St Paul's C.E Primary School Nursery Review

Play, conversation and early reading give Daffodil Class its character. This is the nursery at St Paul's C.E Primary School on Hindle Drive in Royton, with learning shaped by children's interests and a place within the school's early years provision. Christian values guide the school's aims for children to become independent, curious learners who build positive relationships.

Children's interests help steer the yearly nursery curriculum. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together language, physical development and relationships with early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and learning about the world. In parent terms, learning reaches beyond letters and numbers to how children communicate, move, think and get along with others.

Teaching moves between individual attention, small groups and class activities. Adult teaching sits alongside continuous provision: opportunities for children to explore and practise independently. Topic planning gives these experiences a shared focus, while children's needs and interests influence what happens within it. There is room for children to investigate for themselves.

Speech and communication run through activities outdoors as well as indoors. Reading begins with handling books and joining in with stories, poetry and rhymes, giving children opportunities to hear vocabulary and experiment with language. Nursery children take part in Little Wandle foundations for phonics sessions, introducing the sounds within words. This gives early reading a specific starting point.

Classrooms have reading areas, and children have time during the day to use them. Books therefore have a physical place in the learning environment alongside the wider opportunities for exploration.

In the 2025/2026 staffing structure, the nursery teacher also had a Forest School role. For additional learning needs, staff create individual learning plans from Nursery onwards. Teaching is adjusted to children's pace and level, so support can respond to the child rather than rely on one approach for everyone.

Families can contact the SEND coordinator through the school office. The school aims to work with parents and external agencies when arranging support, making family involvement part of its approach to inclusion.

Nursery lunchtime begins at 11:45 a.m.; early years afternoon learning resumes at 1 p.m. School lunch menus follow a three-week rotation and include choices. That gives the day a defined break between morning learning and the afternoon.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at St Paul's. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions route and meet the relevant deadline. Treat choosing Daffodil Class and applying for Reception as two separate decisions: time spent in the nursery must not be taken as an assurance of a school place.

The school office is the enquiry route, on 0161 624 9019 or info@stpauls.oldham.sch.uk. The address is Hindle Drive, Royton, Oldham, OL2 5LU. Families raising questions about additional needs can use the same office number to reach the SEND coordinator, giving them a direct starting point for discussing their child's support.