Riverside Primary School and Nursery: Nursery Review

Learning to persevere is a defining feature of Riverside’s early years: children tackle activities that interest them, with adults helping them keep going when a task becomes difficult. Independence matters too. These are practical foundations for a young child’s next step, rather than simply a focus on completing an activity.

The nursery belongs to Riverside Primary School and Nursery on Donnington Gardens, off Cookham Road in Maidenhead. Saplings is the nursery class name. At the July 2023 inspection, the nursery catered for children aged two, three and four; Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Children’s interests give learning its starting point. In July 2023, early years activities drew children into learning, while adults selected challenges that helped them practise persistence. The implication is concrete: encountering something difficult becomes an opportunity to try again. Alongside that encouragement, children developed the ability to do things independently, preparing them for later learning.

Language is another clear emphasis. Riverside’s curriculum places communication and learning new vocabulary across its teaching, giving parents a useful sense of the priorities surrounding the nursery’s work. The curriculum page links to a Nursery Overview for 2025–26. That overview belongs to a past academic year.

The wider school site includes a field and two playgrounds. Those are school facilities, rather than a description of the nursery’s own outdoor routine.

Partnership with parents is part of Riverside’s stated approach. Staff work with families to understand children’s needs and discuss worries, making the relationship between home and school relevant to care as well as learning. For parents, that means concerns about their child have a place in the conversation.

A SEND co-ordinator is part of the school team. Riverside also has a Speech and Language Resource Base and a Nurture Room on the wider school site. These are concrete features of the school’s support structure; they should be understood separately from any individual child’s support arrangements or access to a particular room.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Riverside. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. Treat choosing nursery and applying for school as distinct decisions.

The early years emphasis on independence and perseverance prepares children for their next learning stage. That preparation is educational, rather than an admissions entitlement.

Enquiries go through the school office. Contact Riverside on 01628 621741 or email office@riversideprimaryschool.org.uk; the contact page also has an enquiry form. The address is Donnington Gardens, Cookham Road, Maidenhead, SL6 7JA.

Riverside invites families to visit the school. A visit offers an opportunity to consider the setting as a family, alongside the practical decision about choosing its nursery.