Errington Primary School Nursery

Play, conversation and practical discovery shape the nursery at Errington Primary School in Marske-by-Sea. This is the school's Foundation Stage 1 provision, with 26 morning places and 26 afternoon places. Children taking the 30-hour option count within those numbers, so these are session capacities rather than separate pools of places.

Pine Tree Nursery caters for 2 year olds within the nursery, with 10 places each morning. That gives younger children a named provision of their own within the school setting. Across the early years, Errington aims to develop independence and curiosity through active learning, with adults supporting children's play and conversation.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven connected areas of development. Talking and listening, movement, and children's emotional and social development provide the foundations; early reading and writing, mathematics, creative expression and exploring the world build on them. For parents, the emphasis is on learning through practical experiences and play, with adults helping children extend their ideas.

Topics follow a three-year rotation. Transport is a named nursery theme, while Minibeasts appears among the early-years topics. Language work happens daily through songs, books, focused conversation groups and discussion of topic vocabulary. Adults join children in the learning areas to model language and encourage questions about unfamiliar words. Conversation is part of the activity itself. Errington also asks children to be ready, curious and kind, returning to these expectations throughout the day so they become familiar prompts during activities.

Read Write Inc provides the phonics approach. There is technology to explore too: nursery computing includes a board and Bee-Bot, which children give instructions to. This makes early technology learning a practical activity with something children can control.

In March 2023, Ofsted found that early-years staff helped children achieve smaller goals towards their longer-term learning aims. Children combined activities they chose themselves with those directed by adults. Outdoors, they planted seeds while exploring how plants grow, making the outdoor learning space part of the curriculum rather than simply a place for a break.

An open-door approach gives parents access to nursery staff for conversation and information. Class Dojo is also used across the school to assess learning and share children's activities with families, giving parents examples to discuss at home.

For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school's arrangements include meetings with parents when progress raises concerns and termly discussions with the class teacher. Additional support and referrals to outside professionals are discussed with families. The special educational needs coordinator links support with services such as speech and language therapy and educational psychology, keeping parents involved in reviewing their child's progress.

Food rules have a practical consequence for anything brought from home: Errington is nut free, and packed lunches must contain no nuts. School hot dinners include a vegetarian choice, and the catering team encourages children to explore unfamiliar foods.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. The Admissions Team handles enquiries about applications and places, at schools_admissions@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk. Treat this as a separate decision from choosing nursery sessions.

Morning nursery has a drop-off window of 8.30–8.55am and collection between 11.15 and 11.30am. Afternoon drop-off runs from 12.15 to 12.30pm, with collection between 3.00 and 3.15pm. Those windows matter when planning work and other school collections.

Flexible 30-hour childcare is offered, with limited places; families seeking that option are asked to obtain their government code and contact the office. General enquiries go to errington.office@atomix.ac.uk or 01642 482002. For Pine Tree Nursery, use 2yrold@atomix.ac.uk.

The school expects uniform and labelled clothing. Pale blue tops, burgundy jumpers or cardigans and grey trousers or skirts form the main colours. The PTA's uniform SWAP shop provides a way to reuse clothing other children have outgrown.