Chestnut Nursery School, Chestnut Avenue

Natural materials and fewer plastic toys give Chestnut Avenue its character. This Forest Gate nursery combines influences from Forest School and Reggio Emilia through its use of natural resources and daylight. The emphasis is on children exploring materials and taking an active part in their play.

At its 4 October 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. That assessment is dated: the practical offer below includes current session and funding arrangements, while observations of children's daily experiences are marked October 2022.

Chestnut Avenue accepts children from 3 to 47 months and has 46 places in total. Families can choose a full day, morning or afternoon session, with different finishing times for funded and privately paid attendance.

Rooms and Ages

In October 2022, the baby room used low shelves and low activity tables, putting resources within reach of children who were crawling or beginning to walk. The useful detail is the height of the equipment: babies could select materials themselves rather than depend on an adult to bring everything to them.

Toddlers in October 2022 could move between spaces for pretend play, messy activities and quieter sensory exploration. Their garden access was direct, while babies practised negotiating the stairs on their way outside. These were different arrangements for different stages of mobility, rather than one outdoor routine for everyone.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play across seven areas of learning. Alongside that foundation, Chestnut Avenue draws on Forest School and Reggio Emilia, with the concrete additions here being natural materials, daylight in learning spaces and a reduced reliance on plastic toys. These influences support the nursery's emphasis on exploration, active learning and thinking through ideas.

In October 2022, sand, paint and play dough gave children opportunities to exercise their fingers and hands. Staff also brought descriptive words and mathematical vocabulary into play. Language learning therefore happened during activities, rather than being confined to a separate lesson.

There was a qualification to that picture. In October 2022, adults sometimes moved on too quickly after asking questions, leaving children insufficient thinking time; sharing effective practice with less-experienced colleagues also needed more consistent attention. Those two points matter together: resources create opportunities, but the adult's timing and response shape how much a child can do with them.

Familiar adults were an important part of children's day in October 2022. Children sought staff out for comfort when tired or upset and approached them when they needed assistance. For a parent weighing care for a very young child, those small interactions are more informative than a general promise of warmth.

In October 2022, everyday care also included opportunities to practise independence. Toddlers worked on toileting and handwashing, while babies received help with wiping their noses and washing their hands. Staff supported children to participate in these routines rather than treating care as something done entirely for them.

Communication has a practical digital component. Parent Zone gives families access to monthly invoices and information about funding use, and an email address is required for registration and communications. This makes email and app access part of managing the childcare arrangement, not simply an optional extra.

In October 2022, managers worked with other local nurseries to support children moving to another setting at three. That was nursery-to-nursery transition work, with preparation for a different learning environment. It should be read alongside the current accepted age range rather than treated as today's leaving rule.

Sessions and Attendance

Privately paid attendance has three choices: a full day from 8am to 6.30pm, a morning from 8am to 1pm, or an afternoon from 1pm to 6.30pm. Funded attendance follows a separate timetable: full days run from 8am to 6pm, mornings from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. The later finish therefore belongs to the private timetable.

Opening hours are 8am to 6.30pm on weekdays. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, excluding bank holidays and inset days. Sessions cannot be swapped, so the booking arrangement suits families who can maintain their chosen pattern better than those expecting to exchange days from week to week.

Private terms require a month's written notice to end attendance or change sessions; funded-contract termination requires four weeks in writing by email. Private fees remain payable during nursery closures and a child's sickness or holiday. These conditions affect the cost of maintaining a place even when a child does not attend.

Getting There

The address is 124 Chestnut Avenue, Forest Gate, London E7 0JJ. Forest Gate and Wanstead Park are the nearest named stations, with bus routes 678, 508, 330, 308 and 58 also listed for the nursery.

Enquiries can be made by phone on 02089 257858 or by email to chestnutavenue@chestnut-nursery.com. A visit-booking form includes Chestnut Avenue as a selectable nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 9–23-month-old entitlement, disadvantaged funding for two-year-olds and the working-parent entitlement for two-year-olds. Additional hours outside the entitlement are privately paid, and the fees and funding terms separate these from other charges. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Meals are included in private session fees, with breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea attached to the full day and the relevant meals attached to shorter sessions. For funded attendance, lunch and tea are optional paid extras with a suitable packed meal required if families decline them; children taking disadvantaged funded places do not have to pay for meals.

Trips and additional services are optional, with charges agreed beforehand, although attending a trip carries its charge. Funded-only attendance attracts neither a deposit nor a registration charge; private hours beyond funding carry a deposit whose refundable portion depends on notice, contract conditions and settlement of outstanding fees.

• Language and adult support. The October 2022 improvement points concerned children's thinking time and support for less-experienced staff. During a visit, ask how practitioners now allow children to formulate answers and share effective teaching practice.
• Two finishing times. Private full days and afternoons end at 6.30pm; their funded equivalents end at 6pm. Build collection plans around the timetable attached to the actual booking.
• Funded meals. Funded meal arrangements allow a packed-meal alternative, with a separate position for disadvantaged funding. These choices affect how families organise lunch and tea.
• A fixed attendance pattern. Session swaps are prohibited, fees continue during private-attendance absences and notice is required for changes. These terms deserve attention before committing to a weekly routine.

Chestnut Avenue suits families seeking either full-day care or morning and afternoon sessions, with natural materials and exploratory play shaping the learning offer. Its October 2022 assessment was Good, and the same dated account gives useful detail about accessible baby-room resources, toddler choices and familiar adults providing comfort.

The decision is also practical. Funded and private attendance have different afternoon finishing times and meal arrangements, while the ban on session swaps favours a predictable weekly routine. Families whose care needs fit those terms have a clear basis for considering this Forest Gate setting.