Bellfield Infant School Nursery Review

Play that children can return to gives Bellfield’s nursery its character. Resources stay in familiar places throughout the year, while adults develop learning from what children choose to explore. This is a nursery classroom where an interest can continue beyond a single activity.

Children start in September once they are three. The nursery belongs to the school on Vineyard Road in Northfield, rather than the separate Bellfield Day Care provision for younger children. There is also a change of name for families to recognise: the school’s merger announcement set 1 September 2026 as the date it became Bellfield Primary School.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is approached through play, adult conversation and opportunities to try ideas again. Development Matters provides the early years foundations, alongside the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC). For parents, the practical distinction is between the planned knowledge children encounter and the interests they pursue themselves. Both have a place here.

Under the Bellfield Approach, staff respond to learning as it happens. Classroom materials remain accessible, and their arrangement stays consistent across the year. Children can pick up an earlier investigation, practise a skill or extend an idea; adults model possibilities and join their play. Familiarity gives children scope to make their own choices.

Science brings that approach into focus. Nursery follows PKC, while early years activities include noticing changes in nature, discussing the environment and investigating objects and materials. Outdoor spaces support gardening, nature walks and wildlife exploration. These give children things to observe and questions to pursue beyond the classroom. A June 2026 nursery example combined a farm visit with picture sequencing about growth in plants, animals and people.

There is an inspection caveat alongside the curriculum detail. At the October 2024 inspection, behaviour in early years was positive, but checks on learning within the curriculum, which begins in early years, were still developing, leaving its strengths insufficiently clear. The school also needed to address persistent absence; that concern applied across the school rather than being identified specifically with the nursery.

Parents have direct routes to the classroom team. Teachers and teaching assistants can speak at either end of the day, and meetings can be arranged through Class Dojo or the office. Class Dojo also carries messages and the class blog, making it a practical connection between home and school.

For additional needs, the school’s support arrangements include adapting learning and seeking specialist input when necessary. Speech and language therapists, specialist teachers and educational psychologists are among the professionals it can involve. Families can approach the class teacher or reach the SENDCo through the office.

Full-day nursery includes a lunch break. The school’s catering provider is ABM Catering, operating under its Grow brand, with food cooked on site. Its school meal service has hot and cold choices, and the hot menu changes on a three-week cycle.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Birmingham City Council’s school admissions service using the normal application route and deadline. Nursery entry is handled by the school; Reception admission is handled by the local authority. Treat them as two distinct decisions.

Preparation for that change includes discussing feelings. In July 2026, nursery children talked about their worries and what excited them about starting Reception. That gives the move an emotional dimension alongside the application paperwork; it does not confer an admissions advantage.

Morning nursery runs from 8:45am to 11:45am and is labelled as a 15-hour funded half-day session. The 30-hour funded full-day pattern starts at 8:45am, finishing at 3:15pm Monday to Thursday and at 1:00pm on Friday. Lunch is scheduled between 11:45am and 12:35pm. The shorter Friday needs to fit the family’s collection arrangements.

For nursery applications, collect the paperwork from the school office. General enquiries go to 0121 464 4855, option 3, or enquiry@bellfield-inf.bham.sch.uk.

Parking. Space on the school site is limited. The school identifies Sainsbury’s car park on Sir Herbert Austin Way, approximately five minutes away on foot, giving families an alternative to relying on a space at school.