Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Nursery Review

Storybooks lead to real experiments here: Lola Plants a Garden prompts bean planting, while Anna Hibiscus’ Song leads to cooking and pounding yams. This is Holy Trinity’s nursery for children aged three and four, within the Church of England primary school on Beechwood Road. Its character comes through in the links between stories, conversation and practical activity.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) learning takes concrete forms: children explore plants, make pictures, compare objects and practise movement. Core books give activities a shared starting point. With Billy’s Bucket, children have imagined sea creatures and created their own versions of the story. Lola Plants a Garden has led to an experiment growing beans in cotton balls. These are opportunities to describe ideas and investigate what happens, rather than simply listen to a story.

Language also runs through practical tasks. Children have made jam sandwiches in small groups, putting the steps in order using sequencing words and Makaton signs. Retelling Leaf Man has involved Makaton too. In July 2025, Ofsted recorded that nursery children practised recognising sounds in their surroundings as preparation for phonics. Listening starts before formal reading.

The physical spaces give those activities room to spread. A reading corner provides a place for stories and nursery rhymes; the small world tray has supplied props for acting out Aaaargh, Spider!. Outdoors, children have used the hill and slide to explore positional language. A garden spider hunt used magnifying glasses, turning the outdoor area into somewhere to look closely as well as move about. Maths examples include changing quantities with toy farm animals and comparing shapes around the classroom and playground.

Settling involves getting familiar with the classroom and learning how to use its different areas safely. Stories and rhymes in the reading corner form part of that introduction. The school’s SEND information report also describes a home visit or meeting at school before a child starts, giving families a chance to discuss needs and plan support.

Parents have joined children’s learning in the nursery classroom through Family Friday. Food appears in shared experiences too: nursery children have eaten Christmas lunch together and tasted fruit linked to The Very Hungry Caterpillar. These examples show food used for conversation and exploration, rather than establishing a daily menu.

For children needing additional help, the school’s SEND process brings the class teacher and SEND coordinator together with parents. Support plans have targets reviewed each half term. The school works with speech and language therapists, and its named interventions include colourful semantics and attention bucket. Provision depends on the individual child’s needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. The admission arrangements headed 2027–2028 give nursery attendance no priority in the oversubscription criteria and explicitly rule out automatic entry. Families must make a separate Reception application through Hackney Education’s admissions route and meet the normal deadline for their entry year.

Preparation for change is a separate matter. Nursery learning has included a Transition and Changes topic using How Have I Grown?. For children who find a new class difficult, the school’s SEND arrangements include classroom visits, meetings with teachers and Transition Cards to refer to over the break. Familiarity supports the move; it does not determine admission.

Applications for nursery go directly to the school. The nursery admissions page provides a school-tour booking link, and families complete the online admission form after a place has been offered.

Eligible families may receive 30 school hours each week across 38 weeks; the school can help check eligibility. This funding pattern matters when planning childcare across the year. Enquiries can go to admin@holytrinity.hackney.sch.uk or 020 7254 1010.