Hindley Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Rachel Lewis Headteacher Hindley Surestart Nursery Mornington Road Hindley Wigan Lancashire WN2 4LG

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Hindley Surestart Nursery

Following my unannounced visit to your school on 12 April 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Hindley Surestart Nursery

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

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Evidence

I scrutinised the single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements. I held meetings with you and your staff team. Together we toured the school and I observed children’s learning, both indoors and outside, at various times throughout the day. I spoke to parents informally as they arrived with their children in the morning and when they collected them at the end of the day. Telephone conversations were also held with two governors and a representative from the local authority.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

The school is larger than the averaged-sized nursery school. There are currently 160 children on roll. Most of the children who attend are of White British heritage. The proportion of children known to be eligible for the early years pupil premium funding is in line with the national average. The proportion of children who have special educational needs or disability is below the national average.

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Main Findings

At this time, children are safe in your school. Parents that I spoke to told me that their children were happy to come to school. They have no hesitation in leaving their children in the care of you and your staff team. Parents also reported to me that they have developed positive relationships with their child’s key person and are kept well informed about their children’s progress. From my observations it is evident that children enjoy coming to school and feel safe. They arrive in the morning with happy, smiley faces and, without hesitation, say goodbye to their parents. They then immediately engage in play and chat happily with their friends and staff. Parents typically commented, ‘I know my child is safe because she is so keen to come here.’

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Main Findings

Playrooms and the outdoor areas are well set out and spacious, allowing children to move around their environment safely and with confidence. Resources are of good quality, further ensuring children’s safety. The school site is safe and secure and the identification of visitors to the setting is closely checked. All relevant risk assessments to ensure the safety of the school are in place and of the required standard.

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Main Findings

Levels of supervision around the school, both indoor and outside, are good, which contributes to children’s well-being and enjoyment of school. During my visit, I observed children who were well behaved, confident and keen to learn. They were considerate towards each other, sharing and taking turns as they played. For example, children lined up in an orderly manner while waiting their turn to take part in a balancing activity. While balancing and walking along a low-level beam, children took great care not to bump into each other. Others worked together cooperatively in the home corner, dressing dolls and cooking meals. Staff are positive role models to the children. They constantly celebrate children’s achievements, which helps to promote their confidence and self-esteem.

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Main Findings

Children’s safety is further assured because you and the governing body have ensured that there are clear and structured procedures in place for the recruitment, selection and induction of staff. The single central record is compliant. Checks on the suitability of all staff who work in the school take account of the most recent guidance. I spoke to a significant number of your staff in relation to safeguarding matters. They demonstrated a clear understanding of the indicators of abuse and neglect and procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child’s welfare. They also spoke with some confidence about risks such as extremism, radicalisation and female genital mutilation. Training on safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty is due to be delivered in the next few weeks, which will further raise staff awareness. Staff told me that they really appreciate the monthly safeguarding newsletters that they

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Main Findings

each now receive. These update them on safety procedures, such as the safe collection of children at the end of the day. A safeguarding display is also prominent within the school, with all relevant safeguarding procedures and telephone numbers. However, we both agree that the safeguarding policy lacks some detail; for example, it does not give specific details of what actual training staff have completed in relation to safeguarding. Telephone numbers for the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) and the Local Safeguarding Children Board have also been omitted. Furthermore, the policy makes no reference to the fact that anyone can make a safeguarding referral. You and I also both agree that some policies, such as the ‘images policy’, are generic and not personalised to reflect current practice within the school.

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Main Findings

You and your staff recognise the link between poor attendance and potential safeguarding issues. Consequently, you are constantly looking at ways to encourage parents to bring their children into school on a regular basis. Your school embraces this challenge but it does remain a thorny issue. With the support of governors you are starting to look at the attendance figures for different groups of children to see if there are any specific trends. As this is a relatively new initiative, the impact of this analysis is not yet known.

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Main Findings

During my visit we also considered the school website. It is bright and welcoming but does not include information on the allocation and impact of the additional government funding for disadvantaged children, which is required by law. Furthermore, we both agreed that more detailed information relating to the early years curriculum should be published on the website. This would allow parents to take a more active part in the children’s learning.

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External support

Over time, the local authority and a consortium of local schools have offered you valuable support to further improve procedures at your school with regard to safeguarding. Most recently, they have supported you in training your staff to record in much more detail any concerns they have about a child. They have also helped you to establish more effective monitoring and quality assurance systems with regard to these records. This ensures that any potential safeguarding issues are very quickly identified and addressed.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Review the safeguarding policy to ensure that it contains all the required information.  Ensure that policies are personalised to reflect current practice within the school.  Ensure that the website is compliant by publishing information on the allocation and impact of the additional government funding for disadvantaged children.  Publish more detailed information about the early years curriculum on the school website to allow parents to take a more active part in their children’s learning. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for Wigan. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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