St Oswald's CofE Academy Nursery

Play, conversation and growing independence shape nursery life at St Oswald's. Known as F1, this is the school's nursery provision in Finningley, on Silver Birch Grove. Children can join from the term after their third birthday, subject to places being available. It is an early start within a Church of England primary school.

The early years provision received a Good judgement at the Ofsted inspection on 25 and 26 February 2025. That judgement covers the school's early years provision rather than a separately inspected nursery. The early years findings give parents a concrete picture: children cooperated in play, learned to share and took turns.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines learning with practical play. Its seven areas bring together movement, language and social development with maths, literacy, creative expression and understanding the world. For a nursery child, learning therefore includes managing relationships and communicating ideas alongside early number and reading activities.

Sessions combine activities directed by adults with play chosen by children. Topics take account of children's interests, while adults add guidance and challenge. Indoor and outdoor learning spaces are adapted as children's needs develop. The school aims for these spaces to encourage independence, giving children opportunities to make choices as well as take part in planned learning.

Observation shapes what happens next. Staff watch children during their own play and use what they learn to plan subsequent activities for individuals and the class. This connects planning to what children can actually do. In February 2025, adults' interactions extended children's vocabulary and understanding, while selected resources supported learning across the early years curriculum, including number and early reading.

Established routines help children learn how to behave together. In February 2025, early years staff encouraged positive behaviour alongside cooperative play. Those everyday habits matter for children learning to share attention, resources and space.

For additional needs, the school uses an Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle. Concerns are discussed with parents before further guidance is sought from the Special Educational Needs Coordinator. Support Plans set targets, with progress checked at least three times per term and planned family reviews held termly. This gives families a defined part in reviewing support.

Safeguarding concerns can be sent to safeguarding@soa.dsat.education. Staff use CPOMs to record incidents, providing a shared system for logging issues.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions route, even when their child already attends F1. Treat that application as a separate decision and deadline.

For the September 2026 intake, applications went through Doncaster's Parent Portal and closed on 15 January 2026. That deadline has passed; it belongs to that intake only.

Morning nursery runs from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoon nursery runs from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Places are offered for children taking either their 15 or 30 hours entitlement, with limited places spanning lunchtime.

Session allocation. The headteacher decides which session a child attends. Parental preferences are considered but cannot always be met, so families should factor allocation into their childcare arrangements.

The admin team handles nursery session enquiries. Contact admin@soa.dsat.education or 01302 770330 to discuss the offered patterns and lunchtime availability.