Oaklands Primary School Nursery Review

Butterflies and Dragonflies give Oaklands’ nursery its own identity: morning and afternoon groups, with an all-day option for families needing both sessions. This is provision for three- and four-year-olds at Oaklands Primary School in Hanwell, operating on weekdays during term time. The registration agreement caps the register at 58 sessions, rather than describing that figure as a count of individual children.

Ofsted graded early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 4 and 5 May 2023. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision; it is not a separate nursery inspection. Children were developing the habits needed for successful learning from the early years onwards.

Play shapes the learning. Children choose activities and tackle problems with adult help when needed, alongside tasks introduced by staff. The balance changes as children develop through the year. The Early Years Foundation Stage brings together language, physical skills and emotional development with early reading, maths, creativity and understanding the world. Here, those areas translate into talking, making, moving and experimenting.

Stories give pretend play a purpose. Pretend play areas follow current learning, with settings such as a garden centre, hospital, giant’s castle and bus station. Children practise hearing rhymes and syllables, explore print and begin using letters in their own writing. Maths resources include dominoes, scales and measuring tapes, so counting and comparing can happen through handling objects.

There is plenty to do with hands and bodies. A music station holds instruments; construction resources include Mobilo and wooden blocks. The PE plan includes tyres, climbing activities and riding scooters, trikes and bikes. Daily dough disco develops smaller hand movements. Children play outside on most days, making suitable clothing part of the learning kit.

Science makes change observable: children plant seeds, explore plant and animal life cycles and investigate floating and sinking. Plucky Clucky models perseverance, while Wise Owl encourages children to think about resources and connections. These characters give young children recognisable ways to discuss how they learn.

Starting is staged. For the September 2026 intake, families were offered a short nursery drop-in together, followed by small-group starts. That gave children time with the staff and gave parents an opportunity to discuss medical needs before regular sessions began.

Communication continues through School Gateway, quick conversations with nursery staff and longer appointments. Termly meetings include the child’s learning journal, and WOW Cards let families contribute achievements from home. If a child needs extra help, the nursery can arrange individual or small-group support, involving the SENCO or speech and language services where appropriate. Children learning English also have speaking and listening activities and targeted language support.

All-day children eat in Rocket Club rather than the nursery base. Families can supply a packed lunch or choose an ISS hot meal, cooked on site, with vegetarian and Halal choices each day. Fruit is provided in the morning; milk and water are accessible during sessions. The nursery classroom has child-height toilets available whenever children need them. Parents should discuss toileting concerns before starting and send spare clothes each day.

A nursery place does not guarantee a Reception place at Oaklands. Families must make a separate Reception application through Ealing Council’s admissions process, with places allocated against the council’s criteria.

Class changes have their own preparation: the school’s transition arrangements include visiting the new class and passing information and support plans to the next teacher. A transition book can be made where it would help a child understand the move. This supports familiarity; it does not secure admission.

Butterflies mornings run from 8:45am to 11:45am, Dragonflies afternoons from 12:30pm to 3:30pm, and Butterflies all-day sessions from 8:45am to 3:30pm. Families select a 15-hour or 30-hour preference on the registration form. Eligible funded all-day placements require a validated childcare code, renewed every three months. Lunch supervision sits outside the 30 funded hours and is charged separately from an optional hot meal, including when a child brings a packed lunch. Contact the school for current charges.

Register interest using the form available to download or collect from the office. Enquiries go to admin@oaklands.ealing.sch.uk or 0208 567 5243. Uniform includes a jade sweatshirt, jade or white polo shirt and black footwear with Velcro. Morning collection uses the Oaklands Road nursery gate; afternoon collection uses the main Oaklands Road or Deans Road gate.