Sneyd Academy Nursery Review

Squiggle mark making, Wonderful Wednesday activities and conversations with Tizzy the Tiger give Sneyd Academy’s nursery its own character. There is room for 52 children, with smaller groups intended to help children build relationships with adults and one another. It is the academy’s own nursery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

For September entry, children must be three on or before 31 August. Ofsted graded the school’s early years provision Good following its inspection on 20 and 21 June 2023. That judgement covers the early years across the school.

Daily maths and phonics provide regular teaching alongside time for children to explore activities with staff. Squiggle introduces early mark making, while Wonderful Wednesday brings a topic activity into the week. Music sessions add another way to participate. Between focused activities, children use continuous provision: learning activities they can explore while adults work alongside them, helping them take their learning further.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) combines learning to communicate, move and manage feelings with early literacy, maths, creative work and understanding the world. Development Matters and Birth to Five inform the curriculum. Activities also draw on children’s experiences and interests, so teaching has room to respond to what catches their attention. Adults observe how children play, persist and think, then adapt activities accordingly.

Indoor and outdoor activities both feature in early years learning. Children borrow a fresh library book each week and take part in weekly PE, extending the day beyond focused classroom tasks. In June 2023, early years teaching helped children acquire basic reading and mathematical knowledge effectively, with adults building knowledge in manageable stages and extending what children already understood.

Tizzy Time gives nursery children practice in speaking in sentences through a circle activity involving Tizzy the Tiger. Across early years, the Stoke Speaks Out communication screen takes place at the start, midpoint and end of the year. Together, these provide speaking practice and repeated opportunities to identify communication needs. Support can involve external agencies when children need additional help.

Contact with new families begins in the summer term, through an open evening and sessions to meet the teacher. Class Dojo carries photographs, examples of learning and general updates; parents and teachers can also exchange messages through it. Christmas jingle and breakfast with parents are among the occasions that bring families into early years life.

Lily Pad provision in early years was successful in June 2023. There was also a school-wide SEND concern: some individual learning goals were too broad, with insufficiently small steps and reviews that did not identify the next learning priorities precisely enough. Across the school at that inspection, staff also needed more guidance on helping pupils with SEND and behavioural needs develop control of their behaviour. For families whose children need additional support, the useful discussion is how targets will be broken down and progress reviewed. The school’s SENDCO can be contacted through the school telephone number.

Nursery attendance neither guarantees a Reception place nor gives admission priority under the 2027/28 arrangements. Families must make a separate Reception application through their home local authority, by the deadline for their child’s intake. Stoke-on-Trent residents use the city council’s application route. Treat that application as a separate decision from choosing the nursery.

For nursery enquiries, contact the school office on 01782 234460 or email office@sneydacademy.co.uk. Nursery application forms are accessed through Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The office contact provides a direct route for getting in touch, while the council handles the application route.