St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Nursery School: Nursery Review

Part-time attendance shapes Little Joe’s: the nursery typically has around 26 full-time equivalent children on roll, with most coming for part of the week or day. This is nursery provision within St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Putney, serving children aged three and four. Its Catholic school setting gives families a clear religious context alongside early learning.

Stories, rhymes and conversation give the nursery day its clearest character. At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted recorded nursery children learning rhymes and hearing stories, while early years children discussed people’s connections with different countries. These are concrete examples of learning through listening and talking: children encounter language alongside ideas about the world around them.

Little Joe’s sits within the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision. Sessions are teacher led. Emotional learning also has a named place here: PATHS begins in Nursery and addresses self-control, self-esteem and resolving conflict. For a young child, learning how to manage feelings is part of the educational offer, alongside stories and conversation.

Religious education uses The Way, The Truth and The Life across age groups. That places nursery learning within the school’s Catholic curriculum, rather than treating its religious character as a label alone.

September starts can be staggered over the month so children have time to settle gradually. Most children begin in the September after turning three; an occasional place may become available at another point in the year. A gradual start is a practical consideration for families planning their child’s first nursery weeks.

For three- and four-year-olds, the staffing ratio is one adult to 13 children. The school’s SEND arrangements combine support within the child’s class with short individual or small-group sessions with specialist adults where useful. This provides a structure for discussing how a child’s needs will be supported alongside ordinary class participation.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through the local authority’s normal Reception process, even when their child already attends St Joseph’s nursery.

The route is the Common Application Form, submitted to the local authority online or on paper. The Reception admissions page directs families to apply in January and check the precise deadline. Practising Catholic families are also asked to return a supplementary form, signed by their parish priest, to the school in January. Treat this as a separate application to organise, rather than an automatic next step after nursery.

Provision runs in term time for 38 weeks annually. Choices include afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 3pm, full-time places from 9am to 3.30pm, morning sessions and two-and-a-half-day patterns. Extended full-time places use funded hours and top-up arrangements, giving families several ways to organise attendance.

The funded offer comprises 15 hours each week for three- and four-year-olds, with an additional 15 hours for eligible working families. Eligibility must be reconfirmed every three months. Families using the additional hours need their code confirmed by the local authority before the relevant term’s funding deadline. Top-up arrangements can extend attendance for families who do not qualify for the additional hours; contact the school for current charges.

Tours run by appointment on selected weekday mornings in term time. Book through the office on 020 8874 1888, or use info@stjosephs.wandsworth.sch.uk for nursery enquiries. Read the nursery requirements in the School Uniform Policy before buying clothing.