Granard Primary School Nursery Review

Gardening, rhyme and song give Granard’s nursery its clearest character: early learning through play, with room to explore outdoors. This is the nursery within Granard Primary School on Cortis Road in Putney, where the school’s age range starts at three. Staffing capacity is expressed as 26 full-time equivalent children, rather than 26 places across every attendance pattern.

The nursery has a spacious indoor setting alongside an outdoor learning area. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 23 and 24 May 2023; that judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Structured play shapes the learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together early number and literacy, communication, movement, emotional and social development, creativity and understanding the world. For parents, this means the nursery curriculum extends beyond preparing children to read: learning to communicate, move and relate to others also belongs in the day.

Outdoors, gardening and investigating nature sit alongside opportunities for physical development. The spacious outdoor area gives these activities a physical setting, so exploring the natural world is part of the learning rather than simply a topic discussed indoors.

Rhyme and singing provide the beginnings of reading. In May 2023, nursery children were developing these skills as a foundation for learning to read. The emphasis is on the sounds and patterns of language at this stage, giving families a concrete picture of what early literacy involves here.

Parents with concerns have a clear starting point: their child’s class teacher. A meeting can be arranged through the office, and the optional Parent Concern Form helps families organise what they want to discuss. Prospective parents can also contact the SEN co-ordinators to discuss support before joining.

Granard’s school-wide approach assesses children when they join and reviews progress each half term. Where an additional need is suspected, SEN co-ordinators meet parents to agree support, with a joint decision about the SEN register. Staff receive training matched to needs in their class or across the school, while visiting specialists support children and train adults. These arrangements give families a route from an initial concern to planning help together.

Attending Granard’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route. Nursery applications go to the school; Reception applications go to Wandsworth Council, with an online eAdmissions route linked from the admissions page.

For the past 2026 admissions cycle, the Reception deadline was 15 January 2026. Keep the two applications separate in your planning: securing nursery attendance does not remove the need to apply again for Reception.

Two split-week options sit alongside full-time attendance. Option 2.5A combines Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3.10 p.m., with Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon. Option 2.5B starts on Wednesday, 12.15 p.m. to 3.10 p.m., followed by Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 3.10 p.m. Full-time options run Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3.10 p.m.

The split-week options carry no charge. Full-time attendance includes a free option at the headteacher’s discretion, a paid option and an option for children eligible for the 30-hour top-up. Numbers are settled after parental requests have been considered. Contact the school for current charges and apply directly to it for nursery attendance.

Collection timings. Nursery access is through the Cortis Road nursery gate. The access schedule gives gate openings of 8.55 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 3.05 p.m., while the admissions schedule gives a 3.10 p.m. finish for full days. Confirm the collection arrangement when agreeing your attendance pattern.