Harwood Park Primary School Nursery Review

Sand, construction and stories give Harwood Park’s nursery its character, with a large outdoor area extending the possibilities for play. This is the nursery within Harwood Park Primary School on Hardfield Street in Heywood. Children’s interests help shape the learning, alongside a theme for each half term.

Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 14 and 15 February 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Play and short teaching sessions share the day. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach here brings early learning into practical activity: children explore numbers and make marks as they play, then gather for brief circle sessions led by a teacher. Half-term themes provide a starting point, but children’s own interests can change the direction. For parents, that means learning has both an adult-planned structure and room for children’s choices.

Inside, children can build in the construction area, experiment with water and sand, try imaginative play in the role play area or use the creative area. Outdoors is part of the daily provision. Access to outdoor play continues across the day, rather than being confined to scheduled breaks, giving children opportunities to move between different kinds of activity.

Books have a clear place in the nursery routine. Children hear stories, explore books and practise telling stories themselves. Sound games help them hear differences within words, while separate phonics sessions introduce early reading skills. During the summer term, children begin exploring the initial sounds in Read Write Inc. In February 2024, nursery children were encountering carefully chosen texts, and songs and rhymes were helping early years children prepare for later reading.

Settling was a strength in February 2024: early years children developed trusting connections with adults and classmates and adapted readily to the setting. They were learning to listen, work together and socialise. Adults also resolved small disagreements involving early years children promptly, helping everyday play remain manageable.

The staffing structure includes a nursery teacher. Across the school, SEND support includes adaptive teaching and individual support plans, with parents involved in meetings to set targets. This gives families a role in discussing what their child needs.

Identifying additional needs. The February 2024 findings included a school-wide concern that some children’s SEND needs were recognised too slowly, affecting their learning. Families should keep emerging concerns part of those support discussions. Attendance was also a school-wide improvement priority, because missed school meant missed learning.

Nursery lunchtime begins at 11:45am, providing a fixed point within the longer days.

Attending Harwood Park’s nursery does not guarantee a place in the school’s Reception. Families must apply separately through the normal Reception admissions process and meet the normal deadline.

Treat that application as a separate decision from nursery attendance. The school’s Admission page links to Rochdale Borough Council’s school admissions page, providing a route to the council’s admissions information.

The nursery attendance pattern is Monday and Tuesday, 8:45am to 3:15pm, followed by Wednesday, 8:45am to 11:45am. For family scheduling, the shorter Wednesday matters as much as the two longer days. These times form one attendance pattern rather than a list of interchangeable sessions.

Enquiries start with the online Nursery Enquiry Form. After a parent completes it, a staff member contacts the family about the nursery application. This provides a direct starting point for joining.