George's Pre School

In November 2023, children practised managing their coats and using new vocabulary, giving George's Pre School a clear educational emphasis on independence and language. This Feltham setting combines programmes for social skills and outdoor learning with practical routines that help children do more for themselves. It has 26 places in total and cares for children aged two to five.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and highlighted language development and growing independence, while asking for clearer explanations of changes to routines and more practice listening to other children. Those details matter more than the grade alone: adults were extending children's vocabulary, but group conversations did not consistently give each child space to hear others.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered across the year. The combination gives families a choice between shorter attendance and a day that includes both lunch and afternoon activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the required framework, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and early learning in subjects such as mathematics and literacy. At George's, activities take account of what children enjoy and can already do, with adults introducing further ideas alongside their play. Development Matters, the non-statutory guidance on how young children develop and learn, helps shape that planning. It supports the EYFS rather than replacing it.

Playing and Learning to Socialise (PALS) adds a specific social-skills programme through small-group activities each week. Children practise sharing, waiting for a turn and handling feelings when playing with others. This makes friendship skills something adults teach deliberately, rather than leaving children to work them out alone.

LETTERS AND SOUNDS develops awareness of rhyme and speech sounds as foundations for reading and writing. PHYSICAL LITERACY emphasises movement and motor development, with resources families can take home to continue activities. Sensory sessions and physical literacy are open to all children; PALS, the letters and sounds programme and forest school are aimed at children over 30 months.

In November 2023, adults used children's questions and interests to introduce vocabulary, then encouraged them to use those words in other situations. Independence had equally concrete expression: children practised dressing themselves and helped organise food routines. These were useful opportunities to rehearse skills needed beyond nursery, embedded in ordinary parts of the day.

The same November 2023 picture included areas requiring attention. Early counting and number teaching needed further development, and adults sometimes changed a routine without explaining why, including the introduction of serving spoons at snack time. During group discussions, children occasionally spoke over one another without reminders to listen. The educational question is therefore about consistency: interesting activities need clear explanations and room for children to hear their peers.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School uses outdoor experiences and achievable tasks to support individual learning and personal development. A Forest School Leader guides the programme, giving outdoor activity a planned educational purpose. Children also go outside regularly, and clothing guidance calls for a coat each day and shoes they can manage themselves.

Parents are invited to take part in activities each month, with cooking and creative sessions among the examples. This offers a practical way to share nursery experiences with a child. Paint and messy play are accessible daily, so comfortable clothes that can withstand stains make more sense than best outfits.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who works with parents on routines, progress and play plans. That gives families a clear point of contact and allows personal habits and needs to influence care. Settling includes at least three introductory sessions, increasing in length, rather than an immediate move into the normal attendance pattern.

The initial settling stage includes a parent staying with their child for at least half an hour while routines and permissions are discussed. Later sessions are adjusted around the child and family. During the first week, shorter attendance may be requested to help the child become comfortable with nursery life, an arrangement families need to factor into work plans.

Communication continues through daily discussions, newsletters and parents' evenings twice a year. An electronic learning journal gives parents access to photographs and videos through an app. Together, these offer both immediate conversation about a child's day and a record families can revisit at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO works with parents to agree achievable targets, and staff involve external professionals, including speech and language therapists, when identifying needs and planning support. Regular observations, reviews and assessments contribute to the process. These are specific mechanisms families can discuss against their own child's needs, rather than a blanket promise of a particular outcome.

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and noted that practitioners coordinated SEND support with families and specialist professionals. Current collection procedures require authorised adults to be identified in advance, while entry is controlled through a bell and staff access. These are practical arrangements; the safeguarding judgement belongs to the dated inspection.

Toilet training is approached jointly with parents. Families whose children still use nappies supply nappies, wipes or cotton wool, and any cream. For the move to another provider or school, the consent arrangements cover sharing development summaries, helping the next setting understand the child's learning.

Sessions and Attendance

George's operates on Browells Lane, Feltham, TW13 7EF, within the Spring West Academy site. Opening hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Attendance runs across the year, with bank holidays and five non-bank-holiday days between Christmas and New Year excluded; there are also two inset closure days each year.

The booking choices are:

• All day: 8am to 5pm.
• Morning without lunch: 8am to 12.30pm.
• Morning with lunch: 8am to 1.30pm.
• Afternoon with lunch: 12.30pm to 5pm.
• Afternoon without lunch: 1.30pm to 5pm.

Applications require a separate booking form for each child, together with a data-protection form. Completed forms can be emailed or delivered to the nursery. Written confirmation distinguishes a secured booking close to the intended start date from a waiting-list allocation, so completing the form is an application step rather than an automatic offer.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, subject to the relevant eligibility rules and within the nursery's accepted ages. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, allowing attendance during school holidays. Extra sessions beyond funded hours are paid separately; working-family funding codes must be obtained before the term begins.

Staff prepare food fresh on the premises, and nursery-supplied meals and snacks are charged separately; for funded places, buying this food is optional and a packed lunch can be brought instead. There is no additional consumables charge, although parents supply the nappy-care items described above.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Invoices separate attendance hours, funded hours and food charges. A starting deposit is refundable when the required notice is given, and reducing attendance or leaving requires a full month's written notice. Fees remain payable during personal holidays and sickness; bank holidays and inset days are charged, while the Christmas closure is excluded.

Getting There

A large car park serves the site, with gate access for pedestrians and cars. The Browells Lane address is useful to distinguish this setting from other nurseries with George's in their name.

• Listening and explanations. In November 2023, group discussions sometimes left children talking over each other, and changes to routines were not always explained. During a visit, ask how adults now teach listening and explain the reasons behind everyday instructions.
• Settling and work commitments. At least three settling sessions increase in length, and shorter attendance may be requested during the first week. Discuss how that introduction will fit around your child's needs and your working hours.
• Funded sessions and food. Entitlements are stretched across the year, with optional food charges on funded places. Ask for a written breakdown for your chosen session pattern, including any private hours and your packed-lunch choice.
• Closure and leaving terms. Bank holidays and inset days remain chargeable, and a month's written notice applies to leaving or reducing attendance. Review the deposit-refund and notice-payment conditions together before accepting a booking.

George's suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full days, with attendance continuing through school holidays. PALS, Forest School and movement activities give the curriculum concrete substance, while gradual settling and a key person provide a clear structure for the start of nursery life.

The balanced judgement rests on those practical details and the November 2023 findings. Independence and language were strengths, but listening, early number teaching and explanations needed closer attention. For parents, seeing how those aspects work now is the most useful test of fit.