Willowbrook School Nursery Review

Storytelling, conversation and movement give Willowbrook’s nursery its character. Children can join from the age of three, becoming part of Willowbrook School on Summer Lane in Beacon Heath, Exeter. The early years approach puts learning through play alongside predictable routines, with communication, independence and managing feelings among the school’s priorities.

This is provision with a clear emphasis on the foundations of learning. Willowbrook aims to help children express their needs and ideas, develop relationships and sustain their attention. Those priorities connect the activities children choose with the skills they need to participate alongside others.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: learning through play, adapted to each child. Extended periods of play with accessible resources give children time to return to ideas and practise skills. Adults join their play and introduce vocabulary connected to children’s interests and what they are learning.

ShREC gives those conversations a specific structure. Its four elements are Share attention, Respond, Expand and Check, helping adults build on what a child communicates. Drawing Club adds another route into language: children talk through imagined stories before expressing ideas in drawings or early marks. The emphasis is on giving an idea words before putting it on paper.

Physical activity has a daily place. Outdoor areas provide opportunities for running, exploration, balancing and climbing; indoors, threading and construction sit alongside drawing and early writing activities. These give children practice in both larger movements and finer hand control. Adults demonstrate how to move safely and plan additional activities for children needing support.

Learning to manage feelings is taught explicitly. Zones of Regulation helps children recognise emotions and explore ways to handle them, while adults teach taking turns and doing things independently. Routines can be adapted for individual needs, rather than expecting every child to respond in the same way.

Starting nursery brings a transition process that Willowbrook says is tailored to the child and family. Regular communication and parental involvement are part of its early years approach. Across the school, additional needs are supported through an Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle, giving staff a process for checking and adjusting provision.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. It gives no Reception admissions priority under the arrangements for 2027–28. Families must make a separate application through the local authority where they live; Devon residents can apply at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline. For September 2027 entry, applications run from 15 November 2026 to 15 January 2027.

Transition support is a separate matter. Summer-term meetings and activities form part of normal-round admission, helping families prepare once a place has been offered. Respond to the school’s communications to confirm that you want the place and take part in that preparation.

After School Club accepts nursery children from 3.20pm to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday, in the Community Room. Activities and games give children time to play and socialise. Spaces are limited, with advance booking and payment through Arbor; an adult must collect and sign children out. Breakfast Club does not accept nursery children, which matters when planning morning childcare.

For nursery enquiries, call 01392 466208 or email willowbrook@thsp.org.uk. Informal school visits can be arranged through the office throughout the year. Nursery application, interest and hours-request forms are available, with paper copies supplied by the office for families unable to access them.