Pen Mill Infant and Nursery Academy Nursery Review

Cygnet and Swan bring nursery rhymes, shared lunches and school events into the earliest years at Pen Mill. The nursery takes children aged 2-4 within the school's secure grounds on St Michael's Avenue in Yeovil. It is part of the academy rather than a separate childcare setting, with children often joining activities such as sports week and memorial poppy making. School life starts here on a smaller scale.

A nursery teacher and nursery support staff make up the team. The nursery aims to make its first weeks about security and relationships, helping children become comfortable with the adults and children around them.

Play provides the starting point. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines communication, physical development and emotional development with early reading, number, creativity and understanding the world. In practical terms, children explore ideas through activities and conversation.

Planning centres on a book over several weeks, with children's questions and interests helping shape the activities. Adult-directed experiences sit alongside play that children choose themselves. This gives the day both a planned direction and room for a child's own ideas.

The Pen Mill Promises give that approach concrete detail. The nursery aims to include a conversation in each session, introduce new vocabulary and teach listening through Show me Five. Daily stories, opportunities to explore number and imaginative role play connect language with things children can do. Read Write Inc supports phonics teaching from nursery onwards.

World Nursery Rhyme week offers a useful example: Swan's preschool children explored Humpty Dumpty, Incy wincy spider and other rhymes through linked activities. The nursery describes these experiences as opportunities to practise small hand movements, imaginative play and expressing ideas.

Outdoor access is part of the promise for each session, bringing the natural world into children's learning. Independence also runs through the day: children are encouraged to pour drinks, use cutlery and participate in personal care. Learning includes everyday tasks.

Settling is treated as relationship building. During the initial weeks, the nursery aims for children to feel secure and develop bonds with those around them. Its EYFS promises include support when children feel upset or angry, alongside recognition of their successes.

Tapestry connects home and nursery through shared achievements and learning records. Parents can contribute observations from home, helping staff understand a child beyond the classroom and plan around their needs.

Snacks are provided in both morning and afternoon sessions. Children attending in the afternoon or for the whole day bring a packed lunch, and eat together. Lunch club forms part of their session with no additional charge. The nursery also aims to help children recognise when they need food, rest or activity.

For children on the school's SEND register, provision maps identify support, learning targets and review dates. Parents are invited to progress reviews and the SENCo can be contacted through the office. That creates a defined route for discussing support and revisiting a child's plan.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal school admissions process; choosing these nursery sessions should therefore be a decision about nursery life itself.

Somerset County Council processes first-time school applications for the academy, with its trustees checking and signing them off. Applications can be made online or using a paper form. Participation in school events gives nursery children experience of the wider setting, but it should be understood separately from securing admission.

Sessions run Monday to Friday: mornings are 8.40am to 11.40am, afternoons 12pm to 3pm, and all-day attendance 8.40am to 3pm. Children attending afternoon or all-day sessions need a packed lunch, so lunch preparation belongs in the family's routine.

The nursery offers 15-hour and 30-hour funding, alongside a funding scheme for eligible two-year-olds. Its stated term-time entitlement of up to 15 hours starts in the term following a child's third birthday. Families seeking two-year-old funding are directed to Somerset County Council.

Paid sessions are billed at each month's end, and charges still apply when a child misses sessions because of illness or holidays. Contact the school for current charges. Nursery enquiries go to office@penmill.ppat365.org or 01935 474224.