Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Nursery

A Reading Suitcase heads home for the weekend, complete with a story, a treat and a furry companion. That small ritual gives Cliffe Hill’s nursery a distinctive connection between learning in class and time with family. A notebook lets children draw a favourite moment from the book, giving parents another way to join in.

The nursery belongs to Cliffe Hill Community Primary School on Stoney Lane in Lightcliffe. Its staffing includes a nursery teacher and a Level 3 practitioner working across nursery and Reception. This places the nursery within the school’s early years team while retaining its own teaching role.

Practical activity and organised play shape learning, indoors and outdoors. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) programme brings together physical development, communication and children’s social and emotional growth, alongside early mathematics, reading and writing, creative expression and exploration of the world. For parents, this means learning extends beyond early academic skills to how children move, communicate and relate to others.

Language receives close attention. At the January 2025 Ofsted inspection, adults in early years demonstrated vocabulary and prompted conversation as children played. They also developed learning through their interactions, while activities encouraged children to do things independently. Conversation is part of the learning itself.

Books connect the nursery with other children and with home. Reading Ambassadors have scheduled reading time with early years children. The Reading Suitcase extends that experience into family story time over the weekend; drawing in its notebook gives children a way to respond before they can write at length.

Lunch has a defined place in the routine: the nursery lunchtime runs from 11.40am to 12.40pm. This is a lunch window, rather than a nursery session timetable.

Communication runs through My Child at School, known as MCAS. Families receive updates through the app and can send messages back, making it a practical channel for keeping in touch. Nursery Stay and Play also brings parents into class: a September 2025 session invited families to spend time alongside their child.

For children with additional needs, the school’s SEND arrangements include observation and conversations with parents to identify needs, Individual Education Plans and personalised pastoral planning. Review meetings provide opportunities to discuss support. The pastoral team combines the SEND coordinator, a Family Link Officer and a Learning Mentor, giving families several roles through which to raise concerns.

The school’s meal arrangements allow a packed lunch or a hot school meal. Families can therefore choose between food from home and the school meal option.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal Reception admissions process and meet its deadline. Cliffe Hill’s Admissions page provides a link for Reception applications, so this step needs its own attention even when a child already attends nursery.

A practitioner works across nursery and Reception. That staffing connection is distinct from the allocation of places and should not be treated as an admissions advantage.

Drop-off and collection take place at the nursery cloakroom door. Families nominate authorised collectors on a form each year; if someone else requests collection, staff contact parents before releasing the child. Tell the school when another adult will collect.

The school uniform policy applies to children attending school. It includes a jade green cardigan or jumper, a white polo shirt and grey or black bottoms, with pumps for indoor use. Uniform can be obtained through GDB Clothing, Ziggy’s School Wear or the school’s second-hand shop.

For nursery enquiries, use the Contact Us form, email head@cliffehill.calderdale.sch.uk or telephone 01422 202086.