Ash Grange Nursery: Learning Through Play

Two nursery classes give Ash Grange’s youngest children a start organised around their age: Nursery 1 takes two- to three-year-olds, while Nursery 2 serves three- to four-year-olds. Play and exploration shape the learning. This is the nursery within Ash Grange Nursery and Primary School, with both funded and paid places for children aged two to four.

Independence is one of the school’s stated aims from nursery onwards. Ash Grange aims to help children recognise their own needs and strengths, cope with changing emotions and take an active part in learning. That gives families a clear sense of the intended emphasis: learning to do things for themselves alongside learning new things.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the nursery curriculum. In parent language, this means building communication, movement and relationships alongside early reading, number work, creativity and understanding the world. Teaching is centred on children’s needs and the level of challenge appropriate to them, so those areas provide a framework for individual learning rather than a single pace for the class.

Play offers the route into that learning. Exploration is part of the nursery’s approach, while the school uses the named Cornerstones creative curriculum. Its emphasis on interests and discovery fits the school’s stated aim of helping children find subjects that absorb them.

History begins at nursery age with the idea of chronology. Ash Grange aims to introduce what the past means before children tackle more complex historical sequences later. It is a specific example of how an apparently grown-up subject starts with a simple concept young children can begin to understand.

Each child has a learning journey shared with their family during the year. Parents can contribute milestones reached at home, bringing those achievements into the picture of the child’s development. Communication works both ways.

Marvellous Me is the school’s communication app, used for messages and news celebrating children’s achievements. A child’s access code can be shared with relatives, allowing other family members to follow that news too.

For inclusion, Ash Grange says it will make reasonable adjustments to help children reach their potential. Workshops and coffee mornings also support families. These give parents opportunities to engage with the nursery and school beyond individual messages about their child.

Attending Ash Grange’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Nursery admission and Reception admission are separate: families must apply again through the normal Reception admissions process by its deadline. Treat that application as a separate step when planning your child’s next year.

Nursery 1 and Nursery 2 children can use Teeny Funzone wraparound care, with daily hours of 8.30am to 3.30pm. That gives families a nursery-specific care option to consider alongside their child’s nursery place.

Both government-funded places and paid places are offered for ages two to four. When a child joins, the school provides a unique code for registration on Scopay.