Cambridge Road Community Primary and Nursery School: Nursery Review

Kind relationships give Cambridge Road’s early years provision its clearest character. Children learn positive ways of relating to others from the beginning, making social learning part of the educational picture. For a parent choosing a nursery, that matters alongside what children learn: learning how to treat other people is part of preparing for school life.

The nursery belongs to Cambridge Road Community Primary and Nursery School in Ellesmere Port. Ofsted rated the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 10 and 11 October 2023. This is an early years judgement within the school inspection, rather than a separate nursery rating.

Learning activities have a clear purpose. In October 2023, teachers working with the youngest children understood their subjects and planned activities around the intended learning. The emphasis is on connecting an activity with what children should learn through it. For families, that gives a useful distinction between simply keeping children occupied and using activities to teach.

Across most subjects, curriculum planning identifies the important knowledge and sets out when teachers should introduce it, starting in the early years. That gives learning a sequence: activities sit within a plan rather than standing alone. It also makes the teaching purpose relevant when parents consider what their child is learning.

There are qualifications to this picture. The October 2023 school inspection found that some subject curricula left out parts of the national curriculum or did not teach them in enough depth, alongside insufficient opportunities to revisit earlier learning. These were school-wide concerns, rather than separately identified nursery failings. They matter because a planned activity is only one part of teaching: children also need opportunities to consolidate understanding before moving to new ideas.

Support for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) includes the early years. In October 2023, children’s needs were recognised promptly and assessed accurately, with teaching adjusted so they could learn with their classmates. The practical significance is participation: additional needs are addressed through changes to how the curriculum is taught.

Relationships also have an educational role. The positive interactions established in early years help children learn consideration for others. Together, these findings give parents two concrete points to weigh: how adults respond to individual learning needs, and how children begin learning to relate to one another.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately for Reception through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Treat the nursery decision and the Reception application as two distinct steps; choosing the nursery should not be treated as securing the later school place.

The school’s address is Cambridge Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4AQ. Its telephone number is 01513551735. These identify the school attached to the nursery and provide a direct school contact.