Emneth Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Emneth Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children arrive happily at this appealing nursery school.

They are calm and confident because staff provide them with expert support and guidance. Children and staff have trusting relationships. This is important because it helps the children to feel safe and secure.

Children know that adults will help them when they need it.

Staff have high expectations for children. Children live up to this.

They behave very well and achieve highly. The carefully designed tasks they engage in build their skills and know...ledge. Staff ensure children learn an ever-increasing vocabulary and become more self-assured.

As a result, children are prepared exceptionally well for primary school.

Children are settled and know the routines. Familiar songs help children recognise when session times change.

This means that transition times are calm and efficient. As a result, the school maximises learning time.

Staff help children to develop important independence skills.

For example, children know how to get the right resources for each task. The indoor and outdoor spaces are extremely well-designed to attract children's attention, engage their interest and develop essential life skills.

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

The school's curriculum sets out the skills and knowledge children need to learn from birth to age five.

Staff understand the developmental steps required and the order in which children need to achieve them. For example, children must develop a strong hand grip to draw well. The well-trained staff support this development during various activities.

For instance, children can participate in activities that develop grip strength during outdoor time.

Staff know children's current developmental stage very well. As a result, they can identify those areas children need to work on and what they should learn next.

Any children who need extra support to catch up with their peers receive this. For instance, they may get extra practice to help them say letter sounds more clearly. Additionally, some children participate in fun sessions that help them practise taking turns and sharing with their friends.

The school places the highest priority on preparing children to be ready for their next stage of learning and they achieve this remarkably well.

All learning sessions focus on helping children to develop their communication and language skills. Exciting and well-considered learning environments mean that children want to communicate.

Staff enable this by modelling the language that children could and should use. Staff-led small-group sessions help children learn to listen attentively. This means that even the youngest children make excellent progress towards school readiness.

The school works closely with the day care provider to identify any additional needs that children may have before they start. This ensures that children can promptly receive extra teaching sessions if needed. All children have many positive interactions with staff during their sessions.

These interactions increase if children find it harder to stay on task or need more adult help because they are less confident. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make rapid progress through the curriculum.

Children behave well and cooperate, displaying resilience and teamwork.

For example, some children collaborated to construct a model of the Eiffel Tower. At the same time, others allowed their peers to apply bandages to their legs and arms.

Many enrichment tasks help children learn more about the wider world.

For example, when children go on outings, they learn to be safe in the community. Children can express their feelings well because staff teach them to understand their emotions in a way that is appropriate for their age.

Staff are proud to work at Emneth.

They have manageable workloads, and their well-being is a top priority. Leaders provide excellent training to ensure staff have the necessary skills to deliver a high-quality education for the children. Parents and carers speak highly of the support provided to their children.

Governors support leaders. They also complete key checks, like ensuring the recruitment of safe staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in May 2019.

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