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Nursery at First Base Ipswich Academy
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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Small-step learning shapes the early-years provision at First Base Ipswich Academy, where the Raedwald Trust curriculum starts from a child's age and stage of development. The emphasis is on establishing a starting point before planning the next steps. That gives families a useful way to understand the provision: learning is organised around the child’s needs.
Based on Raeburn Road in Ipswich, the academy includes nursery provision within a school serving ages 3 to 8, with a whole-school capacity of 12. Those figures describe the school rather than a nursery intake. In May 2026, a small number of children attended early years; their experiences contributed to the whole-school inspection findings.
Learning is broken into small steps. Across the trust, programmes begin in early years, with curriculum overviews translating those steps into units of work and then daily or weekly planning. Planning uses the EDI framework. For parents, the practical significance is a sequence of learning built from manageable stages rather than an assumption that every child starts in the same place.
The Assessment Centre is part of that process and is accessed by pupils across all pathways. Its purpose is to establish where learning should begin and understand gaps in foundational knowledge. Within each academy, the curriculum takes account of a pupil's age and developmental stage on admission.
Subjects are organised in two ways: some learning is explicitly revisited, while other material is divided into chunks taught in sequence. The trust describes these choices as supporting knowledge over time, with teaching matched to children's development.
Safeguarding responsibility sits with the academy headteacher, supported by a deputy safeguarding lead. New staff receive safeguarding training at induction, including online safety, and staff undertake further training annually. This gives the team shared procedures for recognising concerns and taking action.
For children with special educational needs and disabilities, the trust recognises that communication difficulties and isolation can create additional safeguarding barriers. It will consider extra support for these pupils. Staff also try to take a child's feelings and wishes into account when deciding how to respond to a concern.
Family contact has a practical role. Missed timetabled sessions prompt follow-up, which can involve parents, emergency contacts and other professionals. A termly trust newsletter shares safeguarding information and signposts families to other agencies.
Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately through the normal Reception admissions process and meet the applicable deadline; nursery attendance should not be treated as securing the next place.
When a child moves to another setting, the safeguarding lead transfers child protection records and considers whether sharing information beforehand would help the receiving team prepare appropriate support. This is a care arrangement, separate from any admissions entitlement.
Contact the academy on 01473 719553 or email firstbaseipswich@raedwaldtrust.org. The address is Raeburn Road, Ipswich, IP3 0EW. Academy offices operate Monday to Friday, from 8:30am to 3:30pm; these are office hours.
For Suffolk County Council commissioned pathways, placements can begin at any point in the academic year, and an EHCP is not required to access support. Before a placement starts, the referring school must supply the information needed for the team to plan the child's provision.
The school's age range is 3 to 8. This is the whole-school range, rather than a separate nursery age range.
The trust curriculum breaks learning into small steps, with planning based on children's age and developmental stage. Its Assessment Centre helps establish learning starting points.
No. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process.
An EHCP is not required to access support through the Suffolk County Council commissioned pathways described here.
Call 01473 719553 or email firstbaseipswich@raedwaldtrust.org. The academy is on Raeburn Road, Ipswich, IP3 0EW.
