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Nursery at Booker Avenue Infant 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Homemade binoculars, a climbing area and the Caterpillar Cafe give Booker Avenue's nursery a character built around practical discovery. Caterpillar Class is the school's own nursery on Booker Avenue in Liverpool. Stories lead into making, talking and exploring, with activities that give children something concrete to discuss.
Ofsted graded the school's early years provision Good at its inspection on 7 and 8 January 2025. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating. There are curriculum reservations for parents to weigh alongside the practical activities.
Language is a clear curriculum priority. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach uses literacy to connect learning, while leaving time for children's interests. Development Matters supports planning. For parents, this means stories can become starting points for conversation and exploration rather than simply a listening activity.
A January 2026 activity based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear. What can you see? illustrates that approach: children made binoculars, explored the grounds and practised spoken sentences about their discoveries. In April 2026, Incy Wincy Spider prompted children to investigate nursery spouts and pour water through them. Familiar words became a practical experiment.
Physical activity and early writing also meet in everyday play. September 2025 activities included making shapes in mud, games involving turns and using the climbing area. At the Caterpillar Cafe in October 2025, children made cookies from both clay and edible ingredients, and used claves to explore syllables in their names. The school also gives all children weekly access to its music room.
Outdoor learning includes the nursery's outdoor space and birdwatching walks. Aqualease brought starfish and crabs for children to examine in January 2026, adding direct contact with sea creatures to their learning. However, in January 2025, parts of the early years curriculum lacked sufficiently precise learning goals, and some tasks made important knowledge harder to acquire. Practical variety needs a clear learning purpose.
Starting nursery is staged. Morning and afternoon settling sessions ran on 7 and 8 September 2026, before normal attendance began on 9 September. This gave that intake an introductory period before its usual pattern started.
Food appears as a shared learning experience. Children made pizza for a snack in September 2025; a February 2026 picnic linked to The Very Hungry Caterpillar included cheese, plums and strawberries. Eating together gave children a setting in which to practise manners. A school chef also visited nursery to discuss fruit, vegetables and meals.
Friday afternoon newsletters reach families through an online communication platform. For additional needs, the school's approach uses Assess, Plan, Do and Review, with parents involved in decisions. The January 2025 findings also raised concerns about inconsistent curriculum adaptations for some pupils with SEND across the school, including complex needs. Families should weigh that concern when considering support for their child.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal route and meet the applicable deadline. Liverpool City Council decides admissions to the school, and families should contact the council about its admission arrangements.
There is contact between the age groups: Reception children joined nursery's coral reef activities. That is a shared learning experience, not an admissions entitlement.
Funded provision covers 15 or 30 hours and operates in term time, with nursery hours of 8.45am to 3.15pm. The 15-hour pattern is five mornings, 8.45am to 11.45am, or five afternoons, 12.15pm to 3.15pm. These fixed patterns matter when matching nursery to family routines.
For September 2026 entry, the nursery announced that it was full and directed families seeking a waiting-list place to the office. Applications use the nursery form, emailed to support@bookeravenue-inf.co.uk; paper forms can be collected from the office. A Nursery Open Afternoon is scheduled for 4 November 2026, from 3.45pm to 4.45pm.
There are 15-hour and 30-hour funded places in term time. The 15-hour option consists of five morning sessions or five afternoon sessions.
Mornings run from 8.45am to 11.45am. Afternoons run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm.
No. Reception requires a separate application through the normal admissions process. Liverpool City Council decides admissions to the school.
Complete the nursery application form and email it to support@bookeravenue-inf.co.uk. The office supplies paper copies. For September 2026 entry, the nursery announced it was full and offered a waiting-list enquiry route.
It is scheduled for 4 November 2026, between 3.45pm and 4.45pm.
