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Nursery at Ladywood Primary School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Daily stories, conversations during play and a weekly library visit give Ladywood’s nursery a clear language focus. This is provision for children aged 3 to 4 within the school’s Early Years Unit in Grimethorpe. There are 52 nursery places, including 13 full-time places, so families can consider both shorter sessions and a longer nursery day.
The unit follows the Foundation Stage curriculum. Its nursery programme runs across two years of themes, giving children who stay for several terms different topics to explore rather than simply repeating the same sequence.
Talking runs through the activities. Adults model conversations during play, children join in rhymes and poems, and daily singing and stories sit alongside visits to the school library each week. Books are something to discuss as well as hear: children are encouraged to express their opinions. That makes language part of everyday interaction.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven areas of learning. In parent language, these cover communication, movement, relationships and emotions, early reading and writing, maths, discovering the world and creative expression. Ladywood uses supporting approaches including Birth to 5 Matters, Development Matters and Launchpad to Literacy. The nursery curriculum places spoken language across these areas, linking new words with what children do.
Indoors, the home corner supports pretend family routines, such as preparing food or dressing a baby. Mark-making materials help children represent their ideas, while shapes and practical objects introduce comparisons, patterns and counting. Outdoors, children tackle obstacle courses and develop their own routes over, under and through. These activities connect physical movement with planning and cooperation.
Nature also supplies practical learning. Children explore materials through their senses, plant seeds and care for growing plants. The curriculum includes experimenting with sounds and instruments, making models and joining action songs. There is room for small movements as well as energetic play.
Each class has a teacher and a Key Attachment Teaching Assistant (KATA). Home visits, observations and conversations with families help staff build a picture of children’s interests. Learning to wash and dry hands, use the toilet and manage a coat forms part of the nursery curriculum, making everyday independence something children practise.
The 30 hour offer effective from January 2020 required a packed lunch, with no school meal option, and adult supervision in a designated part of the EYFS Unit. It also included milk and fruit or a snack during the day. Confirm current lunch and snack provision and contribution arrangements with the school.
An EYFS/KS1 SENCO and an Inclusion Manager provide contacts for developmental concerns. Special time in EYFS is among the support options. The school uses Assess, Plan, Do and Review for additional needs, with parents involved in agreeing and reviewing targets. Termly progress meetings, alongside telephone calls and text messages, give families ways to discuss their child’s development.
Nursery attendance neither guarantees a Reception place nor gives priority in the 2027-2028 admission arrangements. Families must make a separate application through Barnsley Council’s admissions system or the common application form. For September 2027 entry, the closing date is 15th January 2027. Keep that application separate from nursery booking.
The 15 hour week normally consists of five mornings or five afternoons. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoons run from noon to 3pm. The current 30 hour day is 9am to 3pm, with a limited number of funded places available during term time. Check availability with the EYFS team before applying for the longer pattern.
A valid entitlement code is required before starting a 30 hour place, and eligibility must be reconfirmed every three months. Funding does not cover meals, consumables or additional activities automatically, so confirm current charges with the school. Nursery applications go through Barnsley Council online. For enquiries, call 01226 711488 or email LadywoodPrimary@ecmtrust.co.uk.
The nursery curriculum covers children aged 3 to 4, within the school’s Early Years Unit.
Mornings run from 9am to noon and afternoons from noon to 3pm. The current 30 hour offer runs from 9am to 3pm.
There are 15 hour funded places and a limited number of 30 hour funded places. The longer arrangement requires a valid entitlement code and eligibility reconfirmation every three months.
The offer effective from January 2020 included milk and fruit or a snack, plus a packed lunch brought from home and supervised by adults in a designated EYFS area. There was no school meal option. Confirm current lunch and snack provision with the school.
No. It gives neither a guarantee nor priority under the 2027-2028 arrangements. A separate Reception application is required; for September 2027 entry, apply by 15th January 2027.
