Speedwell Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Changes to leadership arrangements and to the organisation of the school have interrupted the planned improvements to the school. Leaders recognise the shortfalls that exist. They know that more needs to be done to make sure that the quality of education is as good as it should be.

Leaders and staff ensure that children are safe, cared for and that they love coming to school. Children arrive, excited to see what staff have in store. This is a happy, busy place, full of surprises for young children.

The outside space has plenty to explore and enjoy. Children follow pathways through bamboo forests to find a quiet place to look at a book. They play with friends in a den,... climb up a rope ladder or 'cook' lunch using sticks, cones and herbs from the garden.

Staff encourage and inspire children to play. They are on hand to help so that children learn how to play together. They listen to and reassure children, supporting them well.

As a result, children are happy, confident and stick at their play. The care and attention from staff mean that disputes between children are resolved quickly. Parents recognise the strong care provided for children.

They are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

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

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. They have recently introduced improvements to the provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and to assessment for all children.

Leaders, including governors, have rightly identified that there needs to be further improvement. However, the school development plan does not support this drive for improvement. It does not set out the order that improvements will be tackled, the staff development needed or how leaders will check on the impact of improvements.

In addition, the responsibilities of some leadership roles are not very well defined.

Leaders have rightly prioritised encouraging children to read and listen to stories, poems, songs and rhymes. There are lots of stories to browse and enjoy.

Staff read and explore stories with children. During group times, children enjoy joining in with stories like Jack and the Beanstalk and Rosie's Walk. This helps children to begin to build their knowledge and enjoyment of language.

Leaders have started work to identify the specific stories that children will encounter as they go through the school.

Leaders and staff expect children to be respectful and helpful. Children respond well to this.

Reliable routines help children feel secure. A particular strength is how staff greet children. Staff help children separate from their families and start their sessions off well.

They help children to learn about how to be responsible and to look after their school. Everyone must contribute when it is time to tidy up! Staff get to know children very well. They maintain positive partnerships with their parents and carers.

Leaders have introduced a new system to identify children's early starting points. However, there is a lack of clarity about how planned activities contribute to children's deepening knowledge and how this relates to the school's intended curriculum.

The inside and outside environments provide exciting places for children, including those with SEND, to learn how to take risks and to play together.

Staff ensure that children have opportunities to develop their characters and their appreciation of the world. Enriching experiences, such as helping to grow vegetables and flowers, support children's understanding of how the world works.

However, as activities are often based on children's interests, staff cannot be sure that children cover the agreed curriculum.

Too much is left to chance. Work to ensure that the curriculum sets out the key knowledge that children should learn is at an early stage. In addition, the curriculum does not outline the important vocabulary that leaders intend children to learn across different areas of learning.

Therefore, leaders cannot be sure that all children experience and learn important content. Consequently, they cannot be assured that children make strong progress that prepares them well for their next steps.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders ensure that staff have the training they need so that they recognise signs of abuse. Staff are vigilant, using their in-depth knowledge of children to notice and report any concerns.

Recruitment procedures are appropriate. Governors have appropriate procedures in place to assure themselves that safeguarding arrangements are secure.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders are ambitious for what children will achieve while at the school.

They aim for all children to be prepared well for their next steps. They intend that children will gain a wide vocabulary by the time they leave. However, too much of this intended learning is left to chance.

Therefore, some children could achieve more. Leaders must ensure that there is greater clarity about exactly what children are expected to learn as they move through the school, especially with regards to vocabulary in the different areas of learning. ? The school development plan is not clear.

This makes it difficult for everyone involved to know what the current priorities are. It also means that governors are not able to hold leaders to account for planned improvements. Leaders need to ensure that the school development plan clarifies the priorities, monitoring arrangements and timescales so that everyone is clear about how to improve key aspects of the school.

• Recent challenges have prevented planned staff development activities taking place. Consequently, staff are not as clear as they could be about what children should learn and when they should learn it. Leaders must ensure that staff have the professional development and feedback they need to implement the intended curriculum effectively.

• Leaders have rightly introduced new systems and expectations across the school to ensure that staff assess what children learn, remember and understand. In addition, there are improved systems to plan and review how well children with SEND achieve. Leaders must ensure that leadership roles and responsibilities are clear so that these new systems are embedded and monitored effectively.