Clockhouse Primary School Nursery Review

Farm animals made from feathers and cotton wool give Clockhouse Primary School’s nursery a distinctly practical character. Children explore textures, make pictures and talk about their choices. Creative work is also an opportunity to practise handling materials and expressing ideas.

This is the school’s own Nursery class in Collier Row, Romford. At the Ofsted inspection on 14 and 15 June 2023, early years provision received an Outstanding judgement. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Learning combines stories, number work, movement and imaginative play. The Autumn Term 2026 newsletter describes Nursery children using number songs, counting collections up to five and identifying two-dimensional shapes. These are concrete starting points: children work with objects and spoken language as they begin to understand numbers and shapes.

Role-play areas give early years children opportunities to use language linked to their books. Large construction materials support model-making, while painting, junk modelling and invented songs provide other ways to express ideas. PE and active play give children opportunities to practise both larger movements and finer hand control.

Art supplies some of the clearest examples of the Nursery curriculum. On the Farm and Once Upon a Time topics have involved making animal pictures with collage materials, cutting and sticking, and creating fairy-tale characters with dots of paint applied using cotton buds. Another summer account describes experiments with primary colours, patterns and different tools. Children have opportunities to explore how a material feels as well as what it looks like.

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), art remains accessible through ongoing activities alongside taught lessons. The curriculum connects this work with language, creative expression and social development. For parents, that means making a picture can also involve explaining a choice or discussing an idea.

Settling includes learning how to play alongside other children. In June 2023, staff explicitly taught social skills and gave children repeated opportunities to use them, responding to Nursery entrants who had limited experience of learning with peers. The practical emphasis is on helping children become comfortable participating with others.

A Foundation Stage Leader forms part of the staff structure. Families also have opportunities to take part: June 2026 communications included Nursery Learn with my Child sessions and invitations for Nursery parents to attend school. These give parents a connection with their child’s learning beyond written updates.

Food has a simple school-wide provision: Brain Food Breakfast Bagels are offered to all children at the morning classroom start, sometimes in the playground.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the London Borough of Havering, following the normal application timetable and deadline. Nursery registration goes directly to Clockhouse; other admissions use the borough route. Keep these as separate steps when planning your child’s next stage.

Contact the school directly to register for Nursery. The school office can be reached on 01708 745972 or at office@clockhouse.havering.sch.uk. Clockhouse is on Clockhouse Lane, Collier Row, Romford, RM5 3QR.

For the September 2026 intake, parents were invited to a preparatory meeting, and joining families later received letters containing dates, times and information about their welcome arrangements. This illustrates how the school communicated arrangements for that intake; it is a past cycle, rather than a current invitation.