St Joachim's Catholic Primary School Nursery

Sand play, climbing and a toy trapped in ice give a concrete picture of early learning at St Joachim's: children explore, talk and practise new skills alongside focused teaching. The nursery provides places for three and four year olds within the Catholic primary school on Shipman Road.

Families of all faiths and backgrounds can apply. Names can join the nursery waiting list from a child's second birthday, but that is a waiting-list milestone rather than a promise of admission. In December 2025, Ofsted judged the school's early years provision to meet the Expected standard. That judgement covers early years within the school.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines learning through exploration with activities led by adults. Across the school's early years provision, climbing and handling sand-play resources help children practise physical skills. Focused teaching introduces letter sounds, number writing and letter formation, giving children early building blocks for reading, writing and mathematics.

Language develops through practical problems too. In December 2025, many early years staff extended children's vocabulary effectively; one example involved encouraging children to explain their ideas for freeing a toy from ice. The activity connects doing with talking: children have something concrete to investigate and describe. Staff training has also concentrated on language development to make this approach more consistent.

Early writing. Staff generally recognise gaps in children's learning, but some mistakes go uncorrected, and support for an effective pencil grip needs greater attention. For parents, the useful distinction is between offering writing activities and helping children establish the technique to use them confidently.

Support starts with the class teacher. Parents with concerns about learning can discuss them with that teacher, with the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCO) joining the conversation where appropriate. Foundation Stage children who need early intervention are identified for extra help, linking assessment to support rather than simply recording a difficulty.

The wider school team includes a speech and language therapist, a SEND teacher and a learning mentor. These are school roles, rather than a staffing ratio for the nursery. School lunch is an option for nursery children and carries a charge, so families taking a longer day need to account for meals as well as additional childcare hours.

Nursery attendance neither guarantees a Reception place nor confers priority in the oversubscription criteria. Families must make a separate application through their home local authority. Choosing the nursery therefore needs to stand on the nursery experience itself.

For September 2026 entry, the application deadline was 15 January 2026. Newham residents applied through Newham; families elsewhere applied through their own borough. A Supplementary Information Form was also required for consideration under the faith-based priority groups. That deadline belongs to the past admissions cycle.

Morning nursery runs from 8.30am to 11.30am, afternoon nursery from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and full-time nursery from 8.30am to 3.30pm. These give families a choice between a shorter session and a day spanning both morning and afternoon.

The funded offer covers 15 hours a week over a minimum of 38 weeks, subject to session availability. Families with confirmed eligibility can access 30 funded hours over a minimum of 38 weeks, subject to full-day availability. Buying extra hours or paying lunchtime charges is not a condition of securing free provision. Refer to the school for current charges.

Short-term session swaps cannot be accommodated, which matters for families whose work patterns change week by week. Nursery enquiries go to 020 7476 1658, and an online application route is available.