Holycroft Primary School Nursery

Songs, percussion and outdoor music-making give Holycroft’s nursery a concrete character. Children learn familiar melodies, invent songs and use instruments to communicate ideas and feelings. Music reaches beyond singing together: it gives children another way to express themselves.

This is Holycroft Primary School’s own nursery, accepting children from age 3 at Victoria Road in Keighley. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 23 and 24 February 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Morning and afternoon sessions shape the nursery day. Within the early years foundation stage (EYFS), learning includes communication, early reading, mathematics, music and physical skills. These are practical beginnings: using sounds, exploring shapes and learning to control movement.

Little Wandle provides the nursery’s foundation programme for phonics and early reading. Families can support this learning through familiar songs and nursery rhymes, sharing books and looking for objects beginning with a particular sound. That connects early reading with things children recognise at home.

Music-making uses everyday objects alongside percussion, with provision areas indoors and outdoors. Nursery children practise matching a sung note, remembering whole songs and making up their own versions. The early years physical programme includes balancing, changing direction, catching and throwing, as well as learning to change for PE. It combines movement with practical independence.

In February 2023, early years learning was planned around children’s starting points, with language and communication taking priority. Children sustained their attention during activities; shape-based rocket making and writing about space illustrated how mathematics and literacy could connect. These were early years examples, rather than a nursery-only activity list. There was also a caution: adults sometimes used language beyond children’s understanding. For families, accessible explanations matter alongside ambitious vocabulary.

Support for additional needs sits within the school’s arrangements for SEND, meaning special educational needs and disabilities. Teaching is adapted to individual needs, with targeted support and specialist services involved when necessary. Parents can raise concerns with the class teacher and arrange a fuller discussion with the special educational needs coordinator through the office.

Medical care is planned with families. A child with medical needs has an individual care plan discussed with the staff involved; administering medicine requires parental agreement and a signed consent form. This gives families a clear role in agreeing care. The school building also has a lift connecting its two floors and accessible toilets on both levels.

Aspens supplies school meals and accommodates individual dietary requirements. Its Food Festival menu follows a three-week rotation and changes seasonally. Discuss nursery meal arrangements when arranging a visit, especially where dietary needs affect care.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Bradford’s coordinated school admissions scheme. The application period usually runs from mid-October to mid-January; check Bradford Council’s specific dates for the relevant intake and apply by that cycle’s deadline.

Keep the two processes distinct: the nursery application goes directly to Holycroft, while the Reception application follows the coordinated route.

The morning nursery session runs from 8.45 am to 11.45 am; the afternoon runs from 12.15 pm to 3.15 pm. These times are the practical starting point for planning journeys and collection.

Contact the school to request a nursery application pack and arrange a visit. The office can be reached on 01535 604183 or at office@holycroft.nsat.org.uk. Collection should be punctual; if an emergency prevents you collecting your child, telephone the school.