Mortimer Primary School Nursery Review

Reading starts in Nursery at Mortimer, alongside learning to work with adults and other children. Those two threads give this provision its clearest character: early learning includes both books and cooperation. The nursery unit serves three- and four-year-olds within Mortimer Primary School, on Mortimer Road in South Shields.

Ofsted rated the school's early years provision Good at its inspection on 30 and 31 January 2024. This is an early years judgement within the school inspection, rather than a separate nursery rating.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework guides teaching here. Nursery belongs to the school's early years phase, which sits outside the National Curriculum followed by older children. For parents, the concrete starting points are a focus on reading from Nursery and learning how to cooperate with other people. These give children practice in engaging with learning and taking part in a group.

Activities have also included making things around a shared theme. In February 2021, the Mission to Mars project asked early years children to construct space transport using recycled materials brought from home. Boxes and yoghurt pots became building materials, connecting a topic with something children could make themselves. This was a dated project, rather than a standing weekly activity.

A July 2022 newsletter also included Nursery in the Teddy Bears Picnic and listed a nursery farm visit. These examples show nursery children taking part in school occasions as well as activities arranged for their own age group.

Learning is adapted from Nursery onwards. In January 2024, examples included picture-based timetables and vocabulary prompts, helping children understand the sequence of activities and the words used in their learning. The practical value is clarity: support can make both the task and its language easier to follow.

For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school uses individual support plans and provides extra adult help where needed. Discussing a child's needs before starting gives families a useful focus for their nursery visit. For sensitive conversations, the school's contact arrangements allow parents to telephone and arrange a meeting with the appropriate member of staff.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the council process by the deadline for their child's entry year. Mortimer's reminder to nursery parents for the September 2022 intake explicitly required an application even for children already attending its nursery. South Tyneside Council's Parental Preference Form is the application route.

Transition arrangements are a separate matter. Children joining Reception can meet their teacher and future classmates beforehand, while parents have summer-term meetings. The admissions page also describes a phased start, with part-time attendance during the first two weeks following parent interviews. These arrangements help families prepare for the change; they do not secure admission.

The main school office handles nursery applications from the month a child turns two. Parents need their child's birth certificate and evidence of their address. This is the point for applying, rather than the nursery's starting age.

A nursery viewing can be booked by telephone before applying. Call 0191 455 4504 to arrange it. Meeting the team provides an opportunity to discuss how the evidenced learning adaptations would relate to your child and to see the nursery before making an application.