Goxhill Primary School Nursery Review

A mud kitchen, a performance stage and space to dig give Goxhill’s nursery a distinctly physical approach to learning. Movement and play shape the provision for two-year-olds and three-year-olds within Goxhill Primary School. Nursery children have separate teaching from Reception, while joining the older early-years children for lunch and selected activities. There is contact between the groups, alongside a distinct nursery learning programme.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 29 and 30 April 2025. This judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Plan and Do is the named approach to play. Children explore and practise skills while adults join their activity to extend learning. The nursery describes movement as a way to develop both physical skills and thinking, with repeated practice supporting communication and independence. Indoor learning and outdoor activity carry equal weight.

Outside, children can paint across large sheets, make marks on paths and investigate water. Soil offers digging opportunities; musical instruments and the stage provide ways to perform. These are practical settings for exploring ideas with the whole body, rather than keeping learning at a table.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum builds from children’s existing experiences and their next developmental steps, using Development Matters. Stories connect different areas of learning. Social development combines play with activities led by adults, while personal independence includes managing basic hygiene and everyday needs. Planned experiences include an animal workshop, a farm visit and outings to Normanby Park, extending learning beyond the classroom.

In April 2025, early-years children understood routines and approached learning eagerly, using their knowledge indoors and outside. Nursery activities prepared children well for later phonics learning. The early-years curriculum developed concentration, independence and the ability to keep trying. Across the whole school, writing still needed to become fully embedded, and opportunities to explore different beliefs and faiths needed expansion. Those were school-wide improvement points, rather than nursery-specific findings.

Settling can be gradual. Families and children are invited to transition activities before starting, and the intake may be staggered depending on the number joining. Parents can stay during the first few days if their child is unsettled and they feel this would help. That gives families a practical role in easing the change.

Class Dojo brings weekly examples of learning and key messages to parents. The early-years team includes a teacher working across Nursery and Reception, an early years educator and an apprentice early years educator. For additional needs, the school’s SENCo monitors children’s needs and progress and can be contacted through the office, giving parents a clear route for discussing support.

Chartwells provides the federation’s catering, with food cooked on site each day. Choices include sandwiches, jacket potatoes and cooked meals, which families can order through ParentPay. Children under five receive fruit and milk daily. Nursery and Reception meet at lunchtime, making meals another point of contact between the groups.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through the local authority’s normal process, using the common application form. For North Lincolnshire residents, the route is through North Lincolnshire Council, which allocates places. Families need to apply by the normal deadline rather than treating nursery enrolment as their Reception application.

For the September 2026 intake, the application window ran from September to 15 January. That admissions cycle has passed. Separately, a summer-term meeting before full-time admission explains the next stage to parents. Shared lunches and selected activities also provide contact with Reception children, but these arrangements do not secure admission.

Flexible funded nursery places are offered for two-year-olds and three-year-olds. From the term following a third birthday, children can attend for up to 30 hours a week, depending on funding eligibility.

Breakfast Club runs from 7:40 to 8:55am, and Out of School Club from 3:30 to 6pm. The clubs serve children aged 2–11 in the Integrated Service building on the school site, with families able to choose either or both. Contact the school office on 01469 530743 for enquiries or to arrange a visit, and refer to the school for current charges.