Wintringham Primary Academy Nursery Review

Three-hour sessions and learning through play give Wintringham's pre-school its shape. It caters for children aged two, three and four within Wintringham Primary Academy in St Neots, and serves over 65 children. That is the number attending, rather than a measure of places available.

The school occupies purpose-built premises, with a central grove, wetland area and playing fields across the wider site. Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Good at its February 2023 inspection; this is an early years judgement within the school inspection. At that time, the pre-school's two- and three-year-olds played and learned together calmly.

Play carries the learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines physical development, communication and social confidence with early literacy, maths, creativity and understanding the world. Development Matters helps the early years team plan activities and assess development, so observations of children's play inform their next learning steps.

Within the early years environment, construction toys, clay and play-dough give children practical ways to develop control and coordination. Climbing equipment adds larger movements outdoors. Maths takes practical forms too: children explore counting, shapes and patterns through baking and the water and sand trays. Numberblocks and number rhymes sit alongside these activities, helping children practise counting.

Pre-school phonics starts with Phase 1 in a programme based on Little Wandle. The emphasis is on speaking and listening skills. Staff teaching phonics receive training in synthetic phonics, giving this early work a shared approach.

In February 2023, early years children explored through indoor and outdoor play, with adults introducing vocabulary and helping them use it. Independence was encouraged alongside carefully supervised risks. For parents, the combination matters: children have opportunities to make choices while adults help extend their language and learning.

Tapestry connects the early years team with home. Children's learning journals bring together significant observations, and parents can contribute examples of what their child does beyond the setting. Those contributions help staff understand the child across different situations, rather than relying only on activities in the classroom.

Families can contact the school's SEND coordinator through the school office. Safeguarding responsibilities sit with a designated lead and deputy leads; staff must pass on concerns about a child's welfare. This gives parents a clear route for discussing support needs and a defined process for welfare concerns.

Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Cambridgeshire Local Authority, using its online citizen's portal, or contacting Cambridgeshire Admissions Team for a paper application if they do not have internet access.

For the September 2026 intake, the closing date was 15 January 2026. That cycle is past. Keep the Reception application separate from any pre-school booking: securing nursery sessions does not complete the application for school.

Sessions run from 9am to noon and from noon to 3pm, with each lasting three hours. Bookings are charged by session and operate during term time. This is a session-based childcare pattern, so families need to plan around both the midday boundary and school holidays.

Funded Twos, Universal Hours, Expanded Funding and Extended Funding can be used for any session. There are no chargeable extras. Contact the school for current charges when arranging paid sessions.

To register interest, complete the pre-school interest form and return it to the office or email Pre-school@wintringham.cambs.sch.uk. Forms for 2026/2027 are being accepted, with families contacted when a place can be offered.