Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School Nursery Review

A 58-place Pre-School is the newest starting point at Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School. Opening was planned for September 2025, and by July 2026 the provision was operating. It sits within a Catholic primary school in Sandfield Park, Liverpool, whose current age range starts at three. The school aims to retain a small-family feel as it grows, an ambition that gives useful context to this new provision.

Timing matters here. Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Good in March 2023, before this Pre-School opened. That judgement describes the earlier early years provision; it is not an inspection outcome for the new Pre-School. Families should keep that distinction in mind when weighing the grade alongside the nursery's more recent opening.

Pre-School had its own Sports Day scheduled for 29 June 2026 at 09:30am. That gives one concrete example of an activity arranged specifically for its children, rather than borrowing the older pupils' clubs or trips to describe nursery life. It also distinguishes the Pre-School's event from the separate sports events organised for other age groups.

The earlier early years provision provides some historical context. In March 2023, children encountered rhymes, songs and stories as part of an emphasis on language. Books also brought younger children together with older pupils for shared reading. Those examples show how language and reading featured in early years at that time, although they do not establish the new Pre-School's daily timetable.

Sharing and taking turns were strengths of the early years provision in March 2023. Children also felt that they belonged. These findings concern the provision before Pre-School opened, so they should be read as historical context for relationships within early years, rather than a current assessment of nursery care.

For families, the useful distinction is between evidence about those earlier children's experiences and the arrangements surrounding the newer provision. A school-wide early years judgement cannot establish the care routines of a later opening.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at Runnymede St Edward's. Nursery and Reception admission are separate: families must apply again through the normal Reception application process and meet its deadline.

Separate applications. Choosing Pre-School should therefore be a decision about the nursery place itself. Keep the Reception application as a separate task in your family calendar; a child already attending nursery still needs that application.

The school is on North Drive, Sandfield Park, Liverpool, L12 1LE. For enquiries, email admin@runnymede-school.org.uk, or telephone 01512812300. Telephone contact with staff is available between 8:30am and 4.00pm. These are contact hours, rather than nursery session times, so they should not be used to plan the length of a child's day.

Building work was underway in July 2026, with completion of the redeveloped top floor expected by the end of October. That was an expected completion point, rather than confirmation that work had finished. For collection, instructions issued during the works required families to leave the grounds promptly and keep children behind the barriers, away from vehicle access areas.