St Michael's CofE Primary School Nursery

Handmade dragons, model building and a green school site give this nursery its character. St Michael's provides nursery education for children aged three and four within its Church of England primary school on Brigadier Hill, Enfield. Its morning pattern gives children a regular place in school life, with extended funded provision also offered subject to availability.

The surroundings have a distinctive history: the school's Victorian building remains in use as an Early Years unit, and the wider site includes maintained green space. These are school facilities, rather than a description of a separate nursery campus. The Christian ethos shapes the school's curriculum, alongside exploration of other religions and beliefs.

Making things is part of the Foundation Stage day. Children have regular opportunities to build and create models, linking practical activity with communication, physical development and understanding their surroundings. This makes the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) tangible for parents: learning includes handling materials, expressing ideas and working alongside other children, rather than only completing formal tasks.

A nursery example from February 2025 brings that approach into focus. For Lunar New Year, children created snakes and a shared dragon, tried noodles with chopsticks, and took their handmade shakers on a dragon dance through the school. The theme connected food, making and celebration. Children could explore a cultural tradition through things they could taste, construct and perform.

Jigsaw supplies the school's personal and social learning programme for ages three to eleven. Themes include Healthy Me and Celebrating Difference, giving feelings, relationships and understanding others a place in the curriculum. Nursery Learning Journey documents are organised by half-term, offering parents a way to follow the learning themes.

At the January 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that early-years planning identified the learning expected each term and that activities helped children build knowledge progressively. That is the relevant nursery finding: the whole-school outcome should not be treated as a separate nursery rating.

Support for additional needs sits within the school's SEND arrangements. Staff receive information and training, and the school aims to identify children whose progress is limited and provide targeted help. Parents are kept informed about their child's learning and the SEND process. Links with the local authority and health professionals provide routes for coordinating support; families can contact the SENCO through senco@st-michaels.enfield.sch.uk.

Practical help for home also features in the EYFS Parent Hub. Resources cover potty training, emotional resilience and self-regulation, connecting everyday care with children's developing independence and ability to manage feelings.

School safeguarding procedures require training for staff and volunteers. Adults who have not completed the school's vetting and enhanced DBS checks cannot have unsupervised contact with pupils; visitors sign in and wear identification badges. These are concrete controls around who has access to children.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions process and meet its deadline.

For the 2026 entry cycle, the school's instructions directed parents to Enfield Admissions Service's online application at www.eadmissions.org.uk/eAdmissions/app. Foundation Church applicants also needed a supplementary form and supporting reference; Open Community applicants did not need that additional form. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions.

The universal funded pattern is fifteen hours across five mornings, Monday to Friday, from 9am to noon, for thirty-eight weeks annually. Drop-off and collection are at the classroom door. This is a fixed morning pattern, so families should plan their working day around that collection time.

Thirty-hour extended provision is also offered, with the additional hours subject to availability. The school's breakfast service and Club St Michael's accept children from Reception upwards, so those services are not nursery wraparound options.

Nursery enquiries and application forms go to admissions@st-michaels.enfield.sch.uk. The starter pack arrives by email and includes an online admission form and a nursery entitlement declaration.

Uniform combines a white polo shirt with green shorts in summer or a logo tracksuit in winter. Shoes or trainers must suit outdoor play. A named waterproof coat is required each day, and clothing should be labelled, making identification and changes of weather easier to manage.