New Bridge Nursery School

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

p.1

Ms L Bedlow Executive Headteacher New Bridge Nursery School Montague Street Caversham Reading Berkshire RG4 5AU

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 6 March 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 outstanding in July 2014.

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

This school continues to be outstanding.

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the outstanding quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school is highly regarded within the local community. All parents and carers who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, would recommend the school to other parents. All parents who completed the Parent View free-text box made positive comments about the quality of education you and your staff provide. Parents spoke to me about the confidence and independence their children develop in their time at the nursery. One parent’s comment reflected the views of others: ‘New Bridge genuinely take joy in creating fun, magical and special environments for the children each day.’

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

You have tackled the area identified for improvement following the previous inspection successfully. Children’s learning is planned extremely well, providing extensive opportunities for them to pursue their interests through playing, exploring and learning across a wide range of activities, both inside and outdoors. Children thoroughly enjoy creative activities and are encouraged to think critically about their learning. In one activity that we observed, children were encouraged not only to count the 14 animals lined up but also to consider the number of each colour and how many would be left in the line when two or three were removed. Children displayed joy and pride in their success, which motivated them to sustain their concentration on the task and investigate further learning.

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

You make sure all groups of children make good, and in some cases outstanding, progress from their various starting points across all areas of learning. Children develop positive attitudes to learning. They are self-assured and confident because staff skilfully nurture and encourage them to explore their environment and discover new and interesting experiences. The recent delivery of eggs, for children to observe the hatching process from egg to chicks, captured children’s imagination. They were fascinated as they observed each numbered egg to see if there were any cracks appearing.

p.1

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

The nursery has seen a number of changes since the last inspection. You have carefully and successfully managed the introduction of the 30-hour entitlement for three  four-year-olds. Eligible children are now able to stay at lunchtime, where staff ensure that they eat lunch in a calm and supportive environment. Children know the routines well and enjoy the opportunity to play outside when they have eaten their lunch. Other changes that you have led successfully include the appointment of your new deputy headteacher, and the collaborative working arrangements with the special educational needs (SEN) coordinator and deputy headteacher from your federated nursery, Caversham Nursery School. The changes within the governing body with four new members and a new chair of the governing body have also been effective. Governors are very supportive of the school and make regular visits to the nursery to observe the school’s work. We agreed that their monitoring activities

p.2

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

need to be sharper and more tightly focused on ensuring that all aspects of the school’s work continue to be highly effective.

p.2

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

All parents and staff who completed the online questionnaires agree that children are safe and well cared for in the nursery. Relationships between adults and children are strong. Children move around the nursery confidently and readily seek support if they need it. There are plenty of adults on hand to assist children and to help them to develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. During snack time, children use child-appropriate knives carefully to cut fruit such as kiwi fruit. Adults support them well to be independent. As a result, they are able to use a range of utensils successfully and safely.

p.2

Short inspection of New Bridge Nursery School

The school premises are very secure and there are regular health and safety checks which include daily routines to make sure that children are kept safe from harm. Risk assessments for visits and school equipment are comprehensive. Leaders work very well with all staff to ensure that the needs of all children are considered thoroughly. They work effectively with outside agencies in health, social care and the local authority to safeguard children’s physical, emotional and learning needs. Attendance is tracked accurately and any concerns identified are followed up swiftly. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

p.2

Inspection findings

 You are passionate about ensuring that all children succeed in their learning and accomplishments during their time at New Bridge. The school’s vision, ‘Challenging minds in a changing world’, is a reality at New Bridge Nursery School. This is because adults capture special moments with children to move their learning forward and skilfully build on what children already know and can do. During planned and spontaneous learning activities, adults intervene when appropriate to develop children’s thinking and help them to make sense of the world around them. In one activity, children were using tape measures to explore length. One child was fascinated as the tape was unwound from the hidden spool. He quickly learned how to wind and unwind it to make sure there was enough tape to ‘measure’ the width of the carpet.  Children who have SEN and/or disabilities, including children in the Snowflake room, make similar progress to their peers because of the skilled and effective

p.2

Inspection findings

support provided by the whole staff team. Children integrate well within the wider nursery setting because adults support them to access resources and learning activities alongside other children. Your own tracking information shows that in many aspects of learning these children make exceptional progress.  Similarly, disadvantaged children, including the most able disadvantaged, make at least good progress from their starting points through the effective additional support they receive. Early years pupil premium funding is used well to provide opportunities for children to improve their communication and language skills through well-planned, targeted learning experiences. Adults encourage children to share their thoughts and improve their speaking and listening skills through successful modelling of language.  Parents really appreciate the opportunity to see their child’s achievement through the school’s online learning journal, which provides them with an insight into

p.3

Inspection findings

their child’s learning during the school day. As well as seeing examples of their child’s achievement, their access to this information enables parents to talk with their child about what they have learned when they are at home. Parents also welcome the ability to upload their child’s learning experiences onto this online system when they are not at school, to share their child’s accomplishments with you and your staff.  The governing body recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that checks on the school’s work are fully robust. Although they visit the school regularly to observe routines and ensure that all staff know who they are, their monitoring of the school’s work has not always been as thorough and meticulous as it should be. Governors have attended training to increase their knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities. However, for some recently appointed governors, their understanding of the full breadth of their

p.3

Inspection findings

responsibilities is at an early stage of development.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 monitoring activities are rigorous and robust.

p.3

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 Reading. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

I met with you, your deputy headteacher, the deputy headteacher of Caversham Nursery School, the SEN coordinator for the federation, staff and two governors. I had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I visited the morning and afternoon sessions with you and observed learning inside and in the outside areas, and talked to children about their learning. I looked at samples of children’s learning journals though your online system. I took into consideration the staff survey results and the views of parents through Parent View, and considered the comments that parents had placed on the website. I evaluated the accuracy of your self-evaluation as well as a range of other documentation. I checked the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

p.4