Early Years

We provide children with purposeful, enriching learning opportunities through high quality teaching and a well-planned learning environment. This ensures the development of strong characteristics of effective learning in the children we teach so they confidently and fluently progress in skills development through our remarkable Early Years setting where no child is left behind. Our early years curriculum is well established and includes the teaching of subject specific knowledge to develop children’s vocabulary. We focus our learning around stories to promote vocabulary development.

Our Early Years Structure

Nursery hours

Our 2 Year and 3 Year nursery pupils can come to school for 15 hour or 30 hour sessions.

The morning session runs from 8.25am – 11.25am

The afternoon session runs from 12.15pm – 3.15pm

Children staying all day come from 8.25am – 3.15pm

Reception Hours

8.30am – 3.00pm Monday to Friday

We also have an Early Years Breakfast Club that nursery children can attend from 7.45am – 8.30am each day. External providers Kanga, also offer after school care with lots of flexible pick-up time options until 6.00pm every day. This offer is based at nearby Beckfoot Allerton Primary School.

Please contact us to register your place on the waiting list as soon as possible.

Admissions

Lunch

Children in nursery can either bring a packed lunch or pay for a school lunch if they are staying all day. Nursery pupils eat their lunch in the nursery setting.

All children in Reception are eligible for free school lunches. Children can have a school lunch or bring a packed lunch and will participate in a family dining experience, where the lunchtime supervisors serve the Reception children in the Early Years Hall before they venture outdoors into their Reception outdoor area.

Staffing

At our school, we recognise that the early years provide the foundation for a child’s future learning and development. We are committed to giving every child the very best start by providing a nurturing, stimulating environment led by experienced and highly skilled Early Years professionals.

2-Year-Old Nursery

Our Two-Year-Old Nursery operates with a 1:5 adult-to-child ratio, ensuring children receive high-quality care and individualised support. The provision is led by two experienced Early Years Lead Practitioners, supported by dedicated Early Years Practitioners. We also have an additional Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistant (SENTA) who provides targeted support for children with additional needs.

3-Year-Old Nursery

One of the benefits of attending our school nursery is that the children are taught by a qualified teacher, providing a strong foundation for their learning journey. Our large nursery class accommodates up to 52 children and is supported by a Nursery Lead Practitioner and a team of experienced Early Years Practitioners. An additional SENTA works alongside the team to ensure children with additional needs receive the support they need to thrive.

Reception

Our Reception provision consists of three classes, each led by a qualified teacher and supported by a dedicated Teaching Assistant. In addition, our experienced SENTAs work across the Reception classes, providing targeted support to ensure all children can access the curriculum and make excellent progress.

Throughout the Early Years Foundation stage, our skilled and caring staff work together to create a safe, engaging and inclusive environment where every child feels valued, develops confidence and is encouraged to become and independent and enthusiastic learner.

Beckfoot Heaton Early Years Curriculum

Our Early Years Curriculum has been carefully designed to inspire, engage and challenge children from the age of two to five. Through meaningful learning experiences, we encourage children to explore, play, question and think critically, providing them with the strong foundations they need for lifelong learning and a great life.

Our curriculum is thoughtfully planned around high-quality, carefully selected texts, creating a progressive, book-based learning journey. We provide a balanced approach that combines direct teaching of key skills and knowledge with child-initiated play, enabling children to follow their interests and develop independence within a carefully planned, enabling environment.

Children benefit from continuous provision with free-flow access to both our indoor and outdoor learning environments throughout the day. We are also fortunate to have our own woodland on site, which forms an important part of our curriculum. Children regularly take part in woodland learning through planned curriculum days and weekly sessions, where they have opportunities to explore, investigate, solve problems, develop resilience and take managed risks in a natural environment.

Early literacy is at the heart of our curriculum. Alongside this, we place a strong emphasis on developing the three Prime Areas of Learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED), Communication and Language (CL), and Physical Development (PD). These fundamental areas underpin all future learning and ensure children develop the confidence, language, resilience and independence needed to flourish.

By nurturing curiosity, creativity and a love of learning, we ensure every child leaves our Early Years provision with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to make a successful transition into Key Stage 1 and continue their journey towards achieving a great life.

Our 2 Year Nursery curriculum
Our 3 Year Nursery curriculum
Our Reception curriculum

How we support children with SEND in early years

At Beckfoot Heaton, we are committed to providing an inclusive Early Years environment where every child feels valued, supported and able to thrive. We believe that all children can learn, achieve and make excellent progress when their individual needs are recognised and met.

Early identification is central to our approach. We screen all children on entry to identify their strengths and next steps, with a particular focus on communication and language. This enables us to identify any emerging needs at the earliest opportunity and provide timely, targeted support to help every child reach their full potential.

Inclusive practice is embedded throughout our Early Years provision. We use Makaton across the setting to support communication, language development and positive interactions between children and adults. Visual supports, carefully planned environments and adaptive teaching strategies ensure that all children can access learning and participate fully in the curriculum.

We work in close partnership with families, previous settings and a range of external professionals to identify, plan for and meet children’s individual needs. Where appropriate, personalised support plans and individual targets are developed, regularly reviewed and adapted to ensure children make strong progress and have the very best start to their education.

For children who require additional support beyond our universal provision, we apply for Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (SENIF) where appropriate. This enables us to provide enhanced support and targeted interventions, ensuring every child receives the help they need to flourish within our inclusive Early Years community.

Ofsted

  • “Children benefit from a high-quality experience.”
  • “Learning is delivered in an engaging and supportive environment.”
  • “The curriculum is designed to establish strong foundations for future learning.”
  • “Staff have excellent interactions with children. This enhances children’s development, particularly in language and early mathematical concepts.”
  • “Learning is enjoyable, both indoors and outdoors.”
  • “Children take part in exciting activities like gathering and counting the caterpillar’s food.”
  • “The school ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the very best care, support and challenge.”

(Ofsted March 2025)