St Joseph's School Nursery Review

A hedgehog hotel, melting ice and puppet storytelling give St Joseph's nursery its character: learning starts with things children can handle, investigate and talk about. The nursery belongs to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School on Bevan Avenue in Rossington, Doncaster. It forms part of a two-class Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) unit, alongside Reception, with outdoor provision accessible to both classes.

Exploration gives early learning a practical shape here. Nursery children have investigated winter by looking for seasonal changes outdoors and feeling ice indoors, watching what happens as they hold it. One Snowy Day links the experience to a story and a discussion about clothes that keep them warm. Learning about hibernation has also led to building a hedgehog hotel outside. These activities connect new ideas with something tangible.

Stories become things to make and perform. For The Three Billy Goats Gruff, children assembled a tuff tray with contrasting textures and materials, then used puppets to retell the tale together. They practised recently introduced vocabulary as they played the characters. That gives language a purpose beyond repeating a word back to an adult.

Number work is practical too: nursery children have matched Numicon pieces to shapes to create a treasure-chest picture. Read Write Inc supports phonics across EYFS, linking early literacy with letter sounds. Together, these examples show what the Early Years Foundation Stage looks like in practice here: exploration, conversation, stories and early number learning.

Forest School adds another strand to the early years provision. Children have investigated autumn through their senses, collected seasonal objects for artwork and worked on a bug hotel before winter. Outdoor space therefore serves both imaginative play and investigations into the natural world. Within the nursery's interfaith learning, children have also examined a prayer mat and the Qu’ran, then discussed objects that matter to them personally.

Nursery staffing includes teaching and class-support roles. For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school's approach includes individual support plans, targets matched to need and reviews of progress. Its graduated approach is identified as APDR. This provides a structure for adjusting support as a child's needs develop.

The school aims to involve parents in setting goals and reviewing progress through termly meetings. Support also involves Doncaster Children's Safeguarding Trust, local authority services and NHS trust provision. The SENCO can be contacted through the school office, giving families a direct route into discussions about additional needs.

Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route and meet the applicable deadline. Doncaster Admissions is the route signposted by the school.

Shared outdoor provision gives nursery children access to a space also used by Reception. That continuity is separate from admission: familiarity with the early years environment does not secure a place.

Nursery application forms include a 2026/2027 cycle. For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 01302 868098 or email admin@st-josephs.doncaster.sch.uk. The address is Bevan Avenue, Rossington, Doncaster, DN11 0NB.