Haslemere Primary School Nursery Review

Counting sausages made after a number song gives Haslemere's nursery a concrete character: children practise an idea through play, then use it for themselves. This is school-attached provision in Mitcham, with a separate pre-school for two-year-olds alongside a 78-place nursery. Nursery entry usually begins in the term following a child's third birthday; the pre-school has 12 places.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Good at the inspection on 10 and 11 June 2025. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery. The nursery-specific mathematics example gives parents something more useful than a grade alone: a picture of children turning a shared activity into independent counting.

Most nursery children attend a morning or afternoon session. Within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the evidence here centres on language, number learning and growing independence. For parents, that means looking beyond formal exercises to what children learn while singing, talking and playing.

In June 2025, nursery children used a song about numbers to 10, then made sausages and counted them independently. Number learning therefore had an immediate practical use. Across early years, adults developed children's vocabulary through conversation and activities, giving them words with which to explain their ideas.

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds is the named phonics approach used from Nursery. It sits alongside the emphasis on spoken language, rather than replacing it. The early years role play restaurant also gives children a place to apply their understanding of healthy eating by putting together pretend meals. This is food learning through play, rather than a description of lunch provision.

Sharing and taking turns were established features of early years behaviour in June 2025. These are practical skills for a child joining group provision: learning how to use resources alongside others and make room for another child's turn.

For additional needs, the school's inclusion structure moves from adapted classroom teaching to work in small groups and individual support informed by specialist advice. Parents are consulted when an adjusted learning or SEND plan is proposed, with individual targets reviewed at least three times a year. That gives families a defined role in decisions about support.

The school-level inclusion team includes an Assistant Head for Inclusion/SENDCO, with leadership holding the National Award for SEN Co-ordination (NASENCO). Families can contact the team through the school office. This is the school's support structure, rather than a claim about nursery staffing ratios or access to a particular therapy.

Attending Haslemere's nursery does not guarantee a place in its Reception class. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the normal deadline. School admissions are organised by Merton, with applications directed to www.merton.gov.uk/admissions.

Keep the two decisions separate: choosing the nursery is a choice about a child's early education, while securing a Reception place requires another application. A nursery place should therefore never be treated as confirmation of the next school place.

Morning nursery sessions run from 8:30am to 11:30am; afternoon sessions run from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Pre-school also runs from 8:30am to 11:30am, with places offered five days per week. These are distinct session options, so families should match the relevant provision to their childcare arrangements.

There are 13 places for 30-hour funding, subject to different eligibility criteria. Nursery applications go through Merton's admissions service. To visit, call 0208 648 9660 to book a school tour and speak with the team; individual tours can also be arranged. General enquiries can be emailed to info@haslemere.merton.sch.uk.