Maria Montessori Nursery School, Beaufort Road

Montessori learning, specialist music and Spanish give Beaufort Road a clear preschool identity. Based in Church of the Ascension Hall in Ealing, it takes children from age two until they begin school and has 50 places in total. The emphasis is on individual exploration, with practitioners guiding children's curiosity.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical attractions are a term-time calendar and a choice of morning, afternoon or full-day attendance. For parents, the important distinction is between that breadth of activities and the everyday teaching: mathematical language and opportunities for children to do things independently were both areas requiring improvement.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the required framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play and routines should develop their communication, physical abilities and social skills alongside early literacy and mathematics. Montessori is the approach used here, with children pursuing individual interests under practitioners' guidance. It sits alongside that framework rather than replacing it.

In October 2024, resources were arranged so children could choose activities inside and outside. Pouring practice used different materials to increase the challenge, while drawing and other mark-making activities exercised the small movements needed for writing. These are useful examples of learning through practical action.

Language also ran through everyday interaction that month. Adults introduced unfamiliar words, repeated them and encouraged children to contribute to conversations. Children could ask questions and talk with one another. However, number ideas and mathematical vocabulary were less consistently brought into play, so an activity-rich day did not always extend children's mathematical understanding as far as it could.

The named additions have specific roles. Click IT! brings structured technology teaching from an outside specialist, while Spanish introduces another language. Music is led by a specialist teacher, and Dance & Gymnastics is delivered by a PE teacher. These give children contact with adults teaching particular subjects as well as their usual practitioners.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds learning through exploration of the natural world. Yoga uses stories to encourage movement, giving it a different character from the Dance & Gymnastics sessions. Together, these activities broaden the day beyond Montessori work; their value for a family depends on whether its chosen attendance pattern includes the activities its child enjoys.

In October 2024, children rode cars while learning to manage the space around them and built towers with large blocks. Outdoor choice and these substantial physical resources gave them ways to practise movement, coordination and construction alongside quieter activities.

Cultural learning that month included Ramadan, Diwali and Christmas. Parents could organise cultural mornings with food and other resources, and children wore cultural clothing. Family participation made these occasions more concrete than simply talking about festivals: children encountered traditions through people and things connected to their peers.

Close relationships mattered in the October 2024 nursery day. Recently enrolled children received reassurance and help to develop bonds with staff. Familiar routines included looking after their belongings and tidying after play, giving children recognisable steps through the session.

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that external agencies supported children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, that targeted plans supported individual learning, and that children made good progress. For families needing additional support, the useful mechanism is that combination of outside expertise and plans for the individual child, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Communication with families also had practical content in October 2024. Parents received updates and suggestions for carrying learning on at home. That connects the nursery day with family life and gives parents something more useful than a list of completed activities.

Health routines were woven into the day. In October 2024, fruit snacks prompted discussion about food choices, and children staying for lunch practised brushing their teeth afterwards. Independence was less consistent: adults sometimes took over tasks children could attempt, including pouring drinks for older children. That matters in a Montessori setting, where allowing time for children to try is part of the stated approach.

Sessions and Attendance

Beaufort Road operates for 38 weeks during term time, Monday to Friday. Morning Session runs from 9am to noon; the afternoon booking, labelled Evening Session, runs from noon to 3pm. Full Day is 9am to 3pm. The Evening Session label therefore means afternoon care, not an extension into the evening.

The calendar also includes shortened days and closures. Every term's opening and closing days end at noon, as do special-event days such as Charity Walk. Public and bank holidays bring closures, and parliamentary elections also close the nursery because the hall becomes a polling station. These are practical considerations for parents whose work arrangements depend on a reliable afternoon booking.

Getting There

The address is Church of the Ascension Hall, Beaufort Road, London W5 3EB. Enquiries can be made through the Beaufort Road enquiry form, by email or by telephone, with a reply offered within two working days.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered, with 15 hours per week described for eligible two-year-olds and children aged three and four; 30 hours per week is subject to eligibility. The nursery's attendance calendar is term time. Eligibility remains a condition, so participation in the scheme is not a promise that every family's preferred booking will be funded.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The useful comparison is the cost of the family's actual attendance pattern, keeping funded hours separate from any additional paid care.

• Everyday independence and maths. October 2024 improvement points concerned mathematical language and adults doing tasks for children. During a visit, ask how practitioners now build number ideas into play and give children time to pour, organise and manage tasks themselves.
• Noon finishes and hall closures. Term-opening, term-closing and special-event days finish at noon, while parliamentary elections close the hall to nursery use. These interruptions need to fit the family's childcare arrangements.
• Activities within your booking. Music, Spanish and Click IT! add specialist teaching. Ask which sessions include them, so a morning or afternoon booking matches the experiences that matter to your child.
• The complete quotation. Ask how meals and non-food consumables affect the total cost of your chosen attendance pattern, including funded hours.

Beaufort Road suits families seeking Montessori preschool education during term time, whether they want a morning session, afternoon attendance or a full day ending at 3pm. Specialist music, Spanish and Click IT! give the offer substance beyond a general Montessori label.

The October 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with clear qualifications about everyday maths and self-help. Families who value practical independence should give those two points real weight, alongside the specialist activities and the calendar's shortened days.