St Francis of Assisi Church of England Primary School Nursery

Listening, singing and sharing stories give this nursery its character. At St Francis of Assisi Church of England Primary School in Ingleby Barwick, children start from age 3, with nursery teachers and teaching assistants forming their team. Practical play is the starting point for learning, with adults helping children develop vocabulary and life skills alongside their activities.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Good at its inspection on 8 and 9 November 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school.

Play gives children something to talk about. Nursery staff describe learning through practical activity, with adults supporting children's play to extend what they learn. Singing, conversation and stories are among the activities nursery teachers describe using. For parents, this gives a concrete picture of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) here: learning through doing, with adult involvement to help children develop knowledge and language.

Books and imaginative play also feature in the nursery team's interests. A teaching assistant describes an interest in role play, storytelling and sharing books, alongside supporting speech and language. These are useful points of connection for a child who enjoys stories or needs encouragement to communicate.

In November 2023, adults in early years demonstrated spoken language effectively, helping children expand their vocabulary, and provided opportunities for exploration. Nursery children also practised recognising sounds around them. This gave their listening activities a clear purpose in preparing for later phonics teaching.

Purpose of activities. In November 2023, some early years tasks lacked a clear connection to the knowledge children were intended to learn. Staff needed to make those connections more explicit. For families, the useful distinction is between an activity that keeps a child occupied and one that develops a planned skill or understanding.

Teaching responsibilities are split across the week, with one nursery teacher working at the beginning and another at the end. The beginning-of-week teacher trained specifically in early years more than twenty-five years ago and has worked in early years settings since. Teaching assistants also bring experience of supporting young children.

A SEND teaching assistant works across year groups, including early years, supporting children who find learning or exploring the school environment difficult. This provides a relevant team role for families whose child needs additional help to participate.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply separately for Reception through the normal application process and meet the applicable deadline. Treat the nursery choice and the later school application as two separate decisions.

The school is on Lowfields Avenue, Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 5GA. For enquiries or to arrange a visit, contact the school administrator on 01642 769942. The administrative email address is admin@stfrancispri.dalesmat.org.