Dulwich Wood Nursery School, London

What it's like to be a pupil at Dulwich Wood Nursery School

Children enjoy coming to this nurturing and purposeful nursery. From the moment they arrive, they are welcomed into calm, well-organised classrooms. Children settle quickly and learn to play and learn alongside one another. They behave well. Staff model kindness and help children to understand and talk about their feelings. Disagreements are resolved thoughtfully. If children become upset or overwhelmed, adults provide gentle, consistent support. This helps children to calm down and return to their learning. Children feel safe. Staff know families well. They build positive relationships through home visits and regular communication. This close knowledge ensures that any worries are identified quickly and acted on. Adults supervise carefully as children move freely between indoor and outdoor spaces. They teach children how to keep themselves safe, for example when climbing large equipment, using tools to prepare fruit at snack time or serving themselves at lunchtime. Children enjoy learning. They listen intently to well-chosen books, join in with repeated refrains and borrow books to share at home. Adults encourage rich conversation. They introduce new vocabulary skilfully. Children make up their own stories. They grow plants from seed, follow simple recipes and confidently use bikes and scooters in the outdoor area. These experiences build their language, physical development and early mathematical understanding. Local visits and festival celebrations help children to learn about the community around them and the wider world. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or who are disadvantaged, achieve well from their starting points. Accurate assessment and well-targeted support, particularly in speech and language, help to reduce barriers to learning. Staff work closely with families to promote regular attendance and punctuality. This helps children make the most of their time in school. By the time they leave, children are confident, increasingly independent and well-prepared for Reception.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should sustain the high-quality provision already in place and ensure that ongoing curriculum review and refinement maintains strong practice and builds on the effective approaches established across the school.

Dulwich Wood creates a calm, welcoming environment where children thrive emotionally and academically. The school excels at supporting all children, especially those who need extra help, through early identification and specialist support. Children develop strong communication skills, positive behaviour, and the confidence they need for Reception through purposeful teaching and caring relationships with staff.

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and acted upon.

Visits to local woods, trips to local shops and markets, yoga, physical play, cultural celebrations including Eid, Diwali, Christmas, Lunar New Year and Black History Month, supervised toothbrushing programme

Train Stations

Bus Stops