Goodrich Community Primary School Nursery Review

Play, exploration and children’s own choices shape the nursery at Goodrich Community Primary School in East Dulwich. This is curriculum-based provision within the primary school, with both part-time and full-time places. Children can begin from the term after their third birthday, subject to space in the nursery cohort.

The July 2025 Ofsted inspection graded the school’s early years provision Good. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating. Children in early years became accustomed to routines promptly and learned successfully alongside one another, giving families a useful picture of how children settled at that point.

A morning or afternoon session provides the basic pattern. Children choose activities and practise doing things for themselves, while adults plan learning around their interests. Indoor and outdoor spaces both support play, so exploration extends beyond the classroom.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven areas of development. In everyday language, these cover talking and listening, movement, relationships and feelings, early reading and writing, number, understanding the world, and creative expression. Counting and exploring shapes sit alongside books and poems; role-play, dance and music give children other ways to express ideas. The emphasis is on learning through activity.

Birth to Five provides the reference points for staff observations and assessments. Adults observe, assess and monitor children’s development against its statements. Goodrich also plans for children to explore unfamiliar things, keep trying when an activity takes effort, and develop their own ideas. For parents, this connects independence with learning: making choices and persevering are part of the curriculum itself.

Relationships with families are part of the early-years approach. Parents and carers are invited into EYFS classrooms for workshops and celebration days, creating opportunities to learn together. The school also welcomes feedback and suggestions through its open-door policy.

Goodrich’s school-wide inclusion arrangements involve parents when outside agencies are needed. Speech and language interventions and classroom learning support assistants are among the forms of support described. Multi-agency meetings can bring the family, school and other professionals together around a child’s needs.

For children bringing lunch, the school’s packed-lunch rules have practical consequences. Water is the only permitted drink, and daily lunches exclude nuts and nut products, grapes, crisps and sweet treats. A main item, fruit or vegetables, and a further snack form the suggested pattern. These restrictions also extend to snacks brought for activities, so families need to plan food accordingly.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Southwark Council, listing Goodrich as a preference. Children do not move into Reception automatically.

The school’s admissions criteria give priority through care status, siblings, specified medical, social or psychological needs, and distance. Nursery attendance is not a priority criterion in that list. Choosing the nursery therefore needs to make sense for the nursery experience itself, with the Reception application handled separately through the normal council process and by its deadline.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoons run from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Nursery children must attend at least one morning or afternoon session each day. This is a regular session model, rather than an occasional booking arrangement.

The school offers the universal 15 funded hours from the term after a child turns three. It also offers 30 funded hours for eligible working parents, with the eligibility code received and confirmed before a funded place can be offered. Additional hours are paid where they are not covered by funding. For families using the 30-hour offer, lunch-break supervision carries a separate charge; contact the school for current charges.

Nursery enquiries go to office@goodrich.southwark.sch.uk, and the nursery application form is the route onto the waiting list. Outdoor learning calls for Wellington boots and a waterproof coat, with waterproof trousers optional. School tours can be booked through the office and take approximately 45 minutes, providing a practical way to discuss the provision before applying.