Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Nursery

Child-chosen play, conversations in a sensory room and learning outdoors in wet weather give St Mary's Nursery its character. This is the academy's own nursery on Warren Road in Folkestone, taking children from age two, with 30 places per session and limited spaces for two-year-olds. Qualified early years teachers and staff manage the provision.

The November 2025 Ofsted judgement for early years was Expected standard. Nursery children were settled and content, with a purposeful atmosphere supporting their start in education. There are teaching issues to weigh alongside that positive picture.

Children's interests shape the day. Adults watch their play and choose moments to extend it, while each child's key person plans activities weekly around their interests and next learning steps. Children then have time to practise through play they choose themselves. This gives adults a way to connect planned learning with what already catches a child's attention.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers seven development areas. In parent language, it brings together talking and listening, movement, relationships and emotions, early reading and writing, maths, discovering the world and creative expression. Adult-guided activities sit alongside children's own choices. Familiar stories are available within nursery reading and play provision and retold aloud, giving children repeated opportunities to explore storytelling.

The sensory room provides a specific setting for conversation and vocabulary development. Outdoors, learning continues across the seasons: the nursery supplies wellies and has wet-weather clothing. These practical provisions help children take part when the weather changes.

In November 2025, some early years children had difficulty with writing and forming letters; leaders had started to tackle this. Adult interactions also varied in quality, sometimes limiting vocabulary development. Strengthening every early years staff member's expertise in conversations with children remained a required improvement.

A key person connects each child's interests with planned activities. The nursery aims to ease the move from home into nursery and school life; tours and stay-and-play sessions provide opportunities for staff to explain how learning works. Tapestry shares photographs and observations with families, while Arbor holds contact and medical details and supports booking parent meetings. Parents therefore have distinct routes for following learning and keeping practical information up to date.

Food arrangements are concrete. Morning snacks include fruit and a savoury choice, with milk offered at snack time and during the day. Children receiving EYPP funding can have a hot school lunch, and paid hot lunches are another option. Otherwise, families bring a balanced packed lunch. St Mary's is nut-free, so packed lunches must exclude nut products.

Support needs are identified from Nursery onwards. In November 2025, targeted help supported children's communication needs, although inconsistent adult interactions remained a concern. Families with concerns about additional needs can arrange to speak with the SENCo. The nursery manager is also part of the school's designated safeguarding team, providing a nursery link within that structure.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal school admissions process. For children living in Kent, the route is Kent County Council's online primary admissions application; families living elsewhere apply through their home local authority.

Treat the nursery choice and Reception application as separate decisions. Acceptance into the nursery should not replace making that later application by the deadline for the child's entry year.

Every child is entitled to 15 hours from the term following their third birthday. Limited two-year-old places can use FF2 funding or working family funding. Paid sessions are also part of the arrangements. Contact the nursery about funding and current charges on 01303 212701 or nursery@st-marys-folkestone.kent.sch.uk; nursery admissions are handled directly by the school.

Pack a named bag containing spare clothes, a named coat, and nappies or pull-ups and wipes where needed. Children should wear shoes they can remove and put on easily. Bring an open cup to remain at nursery, or a bottle if an open cup is difficult. Families apply sun cream before nursery in hot weather; staff reapply it during the day.

Parentpay handles paid sessions and resources, while Caterlink handles payment for hot lunches. Keeping these arrangements separate helps families manage the practical side of attendance.