Bushbury Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bushbury Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Bushbury is a truly inclusive nursery school. Children settle quickly into nursery life. The welcome from staff is warm and friendly.

Parents appreciate how well staff get to know their child as an individual. Parents spoke to inspectors about the high levels of care and support for their children.

This is a happy nursery.

Children quickly follow the simple routines in place. Children learn how to play together and share equipment with others. Children love learning in the well-resourced indoor and outdoor areas.

They are keen to put their wellingtons on and play... outdoors. Learning is exciting, and children are quickly immersed and focused in their play.

Staff communicate well with parents.

Many parents talked about how the school had gone above and beyond for their child and family. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access high-quality provision in the schools SEND inclusion resource-based provision.

In all nursery rooms, the atmosphere is calm and purposeful.

Adults speak in a reassuring way to children and praise good behaviour. Unkind behaviour is rare. Adults are adept at helping children who need extra support to manage their emotions and behaviour.

As a result, children feel safe and behave really well.

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

Leaders are aspirational for all the children. They have developed a curriculum that promotes children's curiosity and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The environment is rich with opportunities to build these skills. Work benches with tools, both indoors and outdoors, provide a wealth of hands-on learning.Staff promote exploration through skilful questioning.

Staff encourage the children to use new language to explain their ideas. For example, during the inspection, children playing with wooden blocks explained that they were steppingstones to 'walk across lava flowing from a volcano'. Children achieve very well in an environment that promotes their curiosity and imagination.

Leaders' plans for the curriculum provide staff with what children should know. Staff find curriculum plans helpful in setting individual milestones for children. This helps children to learn well across all areas of the curriculum.

Staff really do get to know each child. Leaders regularly check what each child can do and what they need to learn next.

A love of rhyme starts with the 'Terrific for Twos' class and is seen in all nursery groups, including the inclusion resource-based provision for children with SEND.

Rhymes are used as part of everyday routines to welcome children to the class at the start of sessions. Children enjoy action rhymes. Music is used to settle and soothe children during quieter times of the day.

The inclusion resource-based provision provides highly personalised programmes for children with SEND. Staff have an excellent knowledge of each child. Children across the nursery learn to sign using Makaton.

All children, including those who are non-verbal, benefit from the effective communication systems in place.

Staff encourage the children to become independent. Children quickly learn how to put their coats on.

They told inspectors that they needed their hoods up and coats zipped up, as it was a rainy day.

Children learn about other religions and festivals. Healthy eating is promoted, and children make choices about food at snack times.

These activities all enrich the high-quality curriculum offer.

Governors are knowledgeable about the quality of education and the school's curriculum offer. However, governors do not make the same rigorous checks in other aspects of the school's work.

For example, governors are not aware that some administration and record-keeping systems do not always match what is set out in school policies. This impacts on how effectively governors hold leaders to account.

Staff are proud to work at Bushbury Nursery.

They value how thoughtful leaders are of their workload. Staff work closely with parents and carers. Parents speak highly of the school.

During the inspection, parents joined the Easter bonnet parades. Children participated in this celebration with great enthusiasm.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are vigilant in looking for signs of abuse or neglect. Staff receive training and know who to report their concerns to. When concerns are raised, leaders act swiftly.

There are systems for recording and reporting concerns, and these are detailed in school policies and approved by governors. However, leaders' records of actions taken are not always well organised or maintained in line with school policies.

Staff are trained in paediatric first aid.

Staff work well with external health agencies to ensure training is regularly updated to support children with SEND and medical needs.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The administration and record-keeping of children's records are not always managed in line with some school policies. Although this does not put children at risk, it does mean that leaders cannot quickly identify what actions have been taken.

Leaders must ensure that records are completed and maintained in line with school policies. ? Governors do not regularly check that policies are implemented consistently. Staff are not always following some policies governors have approved to the level of detail recorded in policies.

As a result, governors do not always hold leaders to account rigorously enough. Governors should check that leaders have provided staff with regular updates and training to enable them to closely follow the policies and procedures set out.

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 March 2013.