Madley Brook Community Primary School Nursery

Stars has its own classroom base and direct access to a shared outdoor learning area. That combination gives Madley Brook’s nursery a distinct identity within the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), while keeping outdoor play close to the classroom.

The nursery caters for children aged 3-4 at The Bronze Barrow, Cedar Drive, Witney. Earlier provision comprised 48 part time places. Children can start in the term after their third birthday, with nursery applications handled by the school rather than through the Reception application process.

Indoor and outdoor learning connect throughout the day. Both early years classrooms open directly onto the shared outdoor space, and children can move between inside and outside during the day. Stars provides the nursery’s home base; the earlier unit arrangement also had children beginning and finishing their day in their respective bases.

The early years environment includes large learning spaces indoors and outdoors. Children also have access to a sensory room, a cookery room and a library, alongside woodland, gardening areas and trim trails. A soft playroom and ball pool add further spaces for physical activity. These are school facilities available to early years children, rather than rooms confined to the nursery.

The EYFS is the nursery’s learning framework. Its practical meaning here is illustrated by language and number activities: at the July 2022 inspection, early years children used shells to practise counting against numbers marked in chalk, while a treasure-map activity prompted directional vocabulary. Songs, storytelling and rhymes supported early reading and language. Learning had tangible objects and conversation behind it.

Teachers and early years practitioners work within the EYFS team. The nursery aims to support families as children begin attending and to make that start enjoyable. That is an intention, rather than a promise about how quickly an individual child will settle.

In July 2022, children finding early years activities difficult received additional help to catch up. The school also aims to adapt its curriculum to individual needs and involve parents in planning support, giving families a role in discussing their child’s learning.

Lunch needs its own planning. Under the earlier nursery arrangement, children remaining over lunch brought a packed lunch. Under that arrangement, parents choosing 30 hours could pay for their child to stay from 11.30am to 12.00pm, or collect at 11.30am and return at 12.00pm. Ask the school for current charges.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Oxfordshire County Council within the relevant admissions window. For September 2026 entry, that window ended in the middle of January 2026; this is a past admissions cycle.

The shared outdoor area gives nursery children experience of a space also used by Reception. That physical connection is separate from the allocation of school places and should not be treated as an admissions advantage.

Earlier session arrangements offered mornings from 8.30am to 11.30am, afternoons from 12.00pm to 3.00pm, and an all-day option from 8.30am to 3.00pm. For parents choosing 30 hours, the midday collection-and-return option matters when arranging work or travel around both sessions.

Contact the school office on 01993 862976 for nursery enquiries. Visits to the nursery can be arranged by emailing nursery@madleybrook.org, allowing families to see the early years spaces before choosing a place.