Long Furlong Primary School Nursery Review

Toast orders, story performances and an outdoor stage give Long Furlong’s nursery its character: children have practical reasons to talk, make things and share ideas. This is the school’s maintained nursery class in Abingdon, for children aged 3–4, with entry from the term after their third birthday. Each session accommodates up to 26 children.

A qualified teacher leads the nursery, supported by early years practitioners, with an adult-to-child ratio of 1:13. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 24 and 25 June 2025; that judgement covers early years across the school.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings learning into conversation, stories, creative work and practical activities. Talk for Writing sits alongside Rhyme of the Week and a story spine, a selection of books children encounter during nursery. Book areas and storytelling resources give children material to retell and perform stories. Funky Fingers uses games and activities to develop motor skills, while children use drawing and writing tools to make cards, notes and books.

An outdoor stage gives imaginative play a performance space. Indoors, children can use small-world resources, construction kits and role-play areas, while the modelling area introduces ways to join materials. Cooking includes learning to make toast. Taking an order, preparing it and delivering it connects spoken language with a task that has a real purpose.

Number work also reaches beyond a single activity: children notice patterns, match resources while tidying and use five frames on equipment such as pen pots. Quiet spaces and smaller areas encourage conversation, with adults joining play and expanding children’s sentences.

In June 2025, nursery teaching used carefully chosen activities and responsive adult involvement to extend children’s learning. Across early years, however, some independently explored activities had insufficient learning purpose. These did not consistently help children develop understanding or connect with earlier learning. The improvement needed was clearer alignment between those activities and the curriculum’s intended learning.

Language support includes Early Talk Boost and WellComm assessments and interventions. These provide specific support alongside everyday conversation and play. Nursery soundboards are intended to help children with hearing impairments participate in conversations, a concrete adaptation to the learning environment.

Parents raise SEND concerns with the class teacher first, who can involve the special educational needs co-ordinator. The school consults parents before beginning special needs support. Families receive an emailed weekly newsletter, and can arrange a teacher meeting rather than waiting for a scheduled parents’ event.

Settling takes precedence over parent volunteering: families are asked to leave a few weeks before helping in their own child’s class, giving children time to establish themselves. Regular volunteers undergo a DBS check.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through Oxfordshire County Council’s admissions team and meet the normal application deadline. Treat that application as a separate task from nursery registration.

A summer Garden Party welcomes the next Reception class and their families. This offers a chance to become familiar with the next stage; it does not secure admission.

The universal 15-hour entitlement is taken as five morning or five afternoon sessions each week. It cannot be grouped into fewer full days. Eligible working parents with a valid code can access the 30-hour entitlement through a full-time place. Full-time provision runs from 8:45 to 15:15, totalling 32.5 hours weekly, with no lunchtime collection or additional charge for staying then.

Attendance pattern. Purchased extra hours must follow a consistent pattern and cover a complete morning or afternoon session. For the working-parent entitlement, regularly declining the full allocation through parental choice means the school cannot continue claiming that funding. These arrangements suit families able to maintain a regular weekly routine.

Nursery sessions run during school terms. Enquiries go to the school office on 01235 532358 or office.2602@long-furlong.oxon.sch.uk; nursery registration uses a form returned to the office. Contact the office for current charges. Parents bringing or collecting children use the side entrance from the footpath.