Croyland Nursery School & Day Nursery

Storytelling, spider skins and play led by children give Croyland’s nursery provision its character. This is a maintained nursery school with day nursery care, sharing a site with Croyland Primary School in Wellingborough. Its education and care places span six months to five years, with nursery practitioners, teachers and leaders working together.

Croyland’s federation is Foundations for Children Nursery Schools Federation. The nursery aims to help children become confident, caring and independent, with communication extending beyond speech to understanding other people and expressing feelings.

Play shapes the learning. Across the federation, adults observe and listen before joining children’s activities, allowing children’s interests to influence what happens next. Indoor and outdoor play gives them opportunities to experiment, imagine and tackle problems, either independently or alongside other children. Everyday resources such as blankets, boxes and dressing-up clothes can become starting points for their ideas.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning about language, movement and relationships with early reading, maths, creativity and the wider world. Activities are adapted to children’s development and interests. The emphasis is on learning through things young children can do and explore.

In May 2025, storytelling and vocabulary were central to Croyland’s curriculum. Children listened to books, retold stories and explored activities connected to them, giving new words a practical context. Shed spider skins prompted questions about spiders losing their outer covering; adults supported children’s reasoning and encouraged exploration on their own.

Music sessions supported confidence and taking turns. Visitors introduced children to Bollywood dance and Hindu life, connecting learning with people and cultures beyond the nursery. Staff also pooled observations through focused spotlights on individual children, then adjusted activities to their progress. These details show how play, conversation and observation work together.

Relationships begin before the first nursery session. A home visit and play sessions give children and parents an introduction to the team. Staff discuss children’s interests, development, care needs and home routines, giving them a starting point for planning activities around the child.

Regular parent consultations and joint progress checks for two-year-olds continue that exchange. Each child’s learning is tracked individually, so conversations can focus on their development rather than a general account of nursery life.

In May 2025, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) received activities adapted to their needs and participated fully in learning. Croyland also had specially resourced provision for children with moderate to significant needs involving social interaction and communication.

Care includes everyday independence. Children practised using cutlery, while lunchtime conversation helped them learn to interact with one another. Adults helped children express emotions and modelled behaviour expectations. Safeguarding arrangements were effective in May 2025; staff also worked with families on attendance barriers and provided pastoral help where needed.

Reception admission is separate. Attending Croyland’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions route and meet its deadline. Sharing a site with Croyland Primary School should not be treated as an admission advantage.

Croyland opens throughout the year, Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm. Those opening hours give the overall operating window; funded attendance follows its own patterns.

The funding model introduced in September 2021 offered all three- and four-year-olds and some eligible two-year-olds a 570-hour annual entitlement, arranged as either 15 hours each week across 38 term-time weeks or 12 hours each week across 48 weeks. Term-time attendance used morning or afternoon sessions, with afternoons running from 12.40pm to 3.40pm. Additional charges applied to the 48-week arrangement.

For eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds, that model offered the entitlement of up to 30 hours, totalling 1,140 hours annually, as 23 hours each week across 49 weeks, with additional charges. Families should refer to the school for current charges.

Applications should specify the funding the child will receive. For enquiries, call 01933 279681, use the enquiry form or email admincroyland@ffcnschools.com. The nursery closes for three staff training days each year, which families need to factor into care arrangements.