Tividale Community Primary School Nursery

Chicks hatching, frogspawn changing and shelters taking shape give Tividale's early years learning a practical character. This 26-place nursery takes children from age three and sits within Tividale Community Primary School in Oldbury. Play provides the starting point, with children's interests helping to shape their learning.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Good at its inspection on 24 and 25 October 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Three-hour sessions give the day a clear shape. Learning combines activities led by adults with play that children choose themselves. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together physical development, communication and relationships with early mathematics, literacy, creative work and exploring the world. In parent terms, learning to talk, move and play alongside others matters alongside the first steps towards reading and counting.

Den building, construction and pretend play give children opportunities to try ideas and solve practical problems. Both classrooms and outdoor spaces support this work, using manufactured materials alongside natural resources. Early years topic examples include Traditional Tales, with outdoor shelter building, and Out of the Egg, which involves watching chicks hatch and following the changes from frogspawn to frogs. Minibeast habitats in Forest School make the natural world something children can investigate directly.

The school grounds include a Forest School shelter that accommodates a whole class, allowing outdoor learning throughout the year. Early years computing also uses Bee-Bots and Coda-Pillars: children explore how their actions make a device move. These are concrete ways to practise cause and effect.

In October 2023, children began learning letters and sounds from Nursery. Staff checked the sounds children had learned and gave focused help when gaps emerged, so early reading support could respond to individual needs.

Parents can discuss progress at termly parents' evenings and receive an annual written report. This gives families regular opportunities to compare learning at home with what happens in the classroom.

The school's SEND approach involves parents, the class teacher and the Inclusion Coordinator in decisions about additional help. Support follows a cycle of assessing needs, planning, providing help and reviewing its effect. Pupil Passports and individual targets are reviewed termly, keeping the support responsive as a child's needs change. The October 2022 arrangements include visual timetables, WellComm screening and speech and language interventions where appropriate. These are school-wide arrangements, with support selected according to the child's needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Sandwell School Admissions by January of the year their child is due to start school.

For entry in 2027/2028, nursery attendance gives no Reception priority under Sandwell's admission arrangements for this school. The sibling criterion also excludes siblings attending nursery. Familiarity with the school therefore needs to be kept separate from the allocation of a place: families still need to complete the Reception application.

Morning nursery runs from 8.45am to 11.45am; the afternoon session is 12.45pm to 3.45pm. Each occupies a distinct part of the day, so the session choice matters for family schedules.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 0121 557 1765 or email school.admin@tividale-pri.Sandwell.sch.uk. The school is on Dudley Road West, Oldbury, B69 2HT. Prospective parents are welcome to visit; appointments are usually unnecessary, though calling ahead helps ensure a senior leader can be available.