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Nursery at Watling Lower 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Caterpillars and Butterflies mark two different stages of nursery life at Watling Lower School in Dunstable. Caterpillars takes children aged 2–3; Butterflies is for ages 3–4. Each has its own room lead, giving the provision an age-based team structure as well as different attendance patterns.
Mornings shape the Caterpillars day: sessions run from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday. Watling recommends at least two mornings a week. Butterflies offers a longer pattern, with a 9am–noon morning session and a 12.30pm–3.30pm afternoon session on the same weekdays. Families can register for both, with a separate half-hour lunch break between them.
EYFS, the early years foundation stage, is the nursery curriculum. For early years maths, Watling uses Development Matters 2021 guidance. Children explore numbers from 0–10, represent numbers and practise finding one more or one less. Subitising is another named skill. The emphasis here is on the building blocks of number understanding.
Across the school, every classroom has a quiet corner where children can pause when overwhelmed. School-wide facilities also include a sensory space for calming and managing anxiety, providing physical spaces alongside adjustments to teaching and resources.
Room leads for Caterpillars and Butterflies work within a nursery team that includes early years practitioners. For concerns about additional needs, the first contact is the child's class teacher; the school SENDCo coordinates provision with teaching staff and leadership. That gives parents a clear starting point for discussing support.
Watling follows Assess, Plan, Do, Review for SEND support, bringing parents' views into assessment and reviewing provision with families. Specialist agencies may include Speech and Language Therapy and the Early Years SEND Team, which supports children in the school's EYFS settings. These are possible sources of help according to individual need, rather than automatic interventions for every child.
Lunch in Butterflies involves a choice: children can bring a packed lunch or have a paid school meal. For those attending both sessions, the lunch-break charge covers the additional time and excludes food. Families therefore need to plan the meal separately from the care arrangement.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through Central Bedfordshire Council by the normal Reception application deadline. The council makes the admission decisions, rather than the school.
For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, nursery attendance conferred no priority. The criteria instead covered looked-after and previously looked-after children, children of staff, catchment residence and siblings, followed by other applicants. Distance served as a tiebreaker. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions, even when the intention is to stay at Watling.
Funding differs by class. Caterpillars accepts funded and non-funded children but offers only up to 15 hours weekly, so it cannot accommodate the full 30-hour entitlement some families qualify for. Butterflies allows registration for both sessions to use 30 funded hours; the additional 30-minute lunch break is charged separately. Contact the school for current charges.
Separate online nursery application forms cover two-year-olds and three- or four-year-olds. Nursery enquiries go to the administrator at nursery@watlinglower.org.uk or 01582 662232. This is the nursery application route; the council handles the later Reception application.
Caterpillars is for children aged 2–3, and Butterflies is for ages 3–4.
Both classes offer mornings from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday. Butterflies also offers afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and families can register for both sessions.
No. Caterpillars offers up to 15 hours per week and accepts funded and non-funded children.
The additional 30-minute lunch break has a separate care charge that excludes food. Children may bring a packed lunch or have a paid school meal.
No. Parents must apply separately through Central Bedfordshire Council. Nursery attendance was not a priority criterion for the 2025/26 admissions cycle.
