Goldsmiths SU Nursery

A Secret Forest within a university campus gives Goldsmiths SU Nursery a recognisable character. Forest School sessions use both this nursery space and natural surroundings belonging to the university, adding outdoor exploration to the daily mix of indoor and outdoor play. For families who value physical confidence and time outside, that is a concrete reason to look closely.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with Outstanding judgements for behaviour and attitudes and personal development. The nursery sits within the Goldsmiths campus in New Cross. Its current age range runs from birth to five years.

The practical boundaries matter too. Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays, across 44 weeks of the year, and applications require at least two days of childcare. This is a calendar to match carefully against work or study commitments.

Rooms and Ages

Sunshine room takes children from six months old. Caterpillar room takes children aged eighteen months and above. Butterfly room is the preschool room for children rising three to school age. These room entry ages are separate from the nursery’s overall birth-to-five age range.

The EYFS provides the common early years framework: practitioners plan play and activities across its areas of learning, observe what children can do and adapt the next steps. Here, learning takes place outside as well as indoors. Experimenting, investigating and using imagination are central to the nursery’s approach, so play is the means through which children practise communication, movement and understanding.

Learning and Activities

In June 2023, children’s choices helped shape learning. Older children selected books about environmental care, while younger children remembered making paint from chalk. Children’s interests gave them material to discuss and revisit.

Books and songs also ran through the June 2023 nursery day. Babies copied movements linked to a familiar book, toddlers expressed preferences, and preschool children anticipated what would happen in stories. The progression was practical: participation for the youngest children developed into choice, conversation and recall for older ones. Story time served more than one purpose.

Mathematics was similarly woven into play in June 2023. Building towers prompted comparisons of height, pouring water introduced the idea of halfway, and older children used chalk to write numbers with personal significance. These were tangible ways to connect mathematical words with an action or object, rather than treating number work as a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds guided exploration of natural spaces to the EYFS day. Sessions are led by a qualified Forest School leader and take place in the university’s local natural space as well as the nursery’s Secret Forest. The nursery’s emphasis on moving independently across apparatus complements this outdoor offer: children have resources and opportunities to practise climbing, walking and running.

In June 2023, children watched butterflies emerge and arranged equipment for jumping, climbing and balance with adult support. Physical play also included an indoor football game that children organised into teams. These examples bring nature, movement and cooperation into the picture, with children taking an active part rather than simply following an adult’s demonstration.

Parents can contribute their skills and experiences to nursery activities, support fundraising and help on some outings. Regular parents’ forums provide another route for sharing ideas. That makes family involvement part of the nursery’s organisation, extending beyond an individual conversation about a child’s progress.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is assigned a key person who takes responsibility for settling and develops an ongoing relationship with them. An introductory meeting with the prospective key person takes place during the settling period. For a family starting childcare, this creates a named role to connect home knowledge with the child’s early nursery experience.

Termly meetings and written progress reports give parents a scheduled opportunity to discuss development. Parents are invited to contribute to those reports, while daily conversations with staff remain part of the open-door arrangement. The combination matters: a planned review can cover development over time, while an everyday conversation can address something immediate.

When children move on to school, a progress summary goes to the school and parents receive a copy. Parents are included in this handover of learning information.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and strong support for children with SEND, including work between the special educational needs coordinator, practitioners and other professionals, with parents helping to create individual support plans. Coordinated support and family involvement gave that assessment practical substance.

In June 2023, staff also learnt words from children’s home languages and encouraged exploration of letters from those alphabets. Children learning English could therefore encounter something familiar within nursery life. Staff used praise, reassurance and support with emotions, while children practised negotiating turns with a sand timer.

There was an important teaching limitation in June 2023. Support staff were sometimes uncertain about how to contribute when children chose their own play, which made teaching uneven. Stronger coaching was the improvement action. It is a useful distinction for parents: the positive picture of children’s experiences sat alongside a specific need to improve adult participation in play.

Babies bring their own lunch and tea; from twelve months, vegetarian lunch comes from a local restaurant, while children bring a tea snack. Water and milk are supplied during the day, and parents donate fruit and other small snacks, so food from home remains part of the daily arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8.30am until 5.30pm. Its 44-week calendar includes closures at Christmas, Easter and during August, alongside bank holidays. Families whose work or study continues through those breaks need to account for them when comparing childcare arrangements.

There are also afternoon closures for staff meetings. In autumn 2026, the nursery closes at 2.30pm on 13 October. That shorter day is a practical detail for anyone planning a regular collection time.

Applications are made online and require a deposit, with a minimum request of two childcare days. The waiting list follows application order, with priority for families who already have a child attending. An offered place must be accepted in writing, and advance payment secures it; the deposit is returned when a child is removed from the waiting list.

Getting There

The address is 30 Lewisham Way, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, within Goldsmiths College. Access is through the main College forecourt to the back of the house, which helps distinguish the nursery entrance from the wider campus.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes fifteen hours for three- and four-year-olds. For children over nine months, the fifteen-hour weekly entitlement depends on family circumstances and starts from the term after the child’s birthday. These conditions belong alongside the entitlement when families plan their attendance.

Paid childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; fees apply during its opening weeks, with no holiday retainer, and monthly invoices are issued ahead of the month and payable on receipt. Parents provide babies’ packed meals and children’s tea snacks, as described above.

• The nursery calendar. The 44-week year includes an August closure, and 13 October 2026 has a 2.30pm finish for a staff meeting. Match these breaks and shorter days against the childcare cover your family needs.
• Joining and settling. Applications require at least two days and a deposit. At a visit, discuss how the key-person introduction and settling period would work for your child.
• Adult involvement in play. The June 2023 improvement action concerned coaching support staff to contribute more effectively to children’s chosen activities. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how that coaching now works in practice.

Goldsmiths SU Nursery suits families seeking campus-based childcare with daily outdoor play, Forest School exploration and regular opportunities to contribute to their child’s learning record. The Secret Forest gives the setting a clear physical identity; termly key-person discussions give parent partnership a practical structure.

The strongest case is for families whose work or study fits the weekday opening window and 44-week calendar, and who want attendance across at least two days. The June 2023 assessment supports a positive view, while its coaching action provides a precise issue to explore alongside the outdoor and relationship-based offer.