Huntingdon Academy Nursery

Communication comes first at Huntingdon Academy’s nursery. From the beginning of Nursery, developing language receives close attention: the emphasis is on children building the communication skills that support their learning. That gives this provision a clear educational focus.

The nursery belongs to Huntingdon Academy, a state primary school on Alfred Street Central in St Ann’s, Nottingham. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 24 and 25 September 2024. That judgement covers the early years foundation stage, rather than a separately inspected nursery. For parents, the useful detail behind the grade is the combination of established routines, learning shaped around individual children and close relationships with families.

Language development is a starting point for the nursery curriculum. The emphasis begins in Nursery, making communication part of the foundations of learning rather than something reserved for later schooling. For a parent choosing an early education setting, this is a meaningful priority: children’s ability to communicate matters alongside the activities they undertake.

Within the early years foundation stage (EYFS), staff plan activities around what children need and what interests them. Their knowledge of each child informs the learning. This gives the approach a personal direction, with children’s interests helping to shape the activities rather than being treated as incidental to them.

By September 2024, familiar routines were established across early years, and children showed considerable control over their behaviour and enthusiasm for learning. Those findings give substance to the nursery’s educational character. The emphasis extends beyond learning content to the habits children bring to activities: managing themselves and being willing to engage.

Knowing children individually is central to the early years team’s work. Staff build relationships with parents and carers as well as getting to know the children themselves. For families, that connects the adults at home with those supporting learning, while giving staff a fuller understanding of the child whose activities they are planning.

Staff expertise was a strength of early years in September 2024. Across L.E.A.D. Academy Trust, colleagues also have access to professional learning through the National College platform and L.E.A.D. Equate. These are Trust arrangements for staff development; the direct evidence about children’s experience is the early years team’s individual knowledge and responsive planning.

Reception admission. Attending Huntingdon Academy’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately through the normal Reception admission process by the applicable deadline. Keep that application distinct from the decision to take a nursery place: choosing the nursery should rest on the early education it provides, rather than an assumption about admission later.

For nursery enquiries, contact Huntingdon Academy on 0115 915 6841 or email admin@huntingdonacademy.co.uk. The school is on Alfred Street Central, St Ann’s, Nottingham, NG3 4AY.