Atlas Academy Nursery Review

At the October 2024 inspection, hoops, balance beams and model houses gave Atlas Academy’s early years learning a practical character. Physical movement and new vocabulary met in activities children could relate to their own lives. This is the nursery within Atlas Academy on Prospect Place in Doncaster, with provision for three and four year olds and 26 places in each of its morning and afternoon sessions.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good following its inspection on 22 and 23 October 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separate nursery inspection.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the curriculum framework. Atlas plans learning in a sequence, with repetition and opportunities to recall earlier learning intended to help children remember what they have been taught. Its curriculum drivers, grouped as The BIG Picture, include developing vocabulary, cultural awareness and aspiration. For a parent, the useful detail is how these ideas become activities.

In October 2024, early years children photographed their homes during a neighbourhood walk, then made models using boxes and other materials. Naming parts of those houses, including roofs and windows, connected language with something familiar. Outdoors, adults used hoops for stepping through and beams for balancing, bringing physical development into practical play.

Jigsaw supports personal, social, health and relationships learning across the early years and primary school. Units include Healthy Me and Celebrating Difference, giving teachers a structure for age-appropriate work on health and relationships.

Early writing. The October 2024 findings also raised concerns about children at the early stages of writing: some needed more physical preparation for using writing tools, alongside more practice in forming letters accurately. Across the school, checks on understanding sometimes left tasks too easy or too difficult. These are useful points for families to consider alongside the practical learning examples.

During October 2024, adults in early years built positive, warm relationships with children and promptly established what they could already do. That gives teaching a starting point in each child’s existing development.

For concerns about special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), the class teacher is the first contact. The school provides adjustments to teaching and the learning environment, alongside staff training in SEND. Its Thrive Approach supports social and emotional development through relationships with children; some receive targeted support. Parents can raise questions through their child’s teacher or the school office, giving families a direct route into discussion.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Atlas Academy. Families must make a separate application through their MyDoncaster account and meet the deadline for the relevant admission year. Treat this as a new application, rather than an automatic continuation of the nursery place.

The learning sequence links Nursery with Reception. In October 2024, the early years curriculum connected the two stages coherently. That continuity concerns what children learn; it does not secure admission.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am; afternoons run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. These are distinct session windows, so families should plan their daily arrangements around the session allocated to their child.

Atlas offers 30 hours, with the code application required before the preceding term ends for a start in the next term. Doncaster Council handles nursery applications through MyDoncaster and manages the waiting list when sessions are full. Children usually start in the September after turning three.

Visits can be arranged through the school office. Contact admin@astreaatlas.org or call 01302 363612. For travel by car, the route runs from Cleveland Street through St James Street to Prospect Place; there is no school access from Carr House Road.