Grace Owen Nursery School: play, stories and practical independence

Two daily singing sessions for babies, story-making for older children and a climbing frame outside: Grace Owen’s day combines language with movement. This is a nursery school in its own right, in Sheffield’s Park Hill. Its childcare provision spans six months to five years, with Yellow Room for the youngest children, Green Room for two- to three-year-olds and Blue Room for ages three to five.

At the February 2023 Ofsted inspection, early years provision was judged Good. The distinction for families is the detail behind that judgement: familiar routines helped children settle, while choosing their first activity encouraged independence.

Play alternates with short teaching groups. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning to communicate, move and manage feelings with early reading, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters help staff plan for each child’s stage, rather than treating age alone as the guide.

Yellow Room includes two organised singing sessions each day alongside spontaneous songs. In Green Room, Stories for Talking introduces traditional tales through play, and Makaton gives children another way to express themselves. Blue Room adds planning, doing and reviewing activities, plus Helicopter Stories, where children invent their own narratives. These routines give children reasons to talk, make choices and revisit ideas.

Physical learning has tangible equipment behind it. Indoors, Developmental Movement spaces support movement exploration; outside, children use bikes, balancing beams, a climbing frame and large construction resources. Yoga and Development Movement Play games sit alongside woodwork, cutting and playdough. The combination lets children practise both whole-body movement and finer hand control.

Language processing. In February 2023, some adults moved on before children had enough time to try newly taught words. Families should consider how staff allow children time to think and respond, alongside the emphasis on vocabulary.

Settling starts with visits shaped around the child and family. These give the key person time to learn about routines and needs. For babies, staff aim to maintain familiar home routines. Learning stories connect nursery experiences with home, while SEND support includes family consultations and reviews each term.

The SENDCo coordinates targeted Support Plans, with specialist referrals requiring family agreement. Speech and Language Therapists and the Early Years Inclusion Team are among the partners. A single-level building, accessible toilet and showers provide practical support for physical needs. In February 2023, children with SEND received carefully reviewed help and used signing to communicate feelings.

All staff are qualified, with training and appraisal forming part of their development; room staff have paediatric first-aid training. Snacks carry no charge, and nursery consumables are also included. Daily self-care teaching covers handwashing, toileting, dressing and feeding themselves at mealtimes.

Safeguarding records and oversight. Safeguarding was effective in February 2023, but records of concerns and subsequent actions lacked detail. Behaviour and attendance recording also needed better systems and analysis, and governors needed stronger scrutiny of these areas. These findings give families specific points to discuss about recording, follow-up and accountability.

Attending Grace Owen does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process by the applicable deadline; nursery registration does not replace it.

For children with SEND, summer-term transition planning brings together the receiving teacher and SENCo. Visits are arranged around individual needs, sometimes with the nursery key person’s support. This transfers knowledge about the child’s routines and support to the next setting, separately from the allocation of a school place.

Families can choose term-time or full-year contracts, with core hours of 9am to 3pm. Full-year opening runs from 8am to 6pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and to 5pm on Wednesday and Friday. Annual closures include bank holidays, a week in August and a week around Christmas and New Year.

The funding arrangements describe eligible nine-month entitlement as 15 hours per week during term time or 12 hours per week stretched across the full year. For three- and four-year-olds, the universal entitlement is 15 hours per week during term time between 9am and 3pm; those eligible for extended entitlement can use 30 hours per week during term time or 24 hours per week across the full year. Additional booked time is charged. Refer to the school for current charges.

Under-three availability. The application page marks the 2026–2027 waiting list as completely full for children under three. Families seeking that age group should factor this restriction into their plans. Enquiries go through the online application form or the office on 0114 349 5409.