Bilston Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bilston Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Each morning, staff welcome children and their families with a warm smile and inviting activities. The 'no tears transition' works exceptionally well.

Families say a calm and confident goodbye to their child knowing they are ready for the learning and fun in the day ahead.

Staff plan high-quality learning experiences. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn to know and manage themselves well and make sense of the world around them.

Children are fully prepared for primary school.

Staff are completely in... tune with children's feelings, needs and next steps for learning. Staff model and expect the highest standards of kindness and behaviour.

Children do the same. Incidents of unkind behaviour are rare and handled thoughtfully and quickly by staff.

Parents and carers sing the praises of all nursery staff and leaders.'

All staff are a great confidence boost for my child and offer great support to parents', was typical of many comments made by parents. Parents of children with SEND were keen to make sure the inspector understood the positive difference the setting makes to them and their children. A common theme was 'I wanted to come and tell how brilliant this nursery is.'



What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Governors and school leaders are unwavering in setting the highest standards and expectations of themselves, staff and children. Leaders have carefully supported staffing changes. Staff feel valued and well looked after.

Newer staff members appreciate the buddy system that is in place for them. Staff say, 'We are all one team. We all work together.

We have collectively created and shaped the curriculum.'

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have prioritised children's personal development and, communication and language. They have skilfully reshaped the daily routines.

This is working well. In a short space of time, children have moved from flitting from activity to activity on their own, to playing, learning and sharing together. For example, being able to 'make music in a band' and snuggle up together for story after story, with friends and adults.

The nurture room provides an invaluable space for pupils who need a little extra help to achieve success.

Adults understand what to teach children and in what order. Daily team briefings ensure staff plan and put in place purposeful activities that develop and consolidate learning.

For example, children counted blocks, named colours and learned about shadows, reflections and light sources as they played with a light box and blocks. They then revisited colour, reflection and light and dark through experimenting with paint on different shiny surfaces.

In addition to this, leaders have set out specific examples of what being independent looks like throughout the Nursery.

Children are successfully learning how to do things for themselves. They take pride in filling their own cup with water, squirting out the right amount of paint onto a spoon or putting their aprons away.

Children appreciate stories, both orally and in books.

Skilled staff bring stories to life across each room. The 'enlivening stories' sessions transport children to an imaginary world. Children use their previous learning to create stories.

Their 'Runaway Pumpkin' story is like no other found, as a pumpkin spins past a supermarket, rolls through a park, a farm with pigs, cows and horses and zips through a zoo full of roaring tigers.

The buzz of learning is evident in every part of the nursery. This highly inclusive setting makes sure that all children make progress no matter how small the steps.

Parents of pupils with SEND are, rightly, incredibly positive about the school. Staff place the child front and centre of every discussion and decision. This attention to detail ensures that all children, including children with SEND, achieve the best possible outcomes.

Leaders have devised a curriculum that helps children learn about their local community and the wider world beyond. They want children to be ready to take their place in the world. Carefully planned visits and extra experiences bring learning to life.

These include visits to a zoo, an art gallery and a trip on a barge. Staff use stories, music and food to help children learn about people who are different to themselves.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff build powerful partnerships with parents. This ensures that help and support is wrapped around the family as well as the child.

Leaders check to make sure staff are safe to work with children.

Training gives staff the knowledge and confidence to respond to concerns. They do so promptly. Leaders work with a range of external agencies, including health visitors.

The curriculum is carefully planned, so that children learn to be safe and to take risks. For example, children learn to use scissors correctly, use large resources to make dens and be safe near water.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

This is called an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in January 2018.