Hampden Nursery

A December 2018 judgement found an unusually purposeful nursery day: children planted and grew food, prepared vegetable soup in a mud kitchen, and practised everyday independence alongside their learning. Ofsted judged Hampden Nursery Outstanding in every graded area, with effective safeguarding. That is a strong historical picture, but it is dated.

Hampden Nursery is open at 80 Polygon Road in Camden as a full-day setting with 40 places in total. Its most recent published report dates from 10 December 2018, so the detail below separates that historical practice from the current branch identity.

Learning and Named Experiences

In December 2018, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shaped a day built around play, adult guidance and practical routines. The EYFS sets standards for learning, development and care from birth to five. In practice, this means practitioners help children build communication, physical, social and early academic skills through play and everyday activity.

Learning opportunities were adapted around individual interests. The planting and growing area gave children a route into food, nature and change over time, while the mud kitchen turned peeling and chopping vegetables into sensory, physical and imaginative play. These were concrete experiences, not a generic activity list.

Relationships were a central feature in December 2018. Home visits informed settling-in visits with parents and a child's key person, giving staff a starting picture of the support a family might need. A book exchange, a parent champion system and library visits with parents carried learning beyond the nursery day.

Self-care was taught deliberately. Children used room-based nose-wiping stations and practised tooth brushing, while the kindness cat puppet helped them think about sharing and treating friends well. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at that time.

The nursery operates from 80 Polygon Road, London, NW1 1HQ. It is listed as full-day childcare on non-domestic premises and has 40 places in total.

In December 2018, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four years. Current nursery-specific prices are supplied in the provider's written quotation.

• Current day-to-day offer. The latest published inspection is from December 2018. Discuss today's timetable, accepted ages and everyday arrangements in a visit or conversation before deciding whether the setting fits your child.
• Funding and charges. Funded early education was part of the 2018 offer for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. Ask for a current written quotation that separates funded hours from any private hours and other charges.

Hampden Nursery's latest report provides a vivid, positive account of practical learning, parent partnership and carefully taught independence. It may suit families drawn to a compact full-day setting, and to an approach where growing, cooking play, books and self-care were woven together.

The important qualification is time. Parents who value the 2018 Outstanding judgement should use a visit to test how the present-day offer, including the attendance pattern and age range, matches the elements that made that inspection distinctive.