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Cockfosters Nursery Early Years Education Early Years Foundation Stage Enfield Nursery Forest Schools Hadley Wood Nursery Pre-School Learning

Strong in Every Area: Ofsted’s first inspection of our HWA site

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.

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Early Years Education Enfield Nursery Forest Schools Hadley Wood Nursery Montessori Pre-School Learning Reading for early years

Alphablocks Nursery School at the Hadley Wood Association Centre is Now Open!

We are thrilled to announce that Alphablocks Nursery School’s second site at the Hadley Wood Association Centre is officially open! 🎉

Our new nursery is beautifully set up with a variety of engaging spaces, including a sensory zone, construction area, maths and exploration corner, and a cosy breakout corner. Each space has been carefully designed to encourage a wide range of play and learning experiences, from imaginative role-play to activities that support spatial skills and cognitive development.

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Cockfosters Nursery Early Mathematics Early Years Education Early Years Foundation Stage Early Years STEM Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics Enfield Nursery Forest Schools Hadley Wood Nursery Ofsted outstanding Pre-School Learning Reading for early years Reggio Emilia

Ofsted: Outstanding in all areas

Alphablocks Nursery School was inspected by Ofsted in the Summer Term of 2024. Our school is pleased to announce the results of this latest inspection by Ofsted, which can be read in full here:

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Books for children Early Years Education Enfield Nursery Hadley Wood Nursery High Scope early years approach Pre-School Learning Reading for early years Support learning at home Support learning at home

Supporting Your Child’s Learning at Home: Fairy tales old and new

Books form a central part of our educational approach at Alphablocks Nursery School. They are used to support us in planning the learning experiences offered in the classroom. This half term we have chosen Traditional Fairy Tales as our central theme.

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Alphablocks Research Lab Cockfosters Nursery Early Years Education Early Years Foundation Stage Enfield Nursery Ofsted outstanding Pre-School Learning Research on Early Years Development

The long-term impact of early social cognition & Theory of Mind

There are a few aspects of child development that teachers, parents and carers often talk about when it comes to nursery-age children. These include aspects of development such as the physical, social, and emotional growth of a child, early literacy and numeracy abilities, or self-regulation skills. However, an area of development that has been relatively overlooked is that of social cognition. It includes a complex set of skills that are crucial for development and have long-lasting impact, well beyond childhood. In this post, we briefly discuss the basic dimensions of social cognition in early childhood, and summarise some recent findings that have come out of our work at Alphablocks Research Lab in collaboration with leading academics.