Our School
Nunney First School was founded in 1896. The school has a loyal and supportive network of former pupils, going back several generations. Nunney First School is part of the Frome Learning Partnership, working within a First, Middle and Upper school system. Girls and boys join us from age 4 to age 9, in Reception class to Year 4. Families come from the village of Nunney and its surrounding hamlets as well as from the nearby town of Frome.
Learning spaces
The original stone building, modernised and extended over the years, is complemented by two wooden classrooms. Each classroom is equipped with an interactive whiteboard and displays learning as the children progress through each topic. Nunney First School currently has three classes – Squirrel Class for Reception, Hedgehog class for Year 1 and Year 2, and Otter Class for children in Year 3 and Year 4. Our average class size is 21 with one full time teacher and at least one experienced teaching assistant per class.
In addition to our classroom spaces, we have a central hall which is used for teaching, external visitors, enrichment, assemblies and lunches. This space enables our children to experiment, explore and experience a wide variety of enrichment opportunities, enhancing our curriculum and supporting children to generalise their learning beyond the classroom.
In 2022, we installed our new library thanks to the generosity of our local community supporting the school’s fundraising project. This space also contains our laptops for research and is used as a small group space to support and extend learning. Children and families can borrow books from the library using our Reading Cloud app and often choose to spend time independently in the library.
Outdoor environment
Nunney First School is very lucky to be surrounded by spacious grounds: a large playing field with trim trail, a tarmac playground with child designed markings, a tyre park, a climbing frame, a castle, a pond and a polytunnel for the very popular Mucky Pups gardening scheme.
In 2016, to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the school, the Parent and Staff Association (PSA) held a number of fundraising events across the year and raised an amazing £10,000 to build a climbing frame in the shape of a castle. This project also included installation of picnic benches and a carved, outdoor storyteller chair, which proudly sits beneath one of our many large, deciduous trees.
Between our two main buildings lies our playground, with new markings designed by the children in 2021. This space is used at playtime, often with the equipment from the playpod, as well as during lessons. We also use this hard outdoor space for teaching sports, running experiments and collecting together as a school for special events.
Between Hedgehog and Squirrel class lies out outdoor learning garden. Here we have zones to encourage children to engage in water play and sand play, a soft reading space, a mud kitchen, a construction area, cupboards full of numeracy and literacy resources, small parts play equipment and a nature area.
In 2022, we designed and installed a new trim trail using our Sports Premium Grant. Children voted to show which pieces of equipment they would like and enjoy using the equipment to improve their balance, explore movement and play together creatively. As a school, we are highly aware of the huge benefits outdoor play can have on children’s physical and mental health and continue to invest in our outdoor play.
Pre-School
Nunney Pre-School is in a separate building on the site and is managed by Somerset Skills and Learning. We share some activities and work together to ensure a smooth transition as children move from the pre-school into the Reception class at Nunney First School. Children from Nunney Pre-School also enjoy using equipment from our playpod and the outdoor environment.
We look forward to welcoming you to Nunney First School. Please browse our site for more information about the school.