Roughwood Primary School Nursery Review

A shared classroom and two age groups give Roughwood’s nursery its distinctive shape. Little Acorns, for children aged two to three, sits within Willow Oaks Early Years at Roughwood Primary School. Its classroom is divided and shared with Acorns, the Foundation Stage 1 provision; the nursery also caters for three- and four-year-olds. This is an early start within the school itself.

For families in Kimberworth Park, the setting is on Roughwood Road in Rotherham. The practical choice is between morning, afternoon and 30-hour sessions, with the same sequence of welcome activities, phonics, free flow, maths and reading shaping both shorter sessions.

The morning starts with a welcome task at 8:45am, followed by phonics at 9:00am. Free flow begins at 9:30am, maths follows at 11:00am and an adult reads to the children at 11:30am. Afternoon children follow the equivalent sequence from 12:15pm. That gives parents a concrete picture of the balance between scheduled teaching and free flow time.

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage, communication gets deliberate attention. In February 2022, Ofsted found that adults helped children extend their vocabulary and use increasingly long, accurate sentences, alongside activities addressing different learning areas. For a young child, speaking and being understood are part of the learning here.

Curriculum sequencing. In February 2022, planning across both nursery age groups needed greater precision: activities did not consistently extend earlier learning, leaving some children less prepared for Reception in some areas. The important question for families is how each new activity develops something their child has already learned.

Staffing ratios are one adult for four two-year-olds and one for eight three-year-olds. Those age-specific arrangements matter when comparing the younger and older nursery groups, rather than treating the shared classroom as a single group with one staffing pattern.

Roughwood uses the Graduated Approach for possible special educational needs: staff assess needs, plan support, put it into practice and review it, adapting the response as their understanding of the child develops. This gives support a repeated review process. Parents can contact the school office or send a message through their child’s class teacher on Dojo.

For packed lunches, the school encourages healthier choices. Children bringing sweets, chocolate bars or crisps are asked to keep them for after school, so families should take that rule into account when packing food.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Rotherham admissions when their child will turn five in that academic year, following the normal application deadline. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions; joining Little Acorns or Acorns does not replace that application.

Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:45am; afternoons run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. The 30-hour session runs from 8:45am to 3:15pm. For families using 30-hour codes, lunchtime supervision carries an extra charge because it falls outside the funded hours. Contact the school for current charges.

Funding follows Rotherham term dates over 38 weeks, with 15 hours each week for eligible two-year-olds from the term after their second birthday, requiring an eligibility letter. Three- and four-year-olds receive 15 hours each week from the term after their birthday. The 30-hour funding can begin the term after applying, with a valid code renewed every three months. Funding cannot be stretched across the whole year. This term-time structure matters for childcare planning during holidays.

Use the early years online enquiry form for children aged two to four, or contact roughwood@willowtreeacademy.org or 01709 740254. Collection also needs planning: children under four must leave with a familiar person aged over 18.