St Francis Nursery and Family Centre

A toy library, a book club and help with childcare funding give St Francis Nursery and Family Centre a remit that reaches beyond the children’s day. Its St Francis Community Hub brings family support alongside early education, with workshops and shared outings adding practical help and opportunities to meet other parents. That combination gives this Poplar setting its character.

Children can attend from 9 months to 5 years, and the nursery has capacity for 16 children. At its 16 August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found that children made good progress towards the skills they would need for school. The current attendance choices span term-time morning or afternoon sessions and full-year days.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children’s learning and care: language, physical development and social skills develop through play, everyday routines and interaction with adults. Here, the activities change with children’s stage of development rather than following one description for everyone.

For babies, sensory exploration sits alongside stories in the reading corner, songs and rhymes. Resources encourage them to investigate through their senses, while relaxation exercises introduce early awareness of wellbeing. Books and music give adults ways to build communication before children can express themselves fluently.

Toddlers and preschool children have opportunities to select and lead their play, with staff guiding their choices. Creative resources, age-appropriate books and movement to music provide different routes into expression and language. Activities also address thoughts and feelings, connecting emotional development with the rest of the day.

In August 2022, story props helped sustain children’s interest in books, while counting rhythms on instruments connected music with mathematics. Painting involved different tools and textures, giving children practice in controlling their hands as well as making pictures.

There were also two clear development points in August 2022. Teaching about the natural world needed to explain change more consistently, and adults sometimes stepped in before children could work through difficulties themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor learning area supports climbing, splashing and imaginative play. Children can also grow and care for herbs, vegetables and flowers, giving them living things to tend rather than only objects to explore. The planting offer provides a practical setting for noticing growth and change.

Family outings include visits to safari parks and the seaside. These sit within the community hub’s family offer, alongside opportunities to meet other families and use local resources. They should be understood as family activities rather than a fixed timetable of nursery trips.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with free sessions shared by children and their parents or carers. Their length and arrangement are agreed with each family, allowing the introduction to reflect the child rather than requiring everyone to follow an identical schedule. Familiarity with staff, routines and surroundings is the immediate purpose.

In August 2022, family photographs and displays of children’s work helped connect home and nursery life. Staff spoke with parents daily about development and wellbeing, and lent books for bedtime reading. Children also practised independence through serving snacks, clearing away play materials and managing coats and shoes.

The St Francis Community Hub extends the relationship with parents. Workshops cover budgeting, nutrition, children’s development, speech and language, and mental health support. Families can also receive help with funding applications and signposting for housing and benefits. The toy library and book club add shared resources to that practical support; the hub is relevant to parents’ circumstances as well as children’s learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A designated SENCo coordinates support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The process brings together parents, the key person and the SENCo to understand a child’s needs, plan support and review what happens. An Individual Provision Map can specify the intended outcomes, resources and responsibilities, with parents receiving a copy.

Reviews usually take place every 6–8 weeks, or at the interval set in the child’s plan. Support can include adapted resources, individual adult help or work in a small group. With parental consent, advice or referrals can involve the Tower Hamlets Early Years Inclusion Team and Speech and Language Therapy Service. These are concrete mechanisms for arranging support, rather than a promise that one approach will meet every need.

School transition for children with SEND can include meetings, visits and sharing plans with receiving staff. This transfers information about the child’s strengths and useful strategies so the next setting can prepare.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to recognise and report concerns and carrying out checks for hazards. Current arrangements also include staff trained in paediatric first aid and a designated safeguarding lead role within the lockdown procedure.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 34 Wades Place, Poplar, London, E14 0DE. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and applications use a completed application form. The admissions process places completed applications on a waiting list, with priority criteria covering local families, specified support needs and siblings, followed by application date for other applicants.

Term-time provision consists of 15 hours each week: mornings run from 9am to noon, or afternoons from 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday. These half-day patterns are taken across all five weekdays.

Full-year provision runs for 51 weeks, with days from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Families choose between 20 and 50 hours weekly, and the application form specifies a minimum of two days. This is a different commitment from the five-day term-time pattern, so the number of weekly journeys and the length of each day both matter.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Early Learning 2 (EL2), the universal Free Early Education Entitlement and the working-parent Extended Hours Entitlement. The entitlements include 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, 15 universal hours for children aged 3 and 4, and 30 hours for eligible working families with children from 9 months to 4 years. Eligibility conditions apply; the nursery offers help with applications.

Funding can be used through term-time sessions or across the full year. For working parents using the extended entitlement over 51 weeks, there are 22 funded hours weekly. Extra private hours are optional, and funded hours are separated from chargeable hours on monthly invoices.

Children who remain for lunch bring a packed lunch; snacks and drinks carry no additional charge, including during funded sessions. Parents supply nappies and creams, including for funded attendance, so these items need to be included in the family’s daily preparations.

A registration charge applies when a child takes any privately paid hours, but is waived for funded-hours-only attendance. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Private fees are paid in advance and remain payable during absences for illness or holidays; reducing hours or withdrawing requires six weeks’ written notice, with applicable fees continuing throughout that period.

• Choosing the weekly pattern. Term-time sessions run on five weekdays, while full-year days have a two-day minimum. On a visit, discuss which rhythm fits your child’s stamina and the family’s working week.
• Babies’ daily care. Admission starts at 9 months, and baby activities include sensory play and stories. During a visit, ask how sleep and the youngest children’s daily care are organised alongside the older children.
• Independent thinking. In August 2022, children needed more opportunities to persist with problems and learn about changes in nature. Ask how adults now use play and planting to develop those skills.
• The ongoing commitment. Private fees continue during sickness and holidays, and the withdrawal notice period is six weeks. Together with packed lunches and supplies from home, these terms shape the practical commitment beyond the booked hours.

St Francis suits families seeking term-time mornings or afternoons across five weekdays, or full-year full days beginning at 8am. Its strongest current draw is the connection between nursery provision and family support: settling sessions, practical workshops, shared resources and help with funding all have a clear purpose. The dated Good judgement supplies a useful quality reference, while the problem-solving and natural-world development points deserve attention. For parents who value support for the wider family alongside their child’s early education, the community hub gives this setting a clear identity.