Cookham Nursery School

About Cookham Nursery School

Cookham Nursery School is a state nursery in Windsor and Maidenhead for children aged three to five, and it enjoys a strong reputation among local families. The school is currently oversubscribed, with 72 pupils on roll, which signals that demand for places exceeds supply. While the school does not publish a parent-view recommendation percentage, its oversubscription status alone suggests that families in the area actively seek a place here. The school is one of only three nurseries in the local authority rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and it is the only one of those three that is a standalone nursery school rather than a nursery class attached to a primary school. Its nearest Outstanding-rated counterpart, Maidenhead Nursery School, is 2.7 kilometres away, so for families living in or near Cookham village, this is the most convenient top-rated option.

Academically, Cookham Nursery School has a long track record of excellence. Its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2013, awarded it the top grade of Outstanding across all three assessed areas: overall effectiveness, early years provision, and leadership and management. A subsequent ungraded inspection in May 2023 confirmed that the school remains Outstanding, meaning it has held this rating for at least a decade. The previous graded inspection in October 2010 also rated it Outstanding, so the school has consistently delivered the highest standard of early years education. Because this is a nursery, there are no Key Stage 2 SATs or Progress 8 scores to compare against the local authority average; instead, the Ofsted judgement is the key benchmark. In a local authority where only three nurseries out of the total number achieve Outstanding, Cookham stands out as a proven choice for early years provision.

The school offers a range of facilities that support its youngest pupils, including a sensory room, an outdoor playground, a gymnasium, a dining hall, and a chapel. It runs clubs such as gardening, art club, and book club, and offers gymnastics as a sport. For children with additional needs, the school has specialist SEND provisions covering speech, language and communication, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Headteacher Sarah Cottle leads a small, focused team. This nursery is best suited to families who live within the Cookham catchment area and want a dedicated early years setting with a strong Ofsted record, rather than a nursery class attached to a primary school. Given its oversubscribed status, parents should apply early and consider their local authority’s admissions criteria carefully.

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