Bertrum House School

Bertrum House is the Balham nursery that offers a unique pre-school experience for 2 – 5 year olds. Fully qualified early years teachers deliver an exceptional, balanced, education in a purpose built school with its own dedicated field. Children go on to begin their school careers as happy, confident, intellectually curious individuals.

Our mission is to give children aged 2 – 5 years the best, academically balanced and happy nursery experience we can. We provide a safe and nurturing environment in which children can feel secure and emotionally free to learn and develop as individuals.

Our unique site in Balham includes a purpose built school building and field that provide a spacious and stimulating environment for young children.

Bertrum House is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for its children, staff and visitors and promoting a climate where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns that they may have about their own safety or the well-being of others.

All children from birth to five follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum whether they are cared for in a day nursery, with a childminder or educational nursery. It is a statutory document, developed for professionals to support young children into learning. At Bertrum House, we get to know our children extremely well, taking time to observe them at play and finding out about their interests. We are then able to carefully plan for their next steps using their interests to build motivation and excitement.

At Bertrum House Nursery we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The seven areas of learning form the basis of our teaching upon which we plan enriched, exciting activities to encourage a thirst for learning. The three ‘Prime Areas’ which are particularly crucial for stimulating children’s curiosity, enthusiasm and potential for learning. These are Communication and Language; Physical Development; and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

We are extremely fortunate at Bertrum House to have a purpose built school building, complete with our own dedicated field. We are confident that no other Balham nursery can offer the same space to facilitate a full early years curriculum. Importantly, we are not constrained in our choice of activities, by having to pack-away at the end of the day.

We are unique as an independent nursery in Balham, in that we can provide access to each of the key areas of the curriculum in a roomy, yet intimate and stimulating setting. The children are separated into small classes across 2 academic year groups – nursery and pre-reception, with each class enjoying its own fully resourced classroom. The classrooms are large enough that the teachers can prepare a full range of activities within a calm and uncrowded environment.

In addition to the individual classrooms the children are also taught in the school hall. The hall provides ample space for the children to enjoy specialist sessions in music, dance and yoga, and a grand stage on which the children perform the annual Christmas nativity and Mother’s Day concert. On a daily basis the hall is equipped with indoor play equipment and a reading corner for the children to enjoy at snack time and during lunch.

We are the only Balham nursery to have our own huge field, where the children play and learn every day, whatever the weather. We do not need to take the children off site in order to provide them with space or exposure to the natural environment – they experience it every day they come to school, it is integral to how we teach. Outdoor play is shown to be hugely beneficial for pre-school children, when much of their learning is predominantly through sensory and physical experience. Our experience supports this, the excitement and enjoyment of the children is clearly evident.