Washwood Heath Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Washwoood Heath Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Children thrive in this happy and nurturing Nursery School.

They enjoy school and feel safe. Staff plan exciting activities and are attentive to their needs. Children form secure, trusting attachments with their key workers.

This helps them to settle quickly at school.

The school has created an ambitious three-stage model for the children's learning journey. On entry, children are 'explorers', using their investigating skills.

Gradually, children become 'researchers', finding out how things work.... Finally, children become 'inventors', demonstrating creativity and working things out for themselves. Staff carefully guide children through this process.

This prepares them well for learning at their next school.

The school has high expectations for children's achievement. Ambition is evident for all children and many achieve well.

The daily focus on communication and language, early literacy and mathematics, gives children a firm foundation on which to build.

Children behave well. They enjoy the many enrichment activities the school provides to extend their learning.

These include music, pottery and woodwork sessions.

The school is proactive in fostering a positive partnership with parents and carers. Workshops and school events ensure that parents are fully involved in their child's learning.

Parents value the communication and feedback they receive from staff.

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

Children benefit from a broad, well-planned curriculum that covers all areas of learning. There is an effective balance of adult- and child-led learning activities.

Overall, children engage well in the varied learning tasks. However, sometimes, tasks lack a clear purpose, particularly during free-flow activities. This leads to children becoming disengaged.

Staff skilfully build a profile of each child when they join the school. They draw on a range of evidence to identify each child's learning needs. This is especially helpful for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Where needed, additional adult support and specialist resources are provided. However, on occasion, small numbers of children do not get the attention they need from staff.

The classrooms and garden are well resourced to meet the children's developmental and learning needs.

Adults set up exciting activities to spark children's interests and curiosity. However, on occasion, some opportunities are not adapted well enough. They do not enable children of different ages and abilities, including those with SEND, to be fully included in various activities.

Children are immersed in language from the moment they join the school. Interactions and discussions happen naturally throughout the day between children and adults. Staff model vocabulary well.

New words are introduced to broaden children's developing language skills. For example, children learned the words 'lavender' and 'lemon verbena' in a fun forest school activity when using their senses. Children can talk about their learning and demonstrate understanding.

For example, explaining why babies need to be washed.

Children gain an early love of stories and rhyme through the staff sharing them. The school uses carefully chosen books to support learning.

Some are chosen for their rhyme or repetition. Others support curriculum themes and promote diversity. Children learn the initial sounds in words, their names and letter recognition.

This helps prepare children for formal phonics teaching when they start Reception Year.

Staff have high expectations of behaviour for all children. They instil the concept of 'good listening, good sitting and good looking' from the outset.

Children quickly learn how to share and take turns. There are effective routines and strategies in place, such as the 'tidy up song'. They help children take responsibility and become increasingly independent.

The school is doing much to achieve punctuality and high attendance. This is working. Most children attend regularly and arrive on time.

Children's personal development is fully considered. Well-trained staff strongly support children's emotional security. Children benefit from a wide range of experiences.

These help them understand their community and the wider world. For example, they celebrate a variety of religious festivals. They also visit the local supermarket and library.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They love working at Washwood Heath Nursery School. Many staff who are employed are long-serving members.

They describe the school as 'a family' because everyone cares about each other. High-quality training helps staff deliver the curriculum well and support children fully. The school cares about staff workload and well-being.

It has taken steps to improve these aspects. Staff repay this thoughtfulness with their loyalty and commitment to the school.

Governors have a clear understanding of their roles and carry out their duties effectively.

They use their skills and experience to support and challenge the school in equal measure. They ask probing questions during meetings to hold leaders fully to account.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some child-led activities lack a clear learning focus. This reduces the contribution they make to children's development, and children quickly become disengaged. The school should ensure that all activities fully support purposeful and meaningful learning.

• Some activities are not adapted well enough for individual children, including those with SEND. This means that small numbers of children do not participate in all activities or develop the skills and knowledge they need. The school should ensure that staff adjust learning activities, where needed, to enable all children to be fully included.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 outstanding for overall effectiveness in November 2014.