Randolph Beresford Early Years Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Randolph Beresford Early Years Centre continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This school has high ambitions for children. The school accurately identifies any gaps in children's knowledge, skills or experience. The curriculum, teaching and environment are used to address these effectively.

For example, the school is aware that there is limited access to natural outdoor spaces locally. As a result, a forest school facility was created within the school grounds to provide children with a space to learn about and explore nature. Children take part in many educational visits.

These include visits to local shops, train stations and buildin...g sites.

The school places high priority on safeguarding children's welfare. If safeguarding concerns arise, they are dealt with swiftly and robustly.

Children are safe here, and they feel safe.

Staff greet children with genuine enthusiasm and care when they arrive at school. Typically, children arrive eager and happy to start their school day.

School staff take the time to get to know children well when they join. The school engages effectively with parents and carers to find out about children's likes, dislikes and needs. Staff and parents work together to help children learn the school's routines and expectations.

Children settle quickly and happily. They treat each other with kindness and behave responsibly.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and in line with the requirements of the early years foundation stage statutory framework.

The school makes use of current and relevant research about how children learn. This helps them decide what to teach and how and when to teach it. The school focuses on finding out what children know and can do when they join the school.

This information is used extremely effectively to decide the small steps children need to master in order to be ready for the Reception Year and beyond. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from effective adaptations to help them learn the curriculum well. A range of therapists and psychologists provide training for teaching staff and support for children and their families.

As a result, children who may have SEND are identified swiftly.

Teaching focuses on the important knowledge and skills the school wants children to know and remember. The school provides frequent and connected opportunities for children to recap previously learned content and embed new ideas.

For example, children sing songs such as 'Ten Green Bottles', using props and their fingers to help them count. Later, children are required to find their correct shoe size before putting on wellington boots to go outside.

The school utilises every opportunity to develop language and communication.

Teaching models appropriate language and vocabulary in all interactions with children. Children are taught to listen carefully, repeat and respond appropriately. Children love listening to stories and regularly join in with stories and rhymes.

This provides a strong foundation to prepare children for when they begin to learn to read. The governing body and leaders communicate regularly with staff on issues that may impact on workload. Staff appreciate opportunities to share their views.

The provision for personal, social and emotional development is strong. The curriculum includes regular opportunities for children to build confidence, resilience and independence. For example, in the school's forest school provision, children are asked to share opinions about the safest way to get across or around natural physical obstacles.

Children are encouraged to do things for themselves. For example, at lunchtime, children regularly serve themselves or others and wipe tables after eating. This includes some younger children.

Children are taught important information about safety and how to be healthy. This includes age-appropriate information about parts of the body that should be kept private. Children are taught what to say if they do not like something.

If disagreements occur, children are shown how to resolve these. Learning is not interrupted by disruptive behaviour. The school provides information to parents about the importance of regular attendance.

If absence is a concern, the school works collaboratively with parents to find solutions so that it improves.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 December 2013.

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