Didsbury Road Primary School Nursery

Familiar stories, nursery rhymes and learning to take turns give Didsbury Road’s nursery its clearest character. This is a nursery class within the primary school in Heaton Mersey, Stockport, with a published nursery admission number of 40. The practical model is distinctive: 20 part-time places provide 15 hours across two full days and a half day, rather than a daily morning-only pattern.

Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 23 and 24 July 2024. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery inspection.

Stories have a concrete place in children’s learning. In July 2024, nursery children enjoyed hearing well-known tales and retelling rhymes. These are recognisable starting points for families: listening to language, remembering a sequence and joining in with familiar words.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) materials organise learning around communication, physical development and children’s social and emotional development, alongside early reading, writing and maths. Understanding the world and expressive arts also feature. For parents, this means the curriculum extends beyond letters and numbers to movement, relationships and creative expression.

A climbing frame supplies a specific example of the early years environment. In July 2024, children practised waiting for their turn there. Physical activity and learning how to share therefore meet in the same everyday routine.

Behaviour routines begin in the nursery class. Children learn the school’s 3Bs: kindness, respect and doing their best, with rewards recognising success. The emphasis is on making expectations familiar from the beginning, so joining the class also means learning how to participate with others.

For additional needs, the school’s support route starts with the class teacher and moves to the special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo) when further advice is needed. Parents of children with SEND are invited to review support plans and progress towards targets at the end of each term. This gives families a recurring opportunity to discuss how support is working.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place and gives no priority for admission to Didsbury Road’s Reception class. Families must make a separate primary school application.

Stockport Local Authority manages both admission processes, and the Reception application is completed online through the council’s normal primary admissions route. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as two separate decisions, even when hoping to remain at the same school.

The full nursery day runs from 8:45am to 3pm. Morning sessions run from 8:45am to 11:15am; afternoon sessions run from 12:30pm to 3pm. These are the clock times to use when planning collection and other childcare around the two-full-day-and-half-day pattern.

Lunch begins at 11:30am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. That timing matters for families using full days, because lunch sits within the nursery timetable.

For nursery applications, use Stockport Council’s nursery admissions route. School visits can be arranged by contacting the school. The September 2026 starting information also asked families to bring a child’s birth certificate and a utility bill dated within the preceding three months on the first school day, to verify their address.