Hoglets Nursery at Blakeney CE VA Primary School

A puppet theatre indoors, a mud kitchen outside and older children learning alongside younger ones give Hoglets its distinctive shape. This is the nursery at Blakeney Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, for children aged 3 and 4. It operates in term time, across 38 weeks of the year.

Nursery children share a spacious learning room with Reception children. That makes mixed-age learning part of their everyday experience. The nursery aims to help younger children settle through the example and support of their older classmates.

Play drives the learning. Activities follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), with plans adjusted to children's interests. In practical terms, play has a learning purpose: staff connect what catches a child's attention with the skills and knowledge they are working towards. A termly theme gives activities a common thread, while each child's PLOD (Possible Line of Development Plan) records interests and individual targets.

Inside, children can invent stories with puppets, explore a dolls house or act out familiar routines in the pretend kitchen. Games and puzzles sit alongside loose parts and materials for making things, giving children opportunities to construct, experiment and solve problems. A cooking space within the classroom supports baking. Changing activities in tuff trays invite sensory exploration.

Outside, the wooden sandpit and mud kitchen offer different materials to investigate. Children can make sounds at the music wall, paint at the painting wall, use ride-on toys or play in the playhouse. The school's Plantation also supports outdoor learning, and nursery children can use a wooden play structure with a slide. These spaces give play room to move beyond the classroom.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that curriculum planning accommodated mixed-age groups, including early-years children, and that teachers checked what those children had learned. These findings concern early-years teaching within the school.

Learning is recorded through Tapestry as well as in each child's learning book. Alongside the individual development plan, this creates a record of experiences and next steps rather than relying solely on finished work.

The school team includes a teacher covering EYFS and Key Stage 1, teaching assistants and a special educational needs coordinator. The Pilgrim Federation describes inclusion and partnership with parents as priorities for children with special educational needs. For families, that makes discussion of a child's individual needs part of the relationship with the school.

Sharing a room with Reception gives nursery children familiarity with the learning environment before a possible move into that year group. This is useful preparation, but nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place.

Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. The route is Norfolk Admissions. Keep that application separate from nursery attendance: familiarity with the classroom is a transition benefit, not an assurance of admission.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoons run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. Families can choose either session or a full day. The intervening lunchtime session, from 11:45am to 12:15pm, carries an additional charge.

Both 15-hour and 30-hour funded places are offered. Children needing more than their 15-hour entitlement who do not qualify for 30 hours can attend additional paid three-hour sessions. Contact the school for current charges.

Hoglets children can also attend the general after-school club on Mondays and Tuesdays, or Thursday's cookery club. These finish at 4pm and are free of charge. For enquiries or to arrange a meeting, telephone 01263 740531 or email blakeney@pilgrimfed.org.uk.