St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Nursery Review

Storybooks become building projects in St Patrick's early years: a home for the Three Little Pigs can lead to baking gingerbread men and investigating whether objects float or sink. Play supplies the starting point. Adults also lead activities, giving children both room to pursue an interest and time for directed learning.

The nursery belongs to St Patrick's Catholic Primary School on Whitehouse Road in Bircotes. Families with a child approaching their third birthday can enquire about its Nursery Unit, which offers 30 hours of provision. Its place within a Catholic school matters to the everyday approach: the school aims to help children express their emotions while maintaining clear expectations for behaviour.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together language, physical development, relationships, early literacy and mathematics, alongside creative work and understanding the world. Here, children learn through activities they choose themselves as well as those led by adults. The balance changes during the year as children's needs change, rather than keeping the timetable fixed.

Curriculum Maestro supports planning across learning areas. Projects can be adapted around children's interests, and their length depends on how children respond. One story topic included creating traps for the Big Bad Wolf and making a house for the Three Little Pigs. Gingerbread baking then prompted designs for rafts, bridges and kites, followed by experiments with floating and sinking. These are concrete examples of a story opening up practical investigation.

Both outdoor and indoor spaces support learning. A reading corner is accessible during free flow, with books refreshed continually. Nursery foundations for Read Write Inc include poems, stories, action rhymes and listening activities, including practising how separate sounds join into words. For parents, this means early reading preparation includes talk and listening as well as books.

Before children start, practitioners talk with parents and previous settings to understand the child. During the first half term in nursery, conversations, observations and ongoing assessment establish each child's starting point. That information shapes subsequent experiences rather than treating the group as having identical needs.

Tapestry and Class Dojo give families access to classroom observations. Autumn and spring parent discussions cover progress and ways to support learning at home; open classrooms offer another opportunity to see children's work and learning space.

For families needing SEND support, the school's arrangements include meetings, reviews and access to the SENDCo. Regular SEND coffee mornings also connect parents with resources and courses for supporting development at home. Magic Breakfast offers cereals and bagels in the school hall to all children, free of charge, giving breakfast a shared space within school life.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal local authority process and meet its normal deadline. The application route is Nottinghamshire County Council. A supplementary form can also be obtained from the school office; it does not replace the local authority application.

Nursery collection is at 11:45am. The school drop-off gates open at 8:25am and close at 8:40am, so the morning routine has a defined arrival window.

General enquiries go to the office on 01302 743 145 or admin@st-patricks.notts.sch.uk. This is the contact route for families interested in the nursery. Refer to the school for current charges.