Square One Nursery School

Foodie Friday, French with Les Coccinelles and a garden with an artificial grass lawn give Square One Nursery School a recognisable character. Cooking and tasting sit alongside language sessions and outdoor movement. This is early education with plenty of practical activity, rather than a day built solely around adult-led lessons.

Based at Lady North Hall in Putney, Square One has capacity for 36 children aged 30 to 60 months. At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective. Those judgements belong to that visit; the current daily offer includes specialist activities, imaginative play and time outside.

Morning attendance can be extended through Lunch Club, while Afternoon School and later care serve children in their final nursery year. The age conditions matter as much as the opening hours.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children develop communication, independence and early thinking through play, relationships and practical experiences. At Square One, adult-led activities alternate with children choosing and developing their own play. Activities are planned around each child's interests and stage of development, giving staff a way to introduce new ideas while leaving room for individual choices.

The morning has a clear rhythm. Free play leads into carpet time, when children discuss the day's activities and parents can join the conversation. Adult-guided learning and independent exploration follow, before a quieter pause for hand washing, stories and snacks. Outdoor play then gives children space to move. The sequence mixes shared routines with opportunities to pursue their own ideas.

Specialist activities add substance to that framework. Multi-sports on Tuesdays and Fridays introduce athletics, ball skills and working together. Wednesday's Music and Movement explores rhythm through sound and physical activity. Thursday brings French classes from Les Coccinelles, with a playful introduction to another language. These are different ways of participating: moving, listening, talking and joining in with others.

Foodie Friday involves cooking, trying fruit and vegetables, and exploring nutrition and mindfulness. It gives food a place in learning beyond the lunchbox. The curriculum also includes gymnastics, while seasonal Monday outdoor learning involves planting and caring for growing things. Together, these activities make practical exploration a substantial part of the week.

Outdoor and Community Life

A bright teaching room is complemented by an outdoor building used for lessons and additional activities. Outside, the artificial grass lawn supports play across the seasons, and the climbing frame has safety flooring beneath it. The garden therefore provides both space for free movement and equipment for physical challenges.

In February 2023, children used dressing-up resources and developed pretend café games involving orders and money. They also practised balancing, running and steering ride-on toys. Those examples show how imaginative and physical experiences featured in the day at that time, rather than reducing early learning to table-based tasks.

Relationships and Communication

Individual planning starts with getting to know the child: their interests, existing skills and next steps. Families receive frequent updates about progress, difficulties and advice relevant to moving on to primary school. That makes communication useful beyond a simple account of what happened during the day.

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used assessment to respond promptly to learning gaps, including speech delay, and that children learning English as an additional language made good progress. This is a dated finding about support in practice, rather than a general promise about every child's future progress.

For final-year children using extended care, continuity is built into the arrangement. The club uses the nursery's existing rooms and familiar staff. Children can continue with creative activities and Spanish sessions in the same setting, rather than adapting to a separate venue for the later part of their day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In February 2023, staff encouraged children to attempt manageable tasks independently and modelled courteous language during meals. Parents contributed to assessing learning from the outset and received information about children's experiences. These practical routines linked growing independence with communication between home and nursery.

There were also clear improvement priorities. In February 2023, changes between activities sometimes interrupted children's ideas, and individual staff needed more targeted development with closer attention to its effect on teaching. Families should weigh those points alongside the positive findings, especially if their child needs time and support to move between activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Lady North Hall, 12 Ravenna Road, Putney SW15 6AW. Opening hours are 8am to 5pm during term time. That window contains several attendance arrangements, each with its own purpose and conditions.

Early Bird starts at 8am. Morning children finish at 12.15pm, and Lunch Club allows children aged two and above to remain longer for lunch and play. Afternoon School is additional to morning attendance and is intended for children in their final nursery year, with Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday afternoon patterns.

Tea Club runs until 5pm. Extended care is restricted to children already attending Square One who are in their final year. It therefore serves a narrower group than the morning nursery provision, an important distinction for families planning care across several years.

Registration uses an online form, with enquiries by telephone, email or contact form. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Extended-care pricing depends on the hours and days requested. The different extensions make the timetable adaptable, but families need a pattern that matches their child's eligibility as well as their working day.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2023, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. That is the participation position at that visit, rather than a statement about a current funded-hours package.

Parents supply packed lunches; the nursery supplies snacks and drinks during the day. This places responsibility for the main meal with families while allowing children to share the nursery's snack routines.

School preparation includes personalised guidance about choosing a primary school and additional learning through Afternoon School. Advice and preparation are useful support for the move onwards; they should be considered separately from choosing an attendance pattern here.

• Term-time planning. The nursery's regular opening pattern follows term time. Families needing continuous care across school holidays should weigh that against their annual childcare needs.
• Final-year extensions. Afternoon School and extended care have final-year conditions, and later care is for existing nursery children. During a visit, discuss how the morning, lunch and afternoon arrangements would fit your child's stage.
• Transitions and staff development. February 2023 improvement priorities concerned changes between activities and more targeted staff training. Ask how routines now protect children's ongoing play and how training is evaluated.
• Personal care and funding. Individual activity planning is part of the approach. At a visit, discuss settling support, any additional needs, and how current funded hours and non-food supplies would work for your child.

Square One suits families seeking term-time morning nursery education, with Lunch Club to extend the day and additional afternoon or later care for eligible final-year children. French, cooking, music and sport give the week variety, while the lawn, climbing frame and outdoor teaching building make physical space a meaningful part of the offer.

The February 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality anchor. The improvement priorities deserve attention too. The strongest reason to choose Square One is the combination of practical learning and several attendance options, provided their age conditions and term-time pattern fit the family.