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Nursery at The Gill Blowers 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Real objects, natural materials and children’s own questions shape the learning at Gill Blowers. Across its Mossdale site in Hockwell Ring and Leabank site in Marsh Farm, this nursery school combines play chosen by children with activities guided by adults. Exploration has a practical purpose: children are encouraged to test ideas rather than simply follow instructions.
Places are offered for children aged 2 to 4, with a small number for 5-year-olds. Each site has a room leader and practitioners for the younger group, and a class teacher with practitioners for older children. At least 20 spaces are reserved for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Families with children who have SEND are asked to make contact early to discuss their needs.
The Curiosity and Natural Thinkers approaches give the day its character. Children handle everyday objects and use loose parts and natural resources, indoors and outside, to pursue their ideas. These materials leave room for experimentation: children can ask questions, try a solution and reconsider it.
The curriculum draws on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), alongside Development Matters, Birth to Five and Universally Speaking. In everyday terms, the emphasis includes learning to communicate, becoming more independent and exploring through play. Adult guidance runs alongside children’s chosen activities, so a child’s interest can become an opportunity to extend their learning.
Language also has a named programme. Talking Boxes supports children who are new to English with the communication needed for everyday social exchanges. Picture-card activities such as Picture Match and Memory give families ways to practise vocabulary through play at home. That creates a practical link between nursery learning and conversations beyond the classroom.
Support involves a SEND co-ordinator and specialist teaching staff, with input from speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and child and adolescent mental health services. The nursery emphasises identifying needs early and checking children’s progress, so support can respond to the barriers an individual child encounters.
Moving between the younger and older rooms is supported through home visits, parent workshops, visits to the new class and Little Steps to Nursery groups. Most children make that move around their third birthday, or when staff judge them ready for greater structure, subject to space. It is a staged change rather than simply a birthday milestone.
Lunch means a packed lunch followed by playtime. A senior family worker and family worker assistants are also part of the team, and families can seek help from family workers or their class teacher with choosing a school and making the next application.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families make a separate application to Luton Council for their chosen primary or infant schools. For the past application cycle covering children turning four by 31 August 2026, the deadline was 15 January 2026; that date has passed.
Preparation for the move is separate from allocating places. Children visit their next school, their new teacher is invited to meet them at nursery, and parents can attend workshops. Those contacts give children a chance to encounter the people and place involved before changing schools.
The usual booking pattern is five mornings, 08:30–11:30, or five afternoons, 12:30–15:30. Attendance is term-time. Mossdale opens from 08:00 to 16:00, while Leabank opens from 08:30 to 15:30, making the choice of site relevant to the family’s daily timetable.
Funded and paid places are offered. Children using the 30-hour provision normally receive ten sessions each week, with lunch included in their funding. Full days are also possible for fee-paying or partly funded children, subject to availability. Paid wraparound care is restricted to children attending education sessions; breakfast and after-school extensions operate at Mossdale only. Ask the school for current charges.
To register, families can return a completed form to the office or submit an initial form online and receive a call to finish the process. The nursery asks parents, where possible, to avoid late drop-off and early collection.
Education places are offered for ages 2 to 4, with a small number of spaces for 5-year-olds.
Fee-paying and partly funded children can attend full days, subject to availability. Children using the 30-hour provision are normally offered ten sessions per week, with lunch included in the funding.
Children bring a packed lunch and have playtime. Lunch is included within the 30-hour funded provision; fee-paying children can also use the lunch service.
No. Families need to apply separately to Luton Council for their chosen primary or infant schools.
Children visit their new school, the receiving teacher is invited into nursery, and parents can attend workshops. Families can also receive support with school applications.
