Kidbrooke Park Primary School Nursery Review

A nursery class gives Kidbrooke Park’s youngest children their own starting point within the primary school. The nursery class has 26 morning places. Children join in the term after their third birthday. The provision sits at Kidbrooke Park Primary School on Holburne Road in Greenwich.

The school describes its approach as values-based, with emotional intelligence, respect and resilience among its priorities. For a child beginning school life, those aims place relationships and growing independence alongside learning.

Exploration, persistence and developing ideas shape the early years approach. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together physical development, communication and emotional development with early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. In parent terms, learning involves how children talk, move and relate to others as well as the knowledge they acquire.

Communication receives explicit attention. Vocabulary teaching is planned within the provision, giving language a deliberate place in children’s learning. The wider Compass Curriculum builds on the EYFS, while the early years approach combines exploration with systematic teaching of foundations such as number sense, phonics and handwriting. Targeted keep-up sessions are used to address learning gaps. That means support can sit alongside the main learning rather than waiting for difficulties to accumulate.

The school aims for children to investigate, try things and persist through difficulty. Developing their own ideas and connecting them is also part of the approach: children’s thinking matters alongside completing an activity.

Additional needs are addressed through the school’s SENCo and inclusion team. Teachers discuss possible needs with parents and the SENCo, then use a cycle of assessing needs, planning support, putting it into practice and reviewing it. Parents take part in decisions about adjustments and the outcomes sought, making support a shared discussion.

Adaptations can include visual cues, individual timetables and specialist equipment. These are possible responses to a child’s needs, rather than a fixed package for everyone. Where necessary, a personalised curriculum, timetable or care following medical guidance can be considered. The school also works with external services, including Oxleas Speech Therapy Service.

For emotional support, the school has two trained Emotional Literacy Assistants within its pastoral team. Its approach includes emotion coaching and helping children recognise feelings. Communication with families uses My Child At School, bringing letters, information and forms into one account accessible by phone or computer.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process. Applications for a September school start are completed online through Royal Borough of Greenwich Admissions.

Transition support is a separate matter. For children with additional needs, the SENCo supports families through changes of class and education setting. Extra support may include photographs, social stories or further visits, depending on the child. These arrangements help prepare for change; they do not secure admission.

The nursery class has 26 morning places. The school office handles family enquiries on 020 8856 8315 or at kidbrookepark@compassps.uk. Office contact hours are 7:30am to 4:30pm, giving parents a defined window for speaking to the team. A contact form provides another enquiry route.