The Wharf Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Children truly thrive in this Nursery. They love to learn.

Leaders are passionate about ensuring that children have every opportunity to achieve their very best. Relationships are incredibly warm and caring. Staff really nurture the children in their care.

They comfort children who are sad or upset to help them to calm down. At this Nursery, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve exceptionally well.

Children's behaviour is excellent.

They follow clear, consistent routines which helps them to feel safe and secure. When playing, children cooperate well. They enjoy solving problems together and willingl...y agree to take turns and share resources, for example when using buckets and spades to build sandcastles in the sand pit.

Children are knowledgeable. They have a true sense of awe and wonder about the wider world. Visitors to school awaken children's curiosity.

Children learn about caring for animals through visits from a farm and about hobbies and interests through talented individuals such as dancers and musicians. Furthermore, trips to the countryside enhance children's knowledge about the natural world. Leaders also ensure that children understand their place in the wider community through involvement in events such as Christmas singing and the local pancake race.

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

Leaders have established an exceptionally well-designed and ambitious curriculum. Their expectations of what all children will achieve are very high. Leaders do not leave this to chance.

The curriculum clearly identifies the important knowledge that children must learn. It is full of cleverly constructed opportunities to stretch children's knowledge of the world, inspire them to know more and capture their imaginations.

Staff's knowledge of how young children learn is extremely strong.

They develop children's understanding skilfully, step by step. Staff use every opportunity to further children's learning, such as through carefully designed independent activities and targeted questioning. In mathematics, adults expertly enable children to develop deep and detailed knowledge of numbers and counting.

Staff check children's learning across the whole curriculum frequently. This ensures that any gaps in understanding are identified and addressed swiftly. Staff are quick to identify when children may not be developing as well as they should.

When this happens, they use a variety of strategies to establish why this might be the case. Bespoke support is then put in place for those children who need it.

Leaders want children to be confident communicators.

Highly skilled staff build children's understanding of language exceptionally well. They teach children to speak confidently in full sentences. Staff use every opportunity to introduce new vocabulary.

They encourage children to use these new words when talking to each other and in their play.

Leaders help children to develop a real love of stories. Books are everywhere.

Adults read to children at every opportunity. Children listen attentively. They join in excitedly with familiar phrases and rhymes.

Adults also ensure that children develop an age-appropriate knowledge of phonics to prepare them well to learn to read at school.

Children treat each other and adults with high levels of respect. Right from the very start of Nursery, children learn to manage their feelings and behaviour for themselves.

Children are very kind to each other. Older children readily help the very youngest to get the most out of activities, for example by being the driver on a tandem trike.

Opportunities for children's personal development are exemplary.

Children learn how to be resilient, to have a go and to have an enquiring mind. They learn how to keep fit. They understand the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods.

Children keep physically active by learning how to ride bikes and how to climb safely over various obstacles. They are encouraged to develop individual talents and interests and share these with their peers.

Leaders and governors have worked together effectively to ensure that the education at this Nursery is of the very highest quality.

Leaders ensure that all staff receive focused and highly effective professional development. This enables everyone to work together to provide an exceptional early education for all the children in their care.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of vigilance. Highly effective systems ensure leaders spot and act on any signs of potential harm promptly. Leaders readily refer concerns to relevant external agencies so that children get the help they need without delay.

Regular staff training ensures staff's knowledge is deep, detailed and up to date. Leaders carry out all required checks to ensure that the adults in the school are safe to work with children.

The school's curriculum ensures children have an age-appropriate knowledge of how to keep themselves safe, including when online.