Alexandra Primary School Nursery Review

Forest School access and Richmond Park visits give Alexandra’s nursery an outdoor thread that extends beyond its own play space. Children can move between indoor and outdoor learning areas, including an enlarged, renovated outdoor area for exploration and active play.

This is Alexandra Primary School’s own nursery on Alexandra Road, Kingston upon Thames. Children normally join in September after their third birthday. For September 2026, the session allocation was 32 full-time places, seven morning places and seven afternoon places. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 3 and 4 July 2023; that judgement covers early years within the school.

Play and language shape the learning here. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), supported by Development Matters, brings together children’s communication, movement and emotional development with early literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. Adults combine direct teaching and guided activities with modelling and children’s own play. That gives children opportunities to try ideas themselves as well as learn alongside an adult.

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides the nursery’s foundations for phonics. Stories, poems and action rhymes sit alongside listening activities and oral blending, helping children hear how spoken sounds combine into words. Mark-making and messy play introduce ways to express ideas before formal writing.

Creative work includes mixing colours, making textured collages and printing with different materials. Construction introduces joining techniques using string, tape and glue, with children choosing materials to realise their ideas. Indoors and outdoors, pretend play gives them practice in planning and sustaining attention. In July 2023, early years staff built learning from children’s existing knowledge, while children followed instructions and familiar routines.

Experienced, qualified staff work with the children. Parents can follow learning through Tapestry, the online journal used in nursery, alongside weekly learning blogs, home activity prompts and termly parent meetings. These offer specific starting points for conversations and shared activities at home.

For additional learning needs, the early years approach includes identifying SEND promptly. Parents with concerns can speak to their child’s teacher or contact the school SENCO at senco@alexandra.school, giving families a direct route to discuss support.

Full-day children can bring a packed lunch or have a charged hot meal supplied by Caterlink. Meals are booked through Parentpay at least two days ahead. Food allergies require forms and medical evidence; Caterlink verification can take up to six weeks, and school lunch cannot begin until that process is complete. Packed lunches must exclude nuts and sesame seeds, and lunch drinks must be water.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through eAdmissions and their home local authority. Children with an EHCP instead need to discuss placement with their assessment coordinator.

The determined arrangements for 2026/2027 do not include nursery attendance as a priority criterion. They consider care status, siblings, exceptional need, qualifying staff children and distance. Familiarity with the nursery therefore needs to be kept separate from the allocation decision.

For September 2027 entry, the application page gives two closing dates: 11:59pm on 14 January 2027 in its main instructions and 15 January 2027 in its key dates. Plan around the earlier date and confirm the deadline with the admissions team.

Term-time pattern. Monday to Friday sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am, 12:30pm to 3:30pm, or 8:45am to 3:30pm. Morning and afternoon places use the 15-hour entitlement; eligible working families can use the 30-hour extended entitlement for full-time places. Privately funded full-time places are also offered.

Charged extras. The final 45 minutes of a full day carry an additional charge. Families avoiding it must collect at 2:45pm every day, rather than varying collection across the week. Ask the school for current nursery, meal and wraparound charges.

Breakfast club runs from 7:45am to 8:30am; nursery-specific information gives after school club as 3:30pm to 6pm. Wraparound registration precedes booking, with advance reservations through Parentpay more than two full working days ahead. These clubs exclude holidays, inset days and early school closures.

Collection is restricted to nominated people aged at least 16, and changes must be sent to the office in writing. For enquiries, use admissions@alexandra.school. The 2026/2027 nursery intake is full, with a waiting-list form available; tours for September 2027 entry are planned for January 2027.