Grasmere Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Children are always busy learning at Grasmere Nursery. Upon their arrival each day, children are met with exciting activities. They quickly develop into confident and enthusiastic learners.

Being safe and achieving well is important here. Children enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with adults. This means children are happy and feel safe.

Adults speak in calm voices that reassure children. They use positive prompts such as 'kind hands' and 'please walk' to support children's behaviour. Children follow simple instructions and know the routines of the day.

They learn about being kind and respecting each other. Staff are quick to spot any child who becomes u...pset. They deal with these situations sensitively so that children can quickly return to playing alongside their classmates.

Children make the most of their time at the nursery. The environment provides opportunities for children to learn new things. They are eager to explore and be creative.

Children love being outside in the school orchard finding out about the natural world. They enjoy looking after their school pets.

The school understands the important part parents and carers play in their child's development.

They communicate their high expectations well. Parents are very happy with the education their children receive.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious, helping every child to build their learning.

It includes the Grasmere Grassroot Goals to help plan activities. Staff use them to identify sequences of small steps. This ensures that children achieve well.

In a few areas of learning, the plans are too broad. This leads to activities lacking clarity in what children need to know. Children do not secure the skills quickly enough.

For example, in physical development, the building of gross motor skills lacks precision. It relies on teachers' own knowledge to understand how this is further broken down.

Adults skilfully thread the Grasmere Goals through everything children learn and do.

By revisiting these goals regularly, children successfully remember and practise key knowledge. For example, children grasped understanding of 'five' by making buns and counting caterpillars. Staff have a good understanding of how children are doing.

They frequently discuss children's progress, making careful adaptions when needed. They identify those who require extra help. The school ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those from the school's additional resource base, receive the support they need.

As a result, children with SEND, including those with complex needs, make good progress.

The school carefully checks most aspects of the curriculum. However, some staff are new to their roles of responsibility.

They are still developing their leadership skills.This means that they do not fully understand how well children learn across all areas of the curriculum.

Communication and language development has a high priority.

Stories and rhymes are a regular feature of the school day. Children share books while working on their activities. They hear and learn new vocabulary, modelled and encouraged by staff.

For example, children talk in groups about important age-appropriate events such as the changing seasons. Children make use of the 'lending library' to share books at home and develop a love of reading.

The atmosphere of the school is calm and purposeful.

Children are eager to learn. They share activities willingly and play harmoniously. They listen to adults and stick at their tasks.

Different methods of communication, such as signing, help children to convey their feelings. Adults respond in effective ways to ensure that children engage positively in everything they do.

Children have a wide range of opportunities to enrich their experiences of the world.

At home they complete 'culture wheels' to share information about their diverse backgrounds. They celebrate key events in the calendar, such as Black History Month. Learning about the environment is important.

They build a sense of wonder at the natural world through use of the 'discovery shed'. Children visit the local community garden to plant and dig. They meet older residents at the local nursing home to share songs and stories.

Governors know the school well. They use the school's vision to ask questions of the school about how well it is being achieved. There is a close-knit team at Grasmere.

Staff appreciate the way leaders manage their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few areas of the curriculum, the plans are not sufficiently precise, hindering children's learning and development.

This means that in these areas children do not fully secure their understanding as quickly as they could. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans have sufficient detail so that staff use the programmes consistently and effectively to plan children's learning well. ? Some staff are new to their roles of subject responsibility.

They have not fully developed the skills and knowledge to fully evaluate the impact of their curriculum plans. This means they do not yet know the refinements required to improve the quality of education provided across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all staff receive the training to carry out their roles of responsibility effectively.

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