John Shelton Community Primary School Nursery Review

Engagosaurus, Motosaurus and Thinkosaurus give learning a dinosaur vocabulary at John Shelton: engagement, motivation and thinking critically are recognised through named dojo points. For young children, these are concrete labels for how they approach a task, rather than simply whether they finish it.

The nursery takes children from age two and belongs to the school's Early Years team alongside Reception. In Holbrooks, Coventry, this is provision within a primary school. The school describes nursery groups of 26 in the morning and 20 in the afternoon.

Learning habits have an explicit place here. The Characteristics of Effective Learning approach applies across the school, including its early years classes, and links those habits to responsibility, respect and resilience. The dinosaur names give parents a shared vocabulary for talking about effort and ideas with their child.

Art adds a sensory element to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the early years phase of learning. The curriculum describes experiences involving sight, touch and other senses, with colour, pattern, texture and form used to express ideas. That gives children ways to communicate beyond spoken words.

In January 2025, Ofsted found that children across the early years began phonics promptly and soon combined sounds to read short words. This finding covers early years rather than nursery alone.

The wider school occupies a single-storey building. Its grounds include woodland, sheltered spaces and a grass field, placing the nursery within a school site with substantial outdoor features.

Support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) follows the school's assess, plan, do and review cycle. The class teacher and SEND coordinator consider a child's needs, agree support with parents and revisit its impact. My Support Plans record the approach for staff, helping connect individual support with classroom teaching.

Under the SEND policy, parents of children on the register are invited to review meetings each term and receive spoken progress updates each half term. Families can contribute concerns and information about support at home. When necessary, the school works with professionals including speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. These are school-wide arrangements, rather than a separate nursery programme.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process; Coventry Council coordinates applications for maintained schools in the city.

Being part of the same Early Years team gives the nursery an organisational connection with Reception. Keep that connection separate from the admissions decision: choosing the nursery is not securing the next place.

For two- to three-year-olds, the nursery offers afternoon places covering 15 hours. Children aged three to four can take 15-hour or 30-hour places. The distinction matters when matching provision to a family's weekly childcare needs.

Nursery enquiries go through the school office, and the admissions page provides a nursery application form. Contact the school on 02476 686063 or email admin@jsprimary.org. The address is Briscoe Road, Holbrooks, Coventry, CV6 4JP.