Springfield Primary School Nursery Review

Ice that melts in small hands gives Springfield's nursery learning a concrete starting point. Children investigate changes and learn words such as frozen and dripping alongside the experience. Language and discovery work together here.

This is Springfield Primary School's own nursery in Sale, with funded provision for children aged three and four. Ofsted's report published on 24 February 2026 rated the school's early years provision Strong standard, with nursery care and teaching suited to children's developmental needs. That judgement covers early years within the school.

Play shapes the curriculum, indoors and outside, alongside exploration and focused teaching. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning about language, relationships and movement with early reading, number, creativity and understanding the world. Development Matters helps staff plan how that learning develops. For parents, the emphasis is on children learning through what they do and discuss.

Myself is the nursery's named Learning Launch Pad. It gives learning a starting point in children's own lives. The ice investigations show the approach in action: children explore a material while adults develop the language needed to describe it. Art also forms part of early years learning, giving children another way to express ideas.

Outdoor activity has concrete examples in the nursery's 2020/21 account: a digging area supported seed planting, gardens provided places to investigate minibeasts, and the bigger playground hosted bikes and scooters. These are historical examples of how physical activity, observation and sharing resources have been combined.

Preparation begins before children start. The report published on 24 February 2026 found that staff knew families and children before they started and used that understanding to plan learning from each child's starting point. Familiarity has a practical purpose: care and teaching can respond to the child rather than treating everyone as starting in the same place.

Across early years, staff use their knowledge of individual children to choose the next learning steps. Speech therapy expertise strengthens language support, while new vocabulary is introduced during activities and everyday routines. The same report found that children learning English as an additional language made rapid progress, with extra help provided promptly when needed.

Eligible nursery children aged three or four can attract Early Years Pupil Premium funding. This can support additional resources, staff training, family support and, at times, extra staffing.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through Trafford School Admissions Team's normal process and meet the applicable deadline. The school's Reception admissions page provides the online application route.

Preparation for the next classroom is a separate matter. In the 2020/21 nursery account, children met their future teachers and discussed how Reception would differ. That is a historical example of transition support, rather than an admissions entitlement.

The funded offer is for 15 hours, using either the morning session, 8.45am to 11.45am, or the afternoon session, 12.15pm to 3.15pm. Five mornings are given as one example of using the entitlement. These are three-hour sessions, so families need to plan around a midday collection or afternoon start.

Optional extras include the Christmas Theatre Trip, Walton Park Trip, PTA events and photographs. Contact the school for current charges. Nursery enquiries can go to admin@springfieldprimary.net or 01619734149; an in-year nursery application goes directly to the school through its application form. School tours for prospective nursery families are offered between October and January, with booking through the admissions page.