Temple Meadow Primary School Nursery

Learning through play, time outdoors and a quieter lunchtime corner give Temple Meadow’s nursery its shape. This is the school’s own early years provision on Wrights Lane in Cradley Heath, with a nursery teacher and an assistant head role for early years. Children can also join as rising threes, starting in the term before their third birthday. That allows an earlier introduction to school life.

Play carries the learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach puts talking, physical development and personal development alongside first steps in literacy and number work. For parents, that means a day focused on children’s developing skills, with hands-on experiences rather than academic tasks alone. Planning takes account of each child’s stage of development, so the starting point is what they can already do.

Outdoor learning is an explicit part of the nursery curriculum. For children staying through lunch, an area set aside for comfort is accessible between 11.45am and 12.30pm. It gives the longer day a quieter break between the morning and afternoon sessions.

There is an important curriculum caveat. At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that early years teaching took account of children’s starting points, but some learning lacked clear expectations about what children should retain. Connections with later learning needed strengthening, leaving some children less prepared for Year 1 than they could have been. This makes the progression of learning, alongside the play experiences, a material consideration for families.

Settling starts with the relationship between home and nursery. Staff aim to build on learning that has already happened at home, giving parents’ knowledge of their child a place in the process. A dated example shows how this can work: the April 2025 intake had a settling session on 28 April before its start on 29 April. Those were separate steps.

Tapestry provides an online early years journal. Parents can see staff observations and add comments of their own, giving them a way to contribute between conversations with the team.

For children using the eligible 30-hour arrangement, families provide a healthy packed lunch each day. Lunchtime supervision carries an additional charge, so the funded arrangement still has a practical extra to consider.

Support for special educational needs and disabilities is tailored to the child, with the CCAT Team, Inclusion Support and a Speech and Language Therapist involved where appropriate. In May 2023, needs were identified effectively from early years onwards, and support helped children access the curriculum alongside their peers.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal process, meeting the applicable deadline. Temple Meadow uses the Sandwell MBC admissions process for Reception, so choosing the nursery should sit alongside a separate plan for that application. Familiarity with the school and admission to Reception are different matters.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The eligible 30-hour option runs from 8.45am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, on fixed days and hours. This is a defined weekly pattern, so families need to match it to their work and collection arrangements.

The nursery application form asks families to indicate their session preference. For the 30-hour option, an eligibility code must be supplied and validated before a place under that arrangement can be offered. Ask the school for current lunchtime supervision charges.

Enquiries go to the office on 01384 569 021, by email at tm.admin@meadow.sandwell.sch.uk, or through the contact form. These provide direct routes for discussing a nursery application.