Silverton Church of England Primary School Nursery Review

Little Acorns learn alongside Big Acorns, with preschool and Reception children sharing indoor and outdoor learning spaces. This is the nursery at Silverton Church of England Primary School on Coach Road, within Acorns Foundation Stage Unit. The unit welcomes children aged three to five; Little Acorns is its nursery group.

Language, relationships and exploration give the provision its character. Ofsted graded the school's early years provision Good at the inspection on 25 and 26 March 2025. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Learning moves between indoor areas and outdoor provision. Topics give activities a starting point, while children's interests also influence investigations. Children develop understanding through conversation, observation and experimentation, with opportunities to revisit ideas and respond to other children and adults. The emphasis is on taking part and thinking things through.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning and personal development. Communication, physical development and learning to manage feelings and relationships provide foundations for literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. For parents, that means learning includes how children talk, move and get along, as well as what they know.

Acorns follows a rolling topic programme. During the 2025–26 academic year, nursery themes included All About Me, Weather, Birds, Monarchy and Castles, and How does your garden grow? Separate nursery topic webs give families a way to follow those themes. Little Wandle Nursery Rhyme Videos provide a further resource for use at home.

In March 2025, early years teaching used purposeful questions and checks on learning to help children get more from activities. Language development ran through the indoor and outdoor learning areas. This gives the shared spaces an educational purpose beyond simply providing room to play.

Positive relationships between staff and children supported clear expectations in early years in March 2025. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities learned alongside their peers and achieved equally well within that provision. These findings matter for families seeking inclusion within everyday learning.

The federation's SEND arrangements bring teachers, teaching assistants and special needs coordinators together to plan interventions, with outside agencies involved where needed. Devon Information Advice and Support is also signposted for parents. For food, children attending only an afternoon nursery session must bring a packed lunch; that session includes lunchtime.

Sharing Acorns with Reception children provides familiarity with the unit's spaces and older children. It does not guarantee a Reception place. The learning arrangement and the admissions decision are separate matters.

Families must make a fresh, formal application for Reception through Devon County Council's normal admissions process and meet the normal application deadline. Silverton's admissions page directs parents to Devon's online application service or application forms. Nursery attendance should never be treated as a substitute for that application.

Three session patterns give families a choice: mornings run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3.30pm, and full days from 9am to 3.30pm. A morning session can include an additional lunch hour, from noon to 1pm. Both the afternoon and full-day patterns include lunchtime, so lunch forms part of the childcare arrangement rather than a separate afternoon activity.

Nursery enquiries go through the school office on 01392 860677 or by email to silvertonadmin@exevalleyfederation.org.uk. Visits can also be arranged through the office. The published session choices offer a useful starting point for deciding whether a morning, an afternoon or a full day fits family routines.