Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children’s Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's Centre continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children are happy and safe in this vibrant and joyful school.

Staff nurture children's independence and self-confidence. This means that children come to school eagerly. They relish discovering and playing with their friends, and often become absorbed in their learning.

For instance, we saw children engrossed in problem-solving activities high up in the 'tree house' as well as planting seeds in the flower beds below.

Children behave very well indeed. Staff encourage them to be respectful and kind.

Children take notice when sta...ff explain to them how to behave sensibly. They play cooperatively and show obvious care for each other. Unkind behaviour is very unusual and dealt with quickly by staff.

Leaders and staff have the highest expectations for all children. They select activities and resources to ensure that all children achieve highly. Promoting children's love for songs, rhymes and stories is central to this.

Children take great delight in listening to and joining in with story times. They are keen to share and talk about the many high-quality books available.

Parents and carers value the school's work immensely.

Summing up the views of many, one parent said that: 'The staff are always so welcoming and friendly and there is a lovely atmosphere.'

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

Children achieve exceptionally well here. Planning for children's learning and development is aspirational.

Leaders are unequivocal in their work to ensure that children are well prepared to start primary school.In all areas, staff take great care to develop children's knowledge step-by-step. They invest time getting to know each child and quickly identify things children may find hard.

Staff use their expertise to help children overcome any difficulties. This ensures that all children achieve to the very best of their abilities. Staff have the same high expectations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Adults adapt planning to meet children's needs and very sensitively encourage them to try their best.

Staff place great importance on ensuring that children can express their ideas and feelings. They plan activities carefully to help children become confident.

Children are curious and ask lots of questions. Art therapy sessions encourage children to talk about any worries they may have as they play.

Children with SEND receive highly effective support.

This enables them to follow school routines and take part fully in all activities. Children's behaviour is highly positive. Staff manage any issues swiftly so that children play and learn together happily.

Children have plenty of well-planned opportunities to learn about the wider world. For instance, children learn about how plants grow and the importance of growing plants for food. Frequent visits to nearby woodland areas deepen children's understanding.

These visits also enable children to identify and manage risks in a safe manner, and this, too, strengthens their understanding of the world around them.

Staff see books as a 'window to the world'. They choose texts thoughtfully to support all aspects of children's development.

For instance, staff use the book 'Owl Babies' at the start of the autumn term. This helps children to understand themes such as separation and reunion. In this way, children missing their parents also learn that, just like the owls in the story, this feeling is fleeting and not permanent.

Book areas offer calm spaces for children to read to themselves or with an adult. Children love joining in with the daily story times. Staff select books so that children experience a rich range of texts.

They also choose stories which include repetitive words and phrases. Examples include the 'The Three Little Pigs' and 'Farmer Duck'. Staff know how important this is to support children's language development.

They make sure that children revisit books several times so that children use the new words that they hear.

Staff are well trained in phonics. They take every opportunity to help children recognise sounds that they hear.

Staff then support children to identify and name letter sounds in simple words. This prepares children very well for their learning in the Reception year.

All staff feel included in the leadership of the school.

Senior leaders are adept at ensuring that staff workload is managed well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Regular training ensures that all staff and governors are vigilant.

They know the signs and symptoms of abuse. Staff report any concerns immediately. They follow the school's policy for managing concerns.

Leaders act immediately on concerns that are brought to their attention.

Leaders work closely with parents and external agencies to protect children at risk of harm. Children are encouraged to tell an adult if they see or experience something which upsets them.

They are taught where it is safe to play in each session. For instance, children know that they need to stay on the blue padded mats when working on throwing and catching skills.

Background

When we have judged a maintained nursery 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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's Centre to be outstanding on 24 November 2015.

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