Liden Academy Nursery

Stories, songs and early number work shaped learning for Liden Academy’s youngest children at the November 2023 inspection. Nursery provision caters for children aged two and three within a primary school in Liden, Swindon. Inspectors found an emphasis on foundations for later learning: communicating, handling equipment and beginning to understand numbers.

At the inspection on 14 and 15 November 2023, Ofsted rated the school’s early years provision Good. That judgement covers the early years foundation stage within the school. It is not a separate nursery rating. The early years findings give parents a concrete picture of the learning priorities, with language, mathematics and physical development all receiving attention.

Language gave the early years curriculum much of its shape at the November 2023 inspection. Children heard stories, took part in singing and practised rhymes. These activities gave young children different ways to listen and join in: following a story, recognising sounds or contributing to a familiar song. Communication was a deliberate teaching priority.

Number learning was practical and repeated at the November 2023 inspection. Children regularly practised counting, with teaching directed towards understanding what numbers mean. Staff’s knowledge of early mathematics was a strength in those early years findings. For parents, the useful distinction is between reciting numbers and beginning to understand them; the teaching addressed that understanding.

Resources also served a learning purpose at the November 2023 inspection. Staff selected materials to support children’s development, including equipment for practising movements of the arms and hands and learning to control a pencil. This connected physical activity with preparation for writing. Across the early years foundation stage, or EYFS, inspectors found work on communication, number understanding and the physical control needed for later learning.

At the November 2023 inspection, learning about health began in the early years. Personal, social and health education started at this stage and developed as children grew, making care for themselves part of their education alongside language and counting.

The November 2023 early years findings also describe adults supporting physical development through carefully chosen equipment. For a young child, practising hand and arm movements is a meaningful part of becoming ready to write. The emphasis is on developing the movements that writing will require.

Attending Liden Academy’s nursery does not guarantee a place in its Reception class. Nursery admission and Reception admission are separate processes. Families must apply again for Reception through the normal admissions route and meet the applicable deadline.

Treat the nursery decision as a choice about your child’s early education. A place here should not be taken as confirmation of a later Reception place.

Liden Academy is on Liden Drive in Liden, Swindon, SN3 6EX. The school telephone number is 01793531025. These contact details identify the school that hosts the nursery provision and give families a direct point of contact.