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Nursery at Newhey Community Primary 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 If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Stories, rhymes and conversation give Newhey’s nursery its character. Language is a deliberate teaching priority: adults introduce vocabulary through their interactions with children, helping them listen, speak and extend their learning. This is a nursery where talk does real work.
The provision belongs to Newhey Community Primary School on Hawthorn Lane. Birch and Cedar are identified as Nursery and Reception classes, placing the nursery within the school’s early years provision. Ofsted’s March 2026 inspection assessed early years as meeting the Expected standard. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery.
Morning and afternoon sessions each have their own timetable. Learning combines activities children tackle independently with tasks supported by adults. The Early Years Foundation Stage, or EYFS, brings together movement, relationships and communication with early mathematics, literacy, creative work and understanding the world. Development Matters guides how staff follow children’s development.
Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised supplies the phonics approach. Nursery children use Foundations for Phonics, with attention to language, different kinds of texts and oral blending: hearing sounds and putting them together to make words. Stories and rhymes make this preparation part of an enjoyable introduction to learning.
Exploring equipment and materials, drawing, talking and listening also contribute to assessment. Adults observe children during activities, rather than relying solely on completed work. Skills Builder adds explicit practice in skills such as teamwork, planning and listening from Nursery onwards, with teaching steps matched to children’s development and revisited during the week.
Familiar routines help children become more independent. In March 2026, early years classrooms were calm, children behaved positively, and adults helped them understand kindness and handle their emotions. Clear expectations give children a predictable framework for learning alongside others.
Staff adjust activities in response to children’s progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Class teachers work with teaching assistants; the school describes its teachers as qualified and its assistants as trained to support individual needs.
Evidence me connects classroom observations with home. Parents receive updates through the app and can contribute observations themselves, allowing experiences beyond school to become part of their child’s learning record. Parents also have opportunities to share reading with children in school.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through their home local authority; Rochdale residents apply through Rochdale Council, including when seeking a school in another authority.
The school’s admission criteria do not give priority for nursery attendance. They cover looked-after children, medical or psychological grounds, siblings, and proximity and access; the church criterion is explicitly inapplicable here. Familiarity with the school therefore needs to be kept separate from entitlement to a place.
For the September 2026 intake, the application deadline was 15 January 2026. That cycle has passed.
The nursery morning runs from 8:45am to 11:45am; the afternoon runs from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. These are separate three-hour sessions, so collection needs to fit the nursery timetable rather than the older children’s day.
Contact the school office on 01706 847658 or at office@newhey.rochdale.sch.uk for enquiries. Prospective families can attend the school’s autumn open day, or arrange another visit through the office. Changes to collection arrangements should be communicated by telephone or email, with the office told promptly when a different person will collect a child.
The morning session is 8:45am to 11:45am. The afternoon session is 12:15pm to 3:15pm.
Children use Foundations for Phonics within Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, focusing on language, texts and oral blending.
Evidence me provides updates on children’s learning and allows parents to add their own observations.
No. Families must apply separately through their home local authority, and the school’s admission criteria give no priority for nursery attendance.
Yes. Families can visit during the school’s autumn open day or contact the office to arrange an alternative date.
