Loscoe CofE Primary School and Nursery: Squirrels Nursery

Six new words each week give Squirrels a clear focus: helping young children find more ways to express themselves. The nursery at Loscoe CofE Primary School and Nursery occupies its own building within the school grounds. Children can join from the term after their third birthday, with morning, afternoon and full-day options.

That separate nursery base sits within a shared early-years curriculum. Conversation, familiar stories and songs connect learning at school with family life, including Chatter Time activities to try at home.

Language runs through the routine. Children practise speaking and listening daily, hear stories and sing familiar nursery rhymes. Chatter Time brings topic photographs and pictures home each week, giving families a starting point for conversation. Children also suggest questions for staff to include in weekly planning. Their curiosity helps shape what happens next.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together communication, relationships and physical development with early literacy, maths, creativity and understanding the world. Topics organise learning across these areas, and the overall topic programme follows a two-year cycle. Staff review the nursery curriculum annually to reflect each group's interests and needs.

Core Book and Core Rhymes give stories and songs a recurring place. Repetition and recognisable story patterns are used to encourage retelling; across the EYFS, the school aims for children to know twelve stories in depth. Wow words introduces six theme-linked words each week. These approaches give children repeated opportunities to explore language rather than simply hear it once.

Phonics activities feature in every nursery session. Some develop through children's chosen play; most older children also join a focused activity led by an adult. Maths combines activities guided by staff with play chosen by children, exploring counting, numbers, shapes and measurement. Musical Exchanges adds music to the everyday learning provision.

Beyond the nursery building, the school grounds include a pond area, a wild flower meadow and two playgrounds. These are features of the wider site. In April 2023, Ofsted found that early reading was taught well from the early years, with additional help for children who fell behind.

Before children start, the early-years team aims to build relationships with parents. During nursery, families have regular teacher meetings about their child's next steps. This gives parents a practical connection between learning at nursery and support at home.

Support for additional needs draws on the school's SEND team. Adaptations include visual timetables, individual work and extra time to process information. The school aims to identify needs early and work with families and outside agencies, so support can respond to the child rather than rely on one fixed approach.

For children staying all day, a hot lunch is optional and charged separately. Lunch runs from 11:45 to 12:15. Breakfast Club offers choices such as porridge, toast and fruit; after-school care includes food and drink alongside time for reading, colouring or play.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal local-authority process. Nursery applications go directly to the school; main-school admissions are handled by the local authority. Treat the two applications as separate decisions.

Morning sessions run from 8:45 to 11:45, afternoons from 12:15 to 15:15, and full days from 8:45 to 15:15. Families can combine session types. A full day contains six hours of funded education and a half-hour lunch break. Families using an eligibility code should take it to the school office.

Breakfast Club runs from 7:30 to 8:45, with after-school care offered for up to two hours. Nursery wraparound places are limited by the adult-to-child ratios required for EYFS, so this needs to be part of childcare planning. Contact the office on 01773 713396 for nursery enquiries, application packs or a visit appointment, and for current charges.

Parents must avoid using the school car park or driving or parking on Church View. Walking is encouraged where possible. This restriction matters when planning collection as well as the morning journey.