Five Acres Primary School Nursery

Twenty nursery rhymes give Five Acres Nursery a distinctive starting point: listening, remembering and playing with language shape the nursery’s phonics activities. Kiwi is the nursery class at Five Acres Primary School in Ambrosden. Children can join in the term following their third birthday.

The school occupies a green field site on the village edge, close to Oxfordshire’s Otmoor. This is a nursery within a primary school, with its own funded session choices. The nursery aims to help children build confidence and friendships while feeling secure.

Language work has concrete ingredients. Little Wandle’s Foundations for phonics programme introduces children to sounds made by their bodies and the environment. Rhyme, rhythm and alliteration sit alongside voice games, oral blending and segmenting: children practise hearing sounds, joining them together and separating them in spoken words. Remembering 20 nursery rhymes is part of that work. There is plenty for families to repeat together at home.

Nursery learning also connects topics through Golden Threads, the school’s recurring learning strands. Topic vocabulary gives children words to use as their knowledge develops. At the March 2022 inspection, early-years computing included learning to give instructions, an accessible starting point for later learning.

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that nursery children encountered stories, singing and rhymes from the start, and that early-years learning gave children a positive beginning. There were qualifications: across the school, some reading books did not fit pupils’ phonics knowledge closely enough, and the detail and sequencing of some subjects needed further work. These findings concern the school’s provision at that date, rather than a separate nursery grade.

Food arrangements are straightforward. Children on the 30-hour funded full-day pattern bring a healthy packed lunch and a drink; nursery children do not receive hot school lunches. Fruit or vegetables and milk are supplied through government schemes, with drinking water accessible throughout the day. The early-years setting has Healthy Smiles accreditation and encourages families to avoid sugary food and drinks.

The EYFS leadership and SEND coordination roles are combined. In March 2022, support arrangements included the youngest children: needs were identified so that children with special educational needs and disabilities could learn with their classmates. For parents, that makes discussion of an individual child’s needs relevant from the beginning.

School-wide support for families includes communication with teaching and pastoral staff and advice about sleep, routines, behaviour and emotions. The school also supports children experiencing changes of home or school, recognising that disrupted friendships and a parent’s deployment can affect settling. This provides useful context for Service families considering the nursery.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route; Oxfordshire County Council manages the school’s admissions. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as two distinct decisions.

Preparation for that next stage includes Starting Reception, an online resource for parents with activities and guidance about skills and routines. Potty-training and toothbrushing guides accompany it. This is practical preparation for school life, separate from the allocation of a place.

Term-time places follow three weekday patterns. The 15-hour entitlement can be taken in mornings, 8.30am to 11.30am, or afternoons, noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday. The 30-hour option runs from 8.30am to 3pm on those same days. For children using the 30-hour entitlement for full days, the additional lunchtime half-hour, 11.30am to noon, carries no charge.

Families using 15-hour funded places may purchase extra sessions if space permits. Contact the office for current availability and charges. Nursery applications go directly to the school using an enrolment form, sent to office.2200@five-acres.oxon.sch.uk; enquiries can also be made on 01869 253193.

Uniform is optional across the school, and generic clothing is accepted without a requirement for branded items. Label clothing clearly to help it find its way back to your child.