Prospective Parent Information
Thank you for visiting our website and considering us as a school for your child. In the autumn term, we hold an open evening for prospective reception parents to come and have a tour of school, meet the senior leadership team and hear a short presentation.
If you are considering transferring your child from another school and would like to come in for a tour, please contact the school office who would be happy to arrange that.
We would also recommend taking a look at our school Facebook account as we update this weekly with events happening around school:FacebookWe send out a weekly newsletter on a Friday which will give you an insight into school life. This can be found under the news section on the website. Our school website is also an excellent place to find out more about Kells Lane, our ethos and values and our school curriculum.
Please see our admission page for further information on applying for a school place.
Welcome to Our Early Years
Our Early Years provision covers Nursery (ages 3–4) and Reception (ages 4–5). It is the beginning of a journey we take seriously and cherish deeply. The confidence, curiosity and love of learning children develop in their early years at Kells Lane stay with them long after they leave.
Come and see us.
The best way to understand our Early Years is to experience it for yourself.
We warmly invite prospective families to visit — to see the environment, meet the team and ask any questions you have. We hold an open evening in the autumn term for parents considering their child's Reception place.
Alternatively, please contact the school office to arrange an opportunity to visit with your child.
Admissions
Children can join our Nursery in the September, January or April following their third birthday. Children join Reception in the September of the academic year in which they turn five.
Admissions information - Admissions
Welcome to Nursery
Our Nursery is a warm, nurturing and stimulating place where children aged 3 to 4 take their very first steps in school life. We know how significant this moment is — for children and for families — and we treat it with the care and attention it deserves.
In Nursery, children learn through a rich mix of child-initiated play and purposeful adult-led learning. Play is not a break from learning — it is learning. Alongside this, focused teaching builds early language, literacy and maths skills in ways that are joyful and well-matched to where each child is.
Our youngest children are known as Explorers - Curious, Confident and Cooperative. These three traits run through everything we do, and connect directly to our school vision of helping every child Find Their Remarkable.
Our EYFS Lead
Our Early Years is currently led by Mrs Cavanagh, who leads a dedicated and experienced team committed to giving every child the very best start.
Communication and language
Talk is at the heart of everything we do in Nursery. We read aloud every day, sing, rhyme and create rich opportunities for conversation — because strong spoken language is the foundation for reading, writing and all future learning.
Settling in
We take settling in at each child’s pace. Before starting, families are invited to a Welcome Meeting to meet the team and see the environment. We work closely with every family to make sure their child feels safe, known and ready to explore.
Welcome to Reception
Reception is one of the most important years in a child’s education. It is the year when children make the transition from early play-based learning into the wider life of the school — and we treat that transition with the care, pace and joy it deserves.
Children learn through a balance of child-initiated exploration and adult-led teaching in reading, writing and mathematics. By the end of Reception, children are ready, confident and excited for Year 1 — with strong foundations in every area of learning and a genuine love of school.
Reception is not a rehearsal for real school. It is real school — rich, ambitious and fun.
Reading and phonics
Learning to read is the most important thing we do in Reception. We teach systematic, synthetic phonics daily, carefully sequenced to build confident, fluent readers. Alongside this, we read aloud every day — building vocabulary, comprehension and a lifelong love of books.
Reading & Phonics - Reading &Phonics at Kells Lane
Remarkable Foundations — the bridge to Key Stage 1
Our Remarkable Foundations documents show, subject by subject, exactly how the learning children do in Early Years connects to and prepares them for Key Stage 1. Published across eight subjects — History, Science, Geography, Art, Music, DT, Computing and RE — they make the curriculum journey from Nursery to Year 6 visible, intentional and coherent.
View our Remarkable Foundations documents -
Remarkable Foundations in History
Remarkable Foundations in Science
Remarkable Foundations in Music
Remarkable Foundations in Geography
Remarkable Foundations in Computing
Transition to Year 1
We give careful thought to every transition. Our whole school take part in a week long transition, in July where they get the chance to spend time in their new classroom, meet their new teacher and begin to understand the new routines. We work closely with Year 1 teachers to share what we know about every child, so the Year 1 team knows them well from day one.
Provision in Year 1 builds upon the foundations that have been laid in reception with children continuing to access play based learning. This is gradually reduced over their time in Year 1, in preparation for Year 2.