Humberston Park School Nursery Review

Communication, movement and care shape Humberston Park’s approach to early learning. This special school admits children from age three and supports complex, severe and profound learning difficulties, including additional physical, sensory and medical needs. Its Early Learners provision sits within a school that brings education, health and care professionals together.

There is an important dated distinction: on 1 and 2 July 2025, no nursery-age children were on the school roll. Families should therefore distinguish the school’s approach to early learning from a description of an occupied nursery class at that time.

Learning and communication are closely connected here. Across the school, Total Communication Solutions combines visual supports, signing through Signalong and spoken or auditory communication according to each pupil’s needs and understanding. The practical purpose is to help children understand others and express themselves through a suitable method.

Eye Gaze Technology provides another route into participation. Pupils can operate a computer or communication device through eye movements, giving those who struggle to handle materials a way to access learning. Personalised animated resources support the development of visual skills and eye-pointing.

Movement also has a named place in the school’s approach. MOVEment for Learning & Life aims to develop independent movement, interaction and functional skills, with therapeutic strategies incorporated into learning. These are school-wide approaches, rather than a fixed nursery timetable.

The school previously described a weekly parent-and-child drop-in for preschool children with complex needs, including physical and sensory difficulties, held in a purpose-built HUB for children with physical disabilities. Parents accompanied their children. Contact the school to confirm current availability; this drop-in format should not be read as the nursery’s daily routine.

The previously described preschool drop-in brought a nursery teacher and experienced staff together with a physiotherapist and a speech and language therapist. That combination connected the session’s facilities with support for movement and communication.

Within the wider school team, roles include children’s complex health nurses, a consultant physiotherapist, a specialist speech and language therapist and an Early Learners class team leader. The school’s transdisciplinary approach means health, care and education staff collaborate around complex needs. For families, the relevant feature is this connection between professional disciplines.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Humberston Park’s usual placement route involves consultation by North East Lincolnshire Local Authority or a neighbouring authority, and children will usually have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Families should treat the next placement as a separate decision, rather than assume attendance settles it.

Visits can be arranged by appointment, and the School Office provides advice about children’s special educational needs. Contact the office on 01472 590 645 or at office@hpark.org.uk. The school is on St. Thomas Close, Grimsby, DN36 4HS.

These enquiry and visit arrangements offer a direct starting point for discussing a potential placement. For current preschool drop-in availability, contact the school by telephone.