Coin Street Nursery

Bread-making, woodwork and dance give Coin Street Nursery a practical character: children work towards things they can make, tell or do, rather than a list of abstract milestones. Sessions at Rambert Dance Company’s headquarters and outings to the Tate extend that learning beyond the nursery. This is early education with a strong creative thread.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that early identification of SEND, followed by specialist staffing, supported children’s progress. Two weaknesses also matter: younger children needed longer to answer questions, and encouragement of self-care was inconsistent. Those are useful priorities for parents evaluating the daily teaching.

Coin Street Nursery cares for children aged six months to five years at 108 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, with capacity for 88 children in total. Full-time and part-time attendance are offered, with consecutive-day rules for part-time bookings.

Rooms and Ages

The age-group sequence is Explorers, for six months to two years; Investigators, for two to three; and Discoverers, for three to five. Explorers’ learning emphasises songs, repeated stories and sensory exploration, Investigators develop shared pretend play and practical skills, and Discoverers build towards storytelling, making and greater independence.

The purpose-designed nursery includes an expressive arts room, a sensory room, an outdoor play area and a separate dining area.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, including communication, physical development and relationships. Coin Street adds eight adaptable curricular goals, using children’s interests and starting points to shape the route towards them. The goals make the curriculum unusually tangible. Baking a bread roll, creating a dance and making a model are things a child can practise and revisit.

Becoming a Coin Street Champion describes that progression through the age groups. Younger children explore tools and movement; older children develop more deliberate control, planning and independence. The bread-making goal, for example, develops through supported cooking towards children measuring and mixing ingredients themselves.

Making has substance here. Discoverers return to the woodwork bench, consider what their model should look like and learn how to handle additional tools safely. Sewing involves choosing thread and working with cloth. These experiences give hand control and decision-making a practical purpose, alongside early writing.

Tales Toolkit supports children in constructing stories around a character, setting, problem and solution. That gives imaginative play a structure children can use when telling a story to someone else. Books also have an age-specific role: rhythmic, repetitive texts for younger children develop towards stories that encourage older children to invent their own. The curriculum page explains the goals and assessment arrangements.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular outings include London City Farms, the British Transport Museum and the Tate, while Chinatown is a destination for celebrating Chinese New Year. Children also take part in sessions at Rambert Dance Company’s headquarters.

In March 2023, children travelled by underground train to museums and walked to local parks. Indoors, toddlers practised climbing steps in a soft-play area, with staff gradually reducing physical help as confidence grew. A sand timer helped children take turns with scissors. These examples connect movement and social learning to ordinary decisions children make during play.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with an offered home visit or a virtual visit through Zoom. Parents can exchange information about their child’s interests before nursery starts, giving the key person something personal to build on. Support continues through regular contact with a key nursery worker, rather than ending once the first sessions are over.

After a child has attended for 10 days, the key person and parents meet to discuss settling and agree any appropriate next steps. A Special book gathers significant learning and memorable achievements, while observations from practitioners inform later parent meetings. That creates a connection between the child’s day and the decisions adults make about what to encourage next.

The curriculum describes individualised teaching and support so children can access the same curriculum through different routes. For children progressing more quickly, learning is deepened rather than simply moving straight to new skills. This matters for families looking for an approach that responds to the child, rather than expecting everyone to move at one pace.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In March 2023, babies reached towards familiar staff for comfort, and children chose books to share with adults. Parents received photographs through an application alongside feedback about development and wellbeing.

The same March 2023 account exposed an uneven approach to independence: some children served food, used cutlery or removed outdoor clothing themselves, but encouragement was not consistent. Younger children were also sometimes given too little thinking time before adults continued talking.

Food planning has involved a dietitian, with a menu designed without added sugar or salt. This gives healthy eating a specific basis in menu development.

Before children move to school, the key person prepares a transition report covering achievements in the prime areas of learning. School preparation therefore includes passing on a picture of the child’s development, alongside the curriculum’s practical goals.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full-time attendance sits alongside part-time bookings of two, three or four consecutive days; one-day bookings are excluded to maintain continuity. Two-day patterns are Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday, while longer part-time patterns occupy the beginning or end of the working week.

Children attending solely for their free entitlement are offered two days from 9am to 4.30pm, usually Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. Funded arrangements may be restricted to particular sessions according to the nursery’s operating requirements.

The nursery asks children to be there by 10am and parents to collect by 5.50pm, allowing time for the day’s handover before closing. Collection after 6pm incurs an additional charge. Closures cover bank holidays, the Christmas-to-New-Year period and six annual staff-training days; bank holidays are charged, while training and nursery closure days are not.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered, alongside paid attendance. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and a deposit becomes due after an offer is confirmed and the confirmation letter is sent.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through the waiting-list form. Joining the list is free and does not secure a place. Local catchment families receive priority, and a full-time request may take preference over a part-time request depending on work commitments, occupancy and room availability. Nursery enquiries can be made at nursery@coinstreet.org or on 020 7021 1670.

Getting There

The address is 108 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH; Waterloo station, served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines, is 5 minutes walk. Public bike racks stand directly outside the centre, and secure underground parking is adjacent to it.

• Part-time continuity. Bookings use consecutive days and exclude a single-day pattern. Consider whether the beginning- or end-of-week arrangements fit work and other care commitments.
• Local priority. Catchment families have admissions priority, and joining the waiting list does not secure a place. The application needs to reflect the relevant priority circumstances.
• Children doing things themselves. In March 2023, thinking time and self-care encouragement needed more consistency. During a visit, ask how practitioners now support a younger child’s answer and an older child’s independent meal or dressing task.
• The full cost of attendance. Funded sessions have their own attendance arrangements, while bank holidays and late collection carry charges. Ask for a written breakdown covering the chosen pattern, meals and non-food consumables before accepting an offer.

Coin Street Nursery suits families seeking practical, creative learning with a clear progression from early exploration towards making, storytelling and independence. Woodwork, Tales Toolkit and sessions at Rambert give that description real substance. Home visits, a settling meeting and a transition report add useful points of contact around the child’s journey.

It serves both full-time attendance and consecutive-day part-time care, with a separate pattern for children using only their free entitlement. Those booking rules deserve as much attention as the curriculum. The March 2023 strengths sit alongside specific teaching improvements, making children’s thinking time and everyday independence sensible priorities when assessing the fit.