Sarah Walker explains what makes the award-winning early years provision at Carlton Mills Primary School so special…
Carlton Mills, where I oversee the running of the early years team, is a two-form-entry primary school with nursery provision in Manningham. This area was affected by the 2001 Bradford riots.
The school’s location deprivation indicator is in Quintile 5. This means it is among the most deprived of all education establishments in the country. Its pupil base is in Quintile 4.
For many years, Carlton Mills had falling student numbers and a long record of poor academic outcomes. Ofsted rated it either Inadequate or Requires Improvement for over a decade.
Since becoming part of the Carlton Academy Trust, however, it has rapidly improved. We gained a Good overall Ofsted rating in 2023 and Outstanding for early years.
And in 2024, we were thrilled to be named the T&A Primary School of the Year as well as Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Setting of the Year at the annual Tes Schools Awards.
A large majority of our children (99%) are from minority ethnic groups, whose first language is often not English (73%).
Nursery baseline assessments indicate that attainment on entry is very low. Most children have limited skills and prior experience in key areas such as:
A high proportion of children have limited or no English. Moreover, the school community is extremely transient.
Due to not being fully subscribed, we regularly admit children new to the area, often from abroad, who don’t stay at the school very long.
Despite these challenges, we take great pride in our trust and school ethos of “Excellence for All”, and in our commitment to developing the whole child.
We celebrate our vibrant, diverse community. We ensure all children understand equality and respect, equipping them to succeed within their community, modern Britain, and beyond.
Our EYFS provision is based on a child-centred approach and word-rich, spiral curriculum. We build this on what the children already know.
We structure it to ensure progression in skills and knowledge. At the same time we provide our children with the cultural literacy to succeed throughout their lives.
The ambition that we have for our children and families is limitless. By the end of early years, Carlton Mills pupils have the language they need to communicate effectively. They also have the social and emotional foundations to achieve their potential throughout school.
Creating an EYFS environment that fosters curiosity and creativity involves a blend of thoughtful physical space design, engaging and diverse activities, positive and supportive interactions, and a strong partnership with parents.
This holistic approach ensures that children are not only prepared academically but also develop a lifelong love for learning.
We actively involve parents and carers in supporting children’s learning and development in EYFS. Our parental engagement strategies include:
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As the majority of our children don’t have access to outdoor space at home, we prioritise outdoor learning.
Our EYFS children have access to two outdoor areas; we were extremely lucky that the trust invested heavily in this provision last year and completely renovated our outdoor spaces and resources, inspired by our ideas.
Promoting physical development was a key driver for the design of these areas, ensuring that children have opportunities to develop core strength and muscle isolation as a crucial first step towards writing.
The monkey bars, pulley system, and bike track have been particular successes, and this has had a direct impact on our writing outcomes.
I love knowing that children leave EYFS at Carlton Mills feeling safe, secure, confident, and ready for the next step of their school career.
Thanks to the dedication and thoughtful preparation of every member of the early years team, they are well equipped to thrive within the Year 1 curriculum, and have had a wealth of opportunities and experiences that broaden their understanding and widen their window onto the world.
Strong relationships between school and parents/carers have been established, which I see flourishing throughout each child’s time at Carlton Mills.
Our journey began four years ago with a simple but powerful vision: to improve the lives of children in our community.
In those early days, we faced numerous obstacles, from limited resources to gaining the trust of the community.
But what kept us going was our shared commitment to making a difference in the lives of children who needed it most.
These values are at the heart of everything that happens at Carlton Mills, underpinning learning, culture, and expectations:
Compassion: We use compassion to motivate pupils and adults to help relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves.
Courtesy: We use courtesy to encourage polite behaviour, ensuring that polite actions or remarks positively impact the mental health and well-being of others.
Creativity: We encourage pupils and adults to use creativity to believe in themselves, raise aspirations, and eradicate glass ceilings.
Collaboration: We use collaboration to promote working together with inclusivity and equality.
Confidence: We encourage pupils and adults to have confidence and belief in themselves within a safe learning environment where it is okay to make mistakes, grow, and learn
Sarah Walker – Reception teacher
Sarah joined Carlton Mills as a teaching assistant in 2010. She completed her teacher training during the Covid pandemic and has overseen the running of the early years team for the last three years.
Una Gulbe – Nursery teacher
Having completed a three-year primary education course, Una became a member of the Carlton Mills early years team in 2023 and was responsible for opening the school’s new nursery.
Satvinder Kaur
Early years practitioner Satvinder has worked in the early years team for 18 years and has made a real difference to every child in the school, giving them the opportunity to flourish in all areas.
Kiran Mahmood – Learning assistant
Kiran joined the team in March 2024. Although she has only been at Carlton Mills for a short while, she has already signed up to complete a foundation degree in Early Years.
