Field House Infant School Nursery Review

Stories, early reading and outdoor movement gave Field House’s early years provision its clearest character at the October 2023 inspection. This is the nursery provision within Field House Infant School, with a class named Great Grasshoppers. At that inspection, early learning included listening to stories, becoming familiar with sounds and developing physical skills through outdoor activity.

Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 3 and 4 October 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating. It provides a dated assessment of the provision rather than a promise about an individual child’s experience.

At the October 2023 inspection, regular story sessions began in the Nursery Year. Reading therefore had a place in the nursery day before children moved into their next class. For a parent choosing an early learning setting, this provides a dated picture of the experience: stories and listening featured alongside the beginnings of learning to read.

In October 2023, early years children began learning reading sounds from the outset. Activities were carefully matched to children’s needs and their learning. The significant point is the connection between an activity and its purpose: children’s experiences were planned to help them develop, rather than simply occupy their time. This gives parents a useful picture of how play and learning relate here.

Outdoor provision also gave early years children frequent chances to build physical skills. Movement has a place alongside language and reading. The outdoor space is a learning resource in its own right, allowing physical development to form part of children’s early education rather than treating it as a break from learning.

Matching activities to children’s needs was a strength of early years in October 2023. For families, that matters because children begin nursery with different abilities and experiences; the activity needs to serve the child’s learning.

Safeguarding arrangements across the school were effective at that inspection. This is a school-wide finding, relevant to the nursery’s place within the larger setting, rather than a separate assessment of nursery care routines.

Attending Field House’s nursery does not guarantee a place in its Reception. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Choosing the nursery and applying for a school place are separate decisions.

Keep that distinction central when planning the next step. A child’s time in Great Grasshoppers is an early education experience in its own right; it should not be treated as confirmation of a future Reception place. The nursery decision needs to work for the child’s present day as well as the family’s longer-term plans.

Field House Infant School is on Lower Whitworth Road, Ilkeston, DE7 4LT. Families can contact the school by telephone on 01159324526 or email enquiries@fieldhouse.derbyshire.sch.uk for nursery enquiries.

The direct contact route gives parents a practical starting point for discussing joining the nursery. Keep the nursery enquiry distinct from the later Reception application: they concern different stages of the child’s education.