Peel Common Nursery Review

Rhymes, stories and the sounds of instruments give Peel Common’s nursery its clearest character: an introduction to reading built around listening. The nursery belongs to Peel Common Primary School and Nursery on The Drive in Gosport, with Hazel named as its early years unit. It is school-attached provision, so the nursery experience needs to be considered separately from the wider school’s education.

At the Ofsted inspection on 29 and 30 April 2025, children’s start in Nursery was a strength, while early years provision received a Requires improvement judgement. Both points matter. The positive nursery finding sits alongside specific work needed on the curriculum and personal development across the early years and beyond.

Listening gives children practical ways into early reading. Nursery activities include songs and rhymes, exploring the noises musical instruments produce, and sharing stories. These are foundations for reading rather than a description of formal reading lessons: children practise attending to sound and taking an interest in books. Instruments provide a concrete resource for that work.

The school aims to give children foundations in spoken language, mathematics, writing and reading. Its wider curriculum ambitions include discovering the surrounding world, developing confidence and learning to recover when things go wrong. For a parent, those aims put communication and independence alongside the beginnings of academic learning.

In April 2025, curriculum planning beyond English and mathematics needed clearer progression starting in early years. The personal development programme beginning in early years also needed work. The April 2025 action identified limited understanding of the wider world and different religions, and weaknesses in resilience across the school. It called for implementation of the revised personal, social and health education curriculum and monitoring of its impact. These concerns make the breadth of children’s learning an important consideration alongside the nursery’s positive start in listening and stories.

Familiar staff and classmates helped children from Nursery onwards feel positive about their day in April 2025. Children who struggled with the start received sensitive help to settle. For families whose child finds the start of the day difficult, that sensitive settling support is a relevant strength.

Kind behaviour is taught through simple reminders about how children use their hands, feet and words. This gives young children concrete ways to understand expectations towards others.

For additional learning needs, families can contact the special educational needs coordinator through the school office. Hampshire SENDIASS also offers impartial advice and support for parents and children with SEND. It provides a separate route for families seeking help to understand their child’s needs and options.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Hampshire school applications are handled by the Hampshire Admissions team. Choosing the nursery and applying for school are distinct decisions; familiarity with the setting should not be treated as an allocation of a place.

The administration team handles enquiries on 01329 281206. The school office welcomes visitors Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 15:30, giving families a defined window for contacting the team in person. These are office hours, rather than nursery session times.