Harry Gosling Primary School Nursery

Story books to share at home and physical learning indoors and outdoors give Harry Gosling’s nursery its clearest character: early education with a practical, family-facing emphasis. For children turning three during 2024/25, families could apply for a nursery place for the following term. The nursery belongs to Harry Gosling Primary School on Fairclough Street in Tower Hamlets.

Its wider school setting combines an original building dating from 1910 with the Centenary building, opened in 2010. These are school facilities, rather than a description of the nursery’s own rooms.

Physical development forms part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) work. Children have opportunities for physical challenges outside and inside, with resources supporting particular skills. The school aims to develop movement control and confidence, alongside careful handling of equipment and tools. For a young child, learning therefore includes using their body and managing objects, as well as developing knowledge.

Practical number work provides another concrete example. In February 2023, early-years children demonstrated accurate counting while preparing fruit kebabs, working out whether their recipe needed an extra piece or one fewer. This was an early-years finding, rather than a nursery-only judgement. It illustrates how an everyday task can give numbers an immediate purpose.

Nursery children also bring story books home for families to enjoy together. The emphasis is shared storytelling: parents participate in the reading experience, rather than simply supervising a task. This gives learning a connection with home.

A nursery teacher forms part of the teaching team. Across the school, inclusion work addresses barriers affecting children with special educational needs and children learning English as an additional language, among other groups. The school says it adjusts learning challenges and responds to differing needs. For nursery families, that makes participation and access to learning useful topics for discussion with the team.

School event reminders can be tailored to a particular year group, with emails either weekly or the day before an event. That gives families a practical way to keep track of meetings and activities alongside their child’s nursery attendance.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal admissions process, even when their child already attends Harry Gosling.

For September 2025 entry, applications went through eAdmissions and the deadline was 15 January 2025. That cycle is past. The important distinction remains: choosing the nursery and applying for Reception are separate decisions, so families need to follow the application timetable for their child’s entry year.

The part-time funded entitlement is 15 hours each week across 38 weeks a year, beginning in the first school term after a child’s third birthday and ending when they reach compulsory school age, the term after their fifth birthday. An additional 15 funded hours may be available to eligible working families, where both parents work or the sole parent works. Eligibility conditions apply; employment alone does not establish entitlement.

For the September 2025 nursery cycle, offers were initially part-time, with families able to request a full-time place afterwards. Keep that dated arrangement separate from the funded entitlement when planning childcare.

To arrange a school visit, contact the office by email or telephone. Nursery enquiries can go to admin@harrygosling.towerhamlets.sch.uk or 0207 481 1650.