Parklands Educate Together Primary Nursery Review

Storytelling and learning to speak confidently give Parklands’ early years provision its character. In January 2023, children eagerly retold familiar stories, while staff planned opportunities for them to discuss things they had worked on at home. These are concrete ways to practise speaking to others and sharing ideas.

Hedgehog Class is the school’s preschool provision, with entry for children aged three. It sits within Parklands Educate Together Primary, rather than operating as a separate nursery. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good following the inspection on 17 and 18 January 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school.

Language and confidence are useful starting points for understanding the early years day here. The January 2023 findings describe children enjoying retelling stories and taking part in discussions about their learning at home. For parents, those examples show learning extending beyond listening to an adult: children have opportunities to contribute their own experiences.

The school’s Behaviour and Relationships Curriculum includes early years children. It teaches routines and gives children opportunities to practise them. Expectations are demonstrated and rehearsed, rather than simply announced. The school adjusts this approach for children with SEND and other additional needs, so the same framework can accommodate different starting points.

Zones of Regulation gives children a vocabulary for discussing feelings through four coloured zones. Across the school, Safe Spaces and Calm Areas provide physical places for a pause or a conversation. The school uses these spaces alongside the Brain States Model to help children think about their emotions. In January 2023, early years children responded well to directions and listened attentively.

Building confidence is an explicit part of the early years work. Discussing something completed at home gives a child a familiar subject to talk about with others, connecting home experiences with learning in school.

For families with concerns about additional needs, the school’s SENCo can be contacted at senco@parklandset.org.uk or through the main office. Parent resources include Listen Up!, a speech and language guide for children aged 0–5, and the North Somerset SEND Local Offer. These give families a route to discuss support and access information relevant to younger children.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process.

For the 2027 Reception intake, applications made before 31 August 2027 go through North Somerset Council; admissions after 1 September 2027 are handled directly by the school. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions, and complete the latter by the normal deadline.

Preschool enquiries can go to the school office by telephone on 01934 404 555 or email at info@parklandset.org.uk. A preschool application form is available, and school tours can be booked.

Parklands is at 1 Russell Road, Locking, BS24 7NH. The office provides a direct contact for an enquiry or application, while a school tour offers an opportunity to see the wider setting in which Hedgehog Class sits.