Dunn Street Primary School Nursery Review

A three-hour morning or a longer nursery day: Dunn Street gives families two distinct session patterns within a primary-school setting. The nursery at Minster Parade in Jarrow has provision for two-year-olds and three-year-olds. For parents, the practical distinction is the finishing time: a morning ends before midday, while the 30-hour pattern continues into the afternoon.

Both patterns begin at 8:45am. The morning session finishes at 11:45am, and the 30-hour option ends at 2:45pm. That difference matters when matching nursery attendance to work and care arrangements.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework for early education and care. Its foundations are children's physical development, communication and language, and personal, social and emotional development. These support learning in mathematics, literacy, expressive arts and understanding the world. In parent terms, learning to communicate and manage feelings belongs alongside early reading and number work.

For children with additional needs, the school plans to track development throughout early years and adjust support through assessment and review. The emphasis is on responding to the individual child's development, with parents involved when concerns emerge.

Parents have a defined role in support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The school will listen to concerns about development, inform families when additional educational provision is introduced, and work through a cycle of assessing needs, planning support, putting it into practice and reviewing its effect. This gives families a sequence for discussing what their child needs and whether the response should change.

For children receiving SEND support, the class teacher and special educational needs coordinator will meet parents three times each year. Those discussions cover outcomes and progress, giving families regular opportunities to contribute to the next steps.

English as an additional language is treated separately from learning difficulties. Equally, slower progress will not automatically be attributed solely to learning English. The school intends to consider the child's home, culture and wider circumstances when distinguishing language needs from SEND.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place, and it gives no priority under the school's admission criteria. Families must make a separate Reception application. Treat that as a distinct decision and process, even if your child already attends nursery.

For the 2026–2027 admission arrangements, the route is the Common Application Form supplied by South Tyneside Local Authority, submitted by the determined closing date. The local authority makes the offer on the school's behalf. Late applications are considered after those submitted on time, so the application timetable matters independently of nursery attendance.

For children with Education, Health and Care plans, the school will review and amend plans ahead of changes between key education phases, allowing time to organise support. That preparation concerns continuity of care and learning; it does not confer an admissions advantage.

The two nursery patterns are 8:45am–11:45am for mornings and 8:45am–2:45pm for the 30-hour option. Use those nursery times when planning collection.

Nursery application forms come from the school office, and staff require a birth certificate when families apply. Applications for two-year-old provision can be submitted after a child's first birthday; for three-year-old provision, they can be submitted after the second birthday. These are application ages, rather than starting ages. Allocation follows the Trust's admission criteria in priority order, and further identity evidence may be required to establish eligibility.