Windsor Nursery School

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

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Mrs Foster Headteacher Windsor Nursery School Parkfield Road Parkfield Wolverhampton West Midlands WV4 6EL

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 31 January 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in December 2012.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

You provide highly effective and inspirational leadership. School leaders’ and staff are passionate about providing every child with the best possible start. Windsor is a warm, supportive and caring school. Children are nurtured and encouraged to explore and have fun. They enjoy their time at school and make strong progress. In particular, the children enjoy and benefit from a stimulating curriculum. Practitioners provide an exceptional range of stimulating resources and activities, which reflect and value the diversity of the children’s experiences. For example, the ‘mud kitchen’ aimed at developing children’s imagination and coordination is resourced well with pots, pans and a small microwave.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

You have successfully tackled all the areas identified for improvement at the last inspection. For example, progress across all groups is rapid because strong teaching is demonstrated through the high standard of learning that is taking place. In all observations during the inspection, staff skilfully challenged and stretched children to further their understanding. You explained that, since the previous inspection, you are now a national advocacy school for the National Education Trust. The school is seen as a centre of excellence for outdoor learning and has a proven track record of success and a willingness to share practice with colleagues at a local and national level.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. They believe the school is safe and well led. Parents appreciate the effective support given to their families at times of need and consider this to be a strength of the school. They value the opportunity to work in partnership with the school, as this helps them feel confident in supporting their children’s learning. Their views are well summarised by a parent saying, ‘The only thing I might change is that I would want him to stay here longer.’

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

You acknowledge that attendance is an area that you are constantly working on. As the children are not yet of statutory school age, attendance fluctuates. However, children enjoy coming to Nursery school and you implement the same expectations about attendance as other schools. For example, your systems ensure that families know how important it is for their children to attend school regularly. You rightly identify that it would be helpful to consider ways, in partnership with the local authority, by which you can further support families to encourage more regular attendance.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

Safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Leaders and staff make sure the Nursery is a safe environment. At the start and end of each session, they keep a close eye on children as they arrive and leave the building. Off-site visits are planned thoroughly so that potential risks to children’s safety are assessed and minimised. Both inside and outside, adults provide children with clear and consistent expectations on how to use resources and play sensibly. These are monitored termly by the governing body and audited bi-annually by the local authority.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

Staff and governors have completed all statutory training. Staff meet regularly to discuss and share information about the children. These meetings enable you to offer bespoke training to staff and to ensure that they are able to help address concerns with confidence. Through strong relationships with children and families, staff are quick to detect changes in a child’s circumstances or behaviour that may indicate that their welfare is at risk. Leaders follow up on any concerns rigorously. The school works exceptionally well with other professionals to meet the needs of all children, particularly the most vulnerable, and ensures that parents are involved in the process.

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Short inspection of Windsor Nursery School

Parents stated how safe they feel their child is in the building, and how close supervision is at the start and end of a session. They spoke about how their children are taught to keep themselves safe while taking part in appropriately risk-assessed activities.

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Inspection findings

 Children’s starting points when joining the school are well below those typical for their age. The school has a thorough system for assessing children’s progress in all areas of learning. Children are assigned key persons who are skilled at making evaluations of children’s learning and their emerging needs on a daily basis. The children’s learning journey books highlight significant points of progress. They celebrate children’s successes, which staff share with parents, who also contribute to the books. This informs teachers’ planning. Information about how well the different groups and cohorts of children are doing is carefully tracked and monitored by senior leaders. Children make at least good progress from their starting points in all areas of learning.  The quality of the new provision for two-year olds is excellent. The learning environment has been enhanced to meet the needs more effectively of this age

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Inspection findings

group, in particular the development of their physical needs. Staff have introduced a ‘barefoot’ policy to identify early issues in walking development. This has resulted in prompt referrals to occupational therapists who have been able successfully to address movement issues in their early stages. Resources are carefully chosen and interchangeable. Children autonomously move resources from other areas when required for an activity. A good example of this was children taking various bowls and kitchen tools ‘to cook’ in the outdoor sand area. The curriculum and timetabling of activities allow children to work with their peers or with older or younger children. Those who move regularly between the two age groups demonstrate better progress.  The proportion of children who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities has increased considerably in recent years due to the local authority placing into the school children who have complex special needs. Other children

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Inspection findings

in the setting who have SEN and/or disabilities are quickly identified. Children who need additional support are often identified even before they begin school, through home visits. Staff work closely with other specialists, including the speech and language therapist and occupational therapists, to target regular interventions. The school’s achievement information verifies that these children make rapid and sustained progress.  The early years pupil premium grant is used effectively to further improve the outcomes for disadvantaged children. The school has invested in developing an exceptional outdoor curriculum. This has resulted in children engaging more in outdoor activities and experiences, giving them the confidence to explore, discover and take safe risks when approaching other tasks. This approach particularly benefits disadvantaged children.  Children enjoy reading throughout the school. Regardless of their starting point

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Inspection findings

or attainment, children regularly and freely choose to pick up a book and explore it. Initially, this may be a form of role-play reading but, as they progress, children become confident and are able to read individual words. Staff are skilful at interacting with children to discuss their opinions and thoughts about books.  Governors hold leaders to account successfully and are very knowledgeable about their role. They check their understanding for themselves through using data effectively, meetings with staff and visiting the school. There are designated governors with responsibility for specific areas of the school’s work, and their reports to the wider governing body are detailed and well prepared for scrutiny. Minutes of meetings demonstrate that governors are rigorous in their questioning of the school’s leaders.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 they continue to build on the strong relationship with parents to ensure that more children attend more regularly.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wolverhampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, two members of your leadership team and three members of the governing body. I discussed the work of the school with you, including the processes and procedures in place for safeguarding, including the single central record. I visited ‘terrific twos’, your provision for two-year olds, and the main Nursery provision for three-year olds and four-year olds. In both classrooms, I observed and spoke with children and looked at their learning journals. I looked at a range of school documents, including the school’s information about children’s achievement, and records relating to the monitoring of teaching and learning.

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Information about the inspection

I also reviewed the school’s own evaluation of its work, together with the school’s development plan. The school’s own survey of parents’ views was also considered, and additional information collected from parents as they dropped off their children during the school day.

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