Willow Wood Community Nursery and Primary School: Nursery Review

Woodland exploration, musical animal sounds and stories brought to life give Seedlings its character in the nursery activities of 2017 to 2020. Seedlings is the nursery class at Willow Wood Community Nursery and Primary School in Wharton, Winsford. The examples below describe those years, with children using school spaces beyond their classroom as well as learning together inside it.

Outdoor exploration had a practical place in learning. In September 2019, Seedlings searched for small creatures in the woodlands, played hiding games and used the space for imaginative play. A hall session that week added movement games, including traffic lights and beans. Running, hopping and stretching gave children different ways to practise moving their bodies.

Stories also became problems to solve. In November 2017, activities around The Gingerbread Man included puppet play, making gingerbread characters and counting their buttons. Children tested what happened to gingerbread in water, then constructed boats and bridges to help the character cross a river. The story connected counting, making and investigation. It gave their construction a purpose.

Music offered another kind of experimentation. In January 2019, nursery children sang Down in the jungle and explored how instruments could suggest different animals. Sounds became elephants, tigers, snakes and monkeys, linking listening with imagination.

The November 2020 home-learning activities combined counting to five with recognising flat shapes and creating patterns. Children were also asked to practise putting on a coat, write their name’s initial letter and explain why they liked a favourite story. These examples put early number work alongside independence, mark-making and conversation.

Parents had opportunities to take part in nursery life. In December 2017, families joined a Christmas craft morning, making decorations from pine cones and creating gingerbread reindeer with their children. This was a shared activity rather than simply an occasion to watch.

Food could become part of an investigation too. In October 2017, children harvested apples from trees at the front of the school, ate some as a snack and baked apple cakes. The activity connected something growing on the school site with food they could prepare and eat.

For home learning in November 2020, parents were asked to send photographs or videos through Tapestry or by email, where children were well enough to participate. That gave families a way to share what their child had done at home.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route and meet the relevant deadline. Treat choosing Seedlings and applying for Reception as separate decisions.

Familiarity with school routines is a different matter. In June 2019, some Seedlings children due to start Reception that September tried hot school dinners. This offered a chance to experience a meal before the move. It was preparation for a new routine, with no implication of an admissions advantage.

The school address is Bradbury Road, Wharton, Winsford, CW7 3HN, and its telephone number is 01606593896. Seedlings has its own nursery calendar, giving families a distinct class heading to recognise alongside the school’s other classes.