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Nursery at Kew Woods Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Purposeful play, conversation and learning outdoors shape the nursery at Kew Woods Primary School in Southport. Children have indoor and outdoor classrooms, while activities combine their own choices with teaching led by adults. This is the school's own nursery provision, with a class teacher and teaching assistants rather than a separate childcare setting.
The nursery aims to help children become learners who can motivate themselves. Its practical emphasis is on exploring, trying ideas and returning to skills through play, giving children opportunities to take an active part in their learning.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the curriculum framework. In parent terms, the first emphasis is on talking and understanding, physical skills, and managing feelings and relationships. These foundations support later work with reading and writing, maths, creative expression and understanding the world. Learning happens outside as well as indoors.
Children choose some play activities themselves; adults lead others, including work in small groups. Planned play gives children opportunities to practise literacy and mathematical skills while exploring their surroundings. The balance matters: there is room for children's interests alongside activities with a teaching purpose. Kew Woods also aims to encourage children to investigate, persist and connect their ideas, rather than simply complete a task.
Language is a concrete strength in the nursery-specific findings from March 2023. Children learnt vocabulary for everyday exchanges and different subjects through conversations in which staff and children responded to each other. Books and poems also introduced early-years children to unfamiliar language and experiences. For parents, that means talk and shared reading are part of learning, alongside play.
Preparation begins with a Nursery Starter meeting for families whose children are due to join after applying. Parents meet the teacher and teaching assistants, see both classrooms and discuss the routines. Clothing and school lunches are covered too, so the meeting brings practical preparation together with an introduction to the adults working with the child.
An informal conversation with the class teacher gives parents an opportunity to raise questions before the start. The school office is also a contact for concerns. For children with additional needs, the school's support structure includes a SEND coordinator and an Inclusion Leader. Kew Woods recognises that children learn differently and that some need changes to the curriculum; these roles give families a point of contact for discussing support.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately through the normal Reception admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Sefton is the contact for the school's admission arrangements.
The 2022 admissions criteria prioritised looked-after and previously looked-after children, siblings, qualifying children of staff, then distance, after admitting children whose Education, Health and Care Plan named the school. Nursery attendance was not a priority criterion in that cycle. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions.
Nursery applications use an online form. For enquiries, contact the school office on 01704 533478 or at admin@kewwoods.com.
The nursery timetable associated with the 2020–2021 school year offered weekday mornings from 8:45am to 11:45am and afternoons from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. An Extended Entitlement option ran from 8:45am to 3:15pm on weekdays. These are historical booking patterns, rather than a timetable for the present admissions cycle.
Complete the online nursery application form. The school office handles enquiries on 01704 533478 or at admin@kewwoods.com.
Families who have applied and whose child is due to start receive an invitation to a Nursery Starter meeting. It introduces the teacher, teaching assistants, classrooms and routines, including information about clothing and school lunches.
Yes. Nursery provision includes an outdoor classroom, and the early-years curriculum includes learning indoors and outside.
Children's own play choices sit alongside activities led by adults and work in small groups. The EYFS framework covers language, physical and personal development alongside literacy, maths, understanding the world and creative learning.
No. Reception requires a separate application through the normal admissions process. Nursery attendance was not a priority criterion in the 2022 admissions cycle; Sefton is the contact for the school's admission arrangements.
