Nursery at Priory 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Baby-led routines, forest school and swimming at the Edgbaston Priory Club give Priory Poppets a distinct progression from baby care to preparation for school. This is Priory School’s early years department in Edgbaston, welcoming children from six months to four years. Its Nursery Class serves the three-to-four age group.
Poppets has a daily capacity of 106 children, rather than a single nursery class of that size. At the November 2023 inspection, early years occupied its own teaching rooms in the prep building, with outdoor spaces reserved for the provision. ISI judged the registered early years provision Good at its inspection of 14 to 16 November 2023; this was an early years judgement, not an overall school grade.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) gives learning its framework: staff build activities around children’s development and interests, helping language, early number skills and independence grow through play. In November 2023, everyday conversations, songs and stories extended vocabulary, while counting and discussing size brought mathematics into play. Older children programmed digital robots; younger children persisted with puzzles. These are concrete ways to practise thinking for themselves.
Each age group has a different rhythm. Baby Poppets uses routines led by the baby, with low furniture, a room where shoes are removed and direct outdoor access onto soft surfacing. Mini Poppets adds walks each day, library visits each week and gym sessions. For children aged two to three, two rooms support different stages of development, with role play, pencil control and introductions to French.
Nursery Class brings a more structured day, early reading and number work, plus specialist teaching in music, languages, PE and RE. Forest school continues, swimming takes place at the Edgbaston Priory Club, and ballet is optional. The school’s 14 acres give outdoor learning physical scope. However, the November 2023 inspection called for more frequent use of the additional outdoor learning resources. Space alone does not establish how regularly children use every opportunity.
Settling sessions are arranged after families accept a place and before children start. The early years SEND policy allows induction to adapt to individual family needs. In November 2023, children’s relationships with their key people were secure, and they coped confidently with separation and changes of routine. Qualified staff received supervision and training, supporting consistency in care.
Parents receive daily feedback and can follow development through an online learning platform. Food is cooked on site by the catering team, with changing seasonal menus, vegetarian and halal choices each day, and provision for allergies and dietary needs. Startwell accreditation connects healthy eating with physical activity. Lunch is compulsory unless there is a medical exception, so meals form part of the booking commitment.
An early years SEND coordinator oversees support, with individual plans following an assess, plan, do and review cycle. Room arrangements and routines can be adapted. Safeguarding was effective in November 2023, but governors and senior leaders needed a better understanding of early years management requirements; a missed leadership-change notification was corrected during that visit.
Attending Poppets does not guarantee a Reception place. It does confer a preference when Reception has a waiting list, under the May 2026 admissions policy. Internal children receive provisional offers provided they keep meeting developmental milestones; transfer also takes account of the early years team’s recommendation.
Families must complete the school’s separate Reception acceptance process: return the acceptance form and pay the new starter deposit before the deadline communicated each year. Allocation is first come, first served among families completing those steps. After that deadline, remaining places can go to external applicants. For children with SEND, transition planning includes liaison with the next class and sharing records with parental consent.
Two attendance patterns are offered: 8am–6pm and 8.30am–3.15pm, either during terms or across 51 weeks. The usual minimum is three days each week, with exceptions agreed by the early years manager. Reducing attendance during a term changes charges only from the following term, which matters if childcare needs change.
The 2025–2026 nursery fee sheet lists funding patterns of 15 and 30 weekly hours, with eligibility wording covering three- and four-year-olds and qualifying working families from nine months. Remaining hours and lunch are charged separately. Swimming, when scheduled for pre-Reception children, is an extra charge and compulsory for those attending that day. Obtain current charges from the school. Nursery Class wears school uniform. Enquiries go to admissions@prioryschool.net or 0121 440 4103; personal tours can be arranged through the tour form.
The early years department caters for children from six months to four years. Nursery Class is for children aged three to four.
Choose 8am–6pm or 8.30am–3.15pm, with term-time or 51-week attendance. Three days weekly is the usual minimum, unless an exception is agreed.
Settling sessions take place before the official start, after a place has been accepted. Induction can be adapted to a child’s and family’s needs.
Lunch is compulsory except on medical grounds. When pre-Reception swimming is scheduled, it is compulsory and charged separately for children attending on that day.
No. It gives a waiting-list preference, but internal offers remain provisional and depend on developmental milestones. Families must return the acceptance form and pay the deposit by the school’s annually communicated deadline.
