Hadfield Nursery School

Hadfield Nursery School Queen Street, Hadfield, Glossop, SK13 2DW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  ‘Hadfield Nursery is a fantastic place to be’ is a comment made by several parents. It is a special place for children to learn and have an excellent experience. There are superb relationships between everyone that mean each individual child is highly valued.  All children achieve exceptionally well and make outstanding progress in all areas of development regardless of their starting points.  The strong emphasis on practical activities, and planning based on children’s needs, interests and suggestions, contributes to high-quality teaching. Staff provide a rich, highly stimulating curriculum.  Children behave exceptionally well. They run into school eagerly and have excellent attitudes to learning.  Staff love their work and are a highly effective team. There is a strong culture of wanting to continually improve the school and staff welcome new ideas and are keen to try them

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

out.  Underpinning the school’s success are the dedication and expertise of the headteacher. She is ably assisted by other senior staff and governors.  Governors challenge and support the school well.  Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school. One summed up her thoughts by saying ‘I can’t praise the Nursery enough. The children learn new things everyday and are very well prepared for school’.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight sessions, including those led by adults and those in which the children made choices for themselves. The majority of sessions were observed jointly with the headteacher. An assembly, snack and lunch times were also observed.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, members of staff, and four members of the governing body. A telephone conversation took place with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector took account of the 16 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and of the views of parents and carers bringing their children to school.  Questionnaire responses from nine members of staff were considered.  The inspector looked at a wide range of documentation, including school improvement planning and self-evaluation, school data, monitoring records and arrangements for safeguarding children. A sample of children’s digital learning journey folders was scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Mary Hughes, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is of average size for a nursery school. Almost all children attend on a part- time basis. A few attend for longer through the school’s ‘wraparound care’ sessions. Children spend between three and five terms in the Nursery before moving on to primary school.  Almost all children are of White British heritage. A very small number speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled children and those with special educational needs is below average. Five children are supported through early action, with three supported at early action plus. No children have a statement of special educational needs.  The school has achieved the Silver Eco and Healthy Schools awards. It has recently received the Basic Skills Quality Mark for the third time.  The Hadfield Children’s Centre is located on the same site. This is subject to a separate inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the governance of the school by:  providing parents and carers with more information about the work governors do and their impact on helping the school to improve  ensuring that the governors visit the school more regularly to collect a wider range of first- hand evidence about its work.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children join the nursery with a broad range of knowledge and skills. Over recent years a growing significant proportion are entering with skills that are below those expected for their age. Children of all abilities make outstanding progress during their time in the Nursery and leave with most achieving the expectations for their age, with many exceeding this.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The achievement of boys and girls is similar. More- able children are quickly identified and given additional challenge and support to speed their progress. During a recent project on the story ‘Owl Babies’, these children were encouraged to make models, test them to see which would fly and then made a zip wire to help the birds fly.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 A significant minority of children enter the Nursery with limited communication skills, including a few in the early stages of learning English. The staff’s promotion of language is a strength of the Nursery as they use every opportunity to get children talking and using new vocabulary. The excellent sharing of language, together with other strategies such as signing and focused group work, ensure that children make rapid progress in their speaking and language skills.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children make outstanding progress in personal, social and emotional development. This is because of the high importance adults place on developing these skills, and the strong relationships the school builds between adults and children. Children settle quickly due to the staff’s sensitive approaches. Children ably choose their own resources and make decisions. They confidently suggest ideas, such as what should be included in the redeveloped garden.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children’s early reading and writing skills are very well developed. Many children recognise their own names, with some able to write them. Many know the link between a letter and the sound it makes, with some writing words by themselves. Children enjoy all early writing opportunities, whether it is making their own book to show the story of a chick, or writing shopping lists at the shop.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children’s physical development is extremely well promoted, resulting in their rapid progress. They quickly develop skills as they confidently use wheeled vehicles, climb on apparatus and play simple sports games. They use their physical skills well as they whisk soap flakes and manipulate dough.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children make particularly rapid gains in their mathematical development because of the school’s effective promotion of numeracy and problem solving. Rhymes and counting songs are used well to reinforce children’s understanding of numbers; for example children built a wall, placed ten bottles on it and then acted out the story of ‘Ten Green Bottles’ to reinforce their understanding of how many bottles had fallen and how many were left.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Disabled children and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress. The excellent, individual support, which is adapted exactly to each child’s requirements, enables all to be successful and achieve.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Progress in children’s skills in expressive art and design is exceptional. Children confidently mix paints to make shades of colour, carry out detailed observational drawings of daffodils and rhythmically create their own ribbon dances to music.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is outstanding because the staff are determined to provide children with a wide range of exciting, varied activities. Parents talk about how every day their children are eager to get inside the Nursery to see what ‘new, fun things will be there’.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff look back daily on their practice, discussing individual children’s learning and how their needs can be met in future planning. Staff think very carefully about the steps children need to take to learn new skills. The digital assessment system, which uses tablet technology to gather observations, is contributing well to planning.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff have an outstanding understanding of how young children learn best. An excellent range of resources and practical activities, together with exciting surroundings, provide children with many opportunities to learn. Children talked excitedly about how they had watched chicks hatch and how the frogspawn had turned into tadpoles. They were fully engaged as they played instruments that came from the ‘magic box’ and dug for worms in the ‘mud kitchen’.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff are very skilled in knowing when to step back and give children the time and space to explore for themselves, and when to ask questions to move the learning forward. Excellent questioning is used to help children develop their own ideas further. For example, children used spades to dig. Through skilful support by staff, this activity was adapted by the children to search for mini-beasts, observe them in the viewfinder and draw their patterns.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Many memorable experiences capture children’s imagination. A recent visit to the woods enabled the children to make paint and brushes from natural materials and then to paint the trees. The excellent range of visits and visitors give children the chance to develop their understanding of the world. Through activities such as having picnics in the park, train-rides, pony-riding and visits to the local shops, the world is opened up to the children.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 There is exemplary teaching for disabled children and those who have special educational needs, including those children with speech and communication difficulties. Staff have an excellent understanding of what can prevent children from learning. They effectively ensure that learning is presented in very small steps so that children can achieve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school is an outstandingly harmonious community. Children play and work together very happily. The strong community spirit is evident throughout the day as children chat confidently to staff and ask for help when needed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The Nursery’s work to keep children safe and secure is outstanding. Parents spoke unanimously about the faith and trust they have in the Nursery to keep their children safe and well-looked after. The care of the children has the highest priority; consequently children are safe at all times.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children develop excellent attitudes to learning. They understand everyday routines, know about sharing equipment and taking turns and help to tidy up. They are extremely enthusiastic in all that they do.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 There is a culture of respect. Children show high levels of respect towards each other, adults and visitors. They look after one another, for example helping to find resources for each other.  The behaviour of children is exemplary. Children respond well to the high expectations of staff, who gently remind them of the Nursery rules.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Staff understand the need for children to learn to manage risks and keep themselves safe. They take risks in a controlled way. They understand to slow down when riding bikes and scooters down the slope and know that the plank is too slippery to walk across after it has rained.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children’s spiritual, moral social and cultural development is promoted extremely well. They develop outstanding spiritual awareness from their activities. For example they talked animatedly about how they had watched the chick come out of the egg. A group of children were excited when they found a centipede and rushed to find the view box so they could study it more closely.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children talk about their link school in Ethiopia, and how they have different toilets to their own. They celebrate a range of festivals , such as Diwali and Chinese New Year. Social awareness is excellent, shown in the way lunch and snack times are sociable occasions when children chat together and share their news with one another.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher is an inspirational leader. She has a clear vision and is dedicated to ensuring that all children can achieve and giving them the best possible start to their education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has now maintained its outstanding status for a third consecutive inspection. The school has not stood still but has continued to improve. Additions have been made to the building, additional staff have been appointed and new projects have been undertaken. The latest sees the school involved in a national and international project to look at the characteristics of children’s learning. The school is sharing its findings with other schools in the authority.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher is ably assisted by senior staff and a highly effective staff team. High quality teamwork is a major factor in the school’s success. All staff say they are pleased to be working here and that ‘everyone’s role and contribution is valued’. They all agree that the school is well led and managed and all share the vision to provide high-quality early years’ education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Every day staff talk about children’s learning and changes needed for the following day. They have regular opportunities to discuss practice, develop professionally and gain qualifications. They are keen to trial and evaluate new ideas which may improve how well children get on.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher has an excellent knowledge of the quality of teaching and learning across the school and is highly effective in checking all aspects of the provision. Her detailed knowledge of all the children enables her to assess the staff’s effectiveness. The setting of targets for staff to help them improve their performance is rigorous and well planned. The two teachers also effectively contribute to the school’s monitoring. They are very clear about where each child is succeeding, and where their help is needed.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum is rich, vibrant and interweaves many opportunities for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development with other skills. Children are regularly consulted about what they would like to learn. Additional staff, such as sports coaches, an artist in residence and a woodland leader, all use their specialist knowledge very effectively to develop children’s skills.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 An excellent partnership is in place with the local authority and with other schools. The school is highly regarded within the local authority, which encourages the school to share its expertise with other schools. Well-developed links with its partner primary schools and the adjoining children’s’ centre, ensure the smooth transition of children from one phase of education to another. Links are further developed through activities such as children from the neighbouring junior school reading stories with the Nursery children.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school’s partnership with parents is a major strength. Parents are given every opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s learning. Parents spoke about how much they value the regular themed fun days, such as the recent ‘Rhyme Family Day’, where they can share activities with their children. They also praise the ‘share@ Nursery’ workshop sessions where they are given ideas for activities to share at home. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s effectiveness.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are committed to ensuring that the school carries on improving. They are passionate about the value of the school to the local community. They regularly review the work of the headteacher and staff and link pay to performance. They hold the school to account by considering and questioning children’s progress data. Visits in session time are less frequent. This means that they are not always looking at a wide range of the Nursery’s provision at first-hand and that parents and carers are sometimes unaware of the value of governors’ support. Governors are fully involved in planning for future developments, ensure all statutory requirements are met, including those for safeguarding children, and fully understand the implications of the financial decisions they make. They are keen to make sure that money is spent wisely to support children’s development.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 112469 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 430688

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Nursery School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 109 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Wilcox Headteacher Cheryl Mortimer Date of previous school inspection 25–26 May 2011 Telephone number 01457 852297 Fax number 01457 852297 Email address info@hadfield-nur.derbyshire.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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