Havelock Primary School Nursery Review

Three-hour sessions give Havelock’s nursery a clear shape: a morning group and an afternoon group, each with 39 places for children aged three and four. The nursery belongs to Havelock Primary School in Southall, with eligible families also able to take up a 30-hour pattern.

Staffing includes a nursery teacher who also leads the lower phase, alongside a nursery teaching assistant. That places the nursery within the school’s teaching structure while giving families identifiable nursery roles.

Practical mathematics starts from children’s earliest days at Havelock. The named Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract approach moves between objects, pictures and mathematical ideas. For a young child, this makes handling and seeing part of learning, rather than relying only on symbols. Number work sits alongside measures and learning about shape and space.

Books have a physical place in the classroom: each class has a reading corner, with a school-library visit scheduled weekly. These give children two different settings for encountering books. Parents are encouraged to share reading at home, connecting classroom learning with a familiar family activity.

The school’s learning vocabulary includes the 5 Rs: relationships, responsibility, resourcefulness, resilience and reflectiveness. These connect learning with how children approach difficulties and relate to others. In February 2024, Ofsted found that early-years children paid attention in lessons and that minor disruption did not interrupt teaching.

Talking about feelings is part of nursery life. At the February 2024 inspection, nursery children were asked about their feelings each day. This gives adults a regular opening for understanding how a child is doing.

The Zones of Regulation approach operates across classes, helping children recognise emotions and practise ways of managing them. Its colour vocabulary distinguishes, for example, feeling tired from feeling calm or worried. Parents can use the same language at home, giving children familiar words for experiences that can be hard to explain.

Tapestry shares nursery learning with parents through an online journal. It provides a connection between activities at school and conversations at home. For additional support, the school’s inclusion lead oversees SEND across the whole school and can be contacted through the office.

Meals can be an optional nursery charge. The school’s packed-lunch rules exclude fizzy drinks, chocolate and crisps, so families preparing food need to plan around those restrictions.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Havelock. Families must make a separate application through Ealing Council, using its online admissions route. Treat that application as a separate decision and process, even when your child already attends nursery.

The 15-hour pattern runs Monday to Friday, choosing either 8:45am to 11:45am or 12:30pm to 3:30pm. For children entitled to 30 hours, the daily pattern is 8:45am to 3:30pm, also Monday to Friday. The afternoon session therefore finishes later than the morning session by several hours, which matters when arranging collection.

Optional extras can cover activities and consumables as well as meals. Refer to the school for current charges. Nursery enquiries go directly to the school: admin@havelock.ealing.sch.uk or 020 8571 7204. Prospective nursery families can attend tours on Fridays at 11am.

Travel and parking. Visitor parking is unavailable on the school site, and surrounding streets have controlled parking zones. Allow for that when planning the nursery journey.