Southmere Primary Academy Nursery Review

Stories, sounds and outdoor play give Southmere’s nursery its character. This is the nursery within Southmere Primary Academy on Ewart Street in Bradford, with learning shaped around language, physical development and relationships. In June 2023, the school’s nursery catered for four-year-olds. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at its inspection on 20 and 21 June 2023; that judgement covers early years within the school.

Daily nursery phonics starts with listening. Children explore sounds made by instruments, their voices and the world around them, alongside rhyme and body percussion. They also practise hearing the separate sounds within words and combining sounds orally. The emphasis is on listening and speaking as foundations for reading.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together emotional and social development, communication and physical skills, alongside mathematics, literacy, creative expression and understanding the world. At Southmere, book sharing, role-play and activities chosen by children provide opportunities to develop vocabulary. Talk for Writing includes direct vocabulary teaching, while staff use the ShREC approach in their everyday interactions. Multilingual children’s languages are celebrated, with an emphasis on learning English and an introduction to Spanish.

An outdoor learning area extends the day beyond indoor activities. Children have opportunities for imaginative and physical play, with Forest School sessions adding another context for learning outside. Southmere aims to use these experiences to develop confidence, coordination and strength.

In June 2023, early years children made good progress across their learning, and stories supported counting and measuring. There was also a significant curriculum weakness: the exact knowledge children should retain had not been defined sufficiently clearly, and connections with later subject learning needed further development. For parents, the distinction matters: engaging activities and a clear sequence of learning both count.

Settling and friendships received positive early years findings in June 2023. Adults helped children adjust and form relationships, while predictable routines and clear expectations supported their behaviour. Those are useful foundations for children learning to spend time away from home.

The early years team includes practitioners, a teaching assistant and an inclusion lead whose role also involves early years practice. For children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), the SENDCo works with parents, the child and the class teacher to organise support. Depending on need, this can involve individual help, smaller groups or specific interventions. Speech and Language Therapists work with children and staff, giving communication needs a specialist route for support.

Thrive adds an approach to emotional development across the academy. Assessments can lead to individual targets or support for a whole class; children with personal targets may receive individual or small-group sessions. The practical emphasis is on matching help to the child’s needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions process by its deadline. For the 2025/2026 admissions cycle, nursery attendance was not a priority category. Choosing this nursery therefore needs to be a decision about the nursery experience itself, separate from securing a school place.

Nursery uniform combines a blue jumper, sweatshirt or cardigan with grey or black bottoms and a white shirt, blouse or polo shirt. Logos are optional. Clothing and equipment should be labelled with the child’s name and class.

For enquiries, telephone 01274 422040, email info@smpa.org.uk or use the contact form. Visits to the academy can be arranged by contacting the school.