Thornaby Church of England Primary School Nursery

Pumpkins become shop stock and fairy tales become building challenges here. Thornaby Church of England Primary School’s nursery serves children aged three and four, with a separate, purpose-built Early Years Unit giving the youngest children their own base within the school.

For the 2025/26 school year, the nursery expected 52 part-time children. That is a dated pupil forecast, rather than a measure of current vacancies. The school’s Christian values are love, forgiveness, hope and perseverance, placing the nursery within a school that aims to connect learning with consideration for others.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) starts with communication, movement and children’s social and emotional development. Reading and writing, maths, creativity and understanding the world build on those foundations. For parents, that means learning extends beyond early letters and numbers to talking, playing together and developing physical skills.

Nursery activities have made those connections concrete. In an autumn pumpkin shop, children explored weighing and selling. Fairy tales supplied another route into maths and investigation: children counted buttons on a gingerbread figure, then built houses for the Three Little Pigs and tested whether their own blowing could knock them down. These examples give counting and problem-solving a purpose children can understand.

Chinese New Year activities have included making dragons and lanterns, listening to Chinese music and trying chopsticks in a restaurant role-play corner. Early Years children can use the outdoor area across the school day, so outdoor learning need not be confined to a single break.

At the inspection on 13 and 14 September 2023, Ofsted found strong early years provision, with adults demonstrating conversation and courteous behaviour. Children worked together, explained their activities and showed enthusiasm for stories and books. Those findings give substance to the emphasis on language and shared play.

Nursery teaching staff form part of the Early Years team. Families also have access to the school’s SEND team through an appointment arranged by the office. Support can include adapted learning resources and supported play indoors or outside, matching help to a child’s needs.

The September 2023 inspection identified a school-wide weakness in SEND planning: targets needed greater precision to make progress easier to assess. For a family whose child needs additional support, clear, manageable next steps are therefore an important point to discuss. The school’s SEND arrangements include termly reviews of support plans with parental involvement.

The school’s meal arrangements include cooked lunches provided by Aspens from the school kitchen, with a three-week menu cycle. School meal choices include tomato pasta, filled jacket potatoes and sandwiches alongside the main hot dish, selected at the start of the day. Confirm nursery lunch access and current charges with the school office.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s normal primary admissions route. For September 2026 entry, the deadline was 15 January 2026; that application cycle has passed.

For the 2026/27 intake, nursery attendance confers no admissions priority. Allocation follows criteria covering care status, exceptional needs, catchment residence, siblings, qualifying staff connections and distance. Familiarity with the school should therefore be kept separate from entitlement to a place.

For children with SEND, the school uses July transition meetings involving teachers, the SENDCo and parents where needed, with individual information passed to the next teaching team. This supports continuity of care rather than admissions preference.

The 15-hour pattern offers mornings from 8:45am to 11:45am or afternoons from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. The 30-hour day runs from 9am to 3pm. These different finishing times matter when arranging collection or coordinating siblings’ routines.

Breakfast Club and Thornaby Nest currently serve Reception to Year 6, so their eligibility excludes nursery children. Initial nursery enquiries go to the school administrator on 01642 763060 or admin@thornaby.dalesmat.org. School visits can be arranged through the office.