The Willows Primary School Nursery Review

Magnets, rhymes and stories give the nursery at The Willows its clearest character: children investigate materials while building their awareness of sounds. This is the nursery provision within The Willows Primary School on Church Road in Basildon, rather than a separate childcare setting. The school’s age range begins at three.

Morning, afternoon and all-day funded places give families three distinct session options. The school describes its atmosphere as friendly and family-oriented, with an emphasis on knowing individual children. Its guiding expectations are safety, kindness and responsibility, providing a simple language for discussing behaviour with young children.

In February 2025, nursery children explored magnetism by testing materials with magnets. That is a concrete example of learning through investigation: children can try something themselves and see what happens. It gives parents a more useful picture of nursery learning than a broad promise of educational activities.

Rhymes and stories also support children’s ability to distinguish sounds. In February 2025, this work was helping nursery children prepare for later reading. The emphasis here is on listening and recognising sounds, giving families a clear sense of the early skills being developed before formal reading begins.

The session length changes the practical shape of the day. A morning or afternoon place lasts three hours; the all-day option runs from 9.00am to 3.00pm. Families can therefore compare a shorter session with a day spanning both morning and afternoon when considering their child’s routine.

An EYFS SENCo sits within the school’s support structure, alongside a Family Support Mentor and a Sensory & Nurture Lead with an Autism Champion role. These are distinct responsibilities covering early years special educational needs, family support and sensory or nurture needs. For a family considering nursery, that team structure provides specific roles to approach about support.

Class Charts is the school’s route for contacting a child’s teacher directly. It gives parents a direct communication channel alongside the school office, which can be reached by telephone or email.

Separate applications. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply again through the normal Reception admissions process and meet the relevant deadline. Treat choosing nursery and applying for Reception as two separate decisions, even though both concern the same school.

The 15-hour funded options are a morning place from 8.30am to 11.30am or an afternoon place from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The 30-hour funded option is an all-day place from 9.00am to 3.00pm. Those different finishing times matter when coordinating collection with work or other childcare.

For nursery enquiries, contact the office on 01268 470880 or email admin@willows.essex.sch.uk. A nursery application form is available. School tours can also be requested by email, with the office team replying to arrange the visit. This gives families an opportunity to meet the team and see classrooms before making their choice.