Durston House School Nursery Review

Two specialist music lessons each week and a weekly lesson at the playing fields give Durston House’s Pre-School a rhythm that reaches beyond its classroom. This is the nursery within an independent school in Ealing, with children joining in the term following their third birthday and a maximum of 40 places. It belongs to the pre-prep section.

The Pre-School has sensory areas and a workspace for interventions. Its 2025–2026 admissions pack describes three qualified teachers and two specialist early-years assistants, alongside specialist teaching for sport and music. Those spaces provide places for sensory exploration and additional support within the setting.

The 2025–2026 Pre-School timetable divides teaching into 35-minute lessons, with a morning break and lunch separating the teaching blocks. Afternoon learning follows lunch. Families choosing this provision are choosing a day organised around a school timetable.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the curriculum framework. In everyday terms, children practise communicating, moving, making things and understanding their surroundings. Maths Mastery adds practical, visual work with mathematics. Books feature through school library visits each week and activities involving stories, questions and blending sounds. Children also draw and write with interactive whiteboard software.

Art materials are accessible indoors and outdoors each day, with adult-guided tasks adding opportunities to practise new skills. Music introduces rhythm, pitch and pulse, while local outings and the weekly field lesson extend learning beyond the indoor setting. These give children different ways to explore: through making, listening and using natural materials.

The ISI inspection of 7 to 9 October 2025 found that early-years staff adapted activities to children’s individual starting points and used observations to plan learning. Indoor role play, a doll’s house and outdoor play supported children’s interests and conversation. These are findings about the early years collectively, rather than a separate nursery grade.

A key worker is allocated each term, giving parents a regular contact for everyday conversations. Communication also uses a message book, the Blog and Arc Pathway, the observation and assessment app. Parents can join stay-and-play events, connecting what children do in the setting with what families hear at home.

Before entry, a summer welcome afternoon introduces children to teachers and teaching assistants. A separate parent meeting provides time for questions. This starts familiarisation before the first school day.

Morning snack is included in tuition; hot lunch and dessert are optional charged extras. Accent Catering provides meals, eaten in the Harvington building’s dining room. In October 2025, early-years children learnt handwashing before meals, and eating arrangements supported their safety. Staff also helped children practise friendship, cooperation and independent choices.

The SEND policy covers the EYFS and uses Assess, Plan, Do, Review to organise additional support. Individual Progress Plans involve parents and are reviewed termly. For children developing English as an additional language, early-years work includes colourful semantics and role play, giving language practice a visual and practical form.

Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Durston’s independent-school admissions policy assumes progression, conditional on behaviour, progress and the school’s continuing ability to meet the child’s needs. Moving from Pre-School to Reception also requires the head’s approval. The Reception stay-and-play entry assessment applies to children joining from outside Durston’s Pre-School; existing pupils therefore have a conditional continuation route rather than a fresh local-authority application.

Withdrawal notice. Families intending to leave before Reception must give a full term’s notice in writing. Failure to do so brings a charge in lieu, making this an important decision to plan ahead. Separately, familiar school routines prepare children for the next stage; they do not remove the progression conditions.

The 2025–2026 timetable starts lessons at 8:30am and ends the Pre-School day at 3:15pm. Optional Breakfast Club runs from 7:30am to 8:10am, with drop-off between 7:30am and 7:45am. After School Care extends supervision until 6pm and is charged in 15-minute blocks.

The 2025–2026 admissions pack describes early-years funding of 15 hours per week, usually over 38 weeks, from the term after a child turns three through the term of their fifth birthday. Parents claim through a school declaration form, with funding credited against a later term’s invoice. Ask the school for current charges. Tuition can be paid monthly or termly by direct debit.

Enquiries go to info@durstonhouse.org. Small group visits can be booked using the Open Days & Visits form for Tuesdays or Thursdays at 9:30am. Travel. Parents have no parking on site; secure scooter and cycle racks provide alternatives for the daily journey.