Crocketts Community Primary School Nursery

Communication, language and growing independence give Crocketts’ early years provision its character. Children can start in the provision for two-year-olds, making those first steps in learning part of the school’s early years work rather than a separate nursery service.

Ofsted judged early years provision Outstanding at the inspection on 7 and 8 January 2025. That judgement covers the school’s early years phase, including its provision for two-year-olds; it is not a separate nursery rating. For parents, the useful detail behind the grade is the attention to children’s language and independence, alongside the planning of spaces for learning.

Learning to communicate is a central thread. In January 2025, staff gave particular attention to developing children’s language, communication and ability to do things independently. These are practical foundations for a young child: expressing needs, taking part in learning and becoming less reliant on adults. The emphasis makes the early years experience about more than completing activities.

Both indoor and outdoor learning spaces were organised to support children’s access to the curriculum. The environment therefore has a teaching purpose, with learning supported across the two settings. This matters for families looking for outdoor provision that forms part of education rather than simply a break from it.

The January 2025 findings describe strong preparation for the stages that follow early years. That is an educational judgement about children’s foundations, rather than a promise about their next school place.

Relationships with families begin before children start school. The January 2025 findings connect that early contact with children’s positive start in the early years. For a family preparing a young child for nursery, this makes the relationship with staff part of the preparation, rather than something that begins only once attendance starts.

At school level, support for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) includes work with outside agencies, sensory spaces, practical equipment and specialist staff training. These are school-wide resources and arrangements, rather than a description of an individual nursery child’s support package. They provide useful context for families considering how additional needs are addressed within the wider setting.

Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place in the school’s Reception. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. Choosing this nursery should therefore be a decision about the early years experience itself, with the Reception application treated as a separate step.

The January 2025 inspection also identified a school-wide improvement needed in writing: the sequence of knowledge needed greater clarity. This was not presented as a nursery-specific weakness.

The nursery belongs to Crocketts Community Primary School on Coopers Lane, Smethwick, B67 7DW. It sits within the school’s provision, so families are choosing a school nursery whose early years work begins with two-year-olds.