Gonville Academy Nursery Review

A morning, an afternoon or a full school day: Gonville Nursery gives families three distinct session options on the Gonville Academy site in Thornton Heath. The practical difference is lunch. Full-day children stay through a lunchtime break, while the shorter sessions sit either side of it.

For the September 2026 intake, applications covered children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. This is the academy’s own nursery, with an early years team and a separate application process from Reception.

Language has a clear place in the nursery curriculum. Success for All (SFA), the academy’s English programme, begins with nursery children and emphasises speaking alongside early English learning. Vocabulary development starts in the early years, and systematic phonics teaching begins in Nursery. For parents, that means early literacy includes learning to express ideas as well as working with sounds.

Maths brings another set of concrete learning goals. Nursery content includes sorting, shape and recognising numbers 1–5, followed by work on time, money and handling data. Later content includes place value and recognising numbers 1–20. The sequence can change to suit the children in the cohort; these are learning goals rather than a fixed timetable for each child.

In April 2023, early years children paid close attention during lessons. Curriculum sequencing also extended from the early years onwards. Across the academy, however, teaching sometimes needed clearer connections between earlier knowledge and new learning. That distinction matters: an organised sequence still needs teaching that helps children make those connections.

Settling was a positive feature of early years provision in April 2023: children became comfortable quickly when starting school. This offers some reassurance about the first stage of joining, while remaining a finding from that period.

For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the academy aims to identify needs early, adapt the curriculum to each child and involve parents in decisions about support. Its approach includes working with outside agencies where relevant. The practical emphasis is on tailoring provision rather than expecting each child to learn in the same way.

Lunch is part of the full-day nursery timetable, running from 11:30am to 12:30pm. School dinners carry an additional charge for children attending for 30 hours. Families should obtain current charges from the school when planning this attendance pattern.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. For September 2027 entry, families must make a separate application to their home local authority, with the deadline on or about 15 January 2027. Children with an education, health and care plan follow different statutory procedures.

There is a conditional nursery priority for 2027–2028. Children attending Gonville Nursery who qualify for Early Years Pupil Premium at the application deadline fall into Category 4, behind the looked-after, medical-need and sibling categories. Within Category 4, children living nearer the academy receive higher priority.

Parents must also submit the Category 4 form by the application deadline to use that priority. Attendance alone is insufficient. Families should treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as two separate decisions, even where their child qualifies for this category.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoon sessions run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. The full-day option starts at 8:45am and finishes at 3:15pm. These different collection times are central to fitting nursery around family routines.

Additional three-hour sessions carry a charge; contact the school for current charges. Nursery enquiries go through the academy office on 0208 684 4006 or office@gonvilleacademy.org. Tours can be arranged through the office, including an alternative appointment for families unable to attend an organised nursery event.