked it if they had an online system to manager records and interactions but that is very minor in the bigger scheme. I'd highly recommend Dicky Birds Brighton Road.
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Review from Luke M (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Dicky Birds Brighton Road is run by a fantastic team. Always greeted with a smile - absolutely brilliant with the kids. Ours adores his key workers and this is down to the time, attention and care they put in with the kids. Both of our children have been at Brighton Road and our eldest is always welcomed
back with genuine enthusiasm, on first name terms, and asked how she is doing at school - a small touch - but sums up the teams commitment and care.
Our youngest absolutely loves it at Brighton Road and is always excited to tell us about how much fun he has had every day.
Cannot recommend Dicky Birds Brighton Road enough.
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Review from Rob P (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Dicky Birds is very well run and the staff at Brighton Road are incredibly caring and supportive. They really go the extra mile to help if needed and obviously care very deeply for the children they look after. The range of activities is fantastic even despite the pressures from Covid-19, which everyone
at the nursery has dealt with bravely and professionally, and it has been a pleasure to see the children we know make such rapid progress and form strong friendships. Our son really loves spending time there and is close with the staff who look after him. The nursery has been absolutely amazing in supporting us and the NHS when we had to work extra shifts during the pandemic, and the nursery policies are very fair, transparent and socially responsible. We're extremely grateful for the care and attention our son receives at this nursery and couldn't recommend Brighton Road more highly.
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Current Review Score: 9.6 (9.615)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.6 (9.615) out of 10 for Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.7 out of 5 from 17 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.9 out of 5 from 17 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 4.690 for Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road is calculated as follows: ( (152 Excellents x 5) + (36 Goods x 4) + (11 Satisfactorys x 3) + (1 Very Poors x 1) ) ÷ 200 Ratings = 4.69
  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 4.925 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Dicky Birds Day Nursery and Preschool Surbiton, Brighton Road is based on 17 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 20 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews, 0.05 Points for the next five Positive Reviews, and finally 0.025 Points for the next ten Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.050, 7th = 0.050, 8th = 0.050, 9th = 0.050, 10th = 0.050, 11th = 0.025, 12th = 0.025, 13th = 0.025, 14th = 0.025, 15th = 0.025, 16th = 0.025, 17th = 0.025, 18th = 0.025, 19th = 0.025, 20th = 0.025) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 = 3.925
    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 75 number of registered child places is 15, which has been reached with 17 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  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

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Awards / Recognitions (12)

Meet the Team (1)

Julia

Julia

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Julia has worked in Early Years for just over 26 years, having started straight out of school where she completed her NNEB. Since then she has completed a Foundation Degree in Management and Leadership in Early Years. Julia's passion is creating a warm and exciting environment to ensure that every child reaches their full potential. "It is so rewarding watching the children grow into their own unique characters and achieve their milestones."

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