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The Governors of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School with the Trustees of the Assisi Catholic Trust are currently consulting with stakeholders regarding the proposal to change the school age at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School. We propose to lower the school age from 4-11 to 2-11 to allow to provide nursery provision on the site through the redevelopment and refurbishment of the current building which homes our EYFS provision.
Our proposal, endorsed by Essex County Council, will ensure that there is high-quality nursery provision available for our children from the earliest stage of their educational journey.
Supporting learners at the earliest stage in their education is a privilege and one which we do not take lightly; being part of a child’s journey and nurturing them to grow, not only academically, but also spiritually, morally, emotionally, culturally, socially and physically is a vocation for all in our school family.
What are we proposing?
Working closely with the staff and at our school and with schools in the Trust, we are proposing to integrate a School Based Nursery provision into the main school. The development of a new nursery provision at St Joseph's will allow us to give the children in our community the very best start to their education and will ensure a consistent setting and approach to learning for our youngest learners. As a school, we are keen to ensure that high-quality early years education is available for all children in the local area. We propose to develop an exceptional Early Years department, within St Joseph's, which:
Will offer 15 hours and 30 hours funded childcare places, as well as affordable parent funded places to ensure all children are able to access early education within our setting.
Will operate during school hours, Monday – Friday, term-time only.
Will have the facility to offer wrap around childcare to extend the nursery day from 7.30am – 5.30pm.
Will raise the educational attainment of children entering Reception classes within the local area.
Will ensure that children leaving the Nursery setting are school-ready as a result of having experienced school-based learning.
Will eliminate transition for those children who choose St Joseph's as their preferred primary school in Reception (Please note there is no automatic right for Nursery aged children to gain a Reception place at the school. Parents of Nursery aged children would need to apply in the normal way for admission to the school.
The development of nursery provision at St Joseph's will allow us to give the children in our community the very best start to their education and will ensure a consistent setting and approach to learning for our youngest learners.
Consultation Period
The consultation starts on 29th November 2024 and will run until 20th December 2024. During this time, you can make representation in writing or by email. We will publish and update a Frequently Asked Questions section below to include any questions or concerns that might emerge during the consultation phase.
Please label all responses ‘Nursery Consultation’ and send them to:
Email: office@stjosephscanvey.net
In writing to: Headteacher, Mr James Green
All responses will be considered by the Governing Body and Trustees.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
RE: Consultation to change the age range of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, from 4-11 to 2-11
Q: What is the proposal? The proposal is to open a school based nursery provision and lower the age range of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School from 4-11 to 2-11, to allow us to provide nursery provision for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Q: Why does the school want to make the change? The development of nursery provision at St Joseph's will allow us to give the children in our community the very best start to their education and will ensure a consistent setting and approach to learning for our youngest learners.
Q: How long is the consultation process and how do I respond? The consultation starts on 29th December 2024 and will run until 20th December 2024. During this time, you can make representation in writing or by email. We will publish and update a Frequently Asked Questions section on both the school’s and the Trust’s website to include any questions or concerns that might emerge during the consultation phase. Please label all responses ‘Nursery Consultation’ and send them to:
Email: office@stjosephscanvey.net
In writing to: Headteacher, Mr James Green
All responses will be reported to the Governing Body and Trustees for consideration.
Q: How will the proposal affect school admissions at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School? The proposal to lower the school age to 2-11 will not affect the school admissions process at the school. The published pupil admission number will not increase and those wishing to remain or join for reception will all need to complete an application and places will be offered in the usual way, by applying the school’s admissions criteria. Available on the website
Q: Do Governors and staff at St Joseph's support the proposal? The Assisi Academy Trust, with the Local Governing Body at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, and staff all support the proposal, as they believe our school community and future pupils would benefit from the lowering of our school age to allow for a school-based Nursery provision.
Q: How will the proposal affect parking in the local area at school drop off and pick up time? It is anticipated that there would be limited impact upon parking at drop off and pick up times as drop off and collection is already happening at this time, so any increase is likely to be minimal. We appreciate that parking, at these busy times, is difficult and will continue to encourage families to walk to school where possible and explore further options to improve this for all families moving forwards.
Q: When is the provision likely to open? We anticipate hope that the provision will be open from September 2025, however this will be subject to a successful application for funding and planning (if necessary).
Q: Where will the new provision be located on the school site? The new provision will utilise the current St Joseph’s Primary School EYFS building.
Q: What will the opening times be for the new provision? Opening times for the nursery setting will be from 8.40am – 3.15pm, in line with current St Joseph’s Primary School times. In addition, optional wraparound care will be available from 7.30am – 5.30pm if parents require extended hours.
Q: How can I express an interest in my child attending the provision, should the application be successful? Applications for nursery places will open once our DfE application is approved, however if you would like to be kept up to date with this, you can express an interest in your child attending the provision by contacting St Joseph's Catholic Primary School on 01268 683903 during office hours. You can also email us via office@stjosephscanvey.net .
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