School Chooser

Dulwich Wood Nursery School

Nursery · ages 2-5MixedLocal authority nursery school81 pupilsNurseryLondonSouthwark
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedStrong teachingOfsted report card, February 2026
Pupils from low-income families19%A bit fewer than most schools
Parents would recommend94%32 Parent View responses
Pupils per teacher18.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll81Census January 2026

Dulwich Wood Nursery School is a local authority nursery school in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 5. It has 81 pupils. About 19 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. Ofsted visited in February 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Lyall Avenue, Dulwich, London, SE21 8QS020 7525 1192dulwichwood.comMs Helen Rowe headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 24 February 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
Strong
Achievement
Strong
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
10 June 2021UngradedSchool remains Good

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Southwark council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What parents say

Would recommend the school94%England 84%
My child is happy here97%agree or strongly agree
My child feels safe97%
Positive overall90%
My child is happy at this school
97%England 85%
My child feels safe at this school
97%England 86%
Pupils are well behavedThe school makes sure its pupils are well behaved
91%England 79%
Has your child been bullied here?Parents answering yes
3% yesEngland 20%
Bullying was dealt with quickly and effectivelyOnly parents whose child was bullied
0%England 49%
My child gets the right support to learn well
91%England 81%
Does your child have SEND?Parents answering yes
9% yesEngland 32%
The school gives them the support they needOnly parents of children with SEND
67%England 68%
The school communicates well with me
88%England 78%
My concerns have been dealt with properlyWhen I have raised concerns
69%England 66%
Decisions put the child's best interests first
91%England 78%
I would recommend this school
94%England 84%
Overall view of the school is positive
90%England 79%
Strongly agreeAgreeDon't knowDisagreeStrongly disagreeEngland, agree or yes

From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 32 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for all schools with enough answers to publish.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll81Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families20%19% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English26%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support31%25 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan0%0 pupils with a plan
Boys and girls41 / 40
White British pupils30%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (20), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll818084889799
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals20%16%7%1%3%3%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language26%30%37%30%18%9%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support44%30%28%28%23%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans0%1%0%0%3%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers4.4full-time equivalent, 5 people
Pupils per teacher18.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants5.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£60,981
Teachers who left in the year29%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher11.02024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£22,793England £7,738. Total £1.7m
Income per pupil£25,170England £7,697. Total £1.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,933England £3,480
Money in reserve14%A healthy amount put by: £255k, £3,500 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£174kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£22,793spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m26312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate70 per 1,000 people23% lower than the England average
Typical house price£550,000Southwark
Nearest bus stop190 mKingswood Drive / College Road, 9 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Dulwich Wood Primary SchoolCouncil220 m417Good 202255Compare
Kingsdale Foundation SchoolAcademy370 m2,550Outstanding 202393Compare
Dulwich Prep & SeniorIndependent (grammar)490 m808Not inspectedCompare
Elm Wood SchoolCouncil850 m364No overall grade 202546Compare
Kingswood Primary SchoolCouncil880 m362No overall grade 202445Compare
Paxton Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles386Good 202446Compare
Dulwich CollegeIndependent0.7 miles1,923Not inspectedCompare
Kelvin Grove Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles535Good 202346Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Dulwich Wood Nursery School a good school?

Dulwich Wood Nursery School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from February 2026 rated its teaching as strong.

What is Dulwich Wood Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 24 February 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.

How many pupils does Dulwich Wood Nursery School have?

81 pupils aged 2 to 5 were on the roll in January 2026.

What do parents say about Dulwich Wood Nursery School?

94% of the 32 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 97% say their child is happy there. Across England, 84% of parents would recommend their child's school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Lyall Avenue, Dulwich, London, SE21 8QS
Telephone
020 7525 1192
Website
www.dulwichwood.com
Headteacher
Ms Helen Rowe
Type of school
Local authority nursery school (Local authority nursery school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Nursery school, ages 2-5, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Southwark
Ward
Dulwich Wood
Constituency
Dulwich and West Norwood
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100769 · LAESTAB 2101035

Where these figures come from