Saint Augustine Webster Catholic Voluntary Academy Nursery

Bumblebees starts with play, stories and a Catholic identity. This is the nursery within Saint Augustine Webster Catholic Voluntary Academy’s early years unit on Baildon Road, Scunthorpe. Children can join in the term following their third birthday, beginning their school experience within a unit that also includes Reception.

Faith shapes the learning from the start: Come and See is the religious education programme used in nursery. The early years provision received a Good judgement at Ofsted’s inspection on 7 and 8 November 2023. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Play provides the main route into learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together children’s emotional and social development, movement and language, alongside early maths, literacy, creative work and discovering how the world works. Adults plan both guided learning and opportunities for children to explore for themselves, indoors and outside.

Stories have a physical home here. An Imagination Library table brings books into the provision, while reading gardens use resources such as puppets, story stones and masks to encourage children to act out and retell stories. The North Lincolnshire Imagination Library Scheme also sends a free book to children’s homes each month. Activities shared through Tapestry connect those books with family reading, giving parents something concrete to try together.

Songs and rhymes introduce nursery children to language and numbers. In November 2023, children were learning to distinguish sounds around them in both indoor and outdoor spaces. Relationships with adults were strong, and children approached learning positively. Adult-guided teaching helped them acquire knowledge, but independent activities did not consistently let them consolidate it. Independent practice. This was an early years improvement priority in November 2023; families should pay attention to how play activities help children use what they have just learned.

Settling begins before the first nursery session. Early years staff make home visits, visit children’s previous settings and arrange school taster days. This gives the team opportunities to understand a child’s experiences before planning their start, rather than treating every newcomer as having the same needs.

Communication continues through conversations, messages, newsletters and Tapestry. Parents can contribute their own observations to Tapestry, helping staff understand learning beyond the classroom. The early years team also shares relevant information with safeguarding staff and the special needs coordinator. Its approach includes children with disabilities, special educational needs and vulnerable backgrounds, with families and outside professionals involved in supporting individual needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process; applications are made online through North Lincolnshire Council. Treat that application as a separate family task from nursery registration.

A Registration of Interest form is available from the school office. When a child is ready to begin nursery, the school uses those details to contact the family and arrange transition. Nursery PE clothing includes a plain white T-shirt, and children attend in their PE kit on PE days.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school on 01724 843722 or email adminteam@staugustinewebster.net. The address is Baildon Road, Scunthorpe, DN15 8BU.