Mulberry Baird Primary Nursery

Digging, building and investigating give Mulberry Baird Primary’s nursery its clearest character: children learn by doing, with opportunities to work alongside others and to tackle activities independently. This is the school’s own nursery provision on Parker Road in Hastings. At the June 2024 inspection, nursery activities combined practical exploration with planned opportunities to begin developing reading and writing skills.

Ofsted judged early years provision Good at the inspection on 12 to 13 June 2024. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision rather than a separately inspected nursery. The nursery-specific picture is of children forming positive relationships and engaging enthusiastically with their learning, making both social confidence and active participation part of the experience.

In June 2024, nursery learning included construction, climbing, investigation and digging. These activities give children different ways to participate: building involves making something, investigation invites questions, and climbing brings physical activity into the learning day. Practical exploration is a substantial part of the picture, alongside early literacy.

Children worked both independently and collaboratively, bringing enthusiasm and persistence to their activities. For parents, that combination matters: a child has opportunities to try something for themselves as well as to share a task with other children. Learning together and working alone each have a place.

Early reading and writing received regular attention through deliberately organised activities. In June 2024, staff planned repeated opportunities to develop these skills within the early years programme. The practical implication is that hands-on activity and the beginnings of literacy sit alongside each other. Children can investigate and construct while also taking part in activities designed to develop their reading and writing.

Relationships are a clear part of the nursery’s June 2024 picture. Children developed positive connections with adults and other children from the start. For a young child, those connections matter alongside the activities themselves: nursery involves learning with adults and sharing experiences with peers.

The social element also runs through the learning. Collaborative activities provide occasions to participate with other children, while independent work gives space for individual effort. Together, these findings describe a nursery experience in which relationships and participation are closely connected.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a place in the school’s Reception. Families must apply separately for Reception through the normal admissions route by the applicable deadline. Choosing nursery and applying for a school place are separate decisions.

Reception admission. A nursery place is not a promise of a Reception place. Families should keep the separate application in their plans rather than treating nursery attendance as securing the next stage.

The nursery is part of Mulberry Baird Primary at Parker Road, Hastings, TN34 3TH. The school’s telephone number is 01424425670. These contact and location details provide a direct starting point for families considering the provision.