Ash Green Community Primary School Nursery Review

Two three-hour sessions, with a lunchtime bridge between them, give Ash Green’s nursery day a clear shape. This is the school’s own provision in Mixenden, Halifax, with Nursery grouped within its early years phase. The school’s two sites are on Mixenden Road and Clough Lane.

In October 2024, the nursery catered for children aged three and four. Language learning gives the provision its character: stories, rhymes and songs sit alongside activities that encourage children to explore and make choices.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; the afternoon runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Wrap Lunchtime occupies the interval. These are distinct blocks for families to fit around their day.

Ofsted’s inspection on 22 and 23 October 2024 found that early years children developed communication skills well, worked together and chose learning independently. Adults encouraged children to talk throughout their activities, giving language practice a place beyond a single group session. Exploration mattered too: activities were selected to invite curiosity.

Phonics begins in Nursery. Pictures and visual prompts accompany actions, giving children several ways to engage with sounds. Alongside the stories and singing, this makes early literacy something children hear, see and act out.

Additional support has named spaces. In October 2024, children with specific needs accessed help through The Burrow. The school’s nurture provision, primarily aimed at early years and younger primary children, also includes The Hive. Its sensory room and kitchen provide concrete facilities alongside activities such as crafts, art and mindfulness. Children receiving nurture intervention retain their place in their class while spending some time in the nurture room.

For children on the SEND register, class teachers prepare an Individual Learning and Development Plan (ILDP), with small targets tailored to the child’s needs. Registers are reviewed each term and parents are kept informed. This gives families specific goals to discuss, rather than a general statement of support.

The wider Inclusion Team includes a SENCo, pastoral workers and a school-based social worker. Families can raise concerns with the class teacher or ask the office to connect them with the team. Family support can involve meetings either at school or elsewhere, with telephone, email and text contact also offered. That creates several ways to start a conversation about difficulties affecting home life or learning.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline.

Calderdale residents apply online through Calderdale Council. Families living elsewhere apply through their home local authority, even when choosing Ash Green. Keep this application separate from arranging nursery sessions: joining the nursery is not the Reception application.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 01422 244613 or email admin@ashgreen.calderdale.sch.uk. The morning, lunchtime and afternoon timetable provides the starting point for planning attendance.

The October 2024 inspection also recorded childcare for Nursery children on either side of their sessions. That is a useful distinction for families whose working day extends beyond a nursery session. The lunchtime bridge runs from 11.45am to 12.30pm, between the morning finish and afternoon start.