Springfield School Nursery Review

Building blocks and outdoor exploration give Little Springers its character: play is the starting point for Springfield School’s youngest learners. This is the school’s own early years provision in Leek, on Springfield Road, rather than a separate nursery. The emphasis is on children exploring and imagining, with families involved in their learning.

The early years provision was graded Good at the Ofsted inspection of 28 and 29 September 2022. Its clearest strength then was the way staff used parents’ understanding of their children to shape support from the beginning.

Little Springers uses play to support early development. Building with blocks provides one concrete example; outdoor adventures provide another. Exploration and imagination are part of the approach, giving children ways to engage through activity. For a parent weighing up the setting, those examples place practical experiences at the centre of the nursery’s character.

In September 2022, staff combined learning inside and outside to help children develop their earliest skills. The important link was between understanding an individual child’s needs and supporting their learning. Learning spaces were part of that support, rather than simply somewhere to spend the session.

A sensory garden adds a named physical feature to the wider Springfield site. Musical flowers, an outdoor stage and a colour walkway sit alongside features for spinning and exploring textures. These create opportunities for sound, performance and sensory exploration. They are school facilities; the nursery’s own approach centres on play and outdoor activity.

Parents’ knowledge mattered to early support in September 2022. Staff sought to understand what families knew about their child’s needs and used that understanding to help children during their first days. For families, this makes sharing their child’s preferences and needs a meaningful part of the start, with support shaped around the child.

Little Springers also involves parents through ongoing communication and opportunities to participate in learning. The nursery describes families as partners in children’s development. That gives parental involvement a role beyond the initial introduction: the relationship continues as children explore and learn. The practical emphasis is on staff and parents contributing to the same child’s development, with family knowledge recognised as useful to the work in the setting.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Ask Springfield how the next placement is arranged when planning ahead; choosing Little Springers should not be taken as securing a later place at Springfield.

Springfield School is on Springfield Road, Leek, ST13 6LQ. For enquiries about Little Springers, contact the school on 01538 383558. This provides a direct school contact for families interested in the provision.