St Lawrence CofE Primary School Nursery Review

Waterproofs for every child and regular Welly Walks give St Lawrence Nursery a practical outdoor character. Children aged 2–5 learn in purpose-built accommodation within St Lawrence CofE Primary School’s grounds in Church Stretton. Outdoor learning happens daily, with outings to Forest School, Cardingmill Valley and the surrounding community extending play beyond the nursery itself.

Independence is an explicit aim. The nursery encourages children to share ideas, choose what to explore and work out solutions for themselves. Its St Lawrence Way values include showing respect and encouraging others, giving adults everyday opportunities to talk about how children treat one another.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) takes shape through play, conversation and activities guided by adults. Children’s interests influence planning, while indoor and outdoor zones allow them to move between resources and follow their curiosity. The Loose Parts Workshop, Block Building and Water and Sand Play provide different starting points for exploration. Reading, role play and mark making have their own provision too.

Adults join play to ask questions, introduce vocabulary and model ways of doing things. Observations help staff decide what a child should try next. This gives independent exploration a teaching purpose rather than leaving children simply to occupy themselves.

A typical day starts with a welcome between 9.00 and 9.10am, followed by registration and circle time. Longer stretches of child-led play sit alongside shorter activities involving sounds, music and rhymes. Lunch runs from 11.30am to 12.30pm, with quieter carpet activities included. Afternoon play is followed by a review, stories or singing before home time at 3.00pm. The routine can flex around children’s needs.

In June 2024, Ofsted found that early-years children shared materials, waited for turns and listened closely. Singing and rhymes featured in their learning, and the early-years curriculum was ambitious and adapted to differing needs. These findings describe the school’s early years collectively, rather than a separate nursery grade.

Each child has a key person to help them settle each day and support language, social development and confidence. The morning welcome also includes time for parent consultation. EExAT, the Early Excellence Assessment Tracker, gives families another connection: parents can view learning photographs and contribute pictures, short videos and comments from home to their child’s learning journal.

Support for additional needs is built into nursery practice. Staff have training in child development and early language, and use signing and visual prompts. A qualified Early Years SENCo supports individual interventions and checks progress. Assessments consider engagement, wellbeing, language and physical, social and emotional development; concerns are discussed with families so support can be consistent between home and nursery.

Breakfast Club provides toast and cereals alongside milk, water and juice. Later, the afternoon includes a rolling snack period from 1.30 to 2.00pm, allowing eating to sit within the play routine.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal Shropshire Council admissions process. An early expression of interest does not register a child, create a waiting-list place or amount to an offer.

Transition has its own practical rhythm: nursery children can spend one day each week in the Reception classroom during the summer term. That offers repeated opportunities to become familiar with the classroom and team. It is preparation for the move, not an admissions entitlement.

Breakfast Club begins at 8.00am, with an early-start arrival at 8.30am. After school club runs from 3.00 to 6.00pm, extending childcare beyond the nursery’s home time.

For all children aged 3–4, the nursery offers the universal funded entitlement of up to 15 hours weekly over 38 weeks. It also offers 30 funded hours for eligible families with children aged 3–4 and some two-year-olds under extended entitlement. Visits can be booked, and the school office can be reached on 01694 722682.