Ofsted inspected our nursery school at the Hadley Wood Association (HWA) centre for the first time on 24 June 2026. The setting was graded Strong standard in all six evaluation areas.
You can read the full report on the Ofsted website.
Since November 2025, Ofsted no longer gives a single overall grade. Instead, each area of early years provision in a setting is graded on a five-point scale from ‘Urgent improvement’, ‘Needs attention’, ‘Expected standard’, to ‘Strong standard’ and ‘Exceptional’. The last grade, ‘Exceptional’, is reserved for practice that has been sustained over time, and is fully embedded in the setting. Therefore, we are very proud of this result, particularly for a setting that only welcomed its first children in September 2024.
What the inspector saw
The inspector’s report describes children who
quickly develop a secure sense of belonging
and who
approach learning with curiosity, enthusiasm and determination.
These were astute observations about our practice, and we are so proud to see our work recognised by Ofsted. Our youngest children were seen learning to put on their own shoes, trying different approaches until they succeeded. As we know, moments like these may look small or trivial but they are absolutely essential in building independence and the habit of keeping going even when something is hard.
Children were also described as behaving with kindness, respect and consideration towards others, listening to each other’s ideas, celebrating each other’s achievements, and increasingly managing their own feelings and behaviour.
Planned teaching, and the unplanned moment
Ofsted described our curriculum as ambitious and carefully sequenced.
Bringing Stories to Life – Books remain at the centre of our approach, as they provide children a starting point for language, ideas and connections with their own lives.
In addition to our curriculum and structured learning, we are also on the lookout for the best unplanned learning opportunities. Indeed, on the day of the inspection, a deer just appeared near the nursery garden. Practitioners used the moment to extend children’s learning, helping them talk about things they already knew, introducing new vocabulary and linking it to earlier experiences. The inspector noted how staff use both planned and spontaneous opportunities to deepen children’s understanding; for instance, in the garden while watering plants, and through our Forest School session and sports activities, which the report linked to children’s confidence, resilience and physical competence.
Every child included
Inclusion was also graded Strong in this Ofsted report. The inspector found a culture in which every child is welcomed, valued and supported to participate fully in nursery life, with close partnerships between our team, families and external professionals, and carefully tailored support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Children learn to recognise their emotions, use strategies such as breathing techniques, and learn how to resolve disagreements on their own.
Ready for the next step
For us, being ready for the challenges of primary school means managing belongings, communicating with others, coping with feelings and solving problems. Older children were seen preparing for school through role play: choosing uniforms, packing their bags and registering themselves.
The team behind all this
The report recognised regular coaching, supervision, peer reflection and support for graduate and specialist qualifications, and described
a highly positive culture where staff feel extremely valued, listened to and supported.
What next?
Under the new Ofsted framework, Exceptional describes practice from which other settings can learn. That is indeed one of our next key goals: to keep developing our practice at the HWA site, and to share what we learn with others.
To do this, we will also draw from our common experience with our sister site at St. Paul’s Church, the shared projects we have with the Alphablocks Research Lab and with the wider early years sector, as well as – of course – through Daisy’s (our Head of Schools) work as a Stronger Practice Hub Adviser.
Thank you to our children and their families and to our outstanding team of dedicated Early Years Teachers.