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Nursery at Hillborough Infant and Nursery School
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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
A separate nursery building, book corners and an outdoor area shared with Reception give Hillborough’s youngest children their own base within the school. Role play and soft play add different ways to explore, move and practise interacting with other children.
The nursery takes children aged three to four and operates during term time. Its planned provision comprises 38 morning places and 38 afternoon places, with full-time attendance combining the two sessions. These are session places, rather than a single total of children attending. For families, the choice is between a shorter session and a day spanning morning and afternoon.
Play shapes the learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together language, movement and emotional development with early reading, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Here, activities respond to children’s interests, including unexpected opportunities such as snowfall. Staff assess development through everyday interaction and adjust their response to the child, rather than relying solely on written observations.
Indoors, the nursery’s role-play spaces encourage pretend play, while book corners provide a place for stories. Outdoors, children share a learning area with Reception. The nursery preparation guidance describes outdoor access throughout the day: learning to manage a coat fastening helps children get back to play independently.
Movement has named spaces too. Early-years provision includes sustained periods of free-flow play using the Enchanted Woods, Den and Sunshine room, alongside yoga and meditation. This gives physical development a place across the day, rather than confining it to a single activity.
Jigsaw Mindful provides the approach to personal and social learning from Nursery onwards. Themes include friendship, managing change and recognising differences, helping children develop the language for relationships as well as learning to manage their feelings.
At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that early-years children began positively, with high expectations and activities that gave learning a clear purpose. Matching quantities using mathematics resources was one example: practical exploration helped children engage with number ideas.
Preparation for the first sessions starts with small steps at home. The nursery guidance recommends practising short separations, arranging play with other children and learning to share resources. Staff remain available to help as children develop independence. These suggestions give parents concrete ways to prepare for saying goodbye.
IRIS ParentMail is used after admission, and parents register an account to receive school communications, including consultation information and newsletters. For developmental concerns, the school’s SEND approach emphasises identifying needs early and working with parents, the SEND coordinator and outside agencies. Parents worried about speech or language are directed to their child’s class teacher; named interventions include Lift off to Language, Magic Words and ELSEC.
Healthy snacks feature in early-years physical-development provision alongside discussion of healthy living. Online safety teaching also starts in Nursery, introducing help-seeking and care with personal information. In May 2023, early-years staff were found to provide attentive care and support, while children developed constructive attitudes towards learning.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Hillborough. Parents must make a separate school application through Luton Borough Council’s Education Portal, even when their child already attends the nursery. The application page gives January as the online application cut-off month. Treat the Reception application as a separate task in the family calendar.
The shared outdoor learning area provides continuity of surroundings between Nursery and Reception. That practical connection is separate from the allocation of school places.
Morning sessions run from 8.50am to 11.50am; afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The full-time pattern is 8.50am to 2.50pm, with an optional final 40 minutes. Nursery closes on teacher-training days and bank holidays.
The funding model is term-time: 15 hours across 38 weeks for three- and four-year-olds, or 30 hours for eligible families. For the longer funded entitlement, parents must obtain their childcare code in the term before the child starts.
Changing sessions. Once attendance begins, requests to alter sessions require six weeks’ notice. Cancellation requires six calendar weeks’ notice, so changes to family arrangements need advance planning.
Register interest through the Nursery Waiting List Form. Tours can be booked by emailing admin@hillboroughinfantschool.uk and usually take place towards the end of the nursery or school day. Nursery tours are restricted to published dates; additional dates will not be accommodated.
The nursery provides term-time early education for children aged three to four.
Morning sessions are 8.50am to 11.50am, afternoons are 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and full-time attendance is 8.50am to 2.50pm with an optional final 40 minutes.
Children have outdoor access throughout the day. The nursery shares its outdoor learning area with Reception, and early-years learning spaces include the Enchanted Woods, Sunshine room and Den.
No. A separate application is required through Luton Borough Council’s Education Portal, including for children already attending Hillborough Nursery.
Email admin@hillboroughinfantschool.uk to book. Tours usually take place at the end of the nursery or school day. Nursery tours are restricted to published dates; additional dates will not be accommodated.
