Beaumont Community Primary School Nursery Review

Songs, storytelling and experiments with materials give Beaumont’s youngest children plenty to explore. Nursery children join the mixed early years provision from age three, sharing Rabbits Class with Reception children at Beaumont Community Primary School in Hadleigh. This is a nursery within the school’s existing classroom structure.

At the inspection on 26 and 27 March 2024, Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Outstanding. That judgement covers the combined early years provision. Children made excellent progress across their learning, with familiar routines helping them take part confidently.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach recognises children as individuals and connects their development with relationships and their learning surroundings. In practice, creative work, music and exploration of the world give children different ways to express ideas and build understanding.

Art involves trying tools and materials, experimenting with texture and colour, and explaining how a creation was made. Props support storytelling through role play. These activities connect making things with talking about them: children can develop an idea, then share the thinking behind it.

Charanga supports music in early years. Children sing familiar nursery rhymes, perform poems and stories together, and try moving to the music where appropriate. Scientific exploration includes minibeasts, birds and sea life, alongside materials, seasons and weather. Practical experiences and conversation help extend vocabulary. Storytelling also introduces the past, while discussion of people’s lives connects learning with the world children know.

The EYFS lunch hour runs from noon to 1pm, giving this part of the day its own timetable.

Preparation starts before children join. In March 2024, early years staff learned about children beforehand and used that understanding to shape learning around their interests and needs. Expectations were introduced as children started, helping them understand classroom routines from the outset.

For parents, ClassDojo carries messages, reminders and first aid notifications, as well as classroom updates and photographs. Rabbits Class also uses Tapestry to share activity photographs. These give families a way to keep up with classroom life beyond conversations with staff.

Meals are prepared in the school kitchen, with a freshly cooked main course and a second course each day. Norse menus rotate over four weeks and change each term and a half. Families requesting vegetarian meals should tell the office. Mid-morning snacks are fruit or vegetables, and the school asks families to avoid sending foods containing nuts. Drinking fountains sit near classrooms; children can also bring a labelled water bottle with a closed plastic top.

The school’s SENCO can be reached through the office. Class teachers address additional learning needs and can seek help from an Advisory Teacher for Learning Support, giving families a route into the school’s support structure.

Sharing Rabbits Class brings nursery children into the same provision as Reception children. It does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route; school applications are handled by the Admissions Team at Suffolk County Council. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions.

For a nursery application form, contact the school office when your child is turning three. Visits to the EYFS setting can also be arranged through the office on 01473 825120. The school is on Durrant Road, Hadleigh, IP7 6GD; enquiries can be emailed to admin@beaumontschool.suffolk.sch.uk.

The school uniform combines bottle green with white and black or grey. Logo versions of the jumper, cardigan and polo shirt are optional, so families can use unbranded alternatives. Contact the school for current charges.