Brougham Street Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Brougham Street Nursery School continues to be a good school.

There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

There is a warm, friendly welcome on entering Brougham Street Nursery School.

Children love coming here. The excellent, and carefully planned, care that staff provide allows each child to thrive. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are happy and feel safe.

Leaders and staff build exceptional relati...onships with children and their families. There is a wide range of opportunities for parental involvement. Parents value the holistic care their children receive.

Parents of children with SEND spoke of the proactive approach that leaders take to address any additional needs their children may have. One parent said, 'Amazing just isn't a strong enough word for what happens here.'

Children flourish in this setting.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. Children learn how to be kind. They are incredibly respectful of each other and of their environment.

Familiar routines allow children to learn in a calm and settled atmosphere. Children enjoy many different activities which support their development as independent and confident learners.

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

Leaders have developed a high-quality, ambitious curriculum for all children.

From this, key adults create an exciting and detailed learning plan that is carefully personalised for each child in the setting. For all areas of the early years curriculum, leaders have set out clear sequences and expectations. Staff know and understand these very well.

Every decision they make is based on a secure understanding of how young children develop, as well as on a detailed understanding of the needs of each individual child in their key worker group.

Leaders constantly consider, review and refine every detail of the curriculum and the provision they offer. Staff are extremely skilled at assessing how children are accessing learning in the environment.

This is carefully thought through, and nothing is left to chance. The personalised curriculum is carefully adapted by staff. It meets children's needs and matches their interests.

From this, it is clear what children can do and what they need to focus on. Staff can access each child's individual learning plan. This allows them to offer appropriate support and challenge to all children as they access the different areas of provision within the setting.

Children enjoy learning songs and rhymes. They are introduced to different story books in each phase of the school. This develops their knowledge of language structure and increases the number of words they know and understand.

Books are made accessible through a variety of approaches. Staff work with children to extend stories, adding new endings and changing key characters or phrases. The addition of picture symbols alongside the written text allows children to access these stories independently.

This approach fosters children's interest in stories, poems, songs and rhymes.

Leaders provide a wealth of opportunities for children's wider development. Brougham Street Nursery School plays an important role in the local community.

Leaders recognise the importance of ensuring that children learn about where they live. This term, children are developing their understanding of the world, through a question-based project called 'Who lives here?' Children are learning about architecture and habitats. They have been on trips around their local area to look at what different houses are made of, including Skipton Castle.

They have also visited 'The Wilderness', a local area where children enjoy forest school. Here, they are learning about the habitats of different creatures.

Leaders expect pupils with SEND to achieve highly.

Leaders take every opportunity to gain new knowledge and insight from specialist agencies and through their own research into how children learn. Leaders share this knowledge with all staff, who embrace new strategies and are willing to put them into practice. They have improved the ways in which they identify and plan what pupils need to learn.

These plans are continually reviewed and revised as children begin to deepen their understanding and develop their skills. Children, including those with SEND, achieve the best possible outcomes.

Staff training is a high priority for leaders.

Staff highly value the exemplary training they receive. This training is also delivered to other nursery providers in the area. All adults spoke about how proud they are to work at this school.

They enjoy working with each other. Leaders and governors make sure that the workload of staff does not become excessive. Staff feel appreciated.

One member of staff summed up the views of many by saying, 'It's not just a job, it's a passion.' Another explained, 'We are the Brougham Street Family.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in this setting. Staff quickly identify children who may be at risk. Leaders are tireless in their work to reduce this risk by providing a wide range of support and care.

They work closely with external agencies to provide additional help as needed. Staff and governors regularly attend safeguarding training. They understand their statutory responsibilities.

Leaders build strong relationships with families. They know the children and their families well. Parents told inspectors that they are well supported.

They know that adults in school are there to help them. Leaders make sure that vulnerable children and their families receive targeted help and support.

Background

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

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 good in September 2013.

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