The Grange Primary School Nursery Review

Play and a gradual introduction to school shape the nursery at The Grange. Children join from age three, with up to 50 full-time-equivalent places and a limit of 26 children per session. Those figures describe different things: the overall provision and the group attending an individual session.

The nursery forms part of The Grange Primary School in Stonyfield, Bootle. The school occupies a single-storey building, with four wings arranged around a central hall and playing fields within its grounds. This is a nursery within a school setting, with a planned transition towards Reception.

Adult-led activities sit alongside play that children choose themselves. Planning can change with their interests, giving children a part in shaping their learning. The Grange aims to develop curiosity, confidence and persistence: exploring something unfamiliar, staying with an activity and trying out an idea are part of that approach.

The Early Years Foundation Stage, or EYFS, covers learning, development and care. Here, its seven areas bring together language, physical development and emotional and social skills with early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. For parents, that means early education extends beyond letters and numbers to communication, relationships and movement.

Birth to Five Matters supports staff in assessing development and planning what comes next. The emphasis includes investigation through play, concentration and developing children's own ideas. Morning and afternoon sessions have a lunch interval between them, giving the full-day pattern a break between its two learning sessions.

Settling starts before the first regular session. Staff can discuss a child's needs with parents before admission, and children have a sequence of familiarisation visits. A summer-term parent meeting covers the curriculum and practical arrangements. Starts are also spread across the opening weeks of term, so joining is a staged process.

At school level, children with identified special educational needs receive individual or small-group support from teaching teams. Families can contact the SEND coordinator through the school office to discuss provision. The nursery timetable includes lunch between its morning and afternoon sessions; families choosing full days need to account for that part of the day as well as the learning sessions.

Reception is a separate application. Attending The Grange nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must apply again through Sefton Council's online admissions process by the normal application deadline. Choosing the nursery therefore needs to be a decision about the nursery experience itself.

Transition activities have a different purpose from admissions. During the summer term, nursery children make a series of visits and spend time with Reception teachers and support staff. These opportunities introduce the people involved in the next stage; they do not secure a place.

The funded 15-hour pattern can span Monday morning to Wednesday lunchtime, or Wednesday lunchtime to Friday, for children whose third birthday falls on or before 31 August. Younger starters can attend mornings or afternoons. Eligible families can request 30 funded hours, arranged as full days across five days each week.

For families who do not qualify for the funded 30-hour place, an additional 15 hours can be purchased alongside the funded entitlement. That extra time is sold as the full block, rather than a smaller number of hours. Contact the school for current charges.

Nursery enquiries and tour arrangements go through the school on 0151 924 7917 or admin.grange@lydiatelearning.org. A tour gives parents an opportunity to discuss admission and consider which attendance pattern fits their family.