Shoreside Primary School Nursery Review

Songs, stories and new words give Shoreside’s youngest children a shared starting point. Pre-Nursery welcomes children from the term following their second birthday, while Nursery entry begins in the term following their third birthday, subject to space. These are the school’s own early years classes, with provision beginning at age two.

The early years provision received a Good judgement at the Ofsted inspection in April 2023. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision, rather than a separately inspected nursery. Language and books were clear strengths in the early years findings, alongside a specific concern about extending learning in other areas.

Stories, poems, songs and sounds feature daily in Pre-Nursery and Nursery, with small-group intervention alongside them. The school uses Read Write Inc. for phonics, but the nursery experience centres on this early exposure to language and sound. It gives younger children repeated contact with the building blocks of reading through familiar classroom activities.

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum covers seven areas. In parent terms, these bring together movement, communication and emotional development with early reading and writing, mathematics, creative expression and learning about the world. The emphasis reaches beyond preparing children to read: physical development and relationships have their own place in the curriculum.

In April 2023, staff introduced vocabulary through play and storytelling, and two-year-olds joined enthusiastically in familiar songs and stories. There was also a teaching weakness: opportunities to extend or consolidate knowledge were sometimes missed, slowing some children’s progress. For families, the relevant question is how adults build on a child’s existing understanding across the whole curriculum.

Beyond the classroom, the school has an Outdoor Classroom for learning outside. This is a school facility; the daily language activities are the clearest nursery-specific feature here.

Settling follows the child’s pace. Some children begin with their full entitlement, while others increase their time gradually and have a parent or carer alongside them for the first few sessions. That allows the start to be adjusted rather than requiring every child to manage the same first days.

For children with additional needs, the school aims to keep the curriculum and learning opportunities accessible through teaching adaptations and extra interventions. Families can contact the SEND team through the school office. Early years updates are also shared through @ShoresideEYFS, giving parents another connection with classroom life.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process; Sefton Council provides the primary-school application route. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions, and submit the latter by the applicable deadline.

Entry to either nursery stage depends on space for five sessions of three hours. For eligible three- and four-year-olds, the nursery offers the 15-hour universal offer and the 30-hour funded offer.

Families can visit before requesting a place. An application form is collected from the school office and returned there with the child’s birth certificate; the school then gives a proposed start date. To enquire or arrange a visit with the early years team, contact shoresideoffice@remat.org.uk or call 01704 576040.