Kintore Way Nursery School: nursery review

A basketball hoop, a nature garden and stories that spill into play give Kintore Way’s nursery day its character. At Grange Road in Southwark, this maintained nursery school caters for children aged two to four. Nursery education is the school’s purpose, rather than an addition to a primary school.

Place types distinguish age groups and funded hours. The admission arrangements give indicative allocations of 10 thirty-hour and 30 fifteen-hour places for eligible two-year-olds, alongside 24 thirty-hour and 28 fifteen-hour places for children aged three to four. These allocations can change with demand, staffing and children’s needs.

Play supplies the starting point for learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together language, physical skills, relationships, early reading and maths, creative expression and understanding the world. Planning in the Moment means adults develop learning from what captures a child’s attention. The Four Cs give this approach a memorable focus: creativity, cooperation, confidence and curiosity.

Books become things to do. Children use claves and Makaton gestures alongside the Brown Bear story. In the younger children’s home corner, menus and recipes prompted pretend cooking with chopsticks and soup spoons. These activities connect language with movement and imaginative play. During the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that adults adapted language support to individual children, from introducing simple words to encouraging comparisons between toy animals.

Indoor and outdoor spaces are accessible across the day, throughout the year. Garden activities have included basketball and identifying birds, with tally marks turning observations into early counting. There is a practical caveat: the accessibility plan describes the older children’s playground as needing replacement and sets out redevelopment ambitions. Families should distinguish those plans from completed facilities.

Each child has a Key Person, with other class-team members acting as Co-Key People. Teachers, Early Years Educators and Teaching Assistants share the work. A home visit starts the relationship before nursery begins, giving families time to discuss routines and interests.

Settling starts with brief sessions that lengthen according to the child’s readiness. Parents agree next steps with the Key Person and need to remain available during the first week for an earlier collection. An Attachment Box, made from a shoe box containing photographs or familiar objects, can provide reassurance. Three Parent Conference Days each year close the nursery to children so adults can discuss progress individually.

SEND support includes Individual Support Plans, a sensory room, assisted changing facilities and wheelchair access throughout. Mountain Room serves a small group of three- and four-year-olds with complex needs; it is a pilot with admissions decided through a multi-agency panel. This is a separate placement process. Ofsted’s May 2023 inspection found effective safeguarding and effective identification and support for children with SEND.

School dinners are currently free for children entitled to a fifteen- or thirty-hour code under the Healthy Free Nursery Meals initiative. Paying places and additional hours outside the fifteen-hour entitlement can involve lunch charges. Families must complete the meal eligibility form so the school can access relevant additional funding.

Attending Kintore Way does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately to a primary school through the normal Reception admission process, meeting its deadline.

Preparation and allocation are different matters. For children with SEND, staff transfer information securely to the receiving school’s special needs coordinator and liaise about support. Receiving-school staff are encouraged to visit and join transition meetings where appropriate, helping the next team understand the child before the move.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoons run from 12:30pm to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday. The full-time pattern finishes at 3:30pm Monday to Thursday and 11:45am on Friday. Paid Friday afternoon hours can extend that day to 3:30pm. Place preferences are considered but cannot be guaranteed.

Funded provision includes fifteen-hour entitlements and thirty hours for eligible families with a valid code, renewed termly. Additional paid hours require a contract. Charges apply in term time, with ParentMail used for payment; invoices separate funded hours, private hours and meal or snack charges. School Fund contributions are voluntary. Ask the office for current charges.

Apply using the online form or contact office@kintoreway.southwark.sch.uk to arrange a tour. Collection and drop-off use the Grange Road main entrance. There is no uniform: practical clothes, spare clothing and named waterproofs suit the messy play and outdoor learning.