The Old Station House Day Nursery

Warm relationships were the clearest strength in The Old Station House Day Nursery’s March 2023 picture. Children separated confidently from parents, sought out friends and turned to familiar practitioners for play and comfort. Ofsted rated the nursery Good across every graded area, including education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

The setting at 22 Collier Row Lane, Romford, serves children from birth to five and has capacity for 55 children. Its day-to-day picture here is necessarily dated to the 2023 inspection: a thoughtful team, an ambitious curriculum and practical attention to communication, feelings and choice.

In March 2023, practitioners planned from children's interests and needs while key persons reviewed development, set targets and identified learning gaps. This is how the Early Years Foundation Stage should feel in practice: adult planning covers the statutory areas of learning, then responds to what each child can do and needs to learn next.

Language ran through both play and routines. Practitioners extended children's speech while playing alongside them and made signing part of the shared vocabulary, giving even babies a way to express a simple request. The youngest children could also choose a song or rhyme through a picture card, turning an ordinary group activity into a concrete exercise in communication and choice.

Physical play extended across the setting. Children ran and used balls and hoops outdoors, while small climbing equipment and slides brought movement inside. These were simple, purposeful experiences rather than elaborate extras.

Strong key-person relationships gave the March 2023 care picture its substance. Staff gathered information from parents through a flexible settling process, knew their key children well and helped them describe feelings such as happiness, sadness and anger. Secure relationships supported care and learning together. Familiar adults offered reassurance, joined children's play and helped them put feelings into words, building the foundations for confident separation and emotional self-regulation.

The SENCo met staff regularly to identify training needs and guide support for children with SEND. Staff said this guidance helped them feel equipped to meet different needs, while managers protected time for practitioners to discuss individual progress and next steps. Ofsted found safeguarding arrangements effective at the same inspection: staff understood signs of concern, reporting routes, accident response and choking procedures. Older children also joined adults in checking play areas for risks, giving safety a practical place in their daily learning rather than keeping it solely as an adult procedure.

Mealtimes combined nutrition, independence and talk. Children ate a healthy, balanced diet in small groups, used cutlery and joined conversations prompted by discussion cards about vegetables and how they grow. Babies fed themselves with spoons.

The nursery is at 22 Collier Row Lane, Romford RM5 3BP. In March 2023 it operated on weekdays throughout the year apart from bank holidays. Families need to ask which attendance patterns can currently be booked within that schedule.

At that time, the nursery received funding to provide early education for children aged two, three and four. Families will still need a current nursery-specific quotation and terms for funded hours, private hours, meals and non-food consumables.

• Independence in daily routines. In March 2023, children served cereal and poured drinks, but adults sometimes stepped in before children had tried a task. Ask how self-help opportunities are now protected across meals, dressing and play.
• Attendance pattern. The evidence records a weekday opening schedule rather than the booking patterns sold within it. Ask which full-day or part-day arrangements can currently be booked for your child's age.
• Dated daily-life picture. The detailed observations come from March 2023. A visit should test whether the key-person approach, signing and balance of indoor and outdoor physical play remain part of everyday practice.

The Old Station House Day Nursery's 2023 inspection describes a kind, communicative setting where relationships did real educational work. Signing, picture-card choices and vegetable discussion cards gave children several ways to join in, while leaders used regular staff reflection to keep learning plans responsive.

The qualification is time. The strongest detail comes from a visit more than three years ago, and inspectors wanted staff to give children more consistent chances to do things for themselves. This setting is best suited to families who value close key-person bonds, communication-led practice and a full weekday care window, provided the current session pattern fits their needs.