Nursery at Cheswardine Primary 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Child-led learning and a mobile planetarium give Cheswardine’s nursery a character of its own within the primary school. Children can start from age two, with play, learning and making friends forming the school’s description of nursery life. The provision sits at Glebe Close in Cheswardine, near Market Drayton.
Children’s interests help shape early-years topics. This gives their curiosity a part in deciding what they explore. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven strands: physical skills, relationships and emotional development, communication, early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. For parents, that means learning extends beyond letters and numbers to how children talk, move, relate to others and express ideas.
Space exploration supplies a concrete example. Nursery children have joined children from Hinstock Primary School and Cheswardine’s younger primary classes in a mobile planetarium. The planetarium gave these children a shared setting for investigating space together.
The school uses White Rose Mathematics, with nursery included in its mathematics planning. Alongside the child-led approach, this gives early number learning a place within the school’s wider curriculum. The combination is useful for families who want children’s interests to matter while their learning connects with what comes next.
A nursery officer in charge and nursery assistants form the nursery team. That gives parents an identifiable team structure for discussing their child’s care. The school also has a special educational needs co-ordinator, with contact through the school office, and directs families to Shropshire’s local offer. These are practical routes for starting a conversation about additional needs.
Safeguarding responsibilities include working with other agencies and sharing information when a child’s welfare causes concern. For families, this means a concern may involve support beyond the immediate school team.
Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the deadline for their child’s entry year.
For the September 2024 intake, applications went through Shropshire Council’s online Synergy portal, with a deadline of 15 January 2024. That was a past admissions cycle. Keep the nursery decision and the Reception application as two separate tasks; familiarity with the school does not remove the need to apply again.
Contact the school office to arrange a nursery visit. The school can be reached on 01630 817640 or at admin@cheswardine.school, giving families a direct enquiry route before choosing the provision.
In January 2021, the nursery offered 24U funding: 15 hours of early education for eligible children, beginning in the term after their second birthday. Eligibility was part of the offer, rather than an entitlement for every two-year-old. Ask the school for current charges when considering a place.
Children can join from age two.
Early-years provision is child-led, with topics connected to children’s interests. The EYFS covers communication, relationships, physical development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression.
The team includes a nursery officer in charge and nursery assistants.
No. Families need to make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process for the relevant entry year.
Contact the school office. The school’s telephone number is 01630 817640 and its email address is admin@cheswardine.school.
