Diamond Wood Community Academy Nursery

A morning built around conversation, play and a shared story gives Diamond Wood’s nursery its shape. Three-year-olds attend the school’s nursery in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, with indoor and outdoor learning woven into the session. This is a short morning with distinct stages: time with a key worker group, exploration, focused activities and a social snack.

Nursery teachers work alongside nursery nurses and educational teaching assistants. That gives families several team roles to get to know, while the key worker groups provide a recurring point of contact within the children’s routine.

The session runs from 8:30am to 11:30am. Children begin in their key worker groups, practising communication, movement and the skills involved in managing feelings and relationships. They then explore the indoor and outdoor provision, alongside small-group work on early maths and literacy. Expressive arts and learning about the world also have a place in the morning, so the session extends beyond preparation for reading and numbers.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings these strands together. In parent language, it combines learning to talk and listen, becoming physically confident and getting along with others with early reading, writing, maths, creativity and discovery. Children learn through play and adult-led activities rather than a timetable of separate school subjects.

At 11:00am, tidying leads into another key worker session, followed by singing and a story before home time. The repeated group sessions give children opportunities to revisit their learning and talk about what they have done. During the October 2024 inspection, staff helped early-years children express their feelings and explain their learning, while frequent stories and rhymes supported language development.

A shared healthy snack is part of the nursery morning. Eating together also provides practice in social skills, making this a learning opportunity as well as a break from activities.

For questions or concerns, families start with their child’s teacher or educational teaching assistant. Arbor has been the school’s main communication system since January 2026, bringing messages, letters, calendar information and parents’ evening bookings together. Parents can use either the app or a browser, which gives them a choice of how to keep in touch.

SEND support can include individual or small-group interventions, specialist resources and adjustments to teaching. The school holds SEND coffee mornings where families can meet support staff and visiting agencies. In October 2024, identification of additional needs began in the early years, and children needing extra help received skilled support. These arrangements give families routes to discuss development alongside the everyday classroom contact.

Attending Diamond Wood’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate application through Kirklees Council online; the school sends reminders, but completing the application remains the parent’s responsibility.

For the September 2026 intake, the application deadline was 15 January 2026. That cycle has passed. Nursery registration and the Reception application are separate decisions, so families should keep the school-place application distinct from arranging their child’s nursery start.

Five morning sessions, each lasting three hours, form the nursery attendance pattern. Children become eligible for 15 hours of free early education and care from the term following their third birthday. Starts are generally in September, January or after Easter, subject to places being available.

Nursery applications go directly to the school using Registration Form N. The office handles enquiries on 01924 325308 or office@diamondwood.enhanceacad.org.uk, and families can arrange a visit by appointment.

Uniform includes a red cardigan or sweatshirt, a white polo shirt and grey trousers, skirt or pinafore; logos are optional on the red and white items. Children also bring a water bottle and red book bag. An adult should stay until the teacher takes over, and the office must be told beforehand if a different adult will collect the child.