Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery New Cross

We can easily see at pickup that our son is very well cared for by all the team at Monkey Puzzle, especially by his keyworker. There seems a lovely variety of play, learning and singing throughout the day and above all my son is happy there. We were impressed recently when the key worker arranged a chat to talk about his speech development with us and brought in the recently- joined learning coordinator, for a bit of structured insight into what we could be doing to help him.
Would highly recommend.

We love Monkey Puzzle! We looked round a few nurseries in the area but as soon as we stepped through the door we knew it was where we wanted our son to be. We love seeing what he has been up to on the app – everyday is different. Highly recommend!

We couldn’t be happier with our 2-year-olds experience at the nursery. He has been there since he was 11months old and runs in every morning with a big smile on his face. He’s formed wonderful bonds with his carers and friends in his room and we are delighted with how much he enjoys his time there.

I will continue to regret that I allowed my one-year-old daughter old to spend a week at Monkey Puzzle for two main reasons:
1. An apprentice was appointed as her key worker and the fact he was an apprentice was never communicated to me. Therefore it was never communicated to me how this apprentice would be supported to look after my child.
2. At pick up I witnessed my child in distress and unattended, screaming on the floor, for a few minutes.
I am so relieved that I acted quickly, despite losing money, and removed her from the setting immediately.

I initially chose this nursery because of the good reviews and the close proximity to our home (8-10 minute walk). From settling in (first week), my son came home with a head injury. At the time, I thought little of it and put the reason down to the fact that it was his first week and the staff was getting used to him being very active. As the weeks went on, and every week, my son came home with a head or wrist injury. It was now getting serious and I was very concerned. Another week, he had apparently walked into something with an edge and had a bruise from the side of his right nose into his cheek. The very last week, I had dropped my son to the nursey at 8:30 am and by 10:15 am, I had a telephone call to explain that within the 1 hour and 45 minutes, my son had conveniently walked into the door and banged his head and also injured his wrist on another occasion. Again, at 16:20 pm, a second call regarding a bang to the head. Seriously! He hasn’t attended this nursery since this day.

I absolutely love Monkey Puzzle New Cross. The staff are absolutely excellent – so professional and sweet. They are incredibly attentive and always inform me of the details of my daughter’s day. She has always been quite anxious around new people but within a week was reaching out for her key worker when we arrived each morning. The nursery manager, is kind, professional, responsive and personable. It is such a friendly parent community. We could not be happier.

I found it hard to find a childcare setting within the lockdown. Especially one who would allow us to view. Monkey Puzzle held out of hours visits, which was perfect. My son, 13 months at the time, loved the setting and the staff member providing the tour.
Starting in the baby room, he has experienced all three rooms, a great team of staff and management. The communication is amazing, from management and staff with daily contact if any issues, online journals, regular newsletters and updates.

At drop off, the smell of freshly cooking meals is fabulous. The strange Covid restrictions are made better by welcoming staff at the drop-off and pick up. Smiley staff greeting us at drop offs and my boy usually coming out happy and bubbly, after an enjoyable day.

The nursery’s outside space is great for a city nursery. With a large park within walking distance, regularly used by the children.

Monkey Puzzle isn’t the cheapest local nursery. But you 110% get what you pay for. I could not want more for my son.
Thank you team Monkey Puzzle.

The staff at Monkey Puzzle New Cross are friendly and helpful with parents, and have always been kind and attentive with my child. Despite the challenges of the last two years of pandemic lockdowns, the team there has been a consistent source of care and support. The key workers have been proactive around health and development matters, and take active steps to keep the children well cared for.

Every morning my child is eager to go in and get started, and every afternoon comes out smiling and happy. He recognises classmates and likes to talk about the songs, games and activities they do together. He’s doing well at Monkey Puzzle, and they’re good partners in his growth.

Our daughter is very happy at Monkey Puzzle and at home, she often talks fondly of not only her key person (who is fantastic) but also the other members of the team – they are all lovely and seem to really enjoy what they are doing. The office team are also friendly and efficient and very helpful when it comes to things like reorganising attendance days etc. We would certainly recommend Monkey Puzzle New Cross to others.

My daughter has been going here since she was 18 months and she absolutely loves the nursery. Staff are patient, well trained and caring! She loves the staff, food, and looks forward to school every day. I want to say a big thank you to the nursery and would recommend to my friends.