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Nursery at Goodway Nursery 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
A willow tunnel, a wormery and children taking turns as Eco Warrior give Goodway its distinctive character: learning involves doing things, making choices and taking responsibility. The Gold Unicef Rights Respecting School Award connects with everyday roles, including Rights Champions who bring their key group's ideas to a Steering Group. Children have a voice here.
Goodway is a local authority maintained nursery school in Great Barr, Birmingham, rather than a nursery class within a primary school. Its admissions page offers up to 152 part-time places, each providing 15 hours a week; the provision serves children aged two to four. Teachers and teaching assistants work alongside lunchtime and administrative staff.
Play chosen by children sits alongside teaching led by adults and short sessions with their key group. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers language, movement and relationships, alongside early reading, number, creativity and understanding the world. Development Matters and OPAL guide planning, while the Core Book curriculum gives children familiar stories to revisit. Daily storytelling and a library exchange each week connect nursery learning with reading at home.
Named programmes make the approach concrete. Counting Collections, used throughout the three-year-old provision, involves selecting objects, deciding how to count them and recording the total. Concept Cat introduces Sunflowers, the three- and four-year-olds, to vocabulary through a toy cat, stories, songs and play. Tales Toolkit is being trialled with the two-year-old class: objects prompt children to invent characters, problems and endings. These are practical ways to explore number and language.
Outdoor learning is accessible through the day. The garden has a tyre swing, a hill for climbing and rolling, and blocks for construction. Every child has a Forest School session each fortnight, in an area with fruit trees, an insect home and a fire circle beyond the willow tunnel. Groovy Little Movers adds music and dance. The day gives children opportunities to move, build, tell stories and investigate.
Each child belongs to a key group of 13. A home visit starts the relationship with their key person before nursery begins, and families share their child's interests and needs through a What Makes Me Special sheet. Daily conversations, termly consultations and Tapestry, the online learning journal, give parents ways to contribute and follow learning.
The Well-being Corner provides somewhere quiet, with puppets and soft toys. Emotion coaching draws on The Colour Monster to help children recognise feelings. For children with SEND, support can include visual timetables, choice boards and individual work; the Wellcomm toolkit helps identify language difficulties. Support plans are reviewed with parents at least once a term. Fruit is provided at snack time, with water or milk, and parents are asked to send healthy lunches.
Ofsted's June 2025 inspection described sensitive responses when children struggled with emotions and confirmed effective safeguarding, but identified a need to analyse behaviour incidents and absences more fully. Understanding difficulties. Better information was needed to establish triggers and assess whether support was working, a material consideration for families whose children need additional help.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions process and meet its deadline; choosing Goodway should be a decision about the nursery experience itself.
Preparation for the next setting includes practising independence and managing relationships. For children with SEND, the inclusion policy requires transition planning that prepares both child and family for the move.
The 15-hour patterns run Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday. The April 2024 admissions policy limits the 30-hour offer to these two blocks and describes funding over 38 weeks, equivalent to term time. The universal three-year-old entitlement starts in the term after the third birthday. Eligibility applies to additional funded hours and two-year-old schemes; paid top-ups can extend a part-time place. Ask the office about current charges.
Early Birds & Barn Owls wraparound covers 8am to 4pm. Register through the admissions page's form, or contact the office on 0121 464 3078. Comfortable clothes, spare clothing and wellies suit messy play; branded clothing is optional. Travel. Parents cannot park on site, so allow for the journey and collection arrangements.
The provision offers places for children aged two to four.
No. Reception requires a separate application through the normal admissions process by its deadline.
Each child takes part once a fortnight, with sessions running throughout the year.
Families can speak with their key person each day, attend termly consultations and contribute observations from home through Tapestry.
Send comfortable clothing suitable for messy play, plus spare clothes and wellies. Goodway sweatshirts and polo shirts are optional.
