TODDLERS at a Walcot primary school will enjoy twice the fun this September when their nursery expands to double its current size.

A reception classroom and a garden shared between the nursery and reception youngsters at Holy Family Catholic Primary will be used solely for the early years group from the start of the next term.

This will give the school enough room to increase the nursery intake from 27 to 54.

Headteacher Karen Bathe said: “We were the first Catholic nursery in Swindon and only the second in the entire Clifton Diocese when we opened last year.

“Word of mouth has been very good for new parents, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the link between families and the school is very strong.

“Due to high demand, we decided to rearrange the reception and nursery areas to give the Bush Babies class more space.

“The extra classroom for the nursery gives us the chance to offer a ‘younger’ room and an ‘older’ room where we can cater more specifically to their needs.”

Early years lead Eva Gilbert said: “I love coming to work. I go home tired but feel very lucky because we have been blessed by lovely children and families here.

“Now there’s even more space to make even more mess – though the children can be quiet when they want to be. We do meditation and they’re very good at it.”

Karen added: “Their garden is my go-to place if I need to relax.

“You’d think it would be frantic but it’s actually calming and reminds me why I do this job.”

Karen added: “The garden is a lovely and safe exploration space for the nursery children. The reception class will use another part of the school site for outdoor play from September.”

The nursery is part of the Catholic primary and separate from the pre-school on the same site.