A MAJOR shake-up of nursery provision at a school in Bradford has led to families queuing up to get a place at the school.

St Matthew’s CE Primary School, in West Bowling, was struggling to fill its nursery places two years ago, but has made serious changes to its provision which has proved a hit with local parents.

A new leadership team, new staff and more family involvement have been brought in for its Phase 1 provision - nursery, Reception and Year 1 - with the increased involvement of parents being a particular positive.

The Parental Engagement programme involves the school reaching out to families even before their children join nursery, with Phase 1 leader Christine Dyson and parental involvement officer Diane Locke visiting prospective pupils before they join the school.

In the visit, parents are given a full explanation of the way children are taught at nursery, and are offered courses in Literacy, Maths and English to assist them in boosting their child’s learning.

Mothers are also offered other courses, such as make-up and Mendhi patterns.

In Phase 1, children are taught using child-centred play leading to learning, which makes them enthusiastic learners.

The classrooms and outdoor areas have learning resources which the children can play with and learn from in both formal and informal settings.

The school has also recently invested in new furniture and equipment, and rather than being brightly coloured, the furniture is in a light shade of brown, and displays are placed on a Hessian backing to make the learning environment more muted.

The Core Story is another key development made at the school, which has proved popular among both pupils and parents, with each class having a story book, which is launched by creative performers Sian Williams and Simon Kerrigan.

The pair involve pupils and parents in storytelling, drama and crafts connected to the story, in full-day and half-day sessions.

Christine Dyson, Phase 1 leader, said: “The sessions with Simon and Sian are brilliant and fun.

“They help embed the story with the children and their parents so families can enjoy talking about the story.

“At the end of the school year, children in Phase 1 and their parents know six stories very well.”

Staff also provide parents with regular feedback on their children’s progress, with teachers using tablets to record pupil progress, and taking photos during the school day of children taking part in learning activities.

The photos, along with a description of how the child is meeting the requirements of the curriculum, are sent to parents regularly.

Kay Remmer, headteacher at St Matthew’s, said: “Nursery provision has been transformed through the passion of the staff working within the unit.

“Christine, our Phase 1 Leader, is passionate about child-centred play and children are encouraged constantly to use their imaginations and inquisitiveness, where they feel confident and secure, in exploring new experiences.

“Christine is constantly looking for activities to enthuse and where children can develop their independence. She has redesigned many of the areas of provision, so activities are more accessible and engaging for the children. There is always a warm, happy hum of learning within each session.

“Parental involvement has increased dramatically, with Christine and Diane Lock working collaboratively to engage with all parents in a welcoming and non-threatening way.

“Parents are encouraged to attend sessions where they can play alongside their child and find out about activities they can continue at home. Particularly popular sessions with parents are the introduction of the Core Story for the half term, dough making, planting seeds, calendar making and the graduation picnic.

“Christine is also dedicated to her team, and has built a tight-knit group of professionals whose primary concern is to improve outcomes for the whole child.”