Brookvale Primary School Nursery Review

Listening walks, robot talk and outdoor climbing give Brookvale’s nursery mornings a distinctive shape. This is the school’s own nursery in Runcorn, with three members of staff and children organised into key worker groups. The emphasis is on learning through stories, conversation, movement and practical activities.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at its inspection on 15 and 16 May 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school, rather than a separately inspected nursery. The nursery-specific finding was that songs and rhymes gave children useful preparation for learning to read.

The morning runs from 08:45 to 11:45, Monday to Friday. Learning follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): physical development, language and social development sit alongside literacy, maths, creative expression and understanding the world. For parents, that means learning extends beyond books and number work to how children communicate, move and relate to others.

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides the Foundations for Phonics approach. Nursery phonics begins in the second half of the autumn term, with activities that develop listening and awareness of sounds. Children investigate instruments, play sound lotto, clap out syllables and try robot talk. Listening walks bring sounds from their surroundings into the learning. Reading sessions begin in the first autumn half term and happen once a week.

Outdoor play includes climbing frames, a slide, bikes, prams and musical instruments. These give children opportunities to climb, ride and explore sound as well as play imaginatively. Wednesday PE takes place in the school hall, where activities focus on coordination, awareness of space and responding to stop and start instructions.

Practical learning includes food preparation too. Food technology starts in nursery, introducing where food comes from, healthy variety and safe preparation of a simple meal. Early years maths uses activities in which children explore, practise and talk about mathematical ideas. Both approaches connect learning with things children can do and discuss.

Key worker groups provide the nursery’s care structure, while the class teacher retains responsibility for assessment and reporting to families. Tapestry connects home and nursery: parents can see observations of learning, contribute photographs and comments from home, and exchange responses with staff. This gives families a way to share experiences beyond the classroom.

A library book and nursery rhyme go home for families to enjoy together, with books changed on Mondays. Parents are encouraged to discuss the pictures and practise the rhyme. Snack carries a separate charge, paid through School Gateway, and children bring a bottle containing plain water.

For SEND concerns, the class teacher is the first contact. The school’s support model includes adapting resources, teaching methods or tasks, with the SENDCo, staff, parents and outside agencies working together. This gives families a route into discussing the adjustments their child may need.

Attending Brookvale’s nursery does not guarantee a place in its Reception class. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal primary admissions process. Halton’s primary admissions service is the route for that next application; choosing the nursery should be treated as a decision about the nursery experience itself.

The morning session is the nursery’s attendance pattern. Its three-hour span makes collection before lunchtime a practical consideration for family routines.

Uniform applies to nursery children: red jumpers or cardigans, white shirts or polo shirts, and grey or black bottoms are among the options. Keep labelled black pumps at school for PE and send named wellies for wet weather. Clothing and belongings should carry the child’s name, and toys from home should stay at home.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 01928 711401 or email sec.brookvale@haltonlearning.net. Snack payments use the School Gateway app, with no cash brought into school.