Rainham Village Primary School Nursery

Sixty nursery places give Rainham Village a distinct early years starting point within its community primary school. On Upminster Road South in Rainham, the nursery admits children each September after their third birthday. This is school-attached provision, with its own nursery roll and a curriculum that begins in the nursery year.

The wider site has a playing field and two substantial playgrounds. Those are school grounds, rather than a description of a separate nursery garden. For families choosing an early introduction to school life, the nursery’s place within the primary school is the defining practical feature.

Knowledge, vocabulary and skills are the stated building blocks of learning from the nursery year onwards. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum has topic organisers that explain the information and language children will encounter. Parents can use these to connect conversations at home with learning in school.

Space, Winter and Journeys feature among the early years topics. These give families concrete starting points for talking about the curriculum, rather than simply being told that children are learning through topics. The organisers are intended to help parents support that learning.

Home learning has a separate nursery resource page, with links for exploring measurement, shape and number, alongside ebooks, stories and music. These are suggested activities for families to explore together. They extend the options for sharing learning at home; they are not a timetable of nursery sessions.

Support for emotions reaches the youngest children. At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that adults helped children in early years recognise and manage their feelings. That matters when children are learning how to cope with frustration and participate alongside others.

Across the school and nursery, adjustments for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can include changes to resources, classroom organisation and teaching methods. Individual timetables may be used for children working towards the outcomes in an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Support is therefore described through practical adaptations to learning.

Families also have access to the school’s Home School Support Worker, whose role includes help with forms, contact with outside services and support at meetings. For children under five, milk registration is through Cool Milk. Registering by Tuesday at 5pm starts the classroom milk provision the next week.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through their home local authority, following the normal application timetable. Havering residents can use eAdmissions. Keep this application separate from the nursery enquiry: the school manages its nursery roll, while the council handles school allocation.

To register nursery interest, email admin@rainhamvillage.havering.sch.uk with the child’s name and birth date, plus the parent’s name, address and telephone number. Families are contacted around Easter about the admission process.

Prospective parents are welcome to arrange a nursery visit, and school open days are advertised nearer their dates. The office can be reached on 01708 552482 and operates on weekdays from 8:15am to 4pm. These are office contact hours, rather than nursery session times.