Fellowship House Children's Centre

Shared spaces give Fellowship House Children's Centre its character: children belong to age groups, but also mix and move between rooms for different activities. This East Ham nursery accepts children from six months to five years. Its layout makes contact beyond a child's own group part of the nursery experience, rather than keeping each age band entirely apart.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found that children progressed well and judged safeguarding effective. The practical examples were compelling: growing vegetables, exploring light in a sensory room and learning to manage everyday tasks independently. There was also a clear improvement point about allowing children longer to formulate answers.

Full-time, part-time and flexible attendance arrangements sit alongside weekday opening hours.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, Toddlers and Pre-schoolers are the nursery's room groups. Shared open areas allow children to interact across those groups, and movement between rooms gives them access to different activities. For parents, the important feature is this combination of an age-group base and opportunities to spend time beyond it.

In March 2024, babies practised movement using tunnels and low platforms, while older children worked on balance with planks and manoeuvred wheeled toys. These were concrete opportunities to practise different physical skills, with activities adjusted to children's stage of development.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning and care, covering language, physical development, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. In parent language, this means that conversation, movement, stories and play all contribute to learning, rather than education being confined to a formal group activity.

In March 2024, learning was woven into familiar routines. Fruit at snack time became material for counting and discussing taste and texture; songs added further counting practice. Planting potatoes and onions gave children something tangible to care for while learning about growth. These examples connect language and number work to things children can handle and experience.

Creative experiences included experimenting with paint on different surfaces and making models from dough. The sensory room offered another kind of exploration, using coloured lighting and containers of moving liquid. Musician parents also brought instruments into the nursery, giving children contact with live music through their own nursery community.

Teaching about Eid, Holi and Diwali introduced different religious celebrations, alongside books and toys representing different cultures. These were examples of learning about difference, rather than evidence of a particular calendar of nursery events.

Relationships and Communication

A key person system gives practitioners responsibility for following individual children's development. Daily feedback is shared through the blossom app, connecting parents with what their child has done during the nursery day. This gives home and nursery a practical channel for exchanging information.

Settling is planned before the official start: children undertake two weeks of settling, and the first week includes a meeting with parents to discuss the contract, health and safety, and safeguarding. The implication is straightforward: families need to allow time for the transition, rather than treating the first booked day as the whole introduction.

In March 2024, staff incorporated babies' familiar home routines into their care. Communication with parents included electronic updates, daily conversations and meetings, with suggestions for continuing learning at home. The emphasis was on knowing the individual child and maintaining contact with their family.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The toddler room leader holds the lead SENCO role. Support procedures use a graduated response to identify needs, plan provision and review how it is working, with parents involved throughout. Referrals to Newham's TRIAGE and Early help services provide routes to additional support; the policy also describes limited specialist help through Sign a Long and BSL.

In March 2024, children practised taking responsibility for everyday tasks, including pouring drinks, serving food and managing coats and shoes. Picture cards and stories supported conversations about feelings, while toothbrushing practice brought oral health into the day. These are useful examples of care routines also becoming opportunities to develop independence.

Meals and snacks are prepared in the nursery's own kitchen, and poultry is halal. The nursery's menu policy excludes nuts and provides for children with allergies.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday. Full-time and part-time places are offered, alongside flexible attendance that allows children to arrive or leave within the opening window. This gives families more than one attendance pattern to consider, while keeping the distinction between opening hours and booked attendance clear.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Applications join a waiting list ordered by application, with the admissions policy also allowing consideration of siblings and the fit between requested days and age groups. That is a booking rule, rather than an indication of how many places are free.

Getting There

The address is 4a St Bartholomew's Road, East Ham, London E6 3AG. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form, which includes space for a child's age and the proposed start date and duration.

Funding and Paid Extras

At the March 2024 inspection, the nursery accepted funding for early education for three- and four-year-olds. The parent information covers the 15-hour entitlement and the additional 15 hours described as Extended Entitlement; entitlement depends on the applicable conditions, rather than simply choosing this nursery.

Paid childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The admissions terms include a deposit which is not refundable if parents cancel before joining; part is credited against the final month's fees and part retained for administration. Cancellation requires four weeks' written notice.

• Shared spaces. Children mix beyond their age groups and move between rooms for activities. During a booked tour, discuss how this arrangement works for a baby who needs a quieter routine.
• Time to answer. In March 2024, adults sometimes moved on before children had sufficient thinking time. Ask how group discussions now allow children to form and express their own responses.
• Settling and changes. The two-week settling period needs space in the family calendar. Changes to agreed attendance within eight weeks of starting trigger charges for the originally agreed first month, with amendments taking effect the following month.
• The full cost and dietary plan. Before accepting a place, ask for a written breakdown of funded and private hours, food and consumables, and confirm how the nut-free menu policy and your child's allergy arrangements work in practice.

Fellowship House suits families looking for full-time attendance, part-time places or flexible hours within a weekday nursery routine. Its shared spaces and movement between age groups are central to that choice.

The strongest March 2024 examples combined practical learning with everyday independence: planting vegetables, exploring the sensory room and learning to manage food and clothing. Structured settling and a lead SENCO role add useful mechanisms for individual care. The question about giving children enough thinking time remains a worthwhile point for discussion when choosing the setting.