St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School Nursery

Play, early reading and daily prayer shape the nursery’s character at St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School in Kirkby. This is nursery provision within a Catholic primary school, with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combining children’s learning with their social, emotional and spiritual development. Faith has a daily presence rather than being reserved for occasional celebrations.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 13 and 14 December 2022. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

The nursery department’s day starts at 8:30am, with lunchtime at 11:30am and a finish at 3:30pm. Those timings give families concrete points around which to organise the day.

Purposeful play is the school’s chosen basis for EYFS learning. In parent terms, the curriculum brings together learning to communicate, move, create and understand the surrounding world, alongside early work with words and numbers. The school aims to develop children through play and adult interaction, making conversation part of learning rather than treating it as an extra.

Read, Write Inc. provides the phonics approach from nursery. Early years phonics lessons last 30 minutes daily, and assessments every half term help determine teaching groups. Reading books are matched to the sounds children are learning, giving families a connection between practice at home and teaching in class. Letter-join is also used from nursery for handwriting, with adults modelling letter formation and encouraging children’s first attempts at writing.

Prayer and reflection happen daily, alongside practising Gospel values. For parents choosing a Catholic education, this makes the religious character relevant to everyday nursery life.

Spoken language. In December 2022, the Nursery Year curriculum still needed refinement, with weaknesses affecting vocabulary and language development. Providing more opportunities for children to develop their speech was a specific improvement priority, an important consideration alongside the structured phonics teaching.

In December 2022, children in early years said they were happy and felt safe, and knew an adult was available when they needed help. That gives a concrete picture of how children experienced adult support at that time.

For families discussing additional needs, the school’s special needs coordinator can be contacted through the office. Parent support includes speech and language resources covering everyday situations such as shopping, getting dressed and mealtimes. These make ordinary family routines useful starting points for supporting communication. Little Stars Knowsley supports families of children aged 0-6 with learning and communication difficulties, providing another relevant local contact.

Parents can also speak with their child’s class teacher about learning. This gives families a direct route for discussing how their child is getting on.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Knowsley Council’s school admissions service is the route for admissions information. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as two separate decisions, even though both concern the same school.

The school office handles enquiries on 0151 477 8170, and school visits can be arranged by telephone at a mutually suitable time. The address is Bewley Drive, Southdene, Kirkby, L32 9PF. A visit offers families a practical opportunity to discuss the nursery while seeing the school in action.