CTY Nursery

Language support and neighbourhood outings shaped CTY Nursery's day at its May 2025 inspection. At its May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, found safeguarding effective and praised its support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The practical detail matters too: this Old Kent Road setting has capacity for 32 children aged 24 to 60 months.

The strongest examples from May 2025 were concrete: targeted language activities, everyday counting and trips into the surrounding community. One weakness also deserves attention: children sometimes waited too long between activities and meals.

In May 2025, WellComm provided targeted help with children's language development. Monthly core books gave children familiar stories to revisit, while termly parent workshops demonstrated ways to build vocabulary at home. Language learning extended beyond nursery activities into conversations with families.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care; here, the May 2025 examples included learning through stories, play and practical tasks. Children counted bugs in pots, blocks in towers and shapes in their paintings. Magnifying glasses added another way to investigate objects, while staff introduced words describing position and direction.

Daily outings were part of life in May 2025. Children visited a local park, bought produce in shops and explored a chemist during a health topic. Links with dentists, café owners and a fire station connected learning with the people and services around them. These were opportunities to make the surrounding neighbourhood part of children's experience.

In May 2025, staff identified children needing additional help and worked with the local authority on referrals. Parents received help connecting with services such as speech and language therapy. This gave families practical routes to support beyond the nursery.

Independence featured in everyday routines at that time. Children served themselves lunch, fed themselves and cleared leftovers, with staff nearby to help. Turn-taking activities and encouragement supported participation, while parents received help with developmental milestones such as toilet training.

Communication also reached beyond individual families. In May 2025, staff used a shared diary with other settings children attended to connect their learning. Parent feedback had prompted weekly reading books and optional homework for preschool children as part of the ready for school programme, extending preparation into home activities. Staff had regular training and opportunities to discuss concerns and career development with managers.

CTY Nursery's address is 275 Old Kent Road, London, SE1 5LU. Opening hours are 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday, during term time; it closes for school holidays. Families need to fit that calendar around their own working arrangements.

In May 2025, the nursery offered funded places for eligible children. That is a dated participation statement, rather than a promise of an individual funded place.

• Waiting between activities. In May 2025, lengthy waits before lunch and group snack arrangements left some children restless. Ask how those routines have been reorganised during a visit.
• School-holiday closure. Attendance follows the term-time calendar. Families needing childcare through school holidays will need arrangements covering those closures.
• Funding and charges. Funded places were offered to eligible children in May 2025. Which entitlements and attendance arrangements apply now, and how are meals and consumables handled?

CTY Nursery suits families seeking term-time childcare for children aged 24 to 60 months, with language development and community experiences prominent in its May 2025 practice. WellComm and practical support for families give that account substance. Holiday closures and the need to improve waiting times are the key considerations alongside the Good inspection judgement.