New Mills Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

New Mills Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children get off to a good start at this happy little school.

Staff are very kind and caring. They show children daily routines, such as lining up sensibly or sitting at a table to write, paint or make models. This means that children feel secure and safe from when they begin.

We saw children attending their very first day at New Mills Nursery. They settled immediately and were very keen to join in.

The headteacher leads the school well.

She expects all staff to work together so that every child receives the best possible education.

Staff plan interesti...ng and challenging things for children to do. For example, they show children how to dig for worms in the garden.

They share exciting books with the children. As a result, children focus on what they are doing and are keen to join in to show what they can do.

Children are also very well behaved.

They cooperate, take turns and share resources. They are kind. They listen to staff and follow instructions.

Everyone stays calm and learning runs smoothly.

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

The quality of education is good.

Leaders ensure that staff design the curriculum well.

By the time they leave, children have the knowledge and skills they need and are eager to learn more.

Staff consider the needs of every child. They welcome those with special educational needs and/or disabilities into the school.

They adapt their approach and support these children well so that they can join in and achieve well too.

Staff help children to catch up with skills they need, such as language and communication. They are very good role models.

They speak clearly and listen respectfully. As a result, children understand and feel valued. Staff plan a range of activities that develop children's language.

They use new words and phrases many times, such as 'stumble', counting out loud and repeating the days of the week. This helps children remember and begin to use them too. Teachers are also skilled at checking that children understand things.

This means that children make fewer mistakes as they learn.

Visits to museums and farms bring learning to life. Staff also introduce children to many exciting stories, songs and poems.

They enjoy learning about Little Red Riding Hood and they share classic books such as 'Owl Babies'. Staff plan lessons in order. As they grow, children learn new words such as 'author'.

They label their pictures by writing words such as 'shark' and 'cloud'.

Staff help children to develop good relationships and to understand how people feel. Consequently, children are kind to each other.

They show children how to paint, make models and imagine they are 'snacking in space' with aliens. Children behave well at the school. They try their best.

They listen, pay attention, answer questions well and are keen to show what they know. They do not disrupt activities or switch off.

Staff teach children good manners, such as saying 'excuse me' as they walk past someone.

They show children how to learn to zip up their own coat or pour their own milk at snack time.

However, the quality of education is not exceptional. For children who stay all day, staff sometimes do not adjust activities enough in the afternoon so that children learn lots more.

Staff say they are proud to work at the school. They work closely together and confirm that leaders do a good job. They say that leaders consider their work-life balance.

They do not expect them to write excessive records of what children can do. Leaders keep close checks to make sure that staff are teaching children well.

Parents and carers strongly agree that the school is a good one and would recommend it to others.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well trained in safeguarding. They are vigilant in noting the often-small signs that a child could be being harmed.

They discuss children's well-being each day so that any important information is shared. Staff fully understand their responsibilities to report any concerns they have.

Leaders keep detailed records.

They make good judgements about what action to take. They do not hesitate to contact external agencies, such as social care, if needed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Staff do not ensure that the afternoon curriculum, for those children who attend the school for longer than 15 hours, consistently builds sufficiently well on what they have learned in the morning.

This means that, on occasion, these children do not make as much progress as they could do. Leaders need to help staff plan precisely for these children so that staff take every opportunity to extend children's knowledge and skills.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 second section 8 inspection since we judged New Mills Nursery School to be good on 5 December 2012.