Birley Primary Academy Nursery Review

Seasonal play gives Birley’s youngest children a starting point for learning: the two-year-old provision uses the changing seasons as its curriculum theme, with communication and social skills among its aims. Alongside it, nursery places for children aged three and above offer a choice of funded hours within a primary-school setting in Sheffield.

Foundation Stage 1, the nursery provision, has capacity for 104 part-time children. That figure applies to Foundation Stage 1 rather than establishing the size of the separate two-year-old provision. Families therefore have two age-specific starting points to consider.

For two-year-olds, learning takes place through play within a structured day. Early years teaching assistants lead this provision, helping children develop language, communication and social skills. The seasons provide a shared theme for activities, giving the youngest children a focus while they practise talking and playing with others.

A beanbag game captures the early years approach seen by Ofsted in March 2025: children invented a scoring system and talked through how it worked. For parents, that example shows how a practical game can give children something to explain as well as something to do. Adults used discussion to build language, leaving room for children’s own decisions. Teaching and activities chosen by children both featured, with resources indoors and outdoors helping them put classroom learning into practice.

Creative development also has its own place. Foundation Stage children’s progress in Expressive Arts and Design is tracked each term, with age-related expectations communicated to parents at the academic year’s end.

Support for additional needs follows the academy’s Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle. An SEN support plan identifies a child’s needs, the help being provided and targets to work towards. Teachers review these plans three times a year, and parents are invited to discuss them each term. That gives families a recurring opportunity to consider how support is working.

For children with more complex needs, My Plan brings together information about the child and contributions from relevant professionals. Parents take part in its reviews with the SENDCO and teaching staff. Families can raise concerns with their child’s teacher or the SENDCO, while parent drop-in sessions take place every half term and are open regardless of whether a child has SEN.

Communication also includes Marvellous Me, an academy app used to share children’s achievements and pictures of learning with parents. For safeguarding concerns, the team can be reached through the main school telephone number. Staff use MyConcern to share and monitor safeguarding and pastoral information securely.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Parents must make a separate school application through Sheffield City Council; joining the nursery is not a substitute for that application. Keep the two decisions separate when planning your child’s next step: a nursery place and a Reception allocation involve different application routes.

Morning nursery runs from 8:50am to 11:50am, and the afternoon group attends from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. The 30 Hours Group runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Nursery contracts are term time, with before- and after-nursery care also offered. These different patterns give families a choice between shorter sessions and a longer nursery day.

Funded nursery places cover 15 or 30 hours for children from age three; the two-year-old provision offers 30-hour funded places. Nursery applications go through the school office. To arrange a visit or make an application, call 0114 239 9002 or email enquiries@birleyprimaryacademy.co.uk. A visit provides an opportunity to meet staff and discuss the provision before choosing a session pattern.