Springfield School Nursery Review

Learning to communicate, play and notice the world gives Springfield’s nursery its character. The school aims to help children with complex or severe learning difficulties build attention, sensory awareness and interaction, with individual needs shaping their early education. Small developmental steps are the focus.

The nursery shares the Bronze Barrow site with primary provision, on Cedar Drive in Madley Park, Witney. It belongs to Springfield School’s early years provision, rather than operating as a separate nursery setting.

Play has a clear purpose here. Springfield aims to help children engage with learning, become more aware of themselves and others, and communicate in whichever way they can. Developing coordination and sensory awareness sits alongside learning to interact. For families, that means the nursery’s ambitions extend beyond spoken language or early academic skills.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together seven connected areas. These cover physical and emotional development, communication, literacy and mathematics, alongside creative expression and understanding the world. Springfield follows this framework towards the Early Learning Goals, adapting learning to children’s abilities and individual needs. The school also uses Essential Letters and Sounds for phonics.

Stories offer another route into learning. At the October 2024 inspection, children in early years enjoyed songs, rhymes and storytelling, with sensory stories helping them participate. Signing and objects supported their understanding of books. These give children ways to engage with a story through more than words alone.

Support includes the practical demands of a child’s school day. Across Springfield, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists work with class staff on individual programmes that can continue throughout the school week. Occupational therapy advice includes seating and wheelchairs, connecting physical comfort with access to activities.

Medication requires parental permission, and school nurses train class staff to administer it. Medicines must carry the child’s name and are kept in a locked cabinet. Families provide disposable continence products for children who need them, either daily or in a supply lasting several weeks.

At Bronze Barrow, children can bring lunch from home or have a hot meal supplied by Dolce. Meal ordering and payment take place online, with the office setting up accounts. This gives families a choice between school catering and a familiar packed lunch.

In October 2024, inspectors identified increased assessment and reporting workload across the school, with some staff feeling insufficiently supported. They asked leaders to take staff opinions and workload into account when revising policies and procedures. This was a school-wide concern.

Separate admissions. Attending Springfield’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Confirm the next placement and any application requirements with the school and Oxfordshire local authority. Choosing the nursery should therefore be a decision about the child’s early education and care, rather than an assumption about a later place.

The Bronze Barrow school day runs from 8.45am to 3.15pm. Most Springfield pupils use local authority transport; this is a school-wide arrangement, rather than an entitlement for every nursery child. Transport agreements involve parents, operators and the county council.

Springfield’s uniform combines a purple cardigan or jumper with a white polo shirt or shirt, black footwear and black bottoms. Clothing and other belongings need the child’s name on them. For nursery enquiries, contact the primary office on 01993 862976, option 2, or office@springfieldwitney.co.uk. Ask the school for current meal charges.