Barrow Hedges Primary School Nursery

At Barrow Hedges Primary School Nursery in July 2023, an object brought from home could become the starting point for learning to listen. Children connected familiar things with the sounds they were exploring, giving early reading a concrete starting point. Learning to play together was another part of the picture: relationships and listening sat alongside the first steps towards understanding the world.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 18 and 19 July 2023. It is an early years judgement within the school inspection, not a separate nursery inspection.

Listening comes before reading words. In July 2023, Nursery children practised recognising sounds and were encouraged to bring something from home connected with the sound being explored. This gives parents a specific way to understand the learning: a familiar object becomes something to discuss and listen for, rather than reading beginning only with a book. The emphasis is on the foundations.

In July 2023, learning about animals also featured in early years. Children explored their different features, building knowledge that could later support more detailed understanding of living things. For a young child, this offers a concrete subject for noticing differences and developing understanding. It connects early learning with the world around them.

These examples illustrate parts of the early years foundation stage in everyday language: listening, learning about the world and playing with other children. They show that preparation for later learning includes both knowledge and social experience. The sound activities are specifically identified with Nursery; the animal learning belongs to early years more broadly.

Playing together is part of the early years experience. In July 2023, children were learning to cooperate in their play, with positive relationships between children and adults beginning in this phase. That matters alongside the learning activities: sharing an experience with another child calls for attention to someone else's actions as well as one's own.

For parents, this gives the nursery's social learning a clear place beside its preparation for reading. Both involve paying attention and responding to others.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately for Reception through the normal admissions process, by the relevant deadline. Treat choosing the nursery and securing a school place as separate decisions.

The learning described here provides foundations for the next educational stage. Practising listening and learning to play together concern children's development; they should not be read as an admissions advantage.

Barrow Hedges Primary School is on Harbury Road in Carshalton, SM5 4LA. Its telephone number is 02086434428. These details provide a direct contact route for families considering the nursery, alongside the separate Reception application process.