Seely Primary School Nursery Review

Four small teaching groups give Seely’s nursery classroom its structure. This is Foundation 1 (F1), the nursery part of the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage provision, for children aged 3 to 4. Children can begin in the term following their third birthday. The school is on Perry Road in Sherwood, Nottingham.

Morning and afternoon places follow a five-day pattern, with some full-day places linked to 30-hour funding eligibility. For families, the defining practical feature is regular attendance across the week: the nursery offers a consistent session pattern rather than a choice of individual days.

Learning combines activities children choose themselves with experiences adults plan. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) connects creative exploration, physical development and understanding the world. In art, children can follow their own interests and explore resources independently alongside planned activities. Design and technology adds opportunities to use tools, design and make, with provision planned weekly around themes, children’s interests and the season. These activities give small hands practice as well as ideas to explore.

Maps and investigations of local surroundings bring learning indoors and outside. Stories, conversations about events at home and school, and objects from different places introduce the distinction between past and present. These are concrete starting points for children making sense of their world.

Communication has a clear place in early years learning. In February 2025, Ofsted identified a strong emphasis on language: a topic using The Tempest involved sensory play, storm and rain sounds, and descriptive vocabulary. The example shows how play can give children something specific to talk about, connecting words with an experience.

Seely Seeds begins before the nursery place itself. Families have two visits during the preceding term, led by the nursery teacher and a parent liaison worker. Children explore familiar nursery activities with their parent before settling sessions begin in the following term. That creates a staged introduction to the classroom and its routines.

An early years teacher and early years practitioners form the nursery team. For questions about additional needs, families can contact the school’s SEND coordinator through the office. Early Years Foundation Stage phase leaders are also part of the designated safeguarding team, giving the nursery a route into the school’s safeguarding structure.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Seely. Parents must apply separately for Reception through their home local authority, even when requesting Seely. For Nottingham City residents, this means Nottingham City Council’s coordinated admissions process. Treat that application as a separate family task.

Transition activities serve a different purpose. For the September 2024 intake, nursery children visited their future classrooms and met their teachers, and a meeting for carers explained the move from nursery to Reception. Those activities supported familiarity with the next stage; they did not secure admission.

Morning nursery runs from 8.45am to 11.45am; the afternoon session is 12.25pm to 3.25pm. The 30-hour pattern runs from 8.45am to 3.25pm. Each pattern involves attendance Monday to Friday. Priority for 30-hour places goes to children turning 4 in the current academic year, subject to funding eligibility and space.

Register interest through the nursery expression of interest form. Families are contacted in the term before their child becomes eligible, with places subject to availability. Nursery enquiries can go to nursery@seely.nottingham.sch.uk. Visits can be arranged through the office on 0115 9153780 or admin@seely.nottingham.sch.uk.