Alphablocks Nursery School

Natural materials, story-led play and a sensory garden give Alphablocks Nursery School its character. Based at St. Paul's Church Hall in Hadley Wood, it takes children aged two to five and combines a shared classroom with outdoor spaces serving different purposes. A creative workshop area gives children somewhere to develop their own projects; the separate courtyard playground adds another setting for play.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 6 March 2024 inspection. The strongest practical attraction is the combination of an adaptable learning environment and activities that extend beyond the classroom. For parents, this is a setting to consider for early education built around children's interests, with a term-time calendar that needs to fit family life.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and exploration contribute to their learning alongside planned activities. Alphablocks adds a hybrid educational approach, combining teaching methods rather than following a single model. Its practical expression is a balance of structured activities, opportunities to play and Forest School sessions, which involve hands-on exploration of the natural world.

The main classroom has areas for literacy and maths, alongside space for investigating nature and the wider world. Children can pursue their own creative work in the workshop area. Over 90% of the resources, including educational toys, use natural materials, and more than half are handmade. These are concrete choices about what children handle and explore, rather than a philosophy expressed only in words.

Drama, storytelling and music with movement sit alongside sports, natural mathematics and information technology activities. The classroom is designed to change with children's needs, including spaces for relaxation as well as exploration. That combination gives families a useful picture of the day: adult-planned learning shares space with children's own ideas and quieter moments.

In March 2024, stories became starting points for acting, songs and conversation. Staff introduced descriptive vocabulary during water-tray play and directional language through map-making. Children used their maps to give one another instructions during a treasure-finding activity. Language was being practised through something children wanted to do, rather than confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two outdoor spaces support different experiences: the sensory garden adjoins the classroom, while a separate playground occupies a courtyard bordered by trees. Forest School adds exploration of the natural world to that on-site provision. It complements the indoor nature area rather than replacing classroom learning.

In March 2024, physical activities included flower arranging, preparing fruit and dough discos, alongside weekly visits from specialist sports coaches. Children also took part regularly in movement, music and forest-school sessions. Visits to a local care home involved singing together and making Easter bonnets with residents, giving children opportunities to spend time with older adults through shared activities.

Relationships and Communication

Practitioners use observations of children to plan their next learning steps and share those observations with parents. This makes communication part of the educational work: families can understand what their child is exploring and how activities relate to their development.

In March 2024, staff knew their key children well and children had close relationships with them. Weekly focus books were shared with families for reading at home. That provided a specific connection between nursery experiences and home life, rather than leaving parents to guess which stories or interests to follow up.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found exceptional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including early identification, collaboration with parents and specialist services, and communication support using Makaton alongside visual aids. These were findings about practice at that date, with individual learning needs shaping the support children received.

The nursery welcomes families across religious and cultural backgrounds and is non-denominational. Its Ready for School programme supports parents and children with the move into primary education and more structured learning. The emphasis is preparation for that change, giving families a role in the transition as well as working with children.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St. Paul's Church Hall, Crescent East, Hadley Wood, Barnet, EN4 0EN. Attendance runs during term time, Monday to Friday, across 39 weeks following Enfield's school term dates. School holidays therefore require a separate family arrangement.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 12.30pm; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 4.30pm. Full days are 8.30am to 4.30pm, with extended sessions spanning 8.15am to 5.30pm. The morning and afternoon options are each four hours. This offers different lengths of attendance, but the minimum booking rules matter: two-year-olds must attend at least three mornings weekly, while children over three must attend five mornings weekly.

Changes to termly attendance schedules require discussion and agreement with a full term's notice. That makes the initial pattern an important decision for families whose working arrangements change frequently. The contact form provides an enquiry route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 15 hours weekly for three-year-olds and up to 30 hours for eligible children. The funded period for three-year-olds covers 38 weeks, while the nursery operates for 39, leaving an additional non-funded week. Private hours beyond the entitlement are charged separately.

Lunches are charged separately when taken, with bringing lunch from home also an option. Consumables, specialist classes and workshops can attract separate charges when relevant, including alongside funded attendance; families need a written quotation covering their chosen arrangement.

Fees are payable at the beginning of each term, and invoices separate attendance from relevant additional charges. The fees page explains that structure. Funding therefore needs to be considered alongside the attendance commitment, the extra week and the items added to the invoice.

• A morning attendance commitment. The minimum is three mornings for two-year-olds and five for children over three. At a visit, discuss how the morning requirement fits the afternoon, full-day or extended pattern you are considering.
• Term-time coverage. The nursery operates for 39 weeks, with three-year-old funding covering 38. Families need to plan both school-holiday care and payment for the additional week.
• The complete bill. Lunch, consumables and specialist activities can be separate charges, and fees fall due at the start of term. Request a written quotation for the precise attendance and lunch arrangement you intend to use.
• The St. Paul's setting. Visits can be booked with St. Paul's Church selected on the form. Use the visit to discuss how a new two-year-old settles into the shared classroom and uses the sensory garden.

Alphablocks suits families seeking term-time early education with a regular morning routine, whether they choose morning sessions or extend attendance into full days. Afternoon and extended sessions broaden the offer, while the minimum morning commitment limits how freely those options can be combined.

The classroom's natural materials, creative workshop and sensory garden give the educational approach substance. Storytelling, outdoor exploration and the detailed March 2024 account of daily practice add further reasons to consider it. The decision is as much about family fit as educational appeal: a term-time calendar, advance payment and a full term's notice for schedule changes need to work alongside the child's day.