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Nursery at Hillyfield Primary Academy
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Two sites give Hillyfield’s nursery provision two distinct starting points: Hillyfield on the Hill, on Higham Hill Road, and Hillyfield at the Park, on Aveling Park Road. Both cater for children aged three and four; the Park also has provision for two-year-olds. The age groups matter when choosing a site.
Capacity is expressed as full-time equivalents, rather than a headcount: 45 places for three- and four-year-olds at the Hill, with 25 for that age group and 15 for two-year-olds at the Park. Children can start in the term following the relevant birthday.
Stories, sound games and making things give the nursery curriculum its character. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings care, development and learning together for young children. Hillyfield’s 2025/26 nursery programme combines language and physical development with relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creative work and discovering how the world works.
Conversation has a practical purpose: children develop longer sentences, explain their needs and use speech to organise play. Story choices include The Enormous Turnip and The 3 Little Pigs. Early sound work uses rhyme, sounds made with the body and listening to instruments, giving children different ways to notice what they hear.
Making and exploring sit alongside books. Children build with loose parts and construction materials, try junk modelling and use small-world play. Scissors and paintbrushes provide practice in handling tools, while jumping, climbing and skipping develop movement and balance. Mathematical activities include sorting, comparing and filling containers: early ideas become things children can handle and test.
The 2025/26 programme also includes seasonal walks to a local park. Songs draw on languages spoken in the class, and children explore celebrations important to their families. These activities connect learning with their surroundings and home lives.
Settling starts with contact between home and nursery. Families are usually offered a visit to the setting before a home visit, and children start in stages. Each child has a key worker as the family’s main contact, giving parents a clear person to approach about their child.
At the Park, children move from the two-year-old provision into the three-year-old room when space permits after their third birthday. Planning continues to reflect their developmental needs, so the birthday and the room move are separate considerations.
School communication uses Arbor, with paper copies obtainable from the office. School packed-lunch rules exclude nuts, fizzy drinks and glass bottles. For families discussing additional needs, the SEND team has separate Hill and Park email contacts, making it possible to direct a query to the relevant site.
Nursery attendance neither guarantees a Reception place nor confers an oversubscription priority. Families must make a separate application through Waltham Forest, using eAdmissions. Choosing the nursery should therefore be a decision about the nursery experience itself.
For September 2027 entry, the application window ends at 11.59pm on 15 January 2027. Applications received after the deadline are processed after those submitted on time. Put that date in the diary even if your child already attends Hillyfield’s nursery.
Eligible families can access 30 funded hours in the three- and four-year-old provision at either site. The Park’s two-year-old provision includes 30 or 15 funded hours for eligible families. The academy reserves the right to require a deposit for funded and non-funded places; refund depends on the child starting and completing at least one nursery term. Contact the school for current charges.
Nursery applications use an electronic form. General enquiries can go to the office for the chosen site. Travel arrangements. Both sites are within School Streets areas, where surrounding roads close temporarily to most vehicles at the beginning and end of the school day. Factor those restrictions into collection plans.
Hillyfield at the Park has two-year-old nursery provision. Children become eligible in the term after their second birthday.
Families are usually invited to an initial setting visit, followed by a home visit. Nursery starts are staggered, and each child is allocated a key worker.
No. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a place or confer an oversubscription priority. A separate Reception application is required through Waltham Forest.
The application window closes at 11.59pm on 15 January 2027. Families apply through eAdmissions.
The three- and four-year-old provision includes 30 funded hours for eligible families at both sites. At the Park, two-year-old provision includes 30 or 15 funded hours for eligible families.
