St Ann's CE Primary School Nursery Review

Flexible attendance is the defining practical feature at St Ann's nursery. Families can choose a full school day or combine morning and afternoon sessions across some or all of the week. This is the school's own nursery class on its Avenue Road site, rather than a separately registered childcare provider.

The provision sits within a Church of England primary school and follows the Early Years Foundation Stage. It shares the school's wider emphasis on belonging and representation. The school's published Diverse Britain curriculum starts in Nursery with role models, family trees, celebrations and nursery rhymes from different cultures. This gives young children concrete ways to see their own lives and other families reflected in early learning.

Sessions run in clear blocks. A morning lasts from 9am to noon, an afternoon from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and a full-time day runs from 9am to 3.30pm. The half-hour break between part-time sessions matters when families compare combinations across the week. Breakfast Club is available from 7.45am, extending the morning for children who need it.

Learning is practical and deliberately cumulative. In its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted described Nursery children transferring paint to paper with objects including cardboard tubes and cotton buds. Inspectors linked that early experimentation to the more complex printing techniques children meet later. They also saw children in early years count familiar objects such as pine cones and carrots each day, then represent numbers in different ways. These are small, tangible activities with a clear purpose: children build the concepts that later mathematics and art depend on.

The curriculum's cultural strand adds family stories, celebrations, British role models and nursery rhymes from around the world. It makes identity part of ordinary classroom learning rather than a one-off event.

Entry is staged rather than abrupt. The school holds an induction meeting in the summer term before admission, when families meet the Nursery team and receive details of the staggered start. That gives parents a defined point to discuss routines and gives children a gentler route into the class.

The school's inclusion approach covers children with learning, physical, emotional, behavioural or social needs. Staff identify and assess needs, may involve outside agencies, and make reasonable adjustments where practical. Families with developmental concerns can begin with the class team and contact the school office for inclusion support.

Meals are available for children attending across the day. Families should ask the school for current arrangements and charges, as these may change.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at St Ann's. Families must make a separate Reception application through their home local authority, using the common application process. For a Foundation place, the school also requires its supplementary form.

The published 2026/27 admission arrangements do not list nursery attendance among the oversubscription criteria. They allocate places through the stated looked-after-child, church, sibling and distance criteria. For children due to start Reception in September 2026, the school's admissions page gave a closing date of 15 January 2026. Future cohorts should check the relevant year's arrangements and deadline rather than relying on the nursery application timetable.

A virtual tour is published for both Nursery and Reception, but familiarity with the school is separate from admissions priority.

Part-time bookings can mix mornings and afternoons over part or all of the week; full-time attendance covers the school day. The admissions page provides a nursery application form, while the school office handles questions and tour bookings. Families should confirm the current funded-entitlement structure, availability, meal arrangements and any extras directly with the school before accepting a pattern.

The school asks applicants for proof of the parent or legal guardian's address and the child's birth certificate or passport. It also describes an induction meeting and staggered entry before the autumn start. Avenue Road has limited visitor parking, so families planning a visit should expect to use nearby streets or public transport unless the school has authorised a space.