Glenthorne Community Primary School Nursery

In April 2024, books shared indoors and outside gave Glenthorne’s youngest children a starting point for conversation. The provision includes two-year-olds within Glenthorne Community Primary School in Cheslyn Hay, bringing nursery learning into a primary-school setting.

Ofsted rated the school’s early years provision Good at its inspection on 16 and 17 April 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating. For parents, the most useful detail is the combination of book sharing, communication and growing independence described below.

Reading begins with the youngest children. In April 2024, children in the two-year-old provision enjoyed discussing books with adults, with opportunities to do so both outdoors and inside. Books were therefore part of learning across both environments, rather than an activity confined to an indoor reading session. For a child beginning to communicate, sharing a book gives conversation a concrete focus: something to look at and talk about with an adult.

Across early years, planned activities developed children’s ability to communicate and do things independently. Learning extended across all areas, including for the youngest children. The emphasis was broader than reading alone. Cooperation also featured in the April 2024 findings, with children working together successfully. These are useful priorities for families weighing the nursery day: talking with adults, learning alongside other children and developing independence.

There was also a curriculum concern. In April 2024, English and mathematics followed a logical learning sequence beginning in early years, but some other subjects did not connect early learning sufficiently with the next stage. Continuity of learning. The improvement required was to make those connections more deliberate, so later teaching builds on children’s earlier experiences. This matters alongside the breadth of activities: covering different areas and connecting them over time are separate considerations.

Communication and independence were explicit purposes of early-years activities in April 2024. Alongside children’s cooperation, that gives parents a picture of support woven into learning: adults helping children express themselves while children also learn to work together.

A separate, school-wide reading concern involved take-home books that did not consistently correspond to the sounds pupils were learning. This restricted practice and affected reading fluency and confidence. It should be understood at that school-wide scope, rather than treated as a finding about books sent home with two-year-olds.

Attending Glenthorne’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Choosing the nursery and applying for Reception are two distinct decisions.

That distinction matters even when early learning takes place within the same school. The April 2024 curriculum findings concern how learning connects between stages; they do not establish an admissions advantage. Parents should keep educational continuity separate from the allocation of a school place.

The nursery is part of Glenthorne Community Primary School on Glenthorne Drive, Cheslyn Hay, Walsall, WS6 7BZ. The school’s telephone number is 01922666266. These contact details identify the school that families will deal with for nursery enquiries and help place the provision geographically when considering the journey from home.