Northfields Pre School

A 24-place sessional pre-school on Northcroft Road, Northfields Pre School combines a compact scale with a clear play-based identity. Its 8 March 2023 inspection judged overall effectiveness Good, with Good judgements for education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management; safeguarding arrangements were effective.

In March 2023, children chose between construction, role play and adult-led activities, then worked through ideas with their peers. Language had real weight: practitioners used conversation and questions to extend children's thinking, while stories became chances to explore mathematical words such as size. The pre-school day centred on purposeful talk and shared play.

In March 2023, the Early Years Foundation Stage shaped a mixture of adult-led and child-chosen activity. The EYFS is England's statutory early-years framework: for a child, it means learning through play, relationships and everyday experiences across the areas of learning. Here, that included construction towers, a home-corner cooking game and staff giving children time to answer questions rather than rushing the exchange.

In March 2023, tennis and dance featured each term. Tennis gave children a practical balance activity and required them to listen to an instructor's directions; dance sat alongside it as another termly experience. Both added movement and shared routines to the pre-school day.

In March 2023, inspectors found children with SEND well supported. Parents met with staff to discuss progress and referrals, while the special educational needs coordinator and families devised goals that could also be practised at home. That gave support a practical bridge between pre-school and family routines.

Daily safety checks, staff awareness of potential signs of harm, and a clear route for recording and reporting concerns were all described in March 2023. Communication with parents was mainly by email, with meetings available and progress information shared each term. A March 2023 improvement point was more consistent information about children's development between those points.

Northfields Pre School is at 71a Northcroft Road, London W13 9SS, in Ealing. It has capacity for 24 children and operates as a sessional, term-time pre-school. Current nursery-specific prices are supplied in the provider's written quotation.

In March 2023, the provider received early-education funding for children aged three and four. At that time, parents supplied fruit, while staff offered milk or water and toast with dairy-free spread; a separate toaster was used for gluten-free bread. Families managing allergies should discuss current practice directly.

• Development updates. A March 2023 improvement point concerned more consistent information about children's development between end-term updates. Discuss the present rhythm of progress sharing and planned conversations.
• Session pattern. The setting is sessional and term-time. Establish the current days, hours and attendance pattern against the care your household needs.
• Tennis and dance. Both were termly experiences in March 2023. Ask whether they form part of the forthcoming term's programme.

Northfields Pre School suits families seeking a term-time, sessional morning pattern and a small pre-school day built around conversation, play choices and peer interaction. In March 2023, language work, inclusive support and effective safeguarding were strengths, while more consistent parent updates were the key improvement point for a family to explore.