St Ives Infant School Nursery Review

Stories give this nursery its character: The Gruffalo, Whatever Next and Counting Creatures belong to a shared collection that children hear repeatedly. Familiar books give families something concrete to talk about at home, while repeated reading helps children get to know the stories rather than simply move through them.

Children can join after their third birthday. This is St Ives Infant School’s own nursery, with morning and afternoon sessions and an optional lunch club linking the two. Families can choose a shorter session or combine provision around lunch. At the Ofsted inspection on 7 and 8 February 2024, early years provision received a Good judgement. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the curriculum framework. Here, its practical ingredients include talking, listening, early number work and making marks that carry meaning. Dough Stories and Drawing Club are named approaches used across EYFS; nursery children are encouraged to experiment with tools and explain what their marks represent. The emphasis is on the beginnings of writing, giving children opportunities to attach meaning to the marks they make.

Books have a defined place in that learning. The nursery reading collection includes The Very Hungry Caterpillar and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, alongside its other recurring stories. Children return to these titles during the year, building a shared store of characters and language.

Read, Write Inc begins in the final nursery term, with children meeting the programme’s characters in the summer before Reception. This introduces a familiar programme before the next stage of learning. In February 2024, early years children developed speaking and listening skills, received help with letter formation and putting ideas into sentences, and practised number learning through carefully chosen activities. Patience and turn-taking were also established from early years, making learning together part of the day.

Regular attendance patterns are encouraged: the nursery says children settle into routines more readily when they come on consistent days each week. That gives families a practical starting point when choosing sessions.

Lunch can be brought from home with a drink, or children can have a hot meal cooked from scratch. Parents can switch between these choices to suit the menu, letting staff know that morning. The kitchen works with Educatering, caters for allergies and dietary requirements, and uses local vegetables and free-range eggs. Food is therefore part of the booking decision as well as the care routine.

SEND support starts in nursery. In February 2024, staff identified needs promptly from the Nursery Year and sought specialist advice to shape individual support plans. This makes early discussion of a child’s needs relevant from the outset, rather than something to postpone until school entry.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place and gives no priority in allocation. Reception requires a separate application through Cornwall Council; nursery applications go through the school office. The school supplies Council application forms to nursery parents in autumn for entry the following September.

The introduction to Read, Write Inc supports continuity in learning. It is separate from admissions: familiarity with the programme does not change how a Reception place is allocated.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoons run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. Lunch club occupies 11:45am to 12:15pm. Each teaching session uses three funded hours, while lunch club uses one hour of entitlement despite lasting half an hour. Families should account for that difference when combining sessions.

The nursery offers the 15-hour entitlement and, for qualifying families, the extended 30-hour entitlement, starting in the term after a child’s third birthday. Extra sessions and hot lunches carry charges; contact the school for current charges and an application form.

Nursery uniform is encouraged, including a blue nursery T-shirt and trousers or leggings children can manage themselves for toileting. Tell staff if a different adult will collect. Midday handovers take place at the external library door opposite the office, giving families a specific collection point.