Hampden Way Nursery School Nursery Review

An extensive garden, ambitious play and unusually vivid language work define Hampden Way Nursery School. This is a maintained nursery school for children aged two to four, rather than a primary school with a small nursery class. At the January 2023 inspection, 105 children were on roll across two classrooms, and inspectors found that children could move between the indoor areas and the garden.

The setting is part of a federation of three maintained nursery schools. Its scale matters: the entire school is designed around early childhood, while the two classrooms give children scope to connect their ideas across spaces.

Play has real depth here. Inspectors watched children extend a train track from one classroom to the other, compare engines and negotiate roles as more friends joined. Outdoors, the planting area supports digging, the mud kitchen becomes a place for imagined meals, and a fire pit prompted discussion of smoke, sizzling water and popping popcorn. Children also climb a rope ladder and balance across blocks, building confidence alongside physical control.

Language is threaded through the day. Familiar core books stay available for retelling, while stories such as Owl Babies and The Colour Monster help children remember phrases and find words for feelings. Together times bring the group together for a story or song. Early writing starts physically, with children making large shapes using brooms and paint, then creating registers for their friends. The EYFS here is practical: communication, relationships, literacy and physical development grow through sustained play rather than isolated worksheets.

Settling receives close attention. The 2023 inspection found warm relationships and skilful support for children who found separation from parents difficult. Staff join play at the right moment, while leaving children enough time and space to test their own ideas.

Inclusion is active rather than separate. Staff identify when a child needs extra help, include children with special educational needs and disabilities in the full day, and use planned nurture groups to strengthen communication and social skills. Simple behaviour rules focus on sharing, turn-taking and caring for friends. Safeguarding arrangements were found effective in 2023; children also practised safe use of knives, tools and equipment.

Hampden Way prepares children for primary school through progressive early literacy, independence, resilience and social confidence. That educational preparation is separate from admissions.

There is no automatic progression from attendance to a Reception place. Hampden Way is a nursery school and has no Reception class, so families must make a fresh application for a state primary school through their local council. No published admission arrangements reviewed here establish priority from attending this nursery. Families should check Barnet's current primary admissions timetable and the criteria for each chosen school.

The school is on Hampden Way in Southgate and takes children aged two to four. Families should contact the school directly for current session patterns, funded-entitlement arrangements, meals, clothing expectations, settling visits and drop-off or collection procedures. Asking for the weekly pattern in writing will make it easier to compare the available place with work and care commitments.