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Nursery at John Ray Infant 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Playing, exploring and learning to persist give the early years curriculum at John Ray Infant School its shape. The nursery belongs to the infant school on Notley Road in Braintree, Essex. Its educational context is the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which brings language, physical development and relationships together with early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world.
Curiosity is one of the school's values. The school connects it with asking questions, imaginative play and exploring surroundings: a useful expression of the thinking that its early years curriculum seeks to encourage.
Exploration has a clear purpose here. The EYFS approach encourages children to investigate, try things and develop ideas of their own. Learning also involves concentrating, returning to a difficulty and taking satisfaction in an achievement. For a young child, the emphasis is on both discovering something new and learning how to stay with it.
Communication receives explicit attention. Vocabulary is planned and taught within the provision, rather than left entirely to chance. The school treats language as the starting point for learning across the curriculum, so building the words children can understand and use is an important part of its approach.
The learning areas connect rather than stand alone. Alongside language and physical development, children work on personal, emotional and social development. Literacy and mathematics sit beside expressive art and design and learning about the world. This gives early education a broader purpose than practising letters and numbers alone.
Support is built into the teaching approach. Targeted keep-up sessions address gaps in learning, with particular attention to disadvantaged children. The intention is to help children access the curriculum from the beginning. These are educational arrangements, rather than a promise about any individual child's progress.
Home contact has an established school framework. Messages and emails usually come through My Child at School (MCAS), with login details issued during admission. Urgent matters go through the office. For families, that distinction gives everyday communication and time-sensitive concerns different routes.
The school also uses a home-school diary for exchanging information and recording comments about reading. Its stated aim is partnership between families and staff. Learning conferences take place in autumn and spring, giving parents opportunities to discuss settling and learning; annual reports follow at the end of the summer term.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Choosing the nursery and applying for school are separate decisions; attendance should not be treated as an assurance of a later place.
The school office is the enquiry route: telephone 01376 323071 or email johnrayinfant@compassps.uk. An online contact form also accepts a message and contact details. The address is Notley Road, Braintree, Essex, CM7 1HL.
No. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a place, and families need to make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process.
The Early Years Foundation Stage covers language, physical and social development alongside literacy, mathematics, expressive arts and understanding the world.
Vocabulary is explicitly planned and taught within the provision, and communication is treated as a foundation for learning.
Texts and emails usually come through My Child at School (MCAS). Urgent matters should go through the school office.
Contact the school office on 01376 323071, email johnrayinfant@compassps.uk or use the online contact form.
