At 185 Coppermill Lane, Tinkerbell's Day Nursery offers parents of children aged 3 months to 5 years full time daycare booking for 2 years at £140 per week. (Local authority grants are available for some.) According to OFSTED, for this sum their child's care and nursery education with be 'satisfactory'.
Externally, the nursery looks like what it is, a terraced converted house which has had its door and window frames painted in pale pastel blue and the windows covered with stickers of Disney versions of British classics, like Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. To these have been added the odd Mickey Mouse, Bambi and Goofy (or is it Pluto? -I can never be sure). A quick shufty through the windows, which are covered with white muslin-thickness curtains, and one can see the usual stacks of bright plastic bins with toys that have been the staple of the daycare industry since the mid 1960s, the tiny furniture for the little darlings to sit at when they are being good, the adult height work top with sink and, of course, a cheap radio/cd player for use when the entertainment provided by living human beings has palled.
Tinkerbell's advertises in the window of the nearby Londis as offering a 'safe, loving environment' and apparently provides this for up to 34 youngsters by deploying 13 staff, 9 of whom, according to OFSTED were holders of "appropriate early years qualifications" as at the time of their last inspection in October 2007. The day nursery does not just comprise the end terrace at the junction of Coppermill Lane and York Road, but extends back to include a house on York Road itself. This seems to be accessed externally by a metal fire escape type staircase from the small covered concrete back yard which makes up the external play area of this establishment.
Its a five minute walk from here to St James's Street station and about 10 to Blackhorse Road tube station along Edward Road for parents who have to go into London for work. The W12 bus service stops nearby for those who work at Whipps Cross or in the Snaresbrook, Woodford or Wanstead area.
Coppermill Park, with its play area for under 7s, is just over the road.
Tel 0208 520 8338