Yohden Primary School Nursery Review

Stories, sound games and learning through play give Yohden Nursery its character. Part of Yohden Primary School in Horden, it opened in September 2025 for children aged two, three and four. Families can choose morning, afternoon or full-day attendance, with additional care extending the day.

A nursery teacher who also leads early years works alongside a nursery teaching assistant. This places the nursery within the school's early years team. Ofsted graded the school's early years provision Good at its November 2023 inspection; that judgement predates this nursery's September 2025 opening and should be read in that context.

Children help shape their learning here. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines play with adult-guided experiences, supporting communication, movement, relationships and early learning. At Yohden, broad themes sit alongside children's own interests. Children choose how to use their surroundings, while adults help them take an idea further through planned tasks and interaction.

Reading has a clear practical shape. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides the phonics approach, but nursery work concentrates on listening: noticing surrounding sounds, enjoying poems and nursery rhymes, and practising oral blending. This gives children experience of hearing how sounds fit together before later reading work. Daily stories and classroom book areas make books part of ordinary play and learning.

The nursery classroom has separate learning areas, and children explore both inside and outside. The Nursery Autumn 1 account describes time spent discovering those spaces and getting used to new routines. Adults observe children's play and record information and photographs in an individual learning journey, using their interests and progress to decide what comes next.

Preparation centres on small acts of independence. Families are encouraged to practise putting on coats, dressing, tidying toys and asking to use the toilet. These are useful ways to make unfamiliar routines feel more manageable. Sharing books at home also connects family time with nursery learning: children receive a book bag to bring each day, and books are exchanged after they have shared them with an adult.

For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school's admission guidance asks families to discuss identified needs before starting. This allows support to be planned, with advice from the local authority or other agencies where needed. It is a practical starting point for agreeing what an individual child requires.

School lunch is a charged option within the nursery offer. Families choosing a full day should include this when considering their attendance pattern.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. Yohden's admissions page directs parents to Durham County Council for primary admission information.

Treat choosing nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions. Familiarity with the school does not replace an application or establish an admissions entitlement.

Term-time sessions run Monday to Friday: mornings are 8:30am to 11:30am, afternoons 12:20pm to 3:20pm, and full days 8:30am to 3:20pm. Both funded and paid places are offered. The nursery describes provision using 15-hour and 30-hour funding patterns and links to the government eligibility checker; check entitlement before selecting a pattern. Additional half days are charged.

Breakfast Club runs from 7:45am to 8:30am, with early drop-off from 8:15am. After-school care begins at 3:20pm, with options ending at 4pm, 5pm, 5:30pm or 6pm. These extensions are charged separately. Use the nursery enquiry form to give your child's age, funding hours and any additional-care requirements, or telephone 0191 586 3096. School visits can be arranged by appointment.