Hurley Pre-School

A planting area, a Sensory and Relaxation Room and a committee drawn mainly from parents and carers give Hurley Pre-School its character: play, practical experiences and family involvement share the same space. This Kennington community setting has 36 places in total and offers childcare for children from 21 months to five years. Its youngest children have a dedicated under-three area with space for movement.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Hurley Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff worked with families and other professionals to support children with SEND, with children making good developmental progress. The useful detail beneath that judgement is personal: children formed close relationships with their key person, while staff adapted activities to what children could already do.

Morning, afternoon and full-time sessions sit alongside breakfast, lunch and after-school provision. That gives families several ways to organise attendance rather than a single daily pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Indoor provision includes a Home Corner, Book Corner, Ball Pond / Pit and Soft Play area, alongside the Sensory and Relaxation Room. These spaces offer different kinds of play: imaginative activity, books, physical movement and quieter experiences. Sand, water and paint add materials children can manipulate and explore rather than activities built solely around adult instructions.

The dedicated under-three area gives younger children room to develop movement skills. For a child starting before their second birthday, that age-specific space is an important part of the offer. The whole-setting place count should be read separately from the size of any group using it.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and learning across communication, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. This is the framework for the nursery's provision, rather than an additional programme. Children have opportunities to build, paint, experiment with materials and develop ideas through pretend play.

In March 2024, children used magnifying glasses to investigate pretend bugs in a sensory tray, then counted and arranged their finds by colour. Wood offered another material to explore through carpentry. Such examples connect practical play with early mathematical thinking and the use of tools, giving a clearer picture of the day than a list of learning areas alone.

Music and Sport Sessions take place from time to time; outings to places of interest include Legoland. Ofsted's March 2024 inspection identified a need to improve the planning of group activities so that every child's attention and participation were better supported. That matters alongside the opportunities for children to choose their own play: adult-led learning needs to hold their interest too.

Outdoor and Community Life

The all-weather outdoor play area includes a forest area for exploration and a Planting Area for growing fruit and vegetables. Children also have direct access to a grassed play area with a trampoline and climbing frames, plus an enclosed tarmac sports area. The different surfaces and equipment create opportunities for energetic play as well as growing and observing plants.

In March 2024, children watered their crops, watched them develop and ate harvested produce with nursery meals. Regular community outings also introduced them to different families, cultures and people who help others. Hurley works with Ethelred Children’s Centre and local health services, while creative activities reuse paper, cardboard and containers. Environmental awareness therefore has practical examples in growing food and using materials again.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who undertakes daily activities with them and monitors their development. Reports include detailed observations, and parents can arrange conversations about progress or concerns. This gives families a specific member of staff to speak to, rather than leaving communication entirely to whoever happens to be nearby.

Settling proceeds at the child's pace. Parents and carers are expected to remain for a period while their child becomes comfortable, and staff discuss difficulties early if the process takes longer. The induction covers policies and routines, with information for families to take home. This is a practical commitment for parents as well as a gradual introduction for the child.

Family involvement extends beyond progress meetings. Parents and carers can join activities and outings, and the management committee is made up mainly of parents and carers nominated at the Annual General Meeting. Families consequently have opportunities both to participate in children's experiences and to contribute to the running of the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In March 2024, staff helped children communicate feelings using words or picture cards. They also supported sharing and turn-taking during play. These are concrete ways of helping a child express frustration or join an activity, rather than relying only on spoken instructions.

Toilet training is handled with parents, including advice about clothing and routines. Prescribed medicine can be administered when the child's name is on its label; administration is recorded and witnessed. Collection by another adult requires advance notification or inclusion on the child's approved collection list. These arrangements give families clear procedures for ordinary changes in care.

Fresh food is cooked on the premises, with breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea offered through a five-week menu rotation. Hurley's food policy includes accommodating dietary requirements and healthy eating; lunch carries an additional charge.

Sessions and Attendance

Full-time sessions run from 8am to 6pm. The Morning Session is 9am to noon, and the afternoon runs from 1pm to 4pm. Breakfast Club covers 8am to 9am, lunch runs from noon to 1pm, and After School covers 4pm to 6pm. Flexible and part-time attendance are also offered, allowing the session structure to serve families needing shorter blocks as well as a full working day.

Hurley opens for 50 weeks each year and closes on four days for staff training. The nursery's contact form or telephone number, 020 7582 1838, provides the enquiry route. Its admissions criteria give weight to immediate need, residence on the Cotton Gardens Estate and family circumstances, including homelessness and social-service referrals. Siblings receive priority, with preference for the older child, and priority also applies to children who are not already attending another under-five provision.

Getting There

The address is Ground Floor Hurley House, behind Hurley Doctors Clinic, Kempsford Road, Kennington, London SE11 4PB. The clinic is a useful landmark for finding the setting.

Kennington Tube station is a short walk away; Elephant and Castle is 5 mins walk and Lambeth North is 10 mins walk. Local bus routes include the 3, 59 and 159 into central London.

Funding and Paid Extras

Hurley offers 15 hours free childcare and 30 hours free childcare, subject to eligibility, with the 15-hour entitlement delivered during term time. Additional private hours and holiday attendance are charged, and lunch is charged separately, including when a child stays for lunch alongside funded attendance. Families should obtain a current written quotation showing their chosen attendance pattern and its charges.

The fees page sets out the session and funding structure. Hurley also helps parents and carers with the move to school through links with local schools. Attending Hurley does not secure a school place: families must apply through the local authority admissions process for a state school or the school's own process for an independent school.

• Group activities. The March 2024 improvement point concerned children's attention and participation during planned group learning. On a visit, ask how staff now adapt these activities for children with different levels of concentration.
• Starting before two. Childcare begins at 21 months, with a dedicated under-three area. Discuss how that space, the key-person arrangement and parent-supported settling would work together for your child.
• The full attendance bill. Term-time funding, paid holiday attendance and the lunch charge need to be considered together.
• Dietary requirements. Meals are prepared on site and dietary needs can be accommodated under Hurley's food policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before attendance.

Hurley suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as those needing full-time attendance. Its strongest practical attractions are the variety of play spaces, opportunities to grow food and the routes for parents to take part in nursery life. The key-person and gradual settling arrangements give that family involvement a day-to-day purpose.

The Good judgement from March 2024 is balanced by a specific improvement point about group learning. For parents, the decision is therefore about how the mix of child-chosen play, adult-led activity and personal care fits their child, alongside the funding and holiday attendance structure.