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Nursery at Parkside Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Three-hour sessions give Parkside’s nursery a clear daily shape: a morning or afternoon at school, with each pattern running from Monday to Friday. This is Parkside Primary School’s own nursery in Chingford. The school site sits beside Ridgeway Park, placing the provision within an established school setting rather than a separate childcare centre.
For families weighing up the daily routine, the session model is the decisive practical feature. Each pattern totals 15 hours across the week. It means planning around a midday collection or an afternoon start, rather than treating nursery attendance as a full working day of childcare.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the nursery’s curriculum framework. The concrete learning examples are easy for parents to recognise: enjoying books, hearing poems and rhymes, and exploring early mathematical ideas through play. At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted described early-years children developing confidence with counting, number recognition and simple shapes.
Messy play gives those mathematical ideas another outing. Children explored shapes and numbers in their surroundings, returning to learning they had already encountered. The purpose was to make that knowledge secure through practical exploration. For a parent, this connects an apparently playful activity with a clear learning intention.
Books also have a place from the beginning of early-years attendance. In March 2023, children enjoyed listening to stories alongside verse and rhymes. That gives the nursery day a language dimension as well as a mathematical one: listening and becoming interested in books are part of the learning described, rather than reading being reserved for later schooling.
Settling into school routines was a strength of the early years in March 2023. Warm connections with adults accompanied children’s swift adjustment to everyday routines in Ofsted’s March 2023 early-years findings. For a child beginning nursery, that combination matters: familiar patterns and trusted adults help make a session feel manageable.
Parkside’s school-wide SEND arrangements provide a practical starting point for discussing additional needs. Parents are directed first to the class teacher and can also contact the SENDCo at senco@parkside.waltham.sch.uk. This gives families a route from an initial concern to a discussion about support.
Support is planned around the child. A class provision map is prepared jointly by the teacher and SENDCo; possible adaptations include additional adult help, different ways of presenting learning and extra resources. Small-group work may have specific targets. For pupils listed on Parkside’s Inclusion Register, group work often draws on speech and language advice, occupational therapy or educational psychology. Staff check progress every half term or term and use the findings to plan further support. These are school-wide arrangements to discuss in relation to the nursery child’s needs.
Separate application. A nursery place does not guarantee a Reception place at Parkside. Families must apply again through the normal Reception admissions process via Pupil Admissions at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, meeting the deadline for their application cycle.
The distinction matters when choosing the nursery: becoming familiar with Parkside through nursery attendance does not secure the next school place. Keep the nursery decision and the Reception application as separate steps in family planning.
Morning sessions run from 8:40am to 11:40am; afternoon sessions run from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Both operate Monday to Friday, with 15 hours per week for each session pattern. Those collection and start times are the practical anchors for arranging the rest of the day.
Apply directly to Parkside for nursery admission. The admissions page provides a nursery application form, giving families a direct school route distinct from the local-authority process for Reception.
The morning session is 8:40am to 11:40am and the afternoon session is 12:30pm to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Each morning or afternoon pattern totals 15 hours per week.
The March 2023 early-years findings describe counting, recognising numbers and exploring simple shapes, including through messy play. Stories, poems and rhymes also feature.
Start with your child’s class teacher. You can also email the SENDCo at senco@parkside.waltham.sch.uk.
No. Reception requires a separate application through Pupil Admissions at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, following the normal application process and deadline.
