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Nursery at Longfields Primary and Nursery School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Bug hunting, baking and posting letters give Owls Nursery its practical character. This is the nursery class within Longfields Primary and Nursery School in Bicester, taking children aged 3 and 4. Children can join from the term after their third birthday, subject to space, with places organised around 15 or 30 hours.
Owls sits within the school's Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). A class teacher, nursery nurse and teaching assistants make up the nursery team. For families, the useful distinction is that this is a school nursery with its own session times and staff structure: the nursery day needs to fit your child and your routine.
Learning has plenty of practical starting points. Regular baking gives children something to make, while outings to post letters connect classroom activity with an everyday task. Owls has also visited Cotswold wildlife park. These are concrete experiences for children to explore and talk about.
Outdoor activity includes Forest School. The Summer Term 2 programme paired a Little Explorers theme with Monday Forest School sessions, involving planting, digging and searching for bugs. Getting muddy was part of the activity, so suitable outdoor clothing matters. Within the wider Foundation Stage, children also explore instruments in the Foundation Stage Garden, giving music a physical, outdoor setting.
EYFS is the nursery's early learning stage, with discovery and play alongside the beginnings of literacy. Read Write Inc starts within EYFS, introducing sounds and then helping children combine them into words. In February 2022, Ofsted found that the reading curriculum began in Nursery and took account of children's interests, languages and cultures. That gives early reading a connection to the children learning it.
French also appears in everyday early-years activities. Songs and taking the register in French introduce another language through familiar routines rather than a separate formal lesson.
World Book Day 2026 brought early-years children into a week of exploring Leaf, with opportunities to share their work with other classes across the school. Foundation children also perform a Nativity play in the autumn term. Shared stories and performance add occasions to take part in school life.
A teacher works alongside the nursery nurse and teaching assistants, giving Owls a team that combines teaching and care roles. Children bring a water bottle and a change of clothes each day, as well as clothing suitable for outdoor activity and a bookbag. Those spare clothes have an obvious use after muddy exploration.
For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the school involves outside specialists when necessary and provides staff training and support. It aims to involve families throughout that process, making parent participation part of planning support.
Nursery lunchtime runs from 11:45 to 12:15. Ask the school about nursery meal arrangements.
Attending Owls does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the Oxfordshire County Council Admissions Team, generally by a date in mid-January of the year their child is due to start school. Treat that application as a separate task, even while your child is attending nursery.
Nursery applications, by contrast, are handled by the Nursery Team. Keeping the two routes distinct avoids mistaking an Owls place for a completed school application.
Morning sessions run from 08:55 to 11:55; afternoons run from 12:10 to 15:10. These nursery times are the ones to use when planning collection and the rest of your day.
Universal early education funding provides 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday. A limited number of 30-hour places are offered for families meeting the eligibility criteria. Availability therefore matters alongside eligibility when considering the longer pattern.
Contact the school office on 01869 252386 or at office@longfields-primary.org to enquire or arrange a visit. Nursery applications use a waiting list administered through the Nursery Team.
Owls takes children aged 3 and 4, starting from the term after their third birthday if spaces are available.
The morning session is 08:55 to 11:55 and the afternoon session is 12:10 to 15:10.
Universal funding covers 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday. There are limited 30-hour places for families who meet the eligibility criteria.
No. Families apply separately through the Oxfordshire County Council Admissions Team, generally by a date in mid-January of the year their child is due to start.
Yes. Contact the school office on 01869 252386 or email office@longfields-primary.org to arrange one.
