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Nursery at Sheepscombe Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
An adjoining orchard gives Little Lambs a distinctive setting for its youngest children's Forest School sessions. This is a small nursery within Sheepscombe Primary School: eight places each day, for children aged three upwards. Play and outdoor exploration shape the provision's character.
Little Lambs and Merlin Class share a teaching and support team. For families choosing a school nursery, that connection matters: early education takes place within the school, with early years staff and learning linked to the wider curriculum.
Play is the starting point. Children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), with adults planning around their interests and needs. Its seven learning areas bring together language, physical skills and emotional development with early literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. In parent terms, learning includes talking, moving, making and investigating, alongside the first steps towards reading and number work.
Adult-guided activities sit alongside play that children initiate themselves. Stories and songs give children opportunities to listen and use new vocabulary; drawing, painting and handling objects exercise the smaller movements needed for later writing. Counting can involve matching objects or sorting them, while role play gives children ways to explore feelings and relationships. These are practical experiences, rather than a day defined solely by formal lessons.
Exploration extends outdoors. Running, balancing and climbing support physical development, and Forest School gives the youngest Little Lambs access to the orchard beside the school grounds. The wider Forest School timetable alternates groups on Thursdays. The orchard is the relevant nursery detail, bringing outdoor learning close to the children's school base.
Learning also connects with the school's thematic approach. Plans respond to children's interests, and parents receive a class theme overview each term, giving them a way to understand the learning being explored. The EYFS uses Development Matters guidance alongside its statutory framework.
Early years teaching sits alongside specialist support roles. The shared team includes a special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo), teaching assistants, an ELSA lead and staff with paediatric first aid responsibilities. The SENDCo holds the NASENCO award. This brings early learning and additional-needs expertise into the same team, a useful connection for families whose children need support to access activities.
In December 2024, Ofsted found that support for nursery children and their early years peers encouraged independence and enjoyment of school. Care reflected children's needs. Independence also has a practical place in the curriculum through self-care, making choices and learning to express emotions.
Reception requires a separate application. Attending Little Lambs does not guarantee a Reception place at Sheepscombe Primary School. Families must apply again through the normal Reception admissions process and meet the relevant deadline.
The school directs families to Gloucestershire's school admissions service. Keep that application separate from the decision to join Little Lambs: being part of the nursery's school community is a day-to-day experience, not a promise of a later place.
Little Lambs is based at Far End, Sheepscombe, Stroud, GL6 7RL. Families can arrange a school visit by telephone or email, with a time agreed to suit them. This provides a direct opportunity to see the nursery and discuss joining.
Contact the school office on 01452 813852 or email admin@sheepscombe.gloucs.sch.uk. An enquiry form is also available for contacting the school.
Little Lambs takes children aged three upwards and has eight places each day.
Children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage through play, combining activities guided by adults with their own exploration. Staff also use Development Matters guidance.
The youngest Little Lambs use the orchard adjoining the school grounds.
No. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process. The school directs families to Gloucestershire's school admissions service.
Call 01452 813852 or email admin@sheepscombe.gloucs.sch.uk to arrange a suitable time.
