Hatchlings Nursery at City Academy Whitehawk

Mud pies, a bike track and weekly gym sessions give Hatchlings a day with plenty of movement. This is City Academy Whitehawk’s nursery for children aged 3 to 4, on the school site in its Early Years Village. Each of its two groups is capped at 16 children. The nursery classroom sits within the school’s Reception setting, making shared spaces part of nursery life.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 8 to 9 May 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Outdoor learning has several distinct settings. Children can experiment with paint and water on the veranda, dig in a giant sand pit or make pretend meals in the mud kitchen. For more energetic play, there is a trim trail for climbing and a bike track for riding. Trees and willow provide places for hide-and-seek, while the Paddock accommodates team games. The outdoor space runs along the Early Years building, giving children room for both exploration and physical play.

A weekly visit to the school gym adds another setting for movement. Children use specialist PE equipment to develop larger body movements and become familiar with more of the school. Sports Day and the Early Years Nativity also include nursery children, bringing them into shared school occasions.

Language and communication are central to the learning. In May 2024, early years teaching developed these skills through activities that prepared children for subsequent learning, with staff guiding purposeful experiences. The school aims for children to express their needs and ideas, persist with challenges and connect new learning with things they already know. For parents, this puts communication and growing confidence alongside physical exploration.

Relationships are part of the educational foundation here. In May 2024, children in early years formed positive connections with other children and trained staff, whose guidance helped learning have a clear purpose. That gives the nursery’s emphasis on communication a social dimension: children develop relationships as well as skills.

The school’s early years aims also include kindness, consideration and self-belief. These are ambitions for how children learn and relate to others, rather than just what they know.

Sharing the Studio with Reception Robins gives Hatchlings children experience of a familiar school space. Later in the year, the groups also join together for free-flow Explore Time. The school uses these shared experiences to help nursery children prepare for the move to Reception.

Reception admission. Attending Hatchlings does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process by the applicable deadline. Treat the shared classroom experiences as preparation for the next stage, rather than an assurance of admission.

Hatchlings operates in term time, with two fixed group patterns. The first attends Monday and Tuesday from 8:40am to 3:00pm, plus Wednesday from 8:40am to 11:30am. The second attends Wednesday from noon to 3:00pm, followed by Thursday and Friday from 8:40am to 3:00pm. Families need to fit around the group pattern rather than assume interchangeable morning and afternoon sessions.

Places are offered to children receiving Early Years Free Entitlement funding for either 15 or 30 hours each week. Longer funded attendance. Only two children can have 30-hour places, so this option has a tighter limit than the group capacity. Refer to the school for current charges.

Nursery enquiries can go through the enquiry form, admin@cawhitehawk.org.uk or 01273 681377. Application forms can be returned by email or delivered to the school; paper copies can be collected or posted to families. Leaving the nursery or reducing attendance requires one month’s written notice. Families should factor that notice period into any change of childcare plans.