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Nursery at St Alban's Catholic Academy
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Photo collages, gingerbread cut-out people and friendship collages give this nursery's Catholic character a concrete shape. At St Alban's Catholic Academy on First Avenue in Harlow, provision for three-year-olds forms part of the school's early years. The Caritas Curriculum brings faith into activities about the people children know and the relationships they are beginning to understand.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the learning framework, with Caritas adding a Catholic focus. Nursery themes move from family life to happiness and friendship. Children use gingerbread people to identify members of their family, giving them something tangible to support conversations about who loves and cares for them.
Photographs provide another starting point. A happiness activity involves making a photo collage of things children value in their world; the friendship theme uses a collage of faces. These are practical ways to explore relationships through making, looking and talking. Tapestry can provide a link with home for the happiness activity.
Conversation served a teaching purpose in early years. In October 2024, Ofsted found that staff helped children understand more by asking questions and showing them how to use vocabulary. This gave talk a role beyond social interaction. Alongside these exchanges, planned learning supported children in becoming more independent, cooperating in play and paying attention when adults led sessions.
Language needs receive attention from the start: Wellcomm/NELI screening is used on entry to nursery. Parents can raise concerns with the Inclusion Lead through the school office. This gives families a route into discussing support early.
The school's SEND arrangements use One Page Profiles to describe classroom adjustments, with One Plans for children needing specific learning targets. Families help develop these plans, and progress is reviewed at least termly. Support resources include ear defenders, writing slopes and wobble cushions, selected around children's needs.
Medical care plans are developed with parents and staff, and an early years classroom staff member has paediatric first aid training. Support needs. The school says its mainstream provision supports moderate SEND but cannot cater for complex or extreme needs. Families should consider that stated limit when assessing suitability.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through their home local authority, following the normal application process and its closing date. For the September 2026 intake, nursery attendance did not confer priority under the oversubscription criteria. A nursery place should therefore be chosen for the nursery experience itself.
Transition support is a separate matter. For children with SEND, the trust's arrangements include visits involving parents and children, information handovers and transition booklets. These help carry knowledge of a child's needs into the next setting or stage.
Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoons run from 12.05pm to 3.05pm. The usual booking pattern is all mornings, all afternoons or full days. Some flexible places may be offered after other allocations, with termly review, so flexibility is conditional.
Full-day places include a 30-hour funded option. Lunchtime supervision carries a daily charge for those funded places, and paid half-day extensions are also offered. Contact the school for current charges. Nursery enquiries can go to the school office on 01279 425383 or adminstalbans@ourladyoffatimatrust.essex.sch.uk.
The school's early years provision includes three-year-old children.
Morning sessions are 8.45am to 11.45am, and afternoon sessions are 12.05pm to 3.05pm.
Some flexible places may be offered after other places have been allocated. These are reviewed termly.
No. A separate application must be made through your home local authority. Nursery attendance did not confer priority for the September 2026 intake.
Contact the Inclusion Lead through the school office. Language screening is used on entry to nursery, and families participate in planning and reviewing SEND support.
