Lanterns Nursery School and Extended Services

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lanterns Nursery School and Extended Services continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children thrive at Lanterns Nursery School. They develop exceptionally strong bonds with staff.

Leaders and staff know each child extremely well. Children learn the routines and behaviours that they need to be successful learners right from the start. In their role play, for example, children take turns being the teacher, leading each other in song.

They use the class 'listening bear' to remind each other of how to sit well on the carpet.

Leaders and staff ensure that every child gets the right support to reach their full potential and achiev...e the best possible outcomes. Children experience consistently high levels of engagement and kindness from staff.

With support from adults, children learn to play cooperatively and share, even when it might feel tricky. For example, when multiple children wanted to ride the two-seater bike, they agreed to take turns using a sand timer to make things fair.

Every aspect of the school day has been carefully planned to support pupils' wider development.

Children who stay for lunch enjoy healthy, tasty meals before going outside to explore the meadow. Inspectors saw children enjoying butternut squash lasagne, happily chatting about the taste, and different types of pasta that they enjoy. Children delight in the outdoor environment, which provides a range of opportunities for physical development and exploration.

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

Leaders have maintained their clear and unwavering vision of an early years education that provides every child, including those with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with the very best start to their education. This is achieved through a broad and enriching curriculum that builds on children's starting points and interests and fully prepares them for the next phase of their education.Leaders and staff have carefully considered exactly what they want children to learn across the seven areas of learning.

Leaders ensure staff are experts in child development and know how to help all children, including those with complex SEND, to learn well. On an ongoing basis, staff carefully adapt the curriculum to take full account of children's interests, what they already know and can do, and what they need to learn next.

Leaders and staff recognise the importance of developing all children's communication and spoken language.

Staff are expert in the communication systems that support all children, but particularly children with SEND, to develop their communication. Throughout the day and across the curriculum, staff engage children in high-quality conversation, introducing them to new vocabulary and ideas.

Children develop a keen love of books and stories.

Staff regularly read stories and poems in a way that engages and enthuses children. Leaders have identified the core texts that all children will read and get to know. Children then incorporate these stories, and the vocabulary they hear, into their own play.

Alongside this, staff read a wide range of additional texts in response to children's interests or to broaden their reading diet.

Children's personal, social and emotional development is a top priority for leaders. Leaders and staff have a clear and shared understanding of what children need to learn in this area.

A number of children have autism spectrum disorder and/or other social communication difficulties. Staff plan very precisely to meet their needs and help them to begin to understand their own feelings and those of others. Where children have particularly complex needs, staff work closely with external experts to ensure that the right support is put in place.

Leaders develop strong and effective partnerships with parents. Leaders' home visits, when children join the nursery, help them get to know families well. Staff communicate regularly with parents and ensure that they know what their children have been learning about, and what they can do to help.

As children approach school age, leaders ensure a very careful transition for all children. For those with SEND, leaders work closely with parents and the local authority to ensure that children's individual needs are fully understood and that their next setting is appropriate to their needs. Parents cannot speak highly enough of staff and leaders.

Through their positive engagement with staff, ongoing professional development and reflective approach, leaders have developed an impassioned staff team, whose members keep children at the heart of everything that they do. Leaders and governors are dedicated to the school and its children. Governors have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff and leaders know children and their families extremely well. Staff are well trained to recognise when children need early help or might be at risk of harm or being harmed.

Parents have high levels of trust in staff and leaders and will often proactively seek support when they need it. Leaders refer to external safeguarding partners when they are worried about a child. When children have a social worker, leaders work in partnership to support children and their families.

Leaders follow safer recruitment processes and manage any concerns about adults appropriately. Children learn to identify and name their feelings, and that it is safe to share any worries that they have.

Background

When we have judged a 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 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 outstanding in June 2013.

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