Tadpoles was started by Claire Dimpfl in 1976 in Lamont Road. From 1980 – 1993 it was situated in Ifield road and became Tadpoles Nursery, Chelsea, on the site that it is today in the September of 1993.

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When we arrived at the current Chelsea Site in 1993, it was a bare building with a simple, bare playground out at the front, a building site of a garden at the back and an empty, old and unloved pond.  Claire's vision to bring it back to life began.

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The vision of Tadpoles has grown, rather like it’s green counter-part, organically, ever changing and evolving over the years.  Early years should never be a ‘static’ moment, our lessons should grow and evolve with the children, our surroundings and the world about us.  Claire, our head and owner was Montessori trained herself, however, she very much believes that Maria Montessori, would not have stayed still with her teaching but would have extended her own teaching practices to reflect the changing times.

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Tadpoles Nursery is very forward thinking in its practice, we began using the ‘Field to Fork’ and Forest School approaches many years prior to the new ‘trend’ that we see through schools across the country.  However, we do not need to travel for us to be able to give these wonderful early experiences to our children, with the garden at our finger tips and our forest area on our doorstep.  It is our belief that if we want the world to change we must begin with the teaching in the very young.  Ecology and Climate change, Equal Thinking, care and kindness within our community – we could go on - will only be positively affected if we educate our children from the beginning, giving them the imagination, tools and skills at an early age.  

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