Maples Nursery School and Children's Centre

Maples Nursery School and Children's Centre

Address: East Churchfield Road, Acton, London, W3 7LL Unique reference number (URN): 101858

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders adopt a proactive and well ‑ established approach to promoting regular attendance. Expectations are introduced from the outset during home visits and reinforced consistently throughout children’s time in the nursery. Attendance is monitored closely. Staff following up absences promptly. They maintain clear communication with parents and carers, as well as external professionals where necessary. When attendance dips, leaders act early and work with families to identify and remove barriers. They offer practical support to help develop consistent routines. Leaders demonstrate a sustained commitment to securing the best possible attendance for every child.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Children’s behaviour reflects the nursery's calm, positive and nurturing environment in which routines are well understood. Staff implement behaviour expectations consistently. They use visual cues or step-by-step guidance tailored to each child’s needs. Their interactions with children are warm and respectful. This helps children to feel secure and ready to learn. Leaders ensure staff understand and use the nursery’s behaviour approach, including any adjustments for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work closely with parents so that approaches in nursery can be mirrored at home. This creates continuity and reinforces expectations. As a result, children show a secure understanding of what is expected and develop positive attitudes to their learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders create a highly inclusive culture across the nursery. Staff know each child extremely well. They identify individual needs quickly through ongoing observation, discussion and positive partnerships with parents and carers. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known to social care. Leaders use this information to carefully design support. Their approach helps children take part successfully in group activities and builds their independence in exploring and playing. Calm and predictable routines help children to feel safe. Warm and consistent relationships help them to express their feelings and manage their emotions.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders remove barriers to learning through well ‑ targeted interventions and precise adaptations to the curriculum. Staff receive high-quality training so that they can meet children’s needs well. Leaders work closely with external professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to shape support and raise aspirations. They respond quickly to meet children's needs, such as through the provision of an additional room to provide a structured, calm space for those children who need it. These children confidently access shared areas and transition back to the main classroom in a gradual and well ‑ supported way. Leaders check children’s progress and review the impact of bespoke interventions with families. They use additional early years funding carefully to improve communication support and strengthen outcomes for disadvantaged children. Secure transition arrangements help to ensure that support continues to meet children's needs as they move

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school creates a warm and inclusive environment where children develop their understanding of themselves and others through everyday experiences. Staff encourage children to think about their own backgrounds and beliefs, share their ideas and listen respectfully to others. A wide range of books, songs and cultural activities introduces children to different traditions, languages and viewpoints. This helps them appreciate diversity, understand right and wrong and talk about fairness, kindness and respect.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The programme for personal, social and emotional development is well planned and age ‑ appropriate. It promotes positive relationships from the start. Children learn to build empathy, cooperate with others and begin to resolve small conflicts. Activities such as shared cooking, time in the wooded outdoor area and imaginative play give purposeful opportunities for turn ‑ taking, problem ‑ solving and taking safe risks. For example, children practise using real tools safely, whether cutting ingredients or handling equipment like graters. Staff model respectful behaviour and independence. They explicitly teach children practical strategies for managing their emotions. For instance, staff use 'emotion stations' and supportive visual cues to help children recognise and express their feelings.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school works closely with families. They offer workshops and open sessions to help parents and carers support their children’s learning at home. Disadvantaged children receive sensitive and personalised support so that they can access the full curriculum and take part confidently in all aspects of nursery life.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Children learn about their community and the wider world through projects about who they are. This includes, for example, through visits from local professionals and celebrations of cultural and national events. These experiences introduce children to early ideas linked to shared responsibility and how to take part in group decisions. Staff also teach children how to keep themselves safe, including understanding privacy, body awareness and appropriate behaviour, in a way that is suitable for young children.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Through creative, cultural and outdoor experiences, the school nurtures children’s curiosity, resilience and sense of belonging. These foundations support their character development and prepare them well for future learning.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make secure progress from their starting points. As they move through the nursery, they grow in confidence and develop the skills they need for future learning. Staff notice what children can do and use this information to help children take the next steps in learning. This means children build their knowledge over time and remember what they have learned.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop confident speaking, listening and early communication skills. They show increasing independence and curiosity. Children enjoy books and stories. Most children, including those who may need extra help, make clear progress because staff support them well. Occasionally, some opportunities do not extend children's language as much as they could. When this happens, children are not supported to develop their language as well as they could be.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children leave the nursery well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching. They have designed an ambitious and well ‑ planned curriculum. It is broad and matches children’s stages of development. It helps to prepares children well for their next steps.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum prioritises early reading. Children enjoy high ‑ quality books both in the indoor and outdoor environment. Daily story times help them develop a love of reading. Focused sessions help children learn to hear and recognise sounds, such as identifying sounds in the local environment. Leaders ensure that those who need additional support, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who are disadvantaged, receive timely and well ‑ matched support.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff typically have secure subject knowledge. Across the curriculum, staff generally model rich language and encourage children to communicate confidently. For instance, when making noodles, children used words like ‘mixing’ and ‘sizzling’ with confidence. However, on occasion, opportunities to extend children’s vocabulary and deepen understanding are not fully maximised. This means that some children do not develop their language as quickly or as securely as they could.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and staff know the children well. They make thoughtful adjustments so all pupils, including those with additional needs, can access the full curriculum. Inclusive practice is securely embedded. For example, staff use visual supports, help children recognise and express their feelings and provide structured routines. These approaches help children stay engaged and understand what is being taught. As a result, children are prepared for their next stage of learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the nursery’s strengths and areas for development. They continue to strengthen the curriculum and ensure that teaching approaches are well modelled and understood. Leaders make decisions that place children’s needs at the centre, including those who are disadvantaged, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or face wider challenges. For example, since the last inspection, leaders have created a dedicated support space with bespoke adaptations for children with SEND. This has strengthened the quality of provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Inclusion underpins leaders’ work. They maintain positive partnerships with parents and carers, so that decisions are well informed and responsive to each child’s needs. Leaders keep children’s wellbeing, safety and development central to all aspects of their practice. Professional learning is well organised. Leaders ensure that all staff access high ‑ quality training that builds confidence and expertise and draws on the strengths within the federation. They continue to develop a consistent approach to supporting children’s language development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff feel valued and supported. Leaders consider workload and wellbeing when planning and making decisions. This creates a positive culture where children remain the focus of everyone’s work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governance has strengthened considerably. The restructured governing body across the federation brings a breadth of expertise and now operates within clear systems for review, challenge and accountability. Governors understand their statutory responsibilities. They gather evidence about curriculum quality, inclusion and children’s experiences. Governors use this to offer informed support and challenge. As a result, leaders’ decisions are in the best interests of children.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children at Maples Nursery thrive in a warm, nurturing and highly supportive environment. They are genuinely valued as individuals. From the moment they arrive, staff greet them with warmth and care. This helps every child to feel welcome and secure. This secure sense of belonging is echoed by parents and carers, who frequently describe the nursery as ‘like home.’ Children quickly develop trusting relationships with staff and each other. This enables them to settle confidently and engage positively in nursery life.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children enjoy learning because staff know them well and tailor experiences to build on what they can already do. Clear systems help children develop their understanding of expectations. For example, they learn to independently organise their belongings. This boosts children’s confidence and readiness to learn. Staff remove any barriers children may face swiftly and effectively. This ensures that disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face challenges in their wellbeing make secure progress from their starting points.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The nursery’s highly inclusive culture ensures that every child is fully involved in daily life. Children play and learn alongside one another with kindness. They develop positive friendships and secure social skills. They benefit from a rich range of wider experiences that extend their learning beyond the curriculum. Trips to the fire station, as well as visits from a dental nurse and the police, help children learn about people who help them from different professions.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children know the established routines and as a result, behave well. They feel safe and know that staff help them resolve worries quickly, including any rare issues of unkind behaviour. Children enjoy coming to nursery and parents value the relationships they have with staff. Children benefit from play and community experiences, such as a 'garden day'. This helps children learn how to be considerate and active members of their school and local community. As a result of the school's provision, they are well prepared for their next steps, including the transition into school.

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Team inspector:

Rutinderjit Mahil-Pooni, Ofsted Inspector

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that approaches to extend children’s vocabulary and understanding are consistently embedded.

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About this inspection

The co-chairs of the board of governors in this school are Mr Morgan Hurley and Mrs Louise Troy.

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About this inspection

The school is part of a federation called Acton Early Years Federation.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, the headteacher and other senior leaders during the inspection. They also met with members of the governing body, as well as a representative from the local authority.

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About this inspection

Inspectors were aware after this inspection that an allegation of a safeguarding nature was being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the school in response to the allegation were considered alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ evaluations.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school joined the Acton Early Years Federation in September 2025.

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About this inspection

The executive headteacher and the headteacher have been in post since January 2024.

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About this inspection

The school includes provision for two-year-olds.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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