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Nursery at Spring Cottage Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Daily outdoor play and maths meetings give Spring Cottage's nursery a clear character: children follow their interests, while adults introduce language, numbers and familiar routines. This is the school's Foundation Stage One provision, within its early years foundation stage, on Dressay Grove in Hull.
Children can start from the term after their third birthday. There are 78 nursery places, divided into 39 morning and 39 afternoon places. A nursery teacher works with at least two Senior Achievement Support Assistants, with a staff-to-pupil ratio of 1:13. These are session-based places, so the attendance pattern matters when planning family life.
Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 29 and 30 November 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.
Play provides the starting point. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together communication, physical skills and emotional development with early literacy, maths, creativity and understanding the world. Staff plan learning experiences but also respond to what interests the children, giving their ideas a place in the session.
Daily nursery maths meetings explore counting and numbers alongside shapes, quantities and sorting. This gives children practical ways to begin understanding mathematical ideas. Reading has a named approach too: children begin Read, Write Inc when they are ready, rather than starting simply because they have joined nursery.
Each early years classroom has its own outdoor area, used every day whatever the weather. Outdoor learning is therefore part of ordinary provision. Regular forest school sessions sit alongside trips and visits, and specialist teachers contribute to forest school, music and physical education.
In November 2023, the early years curriculum placed a strong emphasis on vocabulary and children's ability to communicate. Children remained absorbed in play activities, while adults demonstrated routines that helped them manage their behaviour. Language development and learning how to participate are closely connected here.
Preparation begins with something children can recognise: a transition book containing photographs of their classroom and the adults working with them. Families can use it to talk through the new setting before the child starts. Parents are also encouraged to practise everyday independence, including handwashing, toileting, dressing and eating.
Stay and Play sessions and parent workshops give families opportunities to understand what happens in early years. Emotional learning includes Unique Umbrella, a programme used from Foundation Stage through to Year 3 that aims to develop children's understanding of feelings and social relationships.
For children with additional needs, Spring Meadows is the school's specialist setting for early years and Key Stage 1 children with communication and interaction needs. An early years and Key Stage 1 SEND coordinator forms part of the support structure. Families of children identified as having SEND can attend termly coffee mornings to meet the SENDCo, SEND Parent Link and SEND Governor, giving them a regular opportunity to discuss support.
Lunch falls between the two nursery sessions, from 11.30am to 12.15pm. Lunchtime supervision carries a daily charge, payable even when the child does not attend for lunch. Ask the school for current charges when agreeing attendance.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate school application through the normal admissions process and meet the deadline for their child's entry year.
Hull residents apply to Hull City Council through My School Portal. For the 2026 entry cycle, the deadline was 15 January 2026. Families living outside Hull apply through their home authority. Treat the nursery decision and the Reception application as separate tasks.
Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am; afternoons run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. Attendance provides 15 funded hours. When numbers permit, a small number of 30-hour places are offered to eligible working parents or carers. Eligible families unable to obtain a 30-hour place can split provision between Spring Cottage and another local childcare provider.
Beginning-of-week or end-of-week attendance patterns can be chosen when those sessions are available. The headteacher decides the final number of sessions and attendance pattern, so confirm the arrangement before organising other childcare.
Approach the school directly about a nursery place. Contact the office on 01482 794183 or admin@springcottage.hull.sch.uk; visits can also be arranged through the school. Registering interest early does not guarantee a nursery place.
Children can be considered for a place from the start of the term following their third birthday.
Morning sessions are 8.30am to 11.30am. Afternoon sessions are 12.15pm to 3.15pm, with lunch between them.
A small number of 30-hour places are offered to eligible working parents or carers when numbers allow. If a place is unavailable, eligible families can use 15 hours here and 15 hours with another local childcare provider.
No. A separate school application is required through the normal admissions route, by the deadline for the child's entry year.
Parent workshops and Stay and Play sessions provide opportunities to learn about children's activities in early years.
