New Cross Nursery & Pre-School

A pet snail became a lesson in animal diets, while an outdoor bike repair shop gave children tools and a reason to work together. Those June 2023 examples capture the character of New Cross Nursery & Pre-School: learning built around things children could handle, investigate and talk about.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 21 June 2023, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

At 75 Amersham Road in London, SE14 6QQ, the nursery has capacity for 69 children from birth to five. Full Days and Short Days provide different finishing times within an all-year-round booking plan.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent terms, that means opportunities to develop language, movement, relationships and independence through play and daily routines. It is the shared foundation for early years provision, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery.

In June 2023, the curriculum connected those areas through practical experiences. Children caught pretend fish with magnetic rods and counted their catches, bringing number work into imaginative play. Caring for a pet snail introduced questions about its home and diet. New vocabulary had something concrete attached to it.

Storytelling used character props and unfamiliar vocabulary, connecting words with objects and action.

Babies used signs alongside nursery songs, and children talked about their feelings in group time. Physical development had its own small opportunities: opening a basket or cupboard exercised hands and fingers, while supported climbing gave younger babies a chance to practise larger movements. The activities addressed different stages of development rather than expecting everyone to do the same task.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2023, the bike repair shop combined pretend work with real tools, helmets and high-visibility clothing. A balance beam provided another physical challenge. Together, these examples show outdoor play with both imaginative and movement-based purposes.

Making bird food introduced care for wildlife through sharing ingredients and taking turns. Children also took part in recycling and charity activities, connecting their actions with responsibilities beyond their own play. These were everyday ways of exploring care for living things and the wider world.

The cultural day event celebrated the backgrounds of children, families and staff. Its value lay in giving children's identities a place in nursery life, rather than treating cultural learning as a distant topic.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, strong support for communication and effective help for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), supported by a SEND champion and the organisation's special educational needs coordinator lead. That is a dated assessment of practice, with concrete support roles behind it.

In June 2023, children had close relationships with their key persons. Group conversations gave them opportunities to express emotions, making feelings part of communication alongside vocabulary.

Staff used words from children's home languages when supporting English development. This connected new learning with language children already recognised. Parents also received help to practise skills at home and support with the move to school, linking nursery learning with family life and the next stage of education.

Support for practitioners included individual development plans, coaching from a pedagogy coach and regular supervision in June 2023. Those arrangements gave staff structured opportunities to discuss and develop their work with children.

Healthy meals and snacks formed part of the day at that time, alongside learning to manage personal care. Independence was practised through ordinary routines as well as planned activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Days run from 8am to 6pm; Short Days run from 8am to 4pm. The all-year-round plan includes bookings for two, three, four or five days, plus a five-short-day option. Full-day bookings require at least two consecutive days and must include a Monday or Friday. That condition matters for families hoping to concentrate childcare in the middle of the week.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday and closes at Christmas.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both private childcare and funded hours are offered. The funding arrangements cover eligible working families from the term after a child reaches nine months, universal funding from the term after the third birthday, and eligible two-year-olds receiving local authority funding. Working-family funding requires a valid eligibility code; the two-year-old offer depends on eligibility through the local authority.

For all-year-round bookings, funded hours are stretched: the 15-hour schemes provide 11 hours a week and the 30-hour scheme provides 22 hours a week over 51 weeks. Families should therefore distinguish the entitlement's term-time headline from the weekly funded contribution to an all-year-round booking.

Breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks are included in the booking-plan fees, including the plans with funded hours. Private place offers require a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit; the deposit is credited to the fees account when the child leaves, with final payments recalculated. Cancellation of a private place at least six weeks before its agreed start allows the deposit to be returned, while cancellation closer to the start does not.

An optional Green LEYF contribution supports sustainability programmes. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing families to compare their chosen attendance plan and funded contribution together.

• Consecutive full days. The minimum is two consecutive days including a Monday or Friday. Compare that rule with your working week before choosing the full-day plan.
• Earlier collection. Short Days finish at 4pm and have a five-day booking option. On a visit, discuss how that pattern fits your child's routine and your collection arrangements.
• Funding across the year. The 30-hour scheme provides 22 funded hours a week over 51 weeks on an all-year-round booking. How would that contribution fit your chosen attendance plan?
• Dated care assessment. The safeguarding and SEND findings relate to June 2023. During a visit, discuss how the key person and support roles would work for your child now.

New Cross deserves consideration for families drawn to practical learning, language-rich play and close adult relationships, with its June 2023 examples giving substance to the Outstanding judgement. The snail, storytelling props and bike repair shop make the educational approach easy to understand.

It suits families choosing full days or short days across the year, with a five-day option for Short Days, provided the full-day booking conditions fit their week. The attendance rules are consequential: the strongest educational match still needs a workable collection time and weekly plan.