Dolphin School Nursery Review

Montessori choosing time, visits to the copse and dance give Dolphin’s nursery its character: children’s interests help shape the learning, alongside activities led by adults. The nursery belongs to the school’s pre-prep in Hurst, where the school’s entry age starts at three. This is an introduction to school life with room for children to make choices of their own.

The approach has a practical foundation in staffing. The nursery teacher’s listed qualifications include Early Years Professional Status and a Montessori Diploma, linking specialist early years training with the department’s Montessori ethos.

Children’s curiosity can change the direction of an activity. During Montessori choosing time, staff use an interest that emerges to develop a learning opportunity. Weekly and medium-term planning sit alongside this responsive approach, so children have both opportunities to explore their own ideas and experiences adults have prepared.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) gives that exploration a structure. It brings together physical development, relationships and communication with early mathematics, literacy, creative work and understanding the world. For parents, that means play serves several purposes: talking, moving, making and investigating are part of the learning rather than breaks from it.

Outdoor experiences include the copse; foreign languages, dance and trips away from school add different ways to participate. Work with older children also connects the nursery to the wider school. At the March 2025 inspection, nursery children spent time in the library at the beginning of the day.

In March 2025, ISI found the early years curriculum carefully organised and sufficiently resourced, with adult-directed learning and child-chosen play supporting good progress. Early number work included songs, counting during play and spotting numbers nearby. These are concrete ways to make mathematics part of children’s everyday experience.

Dolphin Habits are introduced through early years assemblies and reinforced afterwards. Certificates and specific praise recognise children’s successes, making the behaviours adults encourage visible to the children themselves.

Support for additional needs starts with ongoing assessment. An Early Years Individual Education Plan (EYIEP) may be developed with parents when a need is identified, with a review each term. This gives families a defined opportunity to discuss progress and adjust the next steps. Early years parents also receive updates through an online platform, keeping communication going between meetings.

The school’s Learning Support Department, The Cottage, provides a separate base for specialist work. Where one-to-one or small-group specialist sessions are considered beneficial, they carry an additional charge. That condition matters when weighing the support a child may need.

Safety requires its own attention. In March 2025, inspectors identified unrecognised risks from children’s access to the early years staff room and pest-control devices in toilets, alongside inconsistent maintenance checks around the early years playhouse and protruding metal beside buildings; safeguarding requirements were also unmet because management promotion checks were incomplete. Assessment of PSHE learning needed to inform subsequent teaching more consistently.

The December 2025 monitoring inspection found that all the relevant requirements it examined were met. Early years risk assessments were being applied, required staff checks included internal management promotions, the playhouse had been replaced and protruding metal screws had been removed. These findings address practical concerns about both the premises and the adults responsible for children.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Ask the admissions team to confirm the Reception application process and any deadline; choosing the nursery should be a decision about the nursery experience itself.

Connections with older pupils are part of that experience. Year 6 children are paired with EYFS Buddies for shared activities and an end-of-year book. This provides contact across ages, rather than an admissions entitlement.

There is no school uniform, so nursery children wear their own clothes. Dolphin School is on Waltham Road in Hurst. Families can make an enquiry through the contact form, telephone 0118 934 1277 or email enquiries@dolphinschool.com.

Personal school tours can be booked, providing a direct opportunity to discuss nursery life with the school team.