A MIDDLEWICH primary school looks set to be given permission to change its age range so it can accommodate nursery provision.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School currently caters for pupils from the age of four to 11.

If the proposal is backed by Cheshire East councillors, it will be able to take pupils from the age of three from January next year.

A report to this month’s meeting of the children and families committee states: "The proposed number of admissions into the maintained nursery will be capped at 10 nursery places initially but as demand increases, school will expand capacity to match demand.

“The final number of pupils will be capped at 26.”

The report says a childcare sufficiency assessment for the Middlewich school planning area had identified five new early years and childcare places for children up to the age of four would be required by 2027 ‘and there was no evident intention from existing providers to expand’.

It continues: “Should this proposal be approved, the nursery class at St Mary’s Catholic Primary would be led by qualified teachers and support staff, be fully integrated with the school and designed to meet the learning and development needs of all children from the early years through into Key Stages 1, 2, and beyond.

“This provides the highest quality support for children at a critical time as they transition into full time school.”

It adds: “There may be insufficient early education entitlement places in Middlewich if the school does not extend the lower age range.”

The children and families committee meeting takes place at 2pm on Monday, November 11 at the council’s Westfields offices in Sandbach.