Round Chapel Families Project Nursery

Herbs in play dough, cloth printed with vegetable dyes and outings to Clapton Square give Round Chapel Families Project Nursery a recognisable character: practical, creative learning with room to explore outdoors. Based in the Old School Rooms in Hackney, it welcomes children aged two to five. Its small garden complements a light indoor nursery space, while the nearby square adds opportunities for running and using play equipment.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with children making good progress through an engaging curriculum. The strengths were concrete: lively storytelling, creative materials and everyday opportunities to become more independent. Two improvements remained: broadening physical development and helping children understand why eating well matters.

Morning attendance and all-day attendance are both offered, across a nursery year of 48 weeks. The shorter Friday opening is an important practical distinction.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, stories, play, making and conversation turn those aims into everyday experiences. Baking and sensory exploration sit alongside singing and small world play. Real objects are used for heuristic play, giving children things to investigate rather than restricting exploration to toys.

Afternoons can include capoeira, dance, music, storytelling and yoga. These add movement and expressive activity to the day, rather than making learning a matter of sitting still.

In April 2025, creative activities included kneading herb-scented dough and using vegetable dyes to print fabric. Mathematics grew out of equally tangible tasks. Children compared vegetables by size, explored patterns through weaving and looked for shapes around them. These are useful examples of learning through doing: a child can handle, compare and change something while developing the language to describe it.

Story sessions also made space for children's responses. In April 2025, staff varied their voices while reading, asked questions and allowed thinking time before expecting an answer. Songs and rhymes drew on children's home languages. For a family using more than one language, that is a meaningful detail about how the nursery recognised children's experiences beyond its doors.

Outdoor and Community Life

Clapton Square is part of the nursery's regular outdoor routine, with outings on most days for running and play equipment. A small garden offers another outdoor space. The combination gives children opportunities beyond the indoor room, while keeping outdoor activity connected to the surrounding neighbourhood.

In April 2025, children went outdoors daily and practised balancing. The improvement point concerned the breadth of physical skills being developed, rather than a lack of outdoor access. That distinction matters: having somewhere to move and planning how movement develops are separate questions.

Relationships and Communication

The staff structure includes key-worker roles, a SENCO role, safeguarding responsibilities and first aid roles. That gives families identifiable responsibilities within the team, rather than relying on a general statement about care.

In April 2025, adults spoke with children at their level and used gentle eye contact. Visual materials helped children recognise emotions, while everyday play created opportunities to practise sharing and taking turns. These details show how relationships and behaviour were addressed through ordinary interactions, not just through instructions.

Parents received regular progress updates in April 2025 and were invited to contribute their own skills, including guitar playing. Communication therefore extended beyond a handover about the day's practicalities: it included children's learning and opportunities for families to participate.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with SEND involved close work with parents and other professionals, regularly reviewed plans and careful monitoring of learning. For families whose child needs additional support, the useful detail is the planning and review process, rather than a broad promise that every need will be met.

Independence was built into daily routines in April 2025. Children poured drinks, cleared their cups and plates, and made sandwiches at snack time; older children managed their coats and shoes while younger children received help to learn those skills. These small tasks give children repeated chances to practise doing things for themselves.

Daily toothbrushing was also part of the April 2025 routine, supported by stories and discussion about teeth and gums. Breakfast and snacks are provided by the nursery, while parents supply a packed lunch. Lunch preparation therefore remains part of the family's morning routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens at 8.30am on weekdays, closing at 4.30pm from Monday to Thursday and at 1.30pm on Friday. Families can choose all-day attendance or a morning session, with morning collection at 1.30pm. All-day attendance on Friday follows that day's earlier closing time.

It operates for 48 weeks each year and closes on bank holidays. This is a pattern with provision beyond school terms, but it still includes nursery holidays. Families balancing care with work should give particular weight to the Friday finish.

Getting There

The address is Round Chapel Old School Rooms, 2 Powerscroft Road, London E5 0PU. Nursery enquiries use the dedicated office number, 020 8533 7714.

Public transport options include the Overground stations at Homerton, Hackney Downs and Hackney Central. Bus routes serving the area include 106, 488, 254, 38 and 253.

Funding and Paid Extras

In April 2025, the nursery accepted government childcare funding. Paid morning and all-day sessions are also offered, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the session and fees page sets out the attendance choices.

Parents provide packed lunches, while the nursery supplies breakfast and snacks. That practical division is worth building into the daily routine when comparing morning and all-day attendance.

• Friday finishes early. Closing time is 1.30pm, compared with 4.30pm on the other weekdays. Families needing afternoon care on Fridays must account for that difference.
• Movement and food education. The April 2025 improvement points concerned developing a broader set of physical skills and explaining the value of eating well. On a visit, ask how those two strands now shape activities.
• Funding and everyday extras. Government funding was accepted in April 2025, and lunches come from home. Ask how a funded booking would be arranged for your child, including the treatment of breakfast, snacks and non-food consumables.

Round Chapel suits families choosing either morning sessions or all-day attendance who value creative materials, practical independence and regular outdoor excursions. Clapton Square and the small garden give its day an outdoor dimension, while baking, sensory play and afternoon movement activities broaden what children can do indoors.

The April 2025 assessment provides a positive foundation, with clear improvement points rather than an unqualified endorsement. The strongest reasons to consider it are the concrete experiences and the attention to children's communication. The clearest practical constraint is the early Friday finish.