Little Hayes Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is determined for all children to succeed.

Since the previous inspection, leaders have focused on improving the design and teaching of the curriculum. These actions are making a difference to the quality of education children receive. However, it is still early days.

Children are not yet building their knowledge well enough across all areas of learning.The school builds strong connections with children and their families. This begins before children start school through 'stay and play' sessions.

Children form warm relationships with staff, particularly their key workers. They seek and receive comfort when they need it. This helps children to settle... well and feel secure.

Parents value and praise this highly. One parent said, 'The school is a home from home.' The school has worked to establish consistent 'daily routines'.

These routines promote high expectations from staff. Children know and follow these well. For example, during 'bucket time', the youngest children sit together and listen well.

Events are celebrated to promote children's understanding of the wider world. For example, children enjoyed a Coronation party for the King in their garden. The garden is a special place in the school, where children explore the nature around them.

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

Across all areas of learning, the school has identified end points for children to reach by the time they leave Little Hayes. These have been broken down as 'key skills' to support children to build their knowledge over time. However, the small steps of knowledge that children need to know and remember lack precision.

Consequently, staff are not clear how to consider precisely children's next steps. This stalls progress for children.

Assessment is used to check how well children are learning.

Daily 'evaluation' sessions provide time for staff to share detailed knowledge about children's learning with one another. However, because the curriculum lacks precision, this does not yet fully match the intended curriculum. As a result, some staff are not clear on what children know and remember.

This means they cannot work on next steps to help children build their knowledge well across all areas of learning.

The development of communication and language is a priority. Opportunities are woven through the curriculum.

Staff training has developed the school's approach to high-quality conversations. The daily routine and regular 'group times' are used to promote talk. During these times, previously taught knowledge and language are revisited.

For example, in mathematics, children recall their knowledge of shape. This helps children to deepen their understanding. In addition, children enjoy having stories read to them.

For example, children listen to 'Jack and the Beanstalk' regularly to know the story well. Staff use questioning and modelling to promote engagement and enjoyment.

Adult-led activities support children to build their knowledge.

For example, during 'bucket time', children explore interesting objects while adults skilfully develop vocabulary. However, adult interactions are less effective during independent learning. This is because not all staff have the expertise they need to move learning forward as they do in adult-led activities.

As a result, opportunities are missed to engage some children's interest or for children to practise what they have learned previously. Consequently, some children are not building their knowledge securely and attitudes to learning can wane.

Since the previous inspection, the school has prioritised support for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school ensures that these children are fully included. They benefit from precise plans to help them learn the curriculum. While these improvements are helping children with SEND to keep up, some children experience the same weaknesses in the curriculum as their peers.

During 'group time', turn taking and sharing are reinforced. Manners are promoted and modelled by staff. Children are praised when they use these, such as saying 'no, thank you' when offered a hat in the garden.

Experiences are threaded through the curriculum to promote children's personal development. The school celebrates different languages and cultures. Books have been carefully selected so that all children can see themselves in the stories they read.

Children and their families are supported to keep themselves healthy. For example, 'The Children's Kitchen' supports families in their understanding of the types of food that make a healthy lunchbox.

The role of governors has been strengthened since the previous inspection.

They now have a clear strategy to hold leaders to account. While it is still early days, the headteacher and governors have an accurate understanding of what needs to be done to improve the school further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The precise knowledge children need to know and remember over time is not yet sufficiently identified across all areas of learning. As a result, staff are not clear how to help children build their knowledge securely, including when children are learning independently. The school must ensure that the precise small steps of knowledge are identified and sequenced across all areas of learning.

Assessment is not used effectively to check how well children are learning. As a result, children are not building their knowledge well enough based on what they know and remember. The school needs to ensure that assessment is precise to identify next steps in learning to help children deepen their knowledge across the curriculum.

• Not all staff have developed the expertise they need to implement the curriculum well. As a result, some children are not deepening their understanding well enough during independent learning. The school needs to ensure that staff have the expertise and subject knowledge they need to support children knowing and remembering more over time.