St Werburghs Park Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Werburgh's Park Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

St Werburgh's Park is a friendly and inclusive school.

Children benefit from the care staff provide. Parents agree. One parent said, 'St Werburgh's is incredibly nurturing.

Staff are respectful towards the children. They have high expectations of the children, no matter their starting point in life.'

The school is ambitious for all.

Adults know children well. Key-worker focus groups provide children with the opportunity to have a voice. Staff encourage children to be confident and enthusiastic 'explorers'.

As a result, children develop positiv...e attitudes to their learning. They are curious about the world around them, Children relish the opportunity to explore and investigate both inside and outside of the classroom.

The school is a calm and happy place to learn.

Children socialise well and enjoy playing with their friends. Staff have high expectations of how children should behave. They skilfully support children to understand their emotions and resolve conflict for themselves.

The school places importance on children understanding their local community. Visitors, such as the police, help children to understand how people can help them keep safe. Children learn to appreciate diversity through special focus days about food and festivals.

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

Over the past year, the school has joined the Central Bristol Nursery Schools Federation. This change has been managed effectively. Staff are ambitious for what children can achieve.

The school has designed a curriculum, across most areas of learning, in which children develop their understanding in a logical order. However, in some areas of learning, the curriculum is still embedding and developing. Not all staff have the necessary expertise to deepen children's understanding of important knowledge.

The school places communication and language at the heart of its work. Children join in with stories, songs and rhymes with confidence and enjoyment. Investment in staff training is having a positive impact on children's language development.

Staff use talk to build children's vocabulary well. Staff ask relevant questions to extend children's understanding well. Children experience a wide range of carefully selected books.

These grab children's interests and develop their confidence to retell their favourite stories. Staff provide parents with clear guidance on how they can support their child's early reading development.

Children engage well with the broad range of learning opportunities provided.

They are independent, learn to take turns and share. Children happily join in conversation with each other. They are confident in approaching adults when they need help.

Children are keen to share their ideas and thoughts. For example, they spoke excitedly about objects on the Easter table. Some adults use this enthusiasm effectively, for example to model conversations around chicks and hatching to develop children's understanding of new life.

Staff use their knowledge and skills to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to interact, make choices about their learning and express their opinions. Consequently, children with SEND are well supported to progress well through the curriculum.

In mathematics, the focus on numbers gives children a secure foundation for future learning.

Some staff use effective questioning to help children draw on what they already know and can do. For example, adults encourage children to use their prior knowledge of more or less when comparing amounts of water in two different sized jugs. However, some staff do not capitalise on opportunities to deepen children's understanding through carefully considered conversation.

Children learn and play alongside each other in a calm and friendly way. Adults form positive relationships with them. As a result, children feel safe.

Children understand right from wrong. The school provides rich experiences to help children understand the wider world. This includes external visits and trips as well as learning how to be independent, resilient and confident when facing challenges.

Staff use a range of books to develop children's understanding of difference. This helps children learn the importance of fairness and respect.

Governors share the same high aspirations in ensuring that children receive an effective and inclusive curriculum.

They have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and priorities for development. Despite many recent changes to the school, leaders work successfully alongside governors and other schools across the federation to continue to enhance the school's offer. Governors are active in supporting staff with their professional development.

Staff appreciate the impact this is having on their practice.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not maximise opportunities for children to develop a deep body of knowledge across all areas of the curriculum.

This means that children do not build their knowledge of key content securely enough. The school needs to ensure that all staff have the subject knowledge and understanding of the curriculum to deepen children's knowledge across all areas of learning.

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 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 good in January 2015.