Sunbeams Academy

Learning journals and morning key-person groups give Sunbeams Academy a clear emphasis on parent communication and relationships. Based at Somerford Grove Womens and Childrens Centre in Tottenham, it has capacity for 57 children and accepts children aged two to five.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities included individual plans developed with parents and other professionals. That gives families a positive inspection position, with one specific teaching improvement to weigh: children needed more thinking time before answering questions.

Attendance choices include full days, core days and shorter funded sessions. These are different propositions for families, rather than a single daily timetable.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, children learn through play and exploration, with opportunities to make choices, practise independence and develop communication. Child-led activity gives their interests a role in what they do, rather than making every activity adult-directed.

In November 2023, the mud kitchen brought counting and comparison into pretend cooking. Children counted leaves, considered the sizes of bowls and explored what happened when contents moved between containers. This is a concrete example of early mathematical ideas growing out of something children want to do. Describing leaf colours also introduced new vocabulary alongside the practical activity.

Stories and role play supported language in different ways that month. Props helped introduce words, while a puppet-feeding activity prompted children to name healthy foods. Older children explored letter shapes and sounds as they began writing their names. The emphasis was on using language in meaningful activity, rather than treating speaking, listening and early writing as separate tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

Indoor and outdoor activities sit alongside a morning key-person group, giving children both shared time and opportunities to explore. The group session is intended to help children build relationships with their key person and peers. For a child becoming familiar with nursery routines, that provides a recognisable part of the day.

Annual family trips abroad add an unusual family dimension to the offer. They belong to the nursery's wider family life, rather than being described as routine outings during the childcare day.

Relationships and Communication

Settling has a defined starting point. Parents can take part in up to three settling days without a charge for that initial period, normally through morning visits lasting no more than 60 minutes. Fees begin on the formal start date. This separates a short introduction from the child's paid attendance and gives families a concrete arrangement to plan around.

Before starting, an All about Me profile is completed with the child's named key person. That puts information about the individual child into the preparation for nursery, rather than leaving it until attendance begins.

Tapestry Online Journals give parents access to their child's learning journey as it develops from week to week. This offers a way to follow experiences beyond a brief conversation at collection. In November 2023, communication also included daily updates, newsletters, telephone consultations and meetings about progress.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Developmental concerns have a practical route: staff can help devise an additional support plan and, where needed, refer a child to a Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist or specialist teaching service. These are specific mechanisms for seeking help, rather than a blanket promise about outcomes.

In November 2023, visual cues helped children understand what would happen next, and staff gathered words from children's home languages. Makaton signs, used to support understanding, added another way to communicate. These examples matter for children who need more than spoken instructions to make sense of an activity or routine.

Independence also featured in daily life that month. Children changed from outdoor footwear into indoor shoes themselves, while staff used reminders and encouragement to support behaviour. Small practical tasks gave children opportunities to do something for themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 6.45am to 6.45pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. The Full Day runs from 6.45am to 6.45pm; the Core Day is 9am to 5pm. Full-time, part-time and term-time attendance are offered, allowing families to distinguish the length of a day from the pattern across the year.

Funded sessions run from 9am to noon and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Breakfast Club runs from 7am to 8.30am, while Afterschool Club runs from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. These are additional attendance windows alongside the main nursery days.

Applications use a separate registration form, with a birth certificate and personal child health record required for registration. Completed applications must be returned at least two weeks before the intended start. Where demand exceeds capacity, priority criteria include children with protection or support plans, children already attending part-time whose parents want more days, and siblings, subject to the older sibling still attending when the younger child starts.

Getting There

The nursery's address is Somerford Grove Womens and Childrens Centre, Somerford Grove, London N17 0PG. Nearby rail options include Northumberland Park for National Rail, White Hart Lane for London Overground and Tottenham Hale for the Victoria Line.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour entitlement for eligible two-year-olds and all three- and four-year-olds, plus the 30-hour entitlement for eligible three- and four-year-olds. Private childcare is also offered, with different fees for extended and core sessions; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Payment terms cover up to 52 weeks, including bank holidays, the two-week Easter closure and three to five staff training days. Fees also remain payable during sickness or holidays. A deposit and the first week's fee are due before admission; the deposit is credited against the final payment for the last two weeks when the required written notice has been received. Ending a place requires at least two weeks' notice by writing or email.

• Time to answer. The November 2023 improvement point concerned allowing children longer to think and respond. On a visit, ask how practitioners give quieter children time to contribute.
• Closures and paid attendance. Charges cover closures and absences, and a late opening or early finish usually occurs fortnightly for training and development. How would those dates fit your working week?
• The total cost. Extended and core days have different fees, and a deposit is payable before admission. What would your written quotation include for meals and non-food consumables, including on funded hours?
• Address for the visit. The nursery's contact address uses N17 0PT, while its main address is N17 0PG. Confirm the postcode to use when arranging your visit.

Sunbeams Academy suits families comparing a full day with a shorter core day or funded morning and afternoon sessions. The key-person preparation and Tapestry Online Journals make individual information and parent communication tangible parts of the offer.

The Good judgement from November 2023 gives the review a clear inspection anchor. Practical fit deserves equal attention: the settling arrangement is specific, but paid closures and recurring changes to opening times need to work with family routines. The teaching question is equally concrete: how children are given time to think before speaking.