Hermitage Primary School Nursery

Sliding classroom doors and a shared outdoor area give Hermitage’s nursery a connected early-years setting. Child-led exploration sits alongside daily work on sounds, with space for movement as well as stories. This is the school’s own nursery on Belmont Road in Uxbridge, within its Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Children can join from the term following their third birthday, provided a place is available. Families choose a morning or afternoon session. The provision’s character comes from that combination: a short session, a shared learning environment and children’s interests helping to shape the curriculum.

Each half-term brings a fresh I wonder question. Children explore it through the EYFS’s seven learning areas, connecting language, physical development and relationships with early reading, mathematics, creativity and understanding their surroundings. For parents, that means learning extends beyond letters and numbers to conversation, friendships and practical independence.

Indoors, sliding doors connect the classrooms into a larger space for free-flow learning. Outside, a large area supports both small hand movements and bigger physical skills. The curriculum includes balancing and ball skills, using scissors and making marks, giving physical development a place alongside early literacy.

Read Write Inc. provides a structured strand: nursery children learn the first 30 sounds through daily sessions. The wider literacy curriculum includes recognising rhymes, clapping syllables and talking about stories. Counting small groups of objects, comparing quantities and exploring patterns introduce mathematical ideas through concrete examples.

The March 2024 inspection found that early-years children enjoyed singing and rhyming, with illustrated books about minibeasts among the texts linked to their topics. Families also received reading support through workshops and online resources. This connects activities in the setting with ways parents can participate at home.

Emotional vocabulary starts in nursery. Staff help children name their feelings and consider what they can do about them, giving them language to use with other children. Growth Mindset is another named approach: adults use the idea of not being able to do something yet, demonstrate it together and encourage further attempts.

Class Dojo carries a weekly preview of learning, followed by photographs and comments during the week. Parents can message teachers to arrange a conversation. A SEND coordinator can be contacted at sendco@hermitageprimary.org.uk, providing a direct route for discussions about additional needs.

Ofsted’s March 2024 findings included early-years children being content, receiving attentive care and feeling secure. Milk is free for children younger than five, and the school prohibits nuts and nut products because of allergies among children and adults.

A nursery place does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Hillingdon Council, even when their child already attends Hermitage Nursery. Treat that application as a separate task from choosing nursery sessions.

For the September 2026 Reception intake, applications used the e-admissions website and the online deadline was midnight on 15 January 2026. That deadline has passed. The shared classroom arrangement links the early-years spaces physically; it does not secure admission.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am, with a soft start until 8.40am. Afternoon sessions run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, with a soft start until 12.25pm. Registration follows at 8.45am or 12.30pm respectively, so families have a short arrival window before the session’s formal register.

Nursery applications are accepted throughout the school year. Contact the office on 01895 234871 or office@hermitageprimary.org.uk to apply; families can join a waiting list if a place is not immediately available. Walk-around school tours can also be arranged through the office.