St Cuthbert's Kenton Nursery Review

Children’s interests shape the learning here, with play and adult-led activities sharing the nursery day. The nursery belongs to St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School in North Kenton, on Balmain Road, and forms part of its early years provision. Catholic teaching is part of nursery life too: Come and See introduces religious education alongside daily worship.

A full-time nursery teacher leads the provision and holds an honours degree in Early Years. That gives the nursery a distinct teaching role within the wider school team, rather than leaving its leadership indistinguishable from the primary classes.

Play provides the starting point. Staff build topics around children’s interests, adding activities to the indoor and outdoor spaces that children can choose to explore. Children can suggest what they want to do; adults also notice interests during play and develop them into further learning. This gives children a part in shaping their activities.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning about language, movement, relationships, early reading, numbers, creativity and the surrounding world. Here, children learn through their own play as well as individual teaching, small groups and activities involving the class. Adult-led work becomes longer as children progress through nursery, so the balance changes with their development.

Accessible classrooms allow children to explore independently. Outdoor learning is used to encourage thinking and practical problem solving, while the school grounds themselves become something to learn about through early geography. Creative classroom work also contributes to the early years curriculum. These experiences connect learning to things children can investigate and try for themselves.

Preparing healthy snacks introduces food hygiene and safety in early years. Mathematics appears both in focused teaching and across other activities, giving children opportunities to use number skills in everyday situations. The emphasis is on applying learning as well as practising it.

Communication with families is built into electronic learning journeys. Parents can contribute experiences from home, helping staff connect a child’s interests beyond school with activities in nursery. Staff observe children during play and teaching, then use those assessments to identify where additional help is needed. Early years intervention groups provide extra support for children’s development.

The wider support team includes a SEND coordinator, and an early years teaching assistant role combines special educational needs work with speech and language support. Families with concerns about learning or wellbeing can discuss them with the school. This provides a route into support alongside classroom teaching.

Nursery meals require advance payment, either weekly or termly. School Money handles payments, while Teacher2Parents is also used for school messages, bringing practical administration and communication into familiar channels for families.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route by the deadline for their child’s entry year. Choosing this nursery should therefore be a decision about the nursery experience itself, with the later school application treated separately.

Nursery applications are returned to the school office. Enquiries can go to 0191 286 0129 or office@stcuthbertsk.org, and the nursery team also has its own contact address, nursery@stcuthbertsk.org. The school office is the direct contact for application queries. Contact the school for current charges.