The Lawns Nursery School: nursery life in Windsor

A woodwork bench, a music cabin and stories carried into the garden give The Lawns a distinctly practical character. Children handle tools, make music and explore ideas through play. This is nursery education with plenty to do.

On Imperial Road in Windsor, The Lawns is a maintained nursery school serving children aged two to five, with younger children starting in its Pre-Nursery. The main Nursery School offers 156 part-time places. Pre-Nursery takes children from their second birthday until the term following their third, when they can join the main nursery. Practitioners are trained teachers or nursery nurses, so early education is the team's professional focus.

Choice sits alongside familiar routines. In July 2024, children could select a play area or settle with a book on a beanbag; yoga and songs brought sessions to a close. Those predictable bookends help children understand the session while leaving room for independent decisions. Ofsted's inspection on 2 July 2024 found that carefully sequenced learning helped children make excellent progress.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) takes practical form here: talking, movement, relationships and early mathematical thinking develop through activities children can join in with. Adults introduce vocabulary during play, comparing children's height with brick towers or discussing the fit of dolls' clothes. Books connect learning across activities. After reading The Snowy Day, children held ice cubes, watched them melt and explored words associated with temperature and changes in state. Sorting pine cones, conkers and sycamore seeds gives early mathematics something tangible to work with.

Physical learning moves between large movements and finer control. Climbing equipment, throwing and catching develop coordination outdoors, while drawing on oversized paper prepares children for more precise work. At the woodwork bench, hammers and nails come with safety glasses and a magnet for loose nails. A woodwork update records individual tool-safety introductions completed with each child that week. The music cabin adds space for singing, instruments and pretend bands. Garden activities include observing weather changes, while an autumn walk at Oakfield First School used its woodland and nature trail for listening and spotting seasonal signs.

Settling starts before the regular nursery routine. Families are offered a home visit, and newcomers have a nursery visit before returning children begin. Start dates are staggered, allowing staff to devote time to each child's adjustment. Owl Babies has also helped children discuss separation and the reassurance that parents and carers return.

Within the first six weeks, observations, conversations with parents and settling sheets build a picture of each child. A Learning Journey brings together interests and learning from home and nursery, then goes home with the child when they leave. This gives parents a continuing connection with what their child is doing.

For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), support involves the key person, SENCo and staff team, alongside external professionals where appropriate. Individual play plans break learning into manageable steps and are reviewed with parents. In July 2024, activities and surroundings were adapted so children with SEND could participate in the same curriculum. Adults also helped children name emotions, take turns and resolve disagreements. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at that inspection.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process for their chosen school, meeting the relevant deadline. Treat choosing the nursery and securing the next school place as separate decisions.

The main nursery's morning session runs from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoons run from 11.45am to 2.45pm. Its 30-hour place runs Monday to Friday, 8.45am to 2.45pm. Session places depend on availability. Funded provision covers 15 or 30 hours each week, depending on eligibility, allowing families to choose an appropriate attendance pattern.

Pre-Nursery offers mornings, afternoons and full days, with charged early drop-off and late-finish options extending the day to 8.15am and 3.45pm respectively. Eligible families can use local-authority two-year-old funding for five morning or five afternoon sessions; working-family 30-hour funding is also offered to eligible parents. Contact the office at lawns@eyfed.org.uk or 01753 865351, or use the online General Enquiry form. Application forms can be emailed to the office or collected there on paper.