West Rainton Primary School Nursery

Separate classrooms for two-year-olds and children aged three to four give West Rainton Nursery its own shape within West Rainton Primary School. A library and cloakroom area, nursery toilets and outdoor space complete the provision. These are practical distinctions for families choosing an early start in a school setting: the nursery has spaces identified for its younger children.

Listening comes before reading here. Read, Write Inc. begins in nursery with activities that help children recognise sounds at the start of words and notice rhymes. Some children also start putting sounds together to read a word. That keeps the first steps concrete, with attention to what children can hear before expecting them to read.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the curriculum framework, with learning adjusted to children's abilities. Alongside formal learning, the school's approach includes social development and growing independence. For parents, this means the curriculum concerns how children participate and develop as people as well as what they learn.

Outdoor provision has a useful accessibility detail: both the EYFS outdoor spaces and the forest school can be reached at ground level. Indoors, the nursery's library area adds a distinct space for books alongside its age-specific classrooms. The school also includes nursery children, starting with its two-year-olds, in computing themes shared across the school, covering information technology, computer science and digital literacy.

An early years team supports the provision. At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that nursery adults responded closely to children's needs and that early years learning was planned with clear expectations about what children would learn and when. This gives the care arrangements an educational purpose as well as attention to individual children.

For a child with identified special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), contact with the school SEND coordinator can begin before entry. Visits to the child's existing nursery and meetings involving different professionals may form part of that preparation. Passing on information before the move gives staff a starting point for planning support.

Parents take part in the school's Assess, Plan, Do and Review process. SEN Support Plans are revisited at least three times during an academic year and developed with families, including ideas for support at home. Conversations with the class teacher or SEND coordinator and reviews of support plans provide ways to raise concerns and discuss changing needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through Durham County Council's school admissions route and meet the deadline for their child's entry year.

Preparation for the move is a separate matter. Reception starters have summer-term classroom visits, a meeting for parents and children, and an invitation to have school lunch together. Extra visits or meetings with professionals can be arranged where needed. These opportunities introduce the next classroom and its adults; they do not replace the application process.

For nursery enquiries or to arrange a visit, telephone 0191 5843805. Families can also speak to staff at the school office. The nursery page explicitly welcomes both requests for information and visit arrangements, giving parents a direct route to discuss joining the provision.