Woodgrange Infant School Nursery Review

Vegetables become conversation starters at Woodgrange: nursery children explore how they feel, look and smell, building vocabulary through something concrete. Alongside familiar songs and stories, that gives this provision its character: play and talk are part of learning, rather than simply breaks between activities.

The nursery belongs to Woodgrange Infant School on Sebert Road in Forest Gate. At the inspection on 25 and 26 March 2025, Ofsted graded the school's early years provision Good. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Playful Learning is the school's named approach. Adult teaching sits alongside periods when children choose and develop their own activities. For parents, the important distinction is that play has a learning purpose: children can test ideas, practise a skill, invent a story or work out how to share with someone else. Adults also demonstrate and teach knowledge directly.

The nursery's Early Years Foundation Stage learning includes foundations for reading and conversation. In March 2025, children explored sounds in their surroundings and took part in rhymes, songs and storytelling. This puts listening and spoken language into familiar activities, giving children ways to participate before formal reading becomes the focus.

The vegetable activity shows how that works in practice. Describing a texture or comparing appearances gives a child a reason to find and use a more precise word. Language grows through discussion, rather than through naming objects alone.

Across Woodgrange, classrooms are described as spacious, with a teaching assistant in each classroom. The school's approach also gives children opportunities to collaborate and make choices about their learning. For a nursery child, those opportunities connect learning with expressing an idea and responding to another child.

Support for additional needs combines time with peers and extra sessions tied to individual developmental targets. Woodgrange uses the scerts approach and does not endorse A.B.A. Families considering the nursery can arrange a visit to discuss their child's needs with the inclusion team, making the conversation specific to the child rather than a general description of support.

Emotional development is part of the school's everyday approach. Staff use visual prompts, accessible language and characters to help children understand feelings and manage behaviour. Early years children are explicitly taught empathy. These are practical tools for learning how actions affect others, alongside the school's emphasis on resolving disagreements and looking after shared resources.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. Choosing this nursery therefore needs to be a decision about the nursery experience itself, with the later school application treated as a separate step.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school at info@woodgrange.newham.sch.uk or telephone 020 8534 2120. School visits can be booked by email; booking requires an address, contact number and the names of those attending. A visit also provides an opportunity for families of children with additional needs to discuss support with the inclusion team.