Fazakerley Primary School Nursery Review

A mud kitchen, a timber trail and a separate quiet room give Fazakerley’s nursery several different gears: energetic outdoor play, imaginative activity and space to pause. This is the school’s own nursery on Formosa Drive in Liverpool, with learning planned around the developmental checkpoints for three-year-olds.

Early years provision was judged Good at the Ofsted inspection on 13 and 14 May 2025. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Communication, physical development and learning to manage feelings and relationships take precedence in the first nursery term. These are the three prime areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the framework for children’s early education and care. Literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts develop alongside them. The starting point is being ready to join in.

Small groups work with an adult, followed by practical activities. Songs, stories and rhymes help introduce concepts, and a familiar daily sequence helps children anticipate what comes next. Literacy or phonics has a daily input; nursery work includes phase 1 of Letters and Sounds. A weekly Jigsaw Jenny session addresses personal, social and emotional learning. In May 2025, nursery children engaged with familiar rhymes and songs, with regular storytelling across early years.

Children also choose their own play. Adults join them to develop language and ideas, then share observations at weekly team assessment meetings. Indoor and outdoor areas are connected through free-flow access during this play, so learning can move between spaces.

Inside, the nursery has a conservatory extension as well as its quiet room. Outdoors, children can ride scooters and bikes, build dens, garden or invent meals in the mud kitchen. The slide, climbing wall and timber trail make movement part of the learning environment. There is also space for reading quietly in a den. Outdoor access is supervised, and waterproof clothing and wellies help children use it across the weather.

A nursery teacher and a learning support assistant form the core nursery team; teaching students from local colleges work under supervision. Children’s starting skills are assessed when they join, and their first weeks help staff build an individual picture. Assessment every half term informs the next steps, keeping attention on each child’s development.

Parents can share achievements from home through a private Class Dojo portfolio. Developmental concerns are discussed with parents and the school’s special educational needs coordinator. An EYFS and Key Stage One SENDCo provides a contact for families through the school office or SENDCo@fazakerleyprimary.co.uk.

Lunch takes nursery children to the neighbouring KS1 hall. Daily fruit and milk are provided free for children in EYFS, while the school lunch offer includes soup, salad and fruit alongside a main course and dessert. Water bottles are kept at school, with drinking encouraged through the day.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal local-authority process and meet its deadline. Liverpool and Knowsley application routes are offered.

The Reception classrooms sit beside the nursery, giving children familiarity with the area before moving on. That physical continuity is useful for transition; it does not secure admission.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions are offered, and the nursery will try to accommodate other session needs. Nursery Wraparound Care provides a 30-hour option. Breakfast Club also accepts nursery children from 7:45am on school mornings, with places booked through the Parent/Carer Arbor Portal.

For Breakfast Club, access is through the main gate and the PFDC door beside Year One. The infant car park is excluded from that access route. Contact the school office on 0151 4743060 or schooloffice@fazakerleyprimary.co.uk for nursery enquiries and current charges.