St Chad's Church of England Primary School Nursery Review

Natural materials, soft lighting and access to outdoor play throughout each session give St Chad's nursery its character. Children choose resources and follow their interests, with adults using knowledge of each child to plan the next steps. Independence starts small: deciding what to explore and where to play.

This 26-place provision welcomes children aged 3 years and over at St Chad's Church of England Primary School in West Park, Leeds. Nursery has its own classroom base within the Foundation Stage and shares an outdoor classroom with Reception. Ofsted judged early years provision Good at the inspection on 9 and 10 July 2024; that judgement covers the school's early years, rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Play shapes the curriculum. Staff use in-the-moment planning, responding to children's interests while working towards individual learning targets. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning about relationships, movement and communication with early reading, writing, maths, creativity and understanding the world. In practical terms, children develop conversation alongside counting, explore materials and use imaginative play to express ideas.

Inside, children can select their own resources. Outside, learning expands in scale: children build obstacle courses, consider whether their structures are stable and practise sharing equipment. Planned teaching includes safe tool use. Access to both spaces during each session means outdoor learning is part of the day, with rain, wind and snow becoming things to investigate.

Speaking and listening receive deliberate attention, including hearing other children's ideas and contributing their own. A separate religious education lesson takes place each week, introducing different beliefs. Staff can also adapt plans around an object a child brings from home, connecting learning with something personally interesting.

In July 2024, early years children showed curiosity and imagination through potion-making and pretend planting in mud, and routines were established. Writing practice. Children were taught letter formation but had too few chances to rehearse it, and mistakes went uncorrected. Families should keep that specific weakness in mind alongside the opportunities for imaginative play.

Family knowledge helps shape learning. Staff learn about children's previous experiences and use observations and conversations during the first half-term to establish starting points. Progress is shared through Tapestry, an online journal where parents can also contribute. That gives families a way to connect interests at home with nursery learning.

Children needing additional help can receive support within play, in small groups or individually. Across the school, an Inclusion Leader coordinates provision, and staff training includes autism, developmental language disorder and attachment needs. Parents can contact the inclusion team at sc-senco@stchadsprimary.net.

For children staying through lunch, a packed lunch or a charged hot school meal provides a choice. Nursery children attending after-school care use the bungalow alongside children up to Year 2, giving younger pupils a smaller setting for the end of the day.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through their home local authority. For Leeds residents, the route is www.leeds.gov.uk/apply. For the September 2026 intake, the closing date was 15 January 2026; that application cycle is now past.

The shared outdoor classroom gives nursery children contact with the Reception environment while they retain their own classroom base. This is continuity in daily experience, separate from the allocation of school places.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and full days from 9am to 3pm. The 15-hour patterns are five mornings, five afternoons, or two full days plus one half-day, with families identifying their required days. The 30-hour pattern covers Monday to Friday and requires a validated eligibility code before nursery starts.

Full-day children can book charged extensions from 8.45am and until 3.15pm. OOHA wraparound care requires separate enrolment and runs from 7.30am to 8.45am and from 3.15pm to 6pm. Additional paid sessions depend on spare capacity. Ask the school for current charges.

To enquire or arrange a tour, email nursery@stchadsprimary.net or call 0113 274 7110. Nursery applications use a separate form, which families complete and return.