St John Bosco Catholic Primary School Nursery

Scissors, pencils and marks with meaning: nursery learning at St John Bosco begins with the practical skills children need to express themselves. Provision starts from age three within this Catholic primary school in West Bromwich. It is a school nursery, with access to shared support spaces as well as equipment specifically for early years.

Ofsted graded the school's early years provision Outstanding at its inspection on 10 and 11 June 2025. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery. Children in early years learned expectations and routines quickly, giving their first experiences of school a clear structure.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) learning includes developing control of both larger movements and small hand movements. Nursery children explore tools and materials, practise cutting paper with scissors and work towards holding pencils comfortably. Making marks is also a way to communicate ideas and feelings. The emphasis is on the skills behind writing, giving children practical ways to express meaning before formal letter formation.

Learning is broken into smaller steps from Nursery onwards, with repeated encounters with vocabulary and content to help children remember. Older pupils model the St John Bosco way for younger children, making routines something children see in action as well as learn from adults.

Outdoors, early years has its own playground equipment and gym trails. The school's wellbeing garden is accessible to all children, with fruit trees, a bug hotel and a hut for quiet nature watching. These provide different possibilities for movement and calmer time outside.

Early years leadership sits with an assistant principal who also holds a deputy safeguarding role. The school's SEND team includes two trained special educational needs coordinators, and families can attend SEND drop-ins with class teachers and a coordinator each half term. This gives parents a regular opportunity to discuss support.

The Sunshine Classroom supports children with specific special educational needs and includes a sensory room with tactile resources and sensory lights. Its classroom caters for children of all ages. The Rainbow Room is another shared school resource, accessible to any child needing a confidential conversation with an adult or somewhere to pause when situations feel overwhelming.

Food provision across the school includes classroom bagels through the National School Breakfast Programme. School lunches follow a rotating menu over three weeks, with vegetarian choices alongside fish and meat dishes; packed lunches are also permitted. Families should distinguish these school arrangements from their child's nursery attendance pattern when planning meals.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place and gives no automatic priority. Families must make a separate application through their home local authority, including when they live outside Sandwell. Familiarity with the school does not replace that application.

The application is completed online. Keep the Reception process separate from nursery enrolment and follow the normal application deadline for the relevant entry year.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 0121 556 0228. The school is on Monmouth Drive, West Bromwich, B71 2ST. A summer-term open evening gives prospective nursery parents an opportunity to see the school and meet staff.

Collection requires a parent or another authorised adult. If nobody arrives at the end of the day, a child stays with the class teacher or school secretary until an authorised person collects them. Another parent may take a child home only with express parental permission.