The Dolphin Montessori School

My son started at Dolphin Montessori when he was 2 years old and he had previously been exclusively in a one on one childcare setting. The intimate and welcoming setting at Dolphin coupled with the manager’s and a particular staff member’s loving and patient approach made the settling in process quick and easy. We all instantly felt part of the Dolphin family and the manager went to great lengths to make us feel included and introduced us to the other families. My son adores them and loves going to nursery, happily skipping off, sometimes without even saying goodbye! I couldn’t recommend it enough – it feels like a well kept local secret as I only found out about it through other parents who had sent their kids there before.

We have been very happy with the experience of our daughter at Dolphin Montessori School. She has grown in confidence, starting with one day and now will be on three days when we return in September. Previously she had one on one care either from us or from child care, so naturally, like many parents, this was a big step for her to attend a nursery and wondered how she would get on and if we had made the right choice. We shouldn’t have been concerned. Our daughter quickly adapted and the welcome of both Carole the owner and they have been great. She enjoys going there and often talks about what she has learned and done in the day. We have been very happy with the experience so far. We recommend Dolphin Montessori to other parents in the local area. We like that the premises are relatively spacious, the Montessori method and the homely atmosphere.

We have been so happy with our time at Dolphins. The environment is wonderfully loving and tender. The staff take a genuine interest in each individual child and their personal development. Our little girl felt completely comfortable and at home and genuinely loves being at Dolphins. Loved every minute. Thank you to the manager and her team for everything!

Dolphin is such a wonderful, caring nursery. Both the teachers are so experienced and clearly passionate about what they do and the children they care for. Our daughter really struggles with change and they were brilliantly patient and flexible with her, until she settled in. She now adores her time at Dolphin and is always so excited to tell us what she has done at the end of the day. They make sure the children are encouraged to be independent and always learning as well as having fun. Endless painting, books, cooking and garden fun! They have really nurtured our daughter into a confident, fun-loving little girl and we would recommend it to anyone.

My son was due to start attending nursery just as the pandemic struck in March 2020. He didn’t really start until months later, in June, but what I found when he did eventually start was the best possible environment for him at what was a very stressful and worrying time. Other reviewers here have praised the two teachers and it’s difficult to overestimate just how perfectly they’re suited to what they do. They’re calm, kind, thoughtful, diligent and engaged as well as endlessly interested in and genuinely delighted by their charges – and even though my son has moved on to a pre-school nursery, he still visits from time to time to say hello. And now my younger daughter is about to start at Dolphin, which means that she’ll have the opportunity to experience the same safe, creative, and nurturing environment that the teachers have created. It’s a very special place, and the children who attend really are very lucky.

I cannot recommend Dolphin strongly enough – it is an incredibly special place which is entirely focused on the well-being and growth of the children and is run by two wonderful teachers. Our son started at the nursery during the pandemic. From the very first day, he ran in and loved every minute of it, learning all sorts of songs, yoga poses, animal facts and cooking. He was constantly coming back with a wonderful array of pictures, crafts, and Father’s and Mother’s Day presents that he’d made. We had to deal with family illness over a period of several months in his first year, taking him out of school for several weeks. The warmth, support and total flexibility shown towards our whole family was incredible and they were very accommodating about unpredictable attendance. Throughout his two years there, we had the full confidence that our son was being taught and looked after in an incredibly nurturing, calm and creative environment. I feel so sad that his time there is over!

We absolutely loved Dolphin and are heartbroken to be leaving. The two ladies who run it have been there for many, many years (decades?) and are excellent at knowing every child and how to develop them. They have such great insights and are so supportive and caring of their children. They have weekly yoga, cooking and music classes. My children are so proud of their cooking, which they bring home with them. When my son got interested by a hammer, they organised an (age appropriate) woodwork class for him. They have good outdoor space (bigger than most London nurseries). They work hard to build a community of parents, with regular events. They often give little, well thought-out presents to the children (at Christmas etc.) and are so tactful that they even include siblings not at the nursery. The only two small downsides are that you need to bring your own food, and that they mirror school hours and holidays, which is not necessarily convenient for everyone. Wonderful place.