Walnut Tree Walk Primary School Nursery Review

Singing, percussion and growing vegetables give Walnut Tree Walk’s nursery a practical, creative character. This is the school’s own provision in Kennington, for children aged three and four, with both part-time and full-time places. It belongs to the school’s early years provision, where learning includes conversation, movement and creative work alongside early literacy and maths.

The choice of attendance pattern depends on space and the needs of each child and family. For parents, that makes the nursery’s learning offer and its childcare arrangements two parts of the same decision.

The Early Years Foundation Stage brings together seven areas of development. Here, that means building communication and social confidence alongside physical skills, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. Role play and conversations give children opportunities to practise language; circle-time activities and organised play help them learn about being part of a group.

Topics give these experiences a recognisable focus. The nursery curriculum includes All About Me, Under The Sea and Colour and Shape, while another nursery sequence includes People Who Help Us and Let’s Make Music. These themes connect familiar experiences with new ideas, giving families something concrete to talk about at home.

Outdoor activity forms part of the learning day. The early years outdoor space can be used throughout the day, and classroom creative materials remain accessible too. The school’s Edible Playgrounds project, supported by Trees for Cities, includes raised growing beds where children cultivate produce and eat what they grow. This gives learning about the natural world a tangible purpose.

Music lessons in early years use voices and percussion instruments. Books also enter nursery life from the start: Ofsted’s ungraded inspection of April 2024 described children’s introduction to songs, rhymes and books, with early years counting also practised through finger painting. These are concrete examples of language and number learning woven into activities young children can join in.

Tapestry, the online learning journal used in nursery, lets parents see activities and contribute experiences from home. Access requires a signed usage agreement. Monday class updates explain the coming learning and pass on messages, while a private discussion with the class teacher can be arranged when a brief conversation needs more time.

For children with identified SEND, the school’s starting arrangements can include a visit before entry, discussion with involved professionals and agreed changes to settling in. Support plans involve parents, with termly reviews where a plan is in place. The class teacher is the first contact for learning concerns, supported by the SENCO and the leadership role overseeing inclusion and early years.

Milk and fruit are provided at the early years morning break. Children attending after-school club receive food supplied by Harrison, which may be a hot dish or wraps, plus daily fruit.

Physical access. The school occupies a Victorian building with no lifts and acknowledges health and safety constraints on adaptations. Families with mobility needs should consider that practical limitation when assessing the setting.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place or confer priority under the school’s October 2025 admission arrangements. A fresh application is required through the family’s home local authority, using the normal admissions round and its deadline. Familiarity with the school does not replace that application.

The arrangements expressly rule out automatic transfer. They also exclude a sibling attending nursery from the sibling priority criterion, a distinction that matters for families planning places for more than one child.

Part-time attendance consists of five mornings or five afternoons; the school tries to accommodate the preferred pattern. The early years school day runs from 8:55am to 3:30pm. Funded provision includes 15-hour places for three- and four-year-olds and 30-hour places subject to eligibility and the number offered by the school. Additional hours can be purchased by agreement; ask the school for current charges.

Breakfast club starts at 7:45am and after-school care ends at 6:00pm, with both open to all ages. Scopay bookings must be made at least seven days ahead, with sufficient account credit unless paying through one of the school’s accepted childcare schemes. Short-notice requests go through the office and are not guaranteed, so regular childcare needs planning.

Nursery parents accompany children through the playground for handover to staff. Tell the office or teacher at the beginning of the day if another adult will collect. There is no school uniform; practical clothes and suitable footwear are required for messy work and physical activity.

Applications can be made online or on paper through the office. Families can request a tour using the Arrange a School Visit form, or contact admin@wtwschool.co.uk.