St Mary & All Saints Nursery Review

Learning to talk, build friendships and join in gives this nursery its character. At St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School in Coley Park, Reading, nursery belongs to the school’s early years provision. Children normally start in the term after turning three, with their precise starting age dependent on space.

For 2026/27, nursery capacity is 30 places. The 2027/28 arrangements provide for 60, divided into 30 morning and 30 afternoon places. These are different admission years, so families should distinguish the present provision from the next intake. Ofsted judged early years provision Good at the inspection on 17 and 18 June 2025; that judgement covers the school’s early years rather than nursery alone.

Communication is a clear teaching priority. In June 2025, the early years curriculum gave substantial attention to children’s social skills, spoken communication and vocabulary. The practical benefit is being able to take part with other children and express themselves. Early learning here builds the foundations for what follows.

Reading, writing and mathematics learning begins in nursery and follows a planned sequence. Alongside this, the TWHF ENRich Reading approach includes planned discussion about books in early years, helping children connect stories with spoken language and understanding.

Discovery RE informs religious education. Early years children explore Judaism and Christianity during the first two terms, linking their celebrations, before considering special places and stories across religions in the final term. Nursery sits within a school with spacious buildings, broad corridors and landscaped grounds; these are features of the wider site.

A nursery teacher also holds the Lower School Lead role, within an early years team that includes practitioners. The school says its early years team gives particular attention to helping children adjust from home to school. Settling is treated as a transition that needs adult support.

For children needing additional help, the school’s SENCO works with teachers, teaching assistants and outside specialists, including a speech and language therapist and an educational psychologist. Children on the SEN register have their progress and agreed outcomes reviewed six times each school year. That creates regular opportunities to reconsider support as needs change.

Parents can access class updates, announcements and consent forms online. Collection also has a specific safeguard: an authorised adult collecting in place of a parent must give the teacher the family’s chosen code word. The same requirement applies when a supply teacher handles dismissal.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application using the Primary Common Application Form, through Reading Borough Council’s coordinated process.

For September 2027 entry, the on-time deadline is 15 January 2027. Nursery attendance itself gives no priority under the 2027/28 Reception criteria. Allocation instead takes account of categories including care status, exceptional parental medical or social needs, residence in the designated area and siblings, with distance used to separate equally ranked applications.

Separate application. A nursery place and a Reception offer are separate decisions. Families should keep the Reception deadline in their calendar even while their child attends nursery.

Morning nursery runs from 8:30am to 11:30am; the afternoon session runs from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. These times make the collection commitment clear for either part of the day.

Children must remain with an adult until going into class, unless a prior agreement permits unaccompanied travel. For enquiries, contact the school office on 0118 901 5545. School tours can also be arranged through the office, giving families a practical way to explore the setting before choosing it.