Cirencester Primary School Nursery Review

Stories, language and a day assembled from separate sessions give Cirencester Primary School’s nursery its character. Children can attend from age 2 until school age, with morning and afternoon provision and a lunch-and-rest period between them. That structure lets families combine parts of the day rather than book only a single fixed pattern.

The nursery sits on the school site and is managed by school leaders. At the Ofsted inspection on 29 and 30 March 2022, early years provision was graded Good within the school inspection. This was an early-years judgement, not a separate nursery inspection.

Language gives the learning a clear focus. In March 2022, nursery staff used storytelling and conversation to develop children’s ability to speak and listen, including children who started with limited communication skills. Across early years, children took pleasure in familiar rhymes and stories, listening and participating. For a young child, joining a rhyme offers a way to practise language through something recognisable.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings learning, development and care together for children from birth to age 5. Here, the nursery timetable separates the morning from the afternoon with a period for lunch and rest. Families can combine these sessions, making the midday routine part of a longer nursery day.

Assessment across early years. In March 2022, subject leaders’ understanding of children’s learning across the curriculum, from early years onwards, was still incomplete. This matters alongside the nursery’s language focus: recognising what a child understands helps staff decide what learning should come next.

Lunch can be a booked hot meal or a healthy packed lunch brought from home. The midday period includes rest as well as eating, giving the day a pause between its two learning sessions.

For children joining with identified special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), the school works with parents and contacts their previous setting. This makes existing information about a child’s needs part of the move. The school’s support arrangements include support plans developed with parental involvement and specialist agency involvement where appropriate. Parents can raise concerns with their child’s teacher; the SENCo also provides a contact through senco@cirencester-pri.gloucs.sch.uk.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal Gloucestershire County Council process and meet its normal deadline. Nursery attendance should therefore be a choice about the nursery experience itself.

Gloucestershire Local Authority allocates Reception places, while the governors rank applications. The main application period runs between October and January for the following September intake, with an online application route through the County Council. Keep that application separate from nursery bookings.

From Monday to Friday, morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am. Lunch and rest follows from 11.45am to 1.15pm, and the afternoon runs from 1.15pm to 3.15pm. These are nursery times, useful when planning collection and the length of your child’s day.

The nursery accepts government funding that can provide 15 hours from the term after a child’s second birthday, and 15 or 30 hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday. It also accepts employer childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare. Ask the school for current charges before agreeing bookings.

For nursery enquiries or to arrange a visit, email nursery@cirencester-pri.gloucs.sch.uk. The school office can also be reached on 01285 658550. A visit gives families an opportunity to discuss the session combination they want before applying.