St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School Nursery Review

A Catholic start to learning, with younger children now joining the school community: St Thomas Aquinas's nursery in Bletchley welcomes two- and three-year-olds. It belongs to St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, rather than operating as a separate nursery setting.

The 2027 admissions policy sets a limit of 30 children at one time for provision for three- and four-year-olds. Applications for children aged one or two are conditional on suitable staffing ratios. Families considering a younger child's place therefore need to distinguish the nursery's current welcome from the policy's conditional admissions provision.

Life to the Full gives the school's early years relationships teaching a distinctly Catholic context. Its youngest learners explore caring for their bodies, recognising their own abilities and apologising. These are practical subjects for children beginning to understand themselves and other people.

Friendship has its own place in the programme. Early years topics include handling disagreements, relationships with family and friends, and identifying people who can help. Safety teaching covers medicines, outdoor situations and online rules. For parents, this gives concrete themes to continue talking about at home. The programme's parent portal includes session outlines, home activities and family prayers.

For additional needs, the school's SEND arrangements start with a conversation with the class teacher; the SENCo can then discuss learning, targets and advice from other professionals. This gives families a defined route for raising concerns. The school also directs parents of preschool children towards the Milton Keynes Early Years Speech and Language Therapy Team, whose remit includes communication, feeding and swallowing difficulties.

The 2025–2026 SEND policy includes early years assessments each term and gives parents access to Edukey to comment on their child's learning. Learning Plans are shared for parental feedback. These arrangements make parents participants in support decisions, rather than simply recipients of updates.

Physical support includes the school's Blue Sky Room as additional provision. Its accessibility plan describes wide doors and flat or ramped entrances to general school areas, useful practical details for families considering access needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. For September 2027 entry, families must make a separate online application through Milton Keynes City Council's school admissions route and send the school's supplementary form with original supporting documents directly to the school. The supplementary form has a deadline of 15 January 2027.

There is a specific admissions benefit, but it is limited. Within each oversubscribed admissions category, the 2027 policy places nursery attendance after the two sibling tiebreakers and before home-to-school distance. It does not override the main categories. Families should understand that ordering before treating nursery attendance as a reason to expect a school place.

Transition support is a separate matter. Children joining Reception are invited with their parents to meet the class teacher, with the SENCo involved where required. For children with identified special needs, staff also visit their existing setting to exchange information with caregivers. That helps prepare support for the move; it does not decide admission.

Nursery applications use a different form from school applications. Families obtain it through the school office at office@st-thomasaquinas.co.uk.

For three- and four-year-olds, the 2027 policy requires a valid MKCC eligibility code for a funded 30-hour application, or agreement to pay for the additional 15 afternoon hours. Families who do not qualify for the full funding must cover those additional hours themselves. Refer to the school for current charges before agreeing to that arrangement.