Knowle Nursery School

Mud pies become a lesson in language at Knowle Nursery School. In February 2025, children mixed soil and water while staff helped them describe changes in texture, turning an idea from outdoor play into a conversation about materials. That small example captures the nursery's emphasis on learning through children's interests rather than separating talk from activity.

Ofsted rated Knowle Outstanding on 14 February 2025 and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. The nursery occupies a building in the grounds of Park Mead Primary School, on Park Drive in Cranleigh. It has 47 places in total and accepts children aged 24 to 60 months.

Term-time opening makes this a setting to consider alongside the family's school-holiday arrangements. Books, outdoor exploration and communication feature in its account of nursery life, while the support policies explain how parents, key people and specialist professionals contribute to planning for an individual child.

Rooms and Ages

Hedgehog room and Badger room are part of the children's progression through Knowle. When a child changes rooms, parents meet the next key person during the preceding term and receive an explanation of the new routine. The move therefore includes a handover of relationships as well as a change of room.

Book corners in both rooms and a kitchen library provide quieter spaces. The inclusion arrangements also describe den-making resources, a neutral colour scheme, textured fabrics and musical instruments accessible indoors and outside. These give children different ways to participate, including opportunities to step away from busier activity.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care: development is supported through play, communication, physical activity and growing social independence. Knowle's planning balances activities initiated by children with those led by adults, and group discussions give children a chance to explain what they have enjoyed.

In February 2025, staff used stories to invite children's ideas and imaginative responses. Conversation also ran through group activities and ongoing play. The mud-pie example was practical rather than abstract: children transferred soil between containers, added water gradually and explored how the mixture changed. Language had something tangible to attach to.

Peer observation gives staff a structured way to examine their interactions. Its guidance includes allowing children time to respond, using gestures and visual prompts, simplifying complex language and helping children resolve disagreements. For parents, those are useful specifics: the emphasis is on how adults communicate during ordinary play, rather than simply how many activities fill the timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play sits alongside external visits and visiting contributors. Outing arrangements include advance information for parents, signed permission and consideration of children's additional needs, allergies and cultural requirements. Participation is planned around the children taking part.

Forest School, an approach centred on learning outdoors, began at Knowle in 2014 for children in their preschool year. In February 2025, outdoor activity included moving between stepping stones with adult guidance, while conversations about untied shoelaces encouraged children to identify a hazard themselves. The practical thread is learning to judge manageable risks, alongside physical exploration.

Relationships and Communication

Each child receives a key person before starting. Where possible, the introductory visit includes meeting that adult, and the All About Me form gives families a way to share information about their child. This creates a starting point for care that takes account of home routines and individual preferences.

Tapestry, the nursery's online learning-journal system, brings observations together and allows parents to contribute experiences from home. Learning journals are shared at the end of each half-term, and a newsletter goes out at the beginning of each term. Parents can also speak with staff in person, by telephone or by email, so communication extends beyond scheduled updates.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received highly effective, individually tailored support and made excellent progress, with staff identifying needs early and working with families and other professionals. The current inclusion policy describes the mechanisms behind that work: three SENCOs, a SEND Support Plan setting out goals, and an assess, plan, implement and review cycle agreed with parents.

Reviews take place after 6-8 weeks, or sooner when goals have been achieved. Makaton uses signs and symbols to support spoken communication; visual timetables and behaviour cards provide other ways to make routines understandable. Quiet areas, familiar comforters and family photographs can also support a child's wellbeing. These are concrete adaptations rather than a single promise to meet every need in the same way.

School transition can include meetings involving parents, the key person, school staff and relevant professionals, with support plans shared and additional school visits arranged where needed. Being on the Park Mead Primary School site does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Park Mead Primary School, Park Drive, Cranleigh, GU6 7HB. Knowle opens during term time and closes for school holidays. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 9.15am to 12.30pm on Tuesday and Friday. The shorter opening windows matter when fitting nursery attendance around work or other care.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered. The Early Years Pupil Premium is additional funding the nursery can claim to support eligible children's development, learning and care; it is separate from the family's funded early education allowance. The nursery's parent information describes potential uses such as language training for staff and developing specialist support.

Medication arrangements require prescribed medicine in its original pharmacy packaging, with clear instructions and a sealed, labelled bag. Medicine is handed to a member of staff rather than left among a child's belongings. Families managing a medical condition have a specific procedure to incorporate into their routine.

• Term-time timetable. Tuesday and Friday opening ends at 12.30pm, and the nursery closes during school holidays. These boundaries need to fit the family's wider care arrangements.
• Funded attendance and extras. Before committing, what attendance pattern can your child's funding cover, and how are meals, nappies and other consumables handled and charged?
• Room transition. The move from Hedgehog room to Badger room includes an introduction to the new key person in the preceding term. Use a visit to discuss how that handover would work for your child.
• School-site expectations. Knowle shares the Park Mead Primary School grounds, but attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Keep nursery choice and the local authority school application separate.

Knowle suits families seeking term-time nursery care who can accommodate its shorter Tuesday and Friday opening windows. Its strongest features are the practical attention to communication, the key-person handover between rooms and the detailed arrangements for individual support. The February 2025 Outstanding judgement gives those concrete practices an important inspection context. For families whose timetable fits, this is a persuasive combination of play, relationships and purposeful preparation for the next stage.