South Stanley Infant and Nursery School Review 2026: Values-led early years with practical wraparound

For an infant and nursery school, “results” are less about end-of-primary testing and more about how successfully children build the foundations that make Key Stage 2 achievable later. That means a sharp focus on phonics, early reading fluency, vocabulary development, number sense, and early writing stamina.

The school’s most recent inspection evidence points to high expectations and calm, purposeful classrooms, with routines that pupils follow carefully. It also describes an ambitious curriculum with essential knowledge mapped out so that learning builds step by step from early years through Key Stage 1, and highlights reading as a prominent priority.

Where parents should read between the lines is that early writing can be the hardest area to get consistently right across a whole staff team, because it depends on fine motor control, language, phonics application, and carefully sequenced practice. The inspection evidence identifies early writing as an area where approaches were less consistent, which is useful for families to ask about, not as a red flag, but as a practical question about how handwriting, sentence construction, and transcription skills are taught in Nursery, Reception and Year 1.

Teaching priorities are what you would hope to see in a setting that only educates children up to age 7, a relentless focus on the building blocks. The most effective infant schools do three things well.

First, they teach phonics with real consistency. When that works, the implication is huge, children can decode confidently, reading becomes rewarding rather than stressful, and vocabulary and comprehension grow faster because pupils spend less mental effort on working out the words.

Second, they invest in talk. Early language is explicitly supported, including through work with families. When a school takes early speech and communication seriously, it typically shows up in clearer instructions, richer classroom dialogue, and fewer behavioural problems that are actually frustration in disguise.

Third, they make curriculum content memorable. The inspection evidence gives an example from design technology, where older pupils could explain techniques used to make school bags and evaluate designs. That kind of recall suggests learning is not only “done”, it is revisited and made meaningful, which is exactly what young children need.

Because the school ends at Year 2, the key transition is to junior provision for Key Stage 2. In this local area, families will typically be thinking about the onward move to a junior school and how smooth that handover is, both academically and pastorally.

The most useful questions for parents here are practical. How does the school share information on reading progression and any speech and language needs? How are friendships supported at transition? What extra support is offered for children who find change difficult? The strongest infant settings treat Year 2 as both a culmination and a launchpad, ensuring children leave with solid phonics habits, confidence with number, and the resilience to cope with bigger classes and a broader curriculum.

This is a state-funded school, so there are no tuition fees. Admissions are coordinated through the local authority route for Reception entry, and families should work to the published deadlines rather than relying on informal timelines.

For September 2026 entry, Durham’s published timetable sets out an application opening date of 01 September 2025, with the closing deadline at midnight on Thursday 15 January 2026. National offer day for primary places is Thursday 16 April 2026. These dates are non-negotiable in practice, because late applications can materially reduce choice in oversubscribed areas.

Demand data indicates the school is oversubscribed on the primary entry route, with 58 applications for 32 offers (around 1.81 applications per place). The implication is straightforward, families should apply on time and treat it as competitive, even if they live nearby.

A useful planning step is to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand how local admissions patterns play out year to year, particularly if nearby schools are also heavily subscribed.

Pastoral care at this age is mainly about predictable routines, fast response to need, and a consistent behavioural framework. The school’s own messaging places strong weight on inclusion and on helping children believe in themselves, and that sits well alongside practical whole-school approaches such as Zones of Regulation.

External evidence also supports a picture of calm classrooms and good manners, with staff addressing inappropriate behaviour sensitively and effectively. For parents, the takeaway is that behaviour is treated as teachable, with adults modelling the expectations, rather than simply punishing outcomes.

Safeguarding is, rightly, a threshold issue for any family. The most recent Ofsted inspection (11 March 2025, published 06 May 2025) confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

For an infant and nursery school, extracurricular provision should be judged less by quantity and more by whether it reinforces core developmental goals.

This school’s clubs offer a good example of that “purposeful enrichment” model. Recorder Club builds listening, rhythm, and fine motor coordination, and it also introduces children to the discipline of practising a tuned instrument in a low-stakes setting. Mindfulness Club explicitly teaches calm-down strategies through breathing and reflective activities, which links directly to emotional regulation and readiness to learn. Reading Club focuses on reading for pleasure, helping children connect stories to feelings and building the habit of choosing books independently.

Food and play are used intelligently too. Healthy Eating Club introduces children to ingredients, hygiene, and tasting, which supports vocabulary, curiosity, and confidence around new experiences. Board Games Club develops strategic thinking and social skills like taking turns and coping with losing fairly.

For families looking for STEM early on, the wraparound programme lists a STEM Club and Gardening Club on Tuesdays, which are both age-appropriate routes into investigation, observation, and simple cause-and-effect thinking.

Wraparound provision is a genuine strength. Breakfast club runs from 8.00am to 8.45am, is free, and is sponsored by Greggs. The school day for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 runs 8.55am to 3.25pm, with a staggered entry window from 8.45am to 8.55am and collection from 3.25pm to 3.30pm. Nursery full days follow the same 8.55am to 3.25pm structure, with separate morning and afternoon session times also published.

After school, there is both a programme of free clubs and a paid after-school provision running 3.30pm to 5.30pm, priced at £5 per session. Families who need reliable childcare coverage should look closely at how those two strands fit together, because it can materially change the weekly logistics.

• It is an infant school. Education here ends after Year 2, so families need a clear plan for the Year 3 move and should ask how transition information is shared with receiving junior schools.

• Oversubscription is real. With materially more applications than offers on the primary entry route, admission can be competitive; apply on time and list preferences strategically.

• Ask about early writing. Inspection evidence points to variability in approaches to early writing; parents should ask how handwriting, sentence work, and transcription are taught and monitored across Nursery, Reception and Year 1.

• Nursery funding and sessions need checking early. Nursery hours and session structure are published, but families should confirm availability and eligibility for government-funded hours directly with the school and local authority, particularly if they need a specific pattern of care.

South Stanley Infant and Nursery School looks like a values-led setting that takes early reading, relationships, and routines seriously, with wraparound provision that is unusually practical for an infant school. It will suit families who want a structured, supportive early years experience and who value consistent behaviour expectations anchored in simple language children can actually use. The main challenge is admissions competition and planning the Year 3 transition well.