Countess Wear Primary School Nursery

Apple muffins and banana bread give a flavour of the practical learning in Cornerstone Academy Trust’s nursery curriculum. Countess Wear’s nursery belongs to the primary school on Glasshouse Lane in Exeter, with provision starting at age two. Its early learning sits within the Trust’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach, which brings care, communication and learning together. No Ofsted graded rating yet.

Stories, imaginative play and hands-on exploration shape the curriculum. The EYFS gives children opportunities to develop their speech, movement and relationships alongside early reading, number skills, creativity and understanding of their surroundings. Development Matters is the named framework for the nursery learning objectives. For parents, this means learning includes conversation and practical activity as well as recognising letters and numbers.

The language objectives include listening to stories, sustaining conversations and using speech to organise pretend play. Early literacy adds rhyming, clapping the beats in words and making meaningful marks, including the beginnings of a shopping list. Number work involves matching small quantities to numerals, comparing amounts and exploring shapes. These are practical foundations for expressing ideas and making sense of everyday problems.

Creative learning includes mixing colours, constructing imaginary worlds and experimenting with instruments. Exploration of natural materials extends indoors and outside, while growing seeds introduces caring for plants. Physical development covers balance, ball skills and increasingly controlled use of scissors and pencils. These are curriculum objectives, rather than a promise that each activity happens in every session.

Cooking adds a concrete thread through the year. The Trust’s nursery programme includes Easy Apple Muffins in autumn, with Banana Bread and Easy Bread Rolls in spring. Summer recipes include Frozen Fruity Yoghurt Bites and Cinnamon Snail Cookies. Food becomes something children can explore through making, alongside the wider curriculum’s attention to healthy choices.

A familiar key person features in the developmental approach: comfort, confidence in play and managing the handover from a parent are linked to that relationship. Independence develops gradually too, through learning to use the toilet, washing hands and managing clothing. These objectives connect emotional reassurance with the small practical steps children take towards caring for themselves.

For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Trust uses Assess, Plan, Do, Review alongside Devon’s Graduated Response Tool. Support can involve its speech and language therapist or school nurse, with referrals to outside services where necessary. This provides a structure for identifying a child’s needs, planning help and reviewing what should happen next.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Devon Admissions and meet the deadline for their child’s entry year. Devon County Council’s Admissions Team administers applications for the Trust. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions.

For the 2023-24 school year, preschool opening was at 8:30am, learning began at 9:00am and the day ended at 3:00pm. Those are historical timings. For general enquiries, contact the Trust administration team at admin@tcat.education or on 01392 304040.