Reddish Vale Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Reddish Vale Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Reddish Vale Nursery School is a wonderful place for children to learn and thrive. The word that parents and carers used most to describe this school was 'amazing'.

Children are extremely safe in this deeply caring environment. Staff know just how to nurture children's confidence and develop a love of learning.

At this school, learning is active and fun.

Children are treated to an extremely well-planned curriculum which contains a wide range of exciting activities. These are all designed to develop curiosity and independence.

The outdoor provision is ...delightful.

It allows children to explore, have adventures and take risks safely. If needed, staff are always on hand to offer them support. Many parents and carers commented that 'nature school' is a highlight of their child's week.

Children are excited to build dens, climb trees and look for bugs. They said that they love to 'drink hot chocolate in the great outdoors'.

Staff have high expectations of all children.

The expertise of staff ensures that children achieve all that they can. Children leave the nursery extremely well prepared for their next school.

Children behave exceptionally well.

They quickly learn to share, take turns and make friends. We saw no evidence of bullying. Staff deal with any issues of bullying immediately.

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

This is a school where everyone has a passion for learning. Leaders are extremely knowledgeable about the school. The curriculum for all children is excellent.

Staff know exactly how young children develop and learn. They know their children extremely well. Staff use their thorough knowledge of children's development to plan activities that are just right for every child.

Activities capture children's imagination and link closely to their interests and ideas.

The classrooms and outdoor areas are rich with high-quality resources that support the effective delivery of the curriculum. Children enjoy lots of well-planned, exciting learning opportunities.

Even simple activities become magical. For example, we saw pupils thoroughly enjoying whirling around in the wind with colourful scarfs. The children's giggles were enchanting.

The outdoors area is a wonderful space to learn and play. Some children walked along a log beam. They challenged themselves to jump off into a puddle.

For the first jump they held an adult's hand. Then, as they got braver, they excitedly jumped on their own. Adults effectively plan outdoors learning into the curriculum.

All staff encourage children to chatter, to be inquisitive and to ask questions. Staff listen to children with interest and consideration. Two-year-old children are gently encouraged to learn.

Staff support these young children's learning with sensitivity and expertise. Older children are encouraged to contribute their ideas so that learning becomes a shared adventure. In this atmosphere, children achieve exceptionally well across the whole curriculum.

This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are knowledgeable about the difficulties that these children face. They plan the curriculum expertly for pupils with SEND.

Opportunities to learn mathematical skills are everywhere. Adults base these opportunities on real-life experiences. Children count conkers, twigs and threaded beads.

They work out which items are the heaviest and lightest, and the tallest and smallest. Staff skilfully support children to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of number.

Stories, books and reading are central to everything that the school does.

When adults share stories, children sit enthralled. Children regularly retell these stories in their play. Children eagerly join in with well-known rhymes and refrains.

They join in storytelling, adding their own ideas. Adults model a rich vocabulary throughout each and every classroom. Staff benefit from exceptional early reading training.

The personal development of children is nurtured in all that the school does. This school has a delightfully welcoming atmosphere. Children are always greeted with a broad smile by every member of staff.

Children skip in ready to start the day in the knowledge that they will be valued and respected. They also know that there will be a fun and exciting activity waiting for them. Staff take every opportunity to celebrate children's learning.

We heard children brimming with chatter as they left school at the end of the day. They were excitedly telling their parents about the day's adventures.

Leaders and governors are passionate educators of young children.

The local authority recognises leaders' expertise in nursery education. A particular strength is the thorough way that leaders support children as they move on to their next school.

Staff value how leaders are sensitive to the amount of work that they do.

They say that they feel listened to and appreciated. Parents and carers cannot praise staff enough. They say that staff always have time to talk about their children's day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safety of children is paramount. It is everyone's responsibility.

Clear policies and procedures guide staff. Well-trained staff know what to do if they are worried about a child. Children learn in a safe and secure environment.

Leaders are vigilant and work extremely well with other agencies to support children and families. They act quickly if they have concerns.

Background

When we have judged a maintained nursery 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 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 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 Reddish Vale Nursery School to be outstanding on 1 April 2016.