Delph Side Community Primary School Nursery

Stories, songs and rhymes give Delph Side’s early years provision a clear language focus. Adults demonstrate words and ways of speaking for children to learn and use, making communication part of learning from the start. For parents, that is a concrete feature to weigh: language development receives attention through familiar activities, including rhymes, stories and songs.

The nursery belongs to Delph Side Community Primary School in Tanhouse, Skelmersdale. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at its inspection on 1 and 2 October 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery inspection outcome.

Rhyme, song and storytelling are the clearest features of the early years learning described here. Children receive support with speech and language, while staff demonstrate the vocabulary they want children to acquire. The emphasis is on hearing language and learning to use it. These activities give parents a useful picture of one part of the nursery experience: adults actively support communication rather than simply expecting children to pick up new words.

Learning vocabulary and explaining an idea are different steps. In October 2024, some pupils across the school had difficulty expressing their knowledge clearly and confidently using words they had learned. Developing spoken communication throughout the curriculum was therefore an improvement priority. This was a school-wide concern, alongside the specific support already taking place in early years. For families considering the nursery, the useful distinction is between introducing words through stories and songs and helping a child use those words to communicate their own thinking.

Adult support for speech begins in early years. Staff demonstrate language for children to use, giving communication a practical place in their interactions with adults. For a parent weighing this provision, that matters as a care feature as well as a learning feature: helping a child communicate is part of helping them express themselves.

The school’s safeguarding arrangements were effective in October 2024. This finding applies to the school, including the context in which its nursery operates.

Separate applications. Attending Delph Side’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must apply again for Reception through the normal admissions process and meet the normal deadline. Treat the nursery decision and the Reception application as separate tasks.

The practical implication is straightforward: choosing this nursery should rest on the provision itself, including its approach to early language, rather than an assumption that attendance secures the next place. Keep the Reception application on your family’s planning list even after accepting a nursery place.

The school’s address is Eskdale, Tanhouse, Skelmersdale, WN8 6ED. Its telephone number is 01695721881. These give families a direct school contact and a concrete location to use when considering the journey alongside other family commitments.