Montpelier Primary School Nursery Review

The published Autumn 1 ALL ABOUT ME! programme pairs a home-themed role play area with instruments ready throughout the session and daily outdoor activity, giving Montpelier’s nursery a practical, playful character. Children talk, make things and practise managing their own needs alongside early reading and number work. It is the nursery within Montpelier Primary School in Ealing.

The full-time model introduced in September 2024 provides 26 places. Entry is for children who are three by 31 August in their starting year and will turn four during that school year. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at its November 2023 inspection; that judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Conversation starts the session. Children greet the group, join in rhymes and songs, and share experiences, with practice in listening and waiting for a turn to speak. The Autumn 1 theme, ALL ABOUT ME!, connects learning with children’s families and familiar surroundings. Building Learning Power adds its own memorable language: Noticing Newts encourages children to pay attention to their classroom and the world around them.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together language, physical development, relationships and early subject learning. Here, that means counting through songs, exploring shapes and matching quantities with number names alongside making friends and practising conversation. Read Write Inc introduces phonics in nursery. Talk for writing includes children telling familiar stories together, giving spoken language a place alongside their first experiments with writing.

There is plenty to do with hands as well as voices. Writing implements are accessible outside and indoors; construction, catching and throwing develop coordination. Painting, printing and making models from discarded materials sit alongside a role play area themed as a home for the Autumn 1 half-term. Children can explore instruments in the music area throughout a session, while outdoor activity takes place daily. Children can borrow a library book each week and must return it before another is issued, linking nursery stories with reading together at home.

In November 2023, early mathematics supported secure number knowledge, but some other early years activities had insufficiently precise learning aims and the curriculum needed clearer progression in skills, vocabulary and knowledge across terms. That is a material consideration alongside the detailed activity programme.

Starting nursery includes time to learn routines and expectations. Circle time uses a class teddy to model relationships, giving children a familiar focus for thinking about friendship. Adults encourage independence with coats and toileting, and discuss handwashing. These everyday tasks form part of the learning.

Small-group snacks create another opportunity for conversation. For lunch, families supply a packed meal, which children eat in the nursery. Parents therefore handle lunch preparation as part of the daily routine.

The school’s Spring 2023 SEND Information Report directs parents with concerns to the class teacher, who can involve the special educational needs coordinator. Support follows a cycle of assessing needs, planning help, putting it into practice and reviewing its effect. For physical access, the early years playground contains a lift serving the school’s second floor.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Ealing Council’s eAdmissions route, meeting the deadline for their entry year. The council allocates places; a nursery offer should never be treated as a Reception offer.

Transition support is a separate matter. The school’s Spring 2023 SEND Information Report describes teachers sharing information before a class change, a Meet the teacher day and extra individual support where appropriate. These arrangements concern familiarisation and continuity of care, rather than an admissions advantage.

The nursery’s model from September 2024 is a full day, 8.30am to 3pm, across five days each week during term time. This requires a regular weekly commitment rather than choosing individual attendance days. Nursery children wear school uniform.

Funding combines 15 universal early education hours with another 15 for eligible families holding a valid HMRC code. Lunchtime supervision is charged separately, with the option to collect children for the daily half-hour lunch interval instead. Families who do not qualify for the extended entitlement can pay for the additional provision. Contact the school for current charges.

Applications use the nursery’s online form. Nursery enquiries go to admissions@montpelier.ealing.sch.uk or 020 8997 5855. Tours are arranged in autumn and/or spring, with email registration once dates are confirmed.