Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Nursery Review

Curiosity has a tangible role in this nursery: Ofsted found the expanded provision for two-year-olds inviting and designed to encourage exploration. Nursery and Reception are both described as well resourced, while the school serves children from age two. This is school-attached early-years provision in Harlesden, within a Catholic primary school, rather than a separately registered nursery.

Ofsted’s report from 25 and 26 February 2025 did not assign a separate nursery grade. It did, however, look directly at Nursery and early years practice. That distinction matters: the useful evidence here is what the inspector saw in the provision, not the school's historic overall judgement.

Play is used to build language as well as dexterity. Children cut animals from play dough and explain what they had made. In another imaginative activity, children created pattern snakes from modelling clay and coloured sparkles; adults prompted sharing and introduced action words including press, roll and stretch. These are small, concrete examples of early learning through talk, pattern and manipulation.

The environment has expanded to include two-year-olds, with that newer area designed to stimulate curiosity. Yet the evidence also provides an important counterweight. Some adult interactions and resources were not consistently strong, and the learning intended by an activity was occasionally unclear. Families should therefore ask how staff now plan activities and extend children's knowledge, since this was a specific improvement point in February 2025.

Relationships with families are a clear asset. Staff establish strong connections with parents and carers, while children with SEND across the school had needs identified quickly and work adapted where required. Staff were carefully deployed and skilled in support, within a caring and inclusive setting.

Children learn to regulate emotions and show kindness. However, routines were not fully embedded and children sometimes needed more reminders to take turns and share. The same report found safeguarding arrangements effective. Together, these findings suggest a provision where care and inclusion are visible strengths, but consistency in everyday routines deserves a direct question from parents.

Reception admission is not automatic after attending this nursery. Families must make a separate primary-school application through their local council, even when applying to a school in another council area. No published admission arrangements establishing priority for nursery attendance were available for this review, so parents should not assume an admissions advantage.

Practical familiarity and legal admission are different things. Nursery and Reception sit within the same school and were considered together as well-resourced early-years classes, but that proximity does not replace the Reception application process.

The school is on Wesley Road Hillside in Harlesden and the nursery provision includes places for two-year-olds. Current session times, attendance patterns and funded-place arrangements should be confirmed directly with the school before applying. Families may also wish to ask how the newer two-year-old space is organised across the day and what settling arrangements are used.