Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy Nursery Review

Rhymes, stories and first encounters with numbers give Mark Pre-School its clearest identity: early learning within a village school's own provision. It caters for two-, three- and four-year-olds at Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy on The Causeway, Mark, on the Somerset Levels. The nursery belongs to a Church of England school, so families are choosing provision within that school setting.

The early years provision was judged Requires improvement at the Ofsted inspection on 21 and 22 January 2025. That judgement covers the school's early years, rather than a separately graded nursery.

Planning has a termly structure, with flexibility to respond to children's interests and needs. This gives the pre-school a planned direction while allowing children's interests to influence what they learn. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the curriculum framework here; concrete examples include early number recognition, listening to stories and learning rhymes.

White Rose Hub materials guide mathematics planning across the EYFS. In January 2025, pre-school children were learning to recognise numbers up to 5. Stories and rhymes also began in pre-school, putting spoken language and listening alongside those first mathematical steps.

The wider school has an outdoor classroom used for curriculum learning and forest school activities. It provides a physical setting for learning outdoors, separate from classroom work.

Adult interaction. In January 2025, some early years teaching did not put the curriculum into practice effectively. Some staff needed greater expertise, and conversations with adults did not consistently develop children's vocabulary or language. For parents, the central concern is how adults extend a child's talk during learning, rather than simply which activities are offered.

A pre-school manager and deputy manager work alongside practitioners. This gives the provision its own management structure within the school.

For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school aims to adapt education to individual strengths and needs and work with parents. Families can contact the SENDCo through the office on 01278 641262 or at office@markfirstschool.co.uk. That provides a direct route for discussing a child's needs with the school team.

The school also shares Managing Big Emotions, a parent workshop created by the Educational Psychology Team in Somerset. Its focus includes anxiety and understanding behaviour as communication, giving families a resource for thinking about difficult feelings at home.

Attending Mark Pre-School does not guarantee a Reception place. Nursery admission and Reception admission are separate: families must apply again through their home local authority, using a Common Application Form and meeting the normal application deadline. Somerset residents apply through Somerset Council; North Somerset residents use North Somerset Council. Choosing nursery sessions should therefore remain separate from planning the school application.

The nursery enquiry form asks for a preferred start date and the days and morning or afternoon sessions a family wants. It also accepts requests for breakfast or after-school hours. These are preferences to submit, rather than a confirmed booking. Contact the pre-school directly on 01278 641691, and refer to the school for current charges.

Parking. Families collecting or dropping off only at pre-school may use the school car park when they arrive after school drop-off and leave before school pick-up. They must leave within those limits so spaces remain available for permit holders. This condition matters when planning a journey around a nursery session.