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Nursery at Tithe Farm Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Play, sharing and growing independence shape Diamond, Tithe Farm Primary School’s nursery class in Houghton Regis. Teachers work alongside learning support assistants, with learning through play as the class’s stated starting point.
Children usually join in the term following their third birthday. Funded places for younger children can begin in the term after they turn two and a half, subject to space. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good following its December 2024 inspection. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.
Diamond’s aims give social learning a clear place: children practise sharing, waiting for a turn and respecting other children’s ideas. Play is intended to help them become increasingly independent. Separate nursery curriculum maps cover children aged two and three, and those aged three and four, recognising different stages within the provision.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework for early learning and development; its arrangements include observing children’s progress and supporting additional needs. Here, the December 2024 early years findings give concrete examples of learning through activity. Handling beads and shaping play dough developed physical skills, while adults helped children extend pretend play and learn how to relate to others.
Activity design. Some early years tasks were too complicated for the children’s existing knowledge, leaving them dependent on adult guidance and limiting how securely they learned. The improvement action called for activities better matched to children’s needs, with opportunities to practise and connect new learning. This matters alongside the positive examples of play.
Settling can affect the starting timetable. Induction arrangements may mean a child begins later than the usual intake point, following discussion with the nursery leader and headteacher. In those circumstances, the child may initially receive less than their full funded entitlement.
For children attending on the extended entitlement, lunch can be brought from home or ordered as a school meal from HCL through SchoolGrid. Families therefore have a choice between supplying food and booking it.
Additional-needs concerns should first go to the class teacher. Families can also contact the SEND coordinator at sendco@tithefarmprimary.co.uk. The school provides SEND newsletters with family resources and events. For everyday concerns, parents can speak to the teacher after the day ends or arrange a meeting through the office.
Personal care has a consent process. Staff can clean and change a child after a toileting accident with parental permission; alternatively, a parent or emergency contact is asked to attend promptly. Completing that permission helps establish who will respond when care is needed.
A nursery place does not guarantee admission to Tithe Farm’s Reception class. Families must submit a separate application through Central Bedfordshire Council; parents are told to apply again before 15 January.
The council’s arrangements for September 2025 entry gave nursery attendance no admissions advantage at Tithe Farm, which was outside the listed exceptions. Treat the nursery decision and the Reception application as separate decisions. The council allocates Reception places against the applicable admissions criteria.
The universal entitlement uses five mornings or five afternoons each week. Morning sessions run from 8:30am to 11:30am; afternoons run from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Extended-entitlement attendance runs Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 3:30pm, for children eligible for 30 funded hours, subject to availability. Session allocation also depends on age.
For children attending on the 30-hour arrangement, the lunch hour carries an additional charge. Contact the school for current charges.
Nursery applications go directly to the school. Complete the expression-of-interest form linked from Nursery Admissions: it places the application on the waiting list, with further contact nearer the child’s admission time. The office can be reached at office@tithefarmprimary.co.uk or 01582 865047. School visits can be arranged by telephone.
Children normally start in the term after their third birthday. Subject to space, funded two-year-old places begin in the term after children reach two and a half.
Mornings are 8:30am to 11:30am and afternoons are 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Eligible children can attend the extended-entitlement pattern from 8:30am to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday, subject to availability.
Families provide a packed lunch or book an HCL school dinner through SchoolGrid. For children attending on the 30-hour arrangement, the lunch hour has an additional charge.
No. Families must apply separately through Central Bedfordshire Council. The nursery admissions policy asks parents to apply again before 15 January.
Complete the expression-of-interest form linked from Nursery Admissions. The school adds the application to its waiting list and contacts families nearer the child’s admission time.
