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Nursery at Northern Counties School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Play, communication and therapy share the day in Northern Counties School’s early years offer. Its EYFS provision serves children aged three to five with complex needs, with learning shaped around each child’s interests and development. The emphasis is on building communication, independence and wellbeing through experiences that children can access at their own pace.
Nursery provision sits within the school’s EYFS pathway, with early years pupils taught across departments. Numbers vary between years and departments. At the inspection on 27 and 28 February 2024, no EYFS children were attending. That is a dated position, rather than a description of today’s intake, and the whole-school judgement should not be read as a nursery rating.
Child-led exploration is the starting point. The EYFS pathway uses one-to-one staff support to encourage children to investigate and follow their interests. Practical tasks and play connect learning with everyday experiences, giving children opportunities to develop skills through doing.
Development Matters is the named approach alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. In parent terms, learning covers relationships and emotions, movement and communication, alongside early reading, writing, number work, creativity and understanding the world. The curriculum responds to developmental needs; children may continue working within EYFS beyond its usual age span while taking part in activities appropriate to their age.
Therapy forms part of the daily routine through a team that combines professional disciplines. This makes learning and therapy connected parts of the offer. Assessment is ongoing too: each child has an individual EYFS assessment grid, updated every half term using staff observations. Photographs, videos and written accounts record learning, providing concrete evidence for deciding what comes next.
Parents contribute their knowledge of their child to planning and assessment. Staff work with families and other professionals to build consistency between school and home, so that developmental needs inform both learning opportunities and the next steps chosen for each child.
Across Northern Counties School, Positive Behaviour Support uses universal, targeted and specialist levels of help. Strategies for an individual child are recorded in a PBS plan or risk assessment, and the school’s policy is to choose the least restrictive response. For families, these documents provide a concrete basis for discussing how distress and support needs will be addressed.
Safeguarding procedures include annual staff training, enhanced DBS checks and CPOMS for recording concerns. These are school-wide arrangements that also matter when considering an early years placement.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Treat Reception admission as a separate process and make a separate application through the appropriate route by its deadline. Learning continuity and placement entitlement are different questions; continuing to work within the EYFS framework should not be mistaken for an admissions advantage.
For enquiries, use the Northern Counties School callback form or contact ncs.enquiries@percyhedley.org.uk on 0191 2815821. Following a referral, the admissions team discusses the next step, which may involve a school visit or observing the child in their existing setting. A family visit is conditional on the school considering that it may be able to meet the child’s needs.
The early years offer covers children aged three to five. Children may work within the EYFS framework for longer where their developmental needs require it.
The EYFS pathway combines child-led exploration, practical activities and play, with one-to-one staff support. Development Matters is the named ethos, and therapy is integrated into daily routines.
Each child has an EYFS assessment grid updated every half term. Staff use observations, photographs and videos to document learning.
No. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; Reception admission must be treated separately.
Use the school’s callback form, email ncs.enquiries@percyhedley.org.uk or telephone 0191 2815821. After referral, the team discusses appropriate next steps, which may include a visit or observation.
