Nanny Jane's Nursery

In April 2026, herbs in play dough, babies experimenting with shapes and older children recalling bug hunts illustrated Nanny Jane's Nursery's emphasis on learning through ordinary, hands-on experiences. This family-run setting on Essex Road has 30 places in total. Its play-based approach combines organised learning with creative activity, giving children opportunities to explore their interests rather than simply follow instructions.

At its April 2026 inspection, Ofsted assessed achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership at Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. That is a report-card assessment across separate areas, rather than an overall grade. The practical learning examples are useful, but so are the priorities for further work: mathematical vocabulary, more precisely targeted staff development and children's independence in resolving disagreements.

Full-day and part-day sessions provide different attendance options. The current room names are Baby, Toddler and Pre-School; children attending in April 2026 were aged 1 to 4.

Rooms and Ages

Baby, Toddler and Pre-School give the nursery a stage-based structure. In April 2026, babies explored shapes by trying to post them into openings, with adults encouraging another attempt when a shape would not fit. Low furniture supported crawling, standing and walking. These are concrete opportunities to practise movement and persistence together.

During the same month, toddlers matched and sorted toy animals, while preschool children talked about creatures encountered on bug hunts. Older children also worked together on train tracks and counted carriages with adult help. The activities connected conversation with things children could handle, arrange and remember.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, this brings play, communication, physical skills and growing independence into the nursery day. Its own approach mixes structured activity with creative play.

At the April 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children progressed securely, teaching adapted to additional needs and language differences, and the curriculum built on children's interests, while mathematical language and staff development needed greater consistency and precision. The detail behind that assessment matters. In April 2026, sensory exploration involved lemons, limes and herbs, while play dough incorporated herbs and spices. Children had tangible things to discuss, compare and investigate.

Books were another recurring part of the April 2026 day. Babies handled flap and picture books; older children remembered stories and joined in as adults read. Water play exposed the limitation in mathematical teaching: containers were filled and emptied, but adults did not reliably extend the vocabulary attached to those actions. Enjoyable activity and deliberate teaching are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2026, children used outdoor play and took regular walks nearby. Older children practised climbing and riding. Those experiences added movement beyond tabletop activities, while the bug-hunt conversations brought earlier exploration back into the children's learning.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2026, settling arrangements adjusted to individual children, with familiar adults providing comfort and key persons becoming a point of reassurance. Babies were soothed to sleep by staff they knew. For a child still learning to manage separation, continuity with an adult is a practical part of the care arrangement.

Communication extended beyond a brief account of the day. During April 2026, staff discussed children's routines with families and shared planned learning steps. Today, Famly carries menu updates and a calendar for closures and scheduled events, giving parents a place to follow practical changes.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Individual support, collaboration with families and involvement from outside professionals form the nursery's current SEND arrangements. In April 2026, staff reviewed individual education plans, made referrals and used recommendations from external agencies. These are specific mechanisms for organising support around a child, rather than a blanket promise about what any particular child will receive.

Emotion boards, visual cues and calm reminders were used in April 2026 to help children recognise feelings and understand expectations. Some still needed adults to settle small disputes. Handwashing before food, putting resources away and babies feeding themselves at snack time gave children opportunities to practise everyday independence.

Current safeguarding arrangements include controlled access, CCTV and risk assessments for outings. Staff receive first aid training annually, with specialist paediatric training held by some staff. These describe the arrangements in place; the dated safeguarding assessment belongs to the inspection position above.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 220 Essex Road, London, N1 3AP. Full-day and part-day bookings are offered, and the nursery follows Islington council school term dates. In April 2026, opening hours were 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; that window describes opening hours at the time, rather than the length of either booking pattern.

The contact form covers enrolment, fees and learning enquiries. Saturday viewings require advance booking, allowing families to arrange a tour separately from the weekday nursery routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for eligible 2-year-olds, 15 universal hours for 3- and 4-year-olds, and 30 extended hours for eligible working families. Funding normally runs during term time, with options to spread hours across the year discussed individually. The nursery also accepts Tax-Free Childcare payments.

Paid childcare fees include meals, snacks, learning resources and activities. Food is cooked onsite using fresh ingredients, and the menu changes each week, with updates shared through Famly. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and charges information sets out the attendance and funding structure.

• Mathematics in everyday play. April 2026 priorities included making mathematical vocabulary more consistent and targeting staff development more precisely. On a tour, ask how adults now use water play, construction and routines to develop ideas about quantity and size.
• Growing independence. In April 2026, some children relied on adults to resolve disagreements. Ask how the Toddler and Pre-School rooms help children move from accepting reassurance to managing small conflicts themselves.
• Your attendance and funding plan. Full-day and part-day bookings sit alongside a school-term calendar, with stretched funding discussed individually. What exact session hours and funded-hours charges, including food and non-food consumables, would apply to your proposed booking?

Nanny Jane's Nursery suits families who value play-based learning and a school-term rhythm, with both full-day sessions and part-day sessions offered. Onsite cooking and practical updates through Famly add useful everyday structure. The April 2026 assessment provides a balanced basis for considering it: expected standards across the assessed areas, alongside clear work to do on mathematical language and staff development. The strongest next step is to test those improvement priorities against the nursery day you want for your child.