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Nursery at Marlfields 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Morning or afternoon sessions, with a lunch club between them, give Marlfields nursery a clear daily shape. This is the nursery within Marlfields Primary School on Waggs Road in Congleton, with funded provision for three and four-year-olds. In March 2024, the early years also included provision for two-year-olds.
Ofsted judged early years provision Good at the inspection on 12 and 13 March 2024. That judgement covers the school's early years, rather than a separately inspected nursery. The useful detail for parents is the combination of planned learning and activities adapted to individual children.
Sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am and from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. Lunch Club occupies the interval, from 11:45am to 12:15pm. Eligible children using the extended funded entitlement can combine morning and afternoon provision, subject to places being available. This makes the lunch arrangement part of planning a longer nursery day.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for these first learning experiences. In March 2024, the early years curriculum gave learning a clear sequence, while staff adjusted activities around their knowledge of each child. Storytelling caught children's interest early. The implication is a planned start to learning that also responds to the child taking part.
Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is the named phonics programme, with teaching beginning in Nursery/Reception. Phonics connects letters with speech sounds and teaches children to combine those sounds into words. Computing in EYFS includes directing Beebots along simple routes, giving children a practical introduction to programming.
Beyond the nursery, the school grounds include an allotment, a forest school area and a large playing field. Inside the school are a sensory room and an art studio. These are features of the wider school site; they should not be read as a nursery session timetable.
Settling was a strength in March 2024: early years children became comfortable quickly and developed trusting connections with adults and other children. Staff knew children individually and used that understanding when choosing activities. For a child starting nursery, those relationships matter alongside the learning plan.
For additional needs, the school's SENCo works with families, staff and professionals outside school. Support can address communication, physical needs, learning or emotional development, giving parents a route for discussing their child's needs.
Children attending across lunch can bring food from home or have a charged school meal. Lunchtime supervision carries a separate charge for children accessing the 30-hour arrangement.
Care records. In March 2024, shortcomings included the intimate care plan, restraint records and safeguarding references. Some statutory responsibilities were consequently unmet. Families should weigh this concern alongside the positive early years findings.
Attending Marlfields nursery does not guarantee a Reception place or confer nursery attendance priority. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal local authority process, using the Common Application Form and meeting the deadline for their intake.
For the September 2025 intake, the deadline was 15 January 2025. That is a past admissions cycle, not a deadline for children applying now. Nursery attendance and the later allocation of a school place remain separate decisions.
The universal funded arrangement for three and four-year-olds is 15 hours each week, beginning in the term after their third birthday, with a morning or afternoon pattern. Eligible families can access an additional 15 hours. The extended arrangement requires an eligibility code and signed parental declaration, and starts in the term after the code is received. Entitlement must be renewed every three months.
Children who are not eligible for the additional 15 funded hours can book charged extra morning or afternoon sessions, subject to availability; bookings must be regular. Before-school and after-school provision is charged separately. Contact the school for current charges.
Visits can be arranged by contacting the school. For enquiries, call 01260 633120 or email office.mar@cflptrust.co.uk. Nursery application forms can be handed into school reception.
Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoon sessions run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. Lunch Club runs between them.
Three and four-year-olds can use the universal 15-hour arrangement from the term after their third birthday. Eligible families can access the additional 15 hours, subject to availability and validation of their entitlement.
Children using the 30-hour arrangement can bring a packed lunch or have a charged school lunch. Lunchtime supervision is charged separately.
No. Nursery attendance gives no nursery attendance priority, and families must apply separately for Reception through the local authority process.
Contact the school on 01260 633120 or at office.mar@cflptrust.co.uk to arrange a look around.
