St Clare's RC Primary School Nursery

Spring potions, counting ingredients and cards for friends give a concrete flavour of early learning at St Clare's. In April 2025, children in the school's early years combined imaginative play with number practice, while adults helped them develop their language. Small activities had a clear learning purpose.

The nursery belongs to St Clare's RC Primary School, a Catholic primary school on Trimdon Avenue in Acklam, Middlesbrough. It is school-attached provision, so the early-years experience sits within the wider school rather than a separate childcare setting.

Play gives children something to talk about and something to work out. In April 2025, adult conversations in the early years helped children experiment with more ambitious vocabulary. That matters because the learning goes beyond completing an activity: children also practise expressing their ideas. The adult's contribution is part of the play.

Number work had a similarly practical form. Children counted ingredients for spring potions and waited for their turn, bringing mathematical practice and playing alongside others into the same activity. These examples show how an imaginative task can give children a reason to count, listen and cooperate.

Early literacy also had a purpose children could recognise. During April 2025, children in the early years learned the relationship between letters and sounds, then used those sounds in writing. Lists and Easter cards for friends were examples of that practice. Writing was connected to something they wanted to communicate.

The early-years space supported children playing confidently together in April 2025. For parents, the useful picture is of language, early writing and counting developing through activities with other children and adults.

Adult interaction is the clearest strength of the early-years care described in April 2025. Conversations extended children's vocabulary during play, linking personal attention with learning. Children also played confidently with one another, making shared activity part of their experience.

For families considering special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the trust provides routes to information beyond the classroom. These include the Middlesbrough Local Offer and Middlesbrough/Redcar & Cleveland SENDIASS. SENDIASS provides impartial advice for children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers.

Let's Make Sense Together is another useful resource for families whose children have sensory processing differences. Its videos and advice sheets were created by local therapists, giving parents practical information they can use alongside conversations about their child's needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal admissions route and meet the deadline for their child's entry year.

Apply through the local authority where you live, then complete the Supplementary Information Form for the school as well. Treat these as separate steps: completing a school form does not replace the local-authority application. Nursery attendance should never be treated as confirmation of a future school place.

Contact the school directly for nursery enquiries on 01642815412. St Clare's is on Trimdon Avenue, Acklam, Middlesbrough, TS5 8RZ. This is the school contact route for families considering its nursery provision.