Corporation Road Primary School is in an area of high deprivation in Darlington and is part of the Lingfield Education Trust – a group who are committed to ensuring nothing gets in the way of a child fulfilling their full potential. The school recognised that the Government funding would allow them to establish the high-quality provision they strived for, and they have extended their nursery to offer 20 places for 2-year-olds.We asked Acting Headteacher Charlie Johnson to share their experience and insights about being successful with their bid for funding in Tranche 1 of the School-based Nursery Funding.

Why did you decide to apply for the School-based Nursery Grant?

As a school, it has been the ambition to start a 2-year-old Nursery for a number of years, and for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, we want to fulfil a community need as 2-year-old Nursery provision was not easily accessible to our families. As a school where the majority of our community do not speak English as their first language, we saw this as an opportunity to support the earlier language acquisition. It also gives us the opportunity to support parenting skills such as toilet training, routines and concerns around child development. We know it will also support earlier identification of SEND, as well as the Government ambition to give parents the opportunity to return to work.

Why Early Excellence? 

Other schools in our Trust have worked with Early Excellence and were full of praise. We liked the quality of the products and features such as a kickboard on the bottom of the shelves so resources can’t get lost underneath, the addition of a waterproofing sealant for shelves in the water area, and the open shelving which gives children easy, independent access. It was great that the complete classroom solution comes with all the furniture, resources and storage, meeting the criteria of the bid.  The complete classroom solution also allowed for autonomy and flexibility with the set up – so we could make it work for us. The resources have clearly been carefully selected with the focus on how they can support effective teaching and learning every day and are robust enough to last – rather than ‘show stopping’ pieces that look good but do not support children’s learning and development.

What was the experience like?

The communication, the speed of the delivery and the helpfulness of all the staff involved – fantastic! There was a couple of pieces of furniture with small defects, these were taken straight back and new pieces issued without quibble. Most furniture came ready assembled or was built by the delivery team there and then – so this made setting up the room very easy and straight forward. The resource boxes were clearly labelled with the contents which helped with ease of set up too.

What has been the impact?

We opened the provision on the second week in September, and it is going well. The new children and families are settling well into our school, and it is fantastic to see them fully participating in the school community. We are ready to take our second intake in the new year when some of the current children will transition into our 3/4-year-old provision.

For our families, now there is now a 2-year-old provision within walking distance, it means that all their young children are cared for and educated in one place. It has helped us to link families with support such as health visitors from a younger age.

What would be your “top tips” for any school looking to apply for Phase 2 of the School-based Nursery Grant?

1. Planning is key, be thorough and meticulous, ensuring everything is considered and accounted for.
2. Work with your LA team who will support the process and be on hand to answer any questions. 
3. Visit examples of provision to help you understand what you hope to set up, ask questions and gain a good understanding of what would work well for your own setting
4. Do consider using Early Excellence Complete Classroom Solutions as they make life so simple!

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