Orchard Park Community Primary School Nursery Review

Daily garden challenges and Welly Walks give Caterpillars, Orchard Park’s nursery class, an outdoor thread to its play-led day. Talking, making friends and learning to express feelings take precedence here. Sensory activities and early mark making add practical opportunities to develop the small hand movements needed for writing.

Caterpillars caters for children aged three and four, with entry from the term following a child’s third birthday. Its classroom sits at one end of the school building, where classrooms are arranged by age. This is the school’s own nursery provision, with a distinct class identity.

Play and exploration shape a fluid nursery routine. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines guided teaching with purposeful play: communication, social development and physical skills come first, with early literacy, number work and learning about the world built around them. Children’s interests help shape the activities alongside planned topics.

Traditional Tales, Celebrations and People Who Help Us provide some of those themes. Outdoors, garden challenges and Welly Walks make movement and exploration part of the day; indoors, storytelling, music, sensory activities and mark making give children different ways to participate. The balance matters for children who are still developing the language to explain their ideas.

Early reading starts with Phase 1 phonics. Wordless books go home for families to share, allowing children to tell a story through pictures rather than needing to read printed words. Maths is taught daily from nursery, with practical examples drawn from everyday surroundings in the early years.

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found an engaging early years curriculum, combining focused activities with interactive learning and outdoor play. Children developed their ability to play together, with attention to language and early number skills. Those findings covered the school’s early years provision, including nursery.

Observation helps the early years team adjust learning and identify support needs. Tapestry records children’s learning moments and progress, while targeted support includes NELI and WELLCOM for language and personal development. This gives individual needs a place within the play-led approach rather than treating every child’s progress as identical.

For concerns about additional needs, the class teacher is the first contact. The wider school team includes a special educational needs coordinator and a Safeguarding, Inclusion and Wellbeing Leader whose role carries no classroom teaching responsibility. The Red Hen Project also works with families individually, including at home or school, giving parents a route to support beyond classroom learning.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families need a separate application through Cambridgeshire County Council, which manages school admissions while nursery applications go directly to Orchard Park. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions.

For the 2026 intake, the Reception application deadline was 15 January 2026. That cycle also included Stay and Play, a Teddy Bears’ Picnic and home visits for new starters. These were opportunities to prepare for the change, rather than an admissions advantage for nursery children.

Apply to the nursery through the school or its Expression of Interest for Nursery form. School visits can be arranged through the office on 01223 438200; email enquiries can go to office@orchardpark.cambs.sch.uk.

Nursery parents use the nursery’s outdoor area to enter. For safeguarding concerns, the school has a separate contact at safeguarding@orchardpark.cambs.sch.uk, and its safeguarding team reviews concerns each week. These give families clear routes for routine enquiries and welfare matters.