Nursery at Loders CofE Primary Academy

Learning to be part of a group starts early at Loders: kindness, independence and cooperation are taught from Nursery onwards. Little Acorns Pre-School is the school’s own on-site provision for children aged two years upwards, in Loders, near Bridport. It sits within a Church of England primary academy, giving families a nursery based on a school site.

The emphasis is on both learning and relationships. For a young child, becoming more independent and learning how to treat other children are substantial parts of starting nursery, alongside the beginnings of literacy and number work.

Social learning has a clear place here. In November 2024, children were learning to cooperate with others and do more for themselves from the start of Nursery. These are practical foundations for joining a group: participation involves learning alongside other children as well as developing individual skills.

Early literacy and mathematics also receive attention. Children developed their first skills in writing and reading, alongside mathematical understanding, well in November 2024. That gives parents a picture of early learning in which social development and the beginnings of academic knowledge both matter.

Remembering learning. In November 2024, assessment across some subjects was incomplete, leaving gaps in children’s knowledge in early years beyond early reading and mathematics. The improvement needed was clearer checking of what children retained across subjects. For families, the distinction matters: positive findings about early literacy and number work do not settle how securely children remember the wider curriculum.

Relationships support children’s adjustment to expectations. In November 2024, positive connections between adults and children helped the early years children learn expected behaviour quickly. Their behaviour and personal development were impressive. This links the care adults provide with children’s ability to participate in learning.

Kindness is taught explicitly in Nursery, together with respect for others. The useful detail is that behaviour is treated as something children learn, with adults helping them understand how to act towards their peers. For parents considering a first group setting, that is a meaningful part of the nursery’s character.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate formal application through the local authority, rather than applying directly to the school. For Dorset, the application route is www.dorset.go.uk/applyforaschoolplace. Apply through the normal Reception process by its normal deadline.

Keep the two decisions separate: choosing Little Acorns concerns your child’s nursery experience; applying for Reception concerns their school place. Learning independence and cooperation is useful preparation for school life, but it should not be read as an admissions advantage.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 01308 423418 or email lodersoffice@acornacademy.org. This provides a direct route to discuss joining Little Acorns with the school itself.

Reception applications follow the local authority route described above. Nursery enquiries and the formal school application therefore serve different purposes, even though the provision shares the school site.