Reddish Vale Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Reddish Vale Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children are happy and feel at ease at this school. They enjoy playing with their friends and staff. The school helps children, including two-year-olds, to settle very well in their classrooms.

Staff guide them gently to make the brave step of separating from their parents and carers. At the end of an enjoyable and rewarding day at school, many children are keen to tell their parents about their fascinating learning.

Children's trusting relationships with staff, such as with their key person, indicate that children f...eel safe at the school.

They learn from staff how to manage their own feelings and behaviour very well. Where children have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the school takes extra steps to make sure that children receive the support that they need. Children at the school blossom in their development and learning.

As a result of the school's high expectations, children gain much new knowledge. For instance, they become confident, communicative explorers and first-rate storytellers. Children develop a wide range of additional skills, including climbing trees and swinging on rope swings in the school's garden.

They enjoy learning from the skilful staff so much that they are keen to know even more.

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

Expert leaders and staff are at the heart of this school's continued success. They have set up a well-thought-out curriculum.

The school carefully refines staff's knowledge of child development and nursery education. Staff use their highly developed teaching skills to provide children with rich learning experiences. Their proficient help ensures that children, including two-year-olds, learn successfully how to behave.

Disruptions to children's learning activities are minimal. The school prepares children very well for their later education at primary school.

In the main, the school thinks carefully about the key information that children need to learn.

Staff help children to build their knowledge successfully over time. They also help children to develop their thinking. For example, staff prompted children working on a group task to consider: 'What is the solution?' Nevertheless, on occasion, some of the school's curriculum is less clear about the essential knowledge that staff will teach.

The school immerses children in a curriculum that is rich in stories, rhymes, songs and the learning of important new words. The school chooses stories very carefully so that children develop an in-depth knowledge of characters, storylines, authors and illustrators. Staff model expertly to children how to be a storyteller.

Children at the school develop a great love for fiction and non-fiction books. They know how to create, remember and re-tell their own stories.

The school spots and meets the needs of individual children very well.

It speaks often with other professionals and with parents to review children's needs. Staff use information from their checks on children's learning effectively. For example, staff decide when they should provide children with greater support or a recap of previous learning.

This approach helps the school to ensure that it meets the needs of children with SEND. Children have an equal chance to succeed.

The school prepares children very well for their future lives.

It ensures that children learn to respect and celebrate differences between people and communities. For example, it helps children to learn about different skin colours. Children learn from meeting visitors to the school who inspire them, for instance, about writing books and designing buildings.

Children are well prepared to take their place in the world.

The school works successfully with parents. For instance, it supports and encourages parents about the importance of children's attendance.

Parents feel well informed and involved in their children's time at the school.

The school considers the workload of its staff when making decisions. It consults staff often and fosters much successful teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants.

This is a happy place to work. Governors play their part in supporting and challenging the school, as well as keeping an eye on its long-term development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, in some of its curriculum, the school is less clear about the important information that it wants children to know. This means that, at times, the school is less sure that children learn as much as they could. The school should identify the key curriculum content that staff will teach, to help build children's knowledge even more securely.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 third ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in December 2012.