Tudhoe Moor Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Tudhoe Moor Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides children with a safe, nurturing environment in which to begin their education. Building positive relationships is central to school life. Parents and carers appreciate the effort that the school makes to get to know both them and their children.

Children are happy and confident in the setting. They are inquisitive and eager to learn.

The school has established clear routines and expectations.

Consequently, the setting is calm and children behave well. Children are kind to each other. They show high levels of respect for their peers, adults and the r...esources that are available to them.

The school has high ambition for all children. It strives to establish good attendance habits so that children are prepared well for the transition to primary school. A wealth of support is available to families, including from external agencies where needed.

Children enjoy a range of learning experiences. These help to prepare them for the next stage of their education, but also for life beyond the school. For example, older children regularly take part in sessions in the forest school.

In addition, all children visit the local library on a regular basis. The school uses visitors, such as the police and a petting farm, to enhance teaching and broaden children's horizons.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum for all areas of learning.

The curriculum is logically sequenced and progressive. Since the last inspection, the school has begun to admit two-year-old children. Leaders have created a curriculum for this provision that aligns with the existing offer to older children.

They are now embedding and refining this curriculum.

For all areas of learning, leaders have identified goals that children need to reach as they move through the school. However, sometimes the small steps of learning that children need to take to reach these goals are not clear.

This means that, on occasion, staff give children activities that do not support them to reach their next goal. It also means that some of the interactions between adults and children are not precise enough. They do not consistently impact on children's learning or language development.

Staff use the outcomes of assessment to plan children's next steps and any interventions that are needed. Children can talk confidently about some of their learning. For example, one child explained to an inspector what binoculars are for and demonstrated how to use them correctly.

The school prioritises communication and language. Staff identify the key vocabulary that they want children to know and use. They display this around the provision so that adults can refer to it during their interactions with children.

The school uses stories well to teach pupils key messages. For example, staff read 'The Colour Monster' to children to help them to explore their feelings and emotions. Staff are trained in the fundamentals of phonics teaching.

As a result, they prepare children well for the formal phonics teaching they will receive when they start Reception. Children learn to orally segment and blend words and to identify initial sounds. The school develops a love of early reading by sending books home.

It also runs reading events, such as the popular bedtime stories evening.

Leaders have established strong systems for identifying children with potential additional needs. There is a determination to identify children early.

This is so that any external support needed is in place by the time children start primary school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported in school. Specialist staff support children, but also train other adults.

Children have access to a wide range of equipment both inside and outside. This supports not only their educational development, but also their wider development. The school teaches children about other faiths and cultures through celebrating religious festivals and visiting places of worship, such as Durham Cathedral.

Nurses, police officers and firefighters visit school to teach children about keeping safe. Visitors also give children an insight into possible future careers.

Leaders, including governors, have a clear vision for the school.

Governors understand their statutory obligations and generally fulfil these well. Staff are very positive about working at the school. They say there is a strong sense of teamwork.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• For each area of learning, the school has identified end goals that children need to reach. However, the small steps of learning that children will take to reach these goals are not consistently clear.

This means that some activities do not support children to reach their next goal. The school should ensure that staff are trained in how to break end goals into small steps of learning so that children make even better progress. ? The interactions between staff and children are not consistently high quality.

Some interactions do not impact on children's learning or language development. The school should ensure that all staff are trained in the use of high-quality interactions.

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.

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