St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Community Primary School Nursery

Scooters, songs and hands-on exploration give this nursery day its shape. At St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Community Primary School in Aigburth, nursery learning combines time together with opportunities for children to choose resources and develop their own play. Practical independence matters too: handling a pencil, fastening a coat and learning to use cutlery all have a place alongside stories and conversation.

The day moves between registration, carpet activities, outdoor learning and periods of child-chosen play, with snack, lunch and group work providing further structure. Early Years Foundation Stage learning takes practical form here: children develop language through conversation, physical skills through movement, and social confidence through playing together. These are activities with a developmental purpose.

During registration, children work on recognising or making their names, including marks and emerging letters. Pencil grip and choosing a preferred hand sit alongside that early writing. Carpet activities bring singing, familiar rhymes and discussion of books together. Children explore what print means and how a book works, giving them ways to engage with reading before they can read independently.

Outside, bikes and trikes join scooters as opportunities to practise balance and movement. Climbing apparatus and ball activities add different physical challenges. Putting on coats and managing zips make getting ready part of the learning. Later outdoor activity includes working together to move a plank or handle large hollow blocks, connecting physical effort with cooperation.

Child-chosen activity gives children room to pursue a plan, select suitable tools and extend play with friends. Natural materials invite exploration through the senses. Group work adds conversations about stories and opportunities to respond to instructions with two steps, so listening and vocabulary are practised in different parts of the day.

Settling involves the move from a parent to a key person, with familiar adult voices used to help children feel calm. That gives the handover a relational focus. In the inspection of 21 and 22 June 2023, children in early years learned classroom expectations and daily routines promptly.

Snack time includes learning about healthy choices, while lunch brings practice in eating independently and handling a fork and knife. Care routines therefore double as opportunities to develop self-help skills.

For additional needs, the school's SEND team includes a coordinator, deputy coordinator and pastoral lead. Parents raise concerns first with their child's class teacher, then with the SEND team if further discussion is needed. Support planning uses a cycle of assessment, planning, action and review, with parents involved in considering provision and next steps. This gives families a route from an initial concern to a plan that can be reconsidered as needs change.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline.

For the 2025–2026 admissions cycle, the school followed Liverpool Local Authority's coordinated arrangements, using an online application or paper preference form for Reception. Nursery attendance was not one of the priority categories for oversubscription. Those arrangements explicitly warned that attending the nursery did not guarantee admission when applications exceeded places. Treat choosing the nursery and securing a school place as separate decisions.

The nursery belongs to the school on Neilson Road, Liverpool, L17 7BA. General enquiries can go to the school office on 0151 727 3215 or ao@smhsch.co.uk. For discussion with the SEND team, use send@smhsch.co.uk.