The Pelican Nursery

A church hall with two playgrounds and a separate sleep room gives The Pelican Nursery a practical combination: space for active play, with somewhere quieter to rest. This is the Kennington Road setting, at St. Anselm’s Church Hall, rather than the baby nursery on Kennington Lane. Keeping that distinction clear matters when comparing ages, facilities and care arrangements.

The nursery has capacity for 40 children aged two to five. At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, with effective safeguarding and prompt identification of children needing additional support. The strongest examples were everyday ones: children making choices, practising independence and using language during play. Two improvement priorities concerned more precise planning for younger children and better guidance for parents supporting learning at home.

Attendance is based on full days, with shorter attendance possible within the same charging structure. That makes the booking terms as important as the opening hours.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: here, individual plans and progress records cover children’s emotional and social development, physical learning and creative experiences. Photographs, examples of work and staff observations give parents concrete ways to follow that development. Independence is an explicit emphasis, balanced with comfort and reassurance while children are still young.

In July 2023, learning drew on children’s interests in travel and summer. Younger children experimented with paint-covered cars and textured bubble wrap; older children prepared fruit for frozen smoothies and explored shells. These examples connected conversation, sensory exploration and practical skills rather than keeping learning separate from play.

Children also chose stories and activities by voting, then counted their choices using a tally. This gave them a say in the day while introducing counting for a real purpose. During construction play, adults introduced words about size and quantity; elsewhere, children explained game rules or talked about feelings through stories. Language ran through activities rather than appearing only in a designated lesson.

Planning was less consistent for younger children in July 2023. A transport-picture activity did not involve every child effectively, and the improvement priority was to make their next learning steps more precise. For parents of younger children, how an activity is adapted matters as much as its theme.

Outdoor and Community Life

St. Anselm’s Church Hall has an open-plan layout, separate areas for learning and rest, and two playgrounds. The sleep room is away from the main play areas, giving rest its own space. The emphasis for children joining the busier setting is cooperation: sharing, taking part in group play and learning to manage emotions as language develops.

In July 2023, children practised balancing and jumping on climbing equipment, with adults explaining safer ways to land. After energetic games, they were encouraged to pause and drink. These were practical opportunities to learn about risk and bodily needs alongside physical play.

A tailored key-person arrangement supported relationships in July 2023. Settling was thorough, and daily conversations helped parents understand routines; termly meetings provided a longer discussion about development. However, those exchanges did not consistently include useful ideas for extending an individual child’s learning at home. The distinction is useful: knowing what happened during the day and knowing how to build on it are different forms of communication.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with professionals to secure support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, that children learning English as an additional language made good progress, and that safeguarding procedures were effective. Songs in children’s first languages and discussions about their families’ countries formed part of the day then. Children’s existing experiences were used in learning rather than treated as separate from it.

In July 2023, older children served meals themselves, while younger children practised eating independently and drinking from cups. Staff used colour-coded plates to distinguish dietary needs. These examples show how ordinary routines contributed to independence, though they describe practice at that date.

Food is cooked from fresh ingredients in the catering kitchen at the pre-school nursery, with a three-week lunch rotation that changes with the seasons. Dietary requests are discussed with families, but accommodating every request is not guaranteed.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 286a Kennington Road, London SE11 5DU. Full-day charging covers 8am to 6pm; children may attend shorter hours, but half-day bookings are not offered. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, so a shorter daily stay does not become a separately priced session.

Care runs across the year, with 50 opening weeks and a two-week Christmas closure. Bank holidays are uncharged; two additional training closure days are chargeable. Monthly invoices are equalised across the calendar year and paid ahead by direct debit, which gives families a regular payment schedule rather than a bill that changes with each month’s length.

The waiting-list process uses a registration form and a registration charge, refundable if the nursery cannot offer a place. Children moving from the baby nursery receive priority for this setting, although that progression is not guaranteed. This is a durable joining rule, rather than an indication of vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid care are offered. Funding is based on 38 academic-year weeks. Eligible two-year-olds receive 15 hours from the term after their second birthday; three- and four-year-olds receive 15 hours from the term after turning three, with 30 hours for qualifying families. The academic-year funding is spread across the calendar year as equal reductions to monthly charges; eligibility and the amount of additional privately paid care remain separate questions.

For 30-hour funded places, priority goes to children attending four or five days each week. Families considering fewer days should weigh that attendance rule alongside the full-day charging model. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Children must be up to date with government-recommended vaccinations, and families must be prepared to maintain that position. This is an acceptance condition, so it belongs in the decision before joining.

• Age groups at the hall. The current age range is two to five, but the hall’s descriptions use different age bands. During a visit, ask which group your child would join and how movement between the Kennington sites works.
• Full-day charging. Shorter attendance still uses the 8am to 6pm fee structure, and 30-hour funding priority favours four- or five-day attendance. Compare the whole booking pattern with the hours your family needs.
• Learning beyond nursery. July 2023 improvement priorities concerned younger children’s planning and practical home-learning guidance. Ask how next steps now shape activities and what individual suggestions accompany progress discussions.
• Food and the written quotation. Dietary requests cannot always be accommodated. Confirm current practice for your child’s dietary needs and how meals and non-food consumables affect the written quotation.

The Pelican Nursery suits families seeking full-day bookings, including those whose children attend shorter hours within that full-day arrangement. The hall’s playgrounds and separate rest space are useful physical assets, while individual learning records give parents tangible material to discuss.

The July 2023 picture combines purposeful language work and independence with specific weaknesses in younger children’s planning and home-learning advice. The clearest practical trade-off is the charging model: shorter attendance does not bring a half-day booking, and 30-hour funded-place priority favours attendance on four or five days each week.