The Proposal:
I am writing to you to provide information regarding the proposed establishment of a Nursery within Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy.
In order to establish a Nursery, it is necessary for the Trust to change the age range for which the school can cater for, from 4-11 to 3-11 years old. This would enable the school to offer nursery provision to children aged 3 and 4 years.
St Francis and St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Company seek to open an 18 place Nursery at Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy with effect from 1st September 2025.
Currently, children who join Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy from the age of four, come from a variety of settings within the locality. Under the new proposals, children aged three upwards would be able to formally attend the school, subject to meeting admission criteria.
The Nursery would operate from the existing accommodation on the school site, following some modifications to our building.
Rationale:
There is currently a demand for more Nursery provision within the city of Wolverhampton as a whole, especially with migration into the area. Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy is a successful and thriving school community in the Eastfield/East Park area of Wolverhampton, which is currently seeing some of the highest demand for school places.
Having Nursery provision at Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy is something that the school and Governing Body has desired for a number of years. In order to create further sustainable opportunities for local children, Holy Rosary is eager to accept children from Nursery age upwards with the view to providing these young children with the best possible start in life in terms of their academic and holistic development.
By having our own Nursery provision for up to 18 children, this would allow the school to give these pupils the best possible start to their schooling with the intention that the parents would have the opportunity for the children to then remain at Holy Rosary for the rest of their primary education, subject to our school admissions criteria. Our Nursery curriculum would be based upon the Early Years Foundation Stage expectations and build into our current expectations for our Reception class. By being able to provide education across both Nursery and Reception classes, Holy Rosary will be able to provide more children with the opportunity to reach a Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of the Foundation Stage.
What will the Nursery provision look like? / Ensuring Quality of Provision:
From September 2025, we envisage offering a Nursery with a PAN of 18 pupils, based upon the size of the proposed Nursery classroom. We would be looking to provide the option for parents of 30-hours of Nursery provision for those that wish to take it up, including the offer of wraparound care during lunchtime. Staffing of the Nursery would be within the expectations of the Early Years framework to ensure safe ratios and staffing levels. As a Nursery would be a new venture for Holy Rosary, we would liaise closely with our schools within the St Francis and St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Company, as well as working with colleagues from City of Wolverhampton Council, to ensure that we provide a Nursery education of the highest possible standard.
Consultation:
This is an opportunity for stakeholders to respond to the proposal.
Consultation commences on 27th June 2024 and runs until 19th July 2024.
You can offer your opinions by completing the online survey here:
Holy Rosary consultation for Nursery
Alternatively, please request a copy of the survey from the school office.
Completed paper copies can be handed to school office or posted to:
F.A.O. Mr A. Jewkes (Executive Principal)
Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy
Hickman Avenue
Wolverhampton
WV1 2BS
Please note that the deadline for responses is 19th July 2024. All comments received will help inform a final decision on the proposal.
Should you have any queries regarding the proposal, please do not hesitate to contact: Mr Jewkes (Executive Principal) or Mrs Walters (Head of School) on 01902 878440.
