Dosthill Primary School Nursery

Conversation and play give Dosthill’s early years provision its clearest character. In October 2024, adults used conversations and carefully timed help during play to develop children’s communication and thinking. Those are useful foundations for a child learning to express ideas and join in.

Our Pride Our Joy, a subsidiary of the Fierté Trust, manages the school nursery in Dosthill, Tamworth. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at its inspection on 15 and 16 October 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Play has a teaching purpose here. In October 2024, staff demonstrated language, extended conversations and chose suitable moments to help children during play. This gives parents a concrete picture of how adults supported learning: through interaction with children, rather than simply supervising their activities. The benefit identified was support for both thinking and communication.

The early years classrooms and outdoor learning environment provide two settings for that work. Their effectiveness was uneven in October 2024. Indoors, learning was engaging; some outdoor activities fitted children’s next learning steps less closely, limiting what they gained from them.

Outdoor learning. Activities outside needed a closer connection to children’s learning needs. For families weighing the provision, the educational purpose of outdoor play matters alongside access to outdoor space.

Settling was a strength of the school’s early years provision in October 2024. Children became comfortable with school life, and familiar routines took shape promptly. For a young child, that combination matters: feeling settled and understanding the pattern of the day support participation in play and conversation.

At school level, Individual Learning Plans bring together a child’s interests, support needs, strategies and learning targets. Targets are reviewed each term, using the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process. Parents and children contribute alongside staff, giving families a role in shaping support rather than simply receiving an update.

Edu-Key Provision Mapping holds these plans, and parents can view them using a secure link supplied by the SENDCo. A Parent/Carer Cause for Concern Form provides another school-level route for raising worries about a child. These are useful points of contact for families discussing additional needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate school application through the normal local authority process. Staffordshire families use the county’s school admissions route; families living elsewhere apply through their home local authority.

For the 2026 Reception entry cycle, nursery attendance gave no priority under the oversubscription criteria. The application deadline for that past cycle was 12th January 2026. Keep the nursery decision and the Reception application separate: choosing this provision does not remove the need to apply again, and familiarity with the school does not secure admission.

Nursery applications go directly to Our Pride, Our Joy. Contact the provider on 01827 214949 or email dosthill@opoj.fierte.org. This is the nursery application route, distinct from the local authority process for Reception. Addressing the application to the nursery provider keeps the two processes clear for families.