Urmston Primary School Nursery Review

Curiosity, conversation and learning to get along shape the nursery at Urmston Primary School. Children join in the September following their third birthday, with morning, afternoon or combined sessions. This is the school’s own nursery, within its early years provision, on Wycliffe Road in Urmston.

At the Ofsted inspection on 25 and 26 May 2023, early years provision was graded Outstanding. That judgement covers the school’s early years provision rather than a separately inspected nursery.

Exploration and expressing ideas are central to the nursery’s approach. Children develop communication through relationships, with happiness and kindness introduced from the nursery stage. The emphasis gives talking and learning alongside others a clear place in the day.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum connects with the school’s Being More approach. Topics provide a starting point, but staff adapt their direction to children’s interests and needs. Adult conversations with children help determine what they should learn next. For parents, this means learning follows both a planned sequence and the interests children bring with them.

Water, sand, role play and construction each have skills progression documents, alongside painting, cutting and fine motor development. These give practical exploration a learning purpose: handling materials and making things sit alongside the development of communication and independence. Nursery Maths Progression provides a further strand of planning.

In May 2023, early years assessment was a strength: staff adjusted learning promptly when children needed help with their understanding. The inspection’s concern about slower responses to misconceptions in some subjects was a wider school issue; its early years findings described a different picture.

Support for additional needs starts within everyday early years provision. Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision in Early Years describes adjustments and strategies that can be used without requiring a diagnosis. Families therefore have a basis for discussing their child’s needs before a formal assessment is in place.

The school’s PLACE approach guides staff interactions through curiosity, acceptance, empathy, love and playfulness. Emotion coaching is also part of its pastoral approach. These methods focus attention on children’s feelings and relationships as well as their behaviour.

Parents can contact the SENDCo through the school office, and SEN parent forums take place each term. Nursery Learning Updates and a Nursery Booklet provide further ways to follow learning and support it at home.

For children staying over lunchtime, there is a separate lunch-period charging arrangement. School meals are prepared in the Junior school kitchen and eaten in the halls. Trafford’s menus rotate over four weeks, with choices made through Evolve. Dietary needs and allergies should be entered there and shared with school, keeping both the meal booking and staff informed.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process. Trafford Council manages Reception admissions, while the school manages nursery applications. Treat the two applications as separate decisions: choosing the nursery does not secure the next place.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The booking pattern is five mornings or five afternoons for 15 hours, or both for 30 hours. This is a regular weekly pattern, rather than a menu of individual sessions.

The school lists a universal 15-hour place and an additional funded 15-hour extended place, alongside paid top-up hours. A lunch-period charge applies to children with a 30-hour entitlement or an allocated top-up place who remain between sessions. Optional trips and externally led activities can involve voluntary contributions. Contact school for current charges.

Nursery access is through the main gate or the Wycliffe Road entrance. To arrange a tour, contact the office on 0161 748 4362 or email admin@urmstonprimaryschool.com. Visits are booked by appointment, giving families a direct way to discuss the session pattern before applying.