Forest Academy Nursery Review

Painting, climbing and rebuilding fallen car tracks give Forest Academy’s nursery a practical, sociable character. Children learn to take turns through their play, while more focused activities introduce writing and numbers. This is the nursery within Forest Academy on Bury Road in Brandon, with learning organised as part of the school’s early years provision.

In March 2026, Ofsted judged early years to meet the Expected standard. Children enjoyed their activities and approached tasks willingly, although adults needed to make more of the learning opportunities arising during play. That balance matters: there is purposeful teaching here, alongside a specific area for further development.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines learning through play with activities led by adults. At Forest, children can use learning areas indoors and outdoors, giving them opportunities to pursue their interests in different spaces. Planting seeds, practising number formation and painting bring different kinds of concentration into the day. Climbing adds physical challenge.

Stories provide a starting point for topics. Talk for Writing (T4W) uses actions and story maps to help children retell familiar tales before adding ideas of their own. Forest Fantastic Reads supplies selected early years texts, chosen by the school for demanding language and reading enjoyment. Together, these approaches connect listening to stories with expressing ideas and beginning to write.

Mathematics has daily teaching sessions using White Rose Maths, with Numberblocks as supporting material. Physical resources connect number work with practical experiences. Building Learning Power is another named approach: the school aims to help children persist, reflect on mistakes and work together.

Weekly Forest School sessions use a dedicated space and trained Forest Schools teachers. They give early years children opportunities to practise social skills and take risks. Back in other play activities, children cooperate over car tracks and negotiate turns. In March 2026, adult involvement in play sometimes missed opportunities to extend mathematical understanding and language. Extending play. Adults need to build more learning into these exchanges, especially vocabulary and speech; this is a useful focus when assessing the nursery’s teaching.

Parents have a role in children’s learning. Staff share ways to support language and early literacy at home, while observations recorded through Tapestry inform children’s next learning steps and are shared with families. Weekly home activities connect those experiences with learning beyond the nursery.

Social learning starts early. In March 2026, nursery children chose to join activities together and accepted one another. That gives cooperation a concrete place in the day. The school’s early years approach also includes support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). An EYFS lead and a SENCO/Inclusion Lead/Medical Lead form part of the wider staff structure. Parents can contact the safeguarding team by telephone or email with a welfare concern.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal school admission procedure, using the Suffolk admissions route. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as two separate decisions: accepting a nursery place does not complete the later application.

Nursery registration and session requests use separate forms. Nursery hours differ from the main school timetable, so the school day’s start and finish times should not be treated as nursery session times.

For enquiries, contact enquiries@forestacademy.co.uk or call 01842 810309. Prospective parents can arrange an appointment to visit the school. This provides an opportunity to see the learning spaces and discuss the nursery experience before deciding.