Roe Farm Primary School Nursery

Language and learning through play give Roe Farm’s nursery its character. Known as Foundation 1, it caters for three and four year olds within Roe Farm Primary School in Chaddesden, Derby. Children can start in the term after turning three. The nursery aims to build independence and confidence by extending children’s vocabulary and responding to their interests.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 12 and 13 June 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach here centres on children choosing activities, practising skills and learning alongside adults. Roe Farm aims to use children’s interests to shape their learning, with repetition helping them consolidate what they can do. For parents, this means play has a learning purpose: adults use it to develop language and build on earlier experiences.

OPAL, short for Observations of Play and Learning, sits alongside In the moment planning and Objective Led Planning in the nursery’s planning and assessment approach. These give staff ways to consider children’s learning as well as plan what comes next. The nursery also uses the NICE principles: Natural, Independent, Consistent and Embedded.

In June 2024, early years activities included observing ducklings and chicks, talking about their lives, then making diagrams and small factual books. The activities connected children’s curiosity with opportunities to explain and remember. Adult conversations helped children put unfamiliar words to use, while the curriculum developed their ability to listen, speak and understand.

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides the phonics approach, with nursery children taking part in daily class sessions. Phonics introduces the sounds within words. Extra practice outside those sessions supports children who need further help, giving them another opportunity to strengthen their understanding.

Nursery teachers and teaching assistants make up the team, with one nursery teaching role covering Monday to Wednesday. Parents contribute to assessment, so what a child achieves at home can become part of the picture staff build of their development.

Lunch brings a straightforward choice: children can bring food from home or have a school meal. Derbyshire County Council School Meals Service supplies the meals, and payments go through ParentPay. Contact the school for current meal charges.

For children needing additional support, the school’s Inclusion Team works with families, staff and outside agencies. Its programmes include Attention Autism and Sensory Circuits, alongside support for social and emotional needs. Parents can contact the SEND team at sendco@roefarm.derby.sch.uk to discuss their child’s needs.

Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Derby City Council’s admissions process. Nursery families automatically receive an application pack when that process begins; receiving the pack is a prompt to apply, not an offer of a place.

The application deadline is usually just after the new year. Keep that separate application in your calendar even while your child is attending Foundation 1.

Term-time attendance follows two patterns for the 15-hour entitlement: Monday and Tuesday as full days with half of Wednesday, or half of Wednesday followed by full days on Thursday and Friday. Eligible children can use an additional 15 funded hours to attend full time. An eligibility code must be requested in the preceding term, subject to the qualifying conditions for working families.

A full nursery day starts at 8:45am and finishes at 3:15pm. Nursery applications can be made online, choosing either 15 or 30 hours, or through the school office on 01332 346310. Visits can be arranged with the office before applying.

Collection requires an adult whom parents have authorised, and the school needs advance notice when someone different will collect. This makes keeping collection details up to date a practical priority. School uniform includes royal blue or red cardigans and jumpers, with black shoes; logo items can be obtained from the office.