Purley Nursery School

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

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Mrs Sue Jarrett Head of School Purley Nursery School 58 Pampisford Road Purley Surrey CR8 2NE

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Short inspection of Purley 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 September 2013.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

This school continues to be outstanding.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the outstanding quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

The school has recently been federated with a neighbouring school, Christ Church. You, your leadership team and governors have ensured that this significant and very time-consuming change has been seamless and efficient; it has had no detrimental effect on the children or the parents. Very few changes have been observed, and when prompted, the shared opinion was that the entire process has been managed smoothly and efficiently. There is work to be done to develop and sustain this partnership further.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

There is a strong and supportive relationship between yourself and the executive headteacher. Each of you bring different strengths to the partnership that have helped maintain the exceptional quality of the school’s work. Leaders and governors are very clear about your roles and responsibilities. You are committed to ensuring that there is a strong focus on the quality of the staff you recruit and retain to provide the highest quality of education for the children in your setting. You are supported very well by the governing body and challenged to make sure that the nursery retains its identity now that it is part of the federation. You and your leaders know your strengths and are very quick to identify any new initiatives and developments that may arise and that need to be implemented.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

Parents and staff commented very favourably on the learning environment and the impact it has in enhancing their children’s experiences. The range of outside activities, such as the musical instruments, capture the imagination. Physical development is promoted imaginatively with natural materials such as pebble stepping stones. Staff describe the outdoor provision as ‘an oasis’, and one parent said it was ‘heaven’. The children at your school are polite, independent and resilient learners. I saw a child persevere in putting on a pair of woolly gloves independently and another succeeded in lengthening the strap of a watch (made using paper and a bottle top) with the support of a friend and some sticky tape. The school sets itself ambitious standards of children’s attainment, progress and well-being and continually reaches or exceeds them. You always strive to do more. You are very committed to the children and the families you serve within the community.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

Policies and processes are firmly in place and governors review safeguarding matters regularly. You and senior leaders are committed to ensuring that all staff understand the key role they play in safeguarding children’s welfare. The importance of safeguarding permeates the school and all members of staff understand their responsibilities fully. Recent training for staff on identifying possible warning signs that a child may be at risk, including from extremism or female genital mutilation, ensures that staff are aware of the need for vigilance. Staff know what the school expects them to do should any concern arise.

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Short inspection of Purley Nursery School

This culture of safeguarding feeds into daily life at the nursery both inside and in the outdoor spaces. Staff teach children regularly how to use equipment safely. Children go down the slide, wait for their turn, pedal cycle routes defined by chalk and saying, ‘excuse me’ before navigating these complex routes. They use knives with confidence to help to chop fruit.

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Inspection findings

 In your previous inspection, you were asked to ensure that children new to English were given better opportunities to develop language. We agreed that this would be my first line of enquiry. You have tackled this very successfully as a school, in a range of ways. You have ensured that families are welcomed to the school in a range of languages. In designing specific interventions for identified children, you have prioritised speaking and communicating for all children using spoken language and simple sign language. With the support of the parents, you have created an extensive home/school library with many dual language books. These books, often in the home language, are borrowed eagerly by the children. Speech and language support, with its focus on speaking and listening, has contributed to increased attainment.  The second line of enquiry we agreed to focus on how the range of provision translates into daily experiences at nursery for children and their

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Inspection findings

families. The school sees itself as more than a school and embraces the local community. This culture is created each day through a range of initiatives such as parent workshops, stay and play sessions, daily informal updates and termly meetings with parents. The community extends beyond immediate nursery families. Staff demonstrate a real sense of pride in being at the heart of Purley Nursery. They understand the importance of developing values and skills for life in the children with whom they work. The impact of this can be seen in the progress that the children make every day.  For my final line of enquiry, we discussed what makes your school special and what else you think you need to do to improve it further. First and foremost, the children are happy here; they are listened to and shown respect and as a result have high levels of interest in learning. They make substantial progress, irrespective of their starting points or needs.

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Inspection findings

 Staff take every opportunity to fuel and respond to children’s interests. Working with the children, staff set up a role-play hairdressing salon. Explanations of new learning are very clear and effective. Children are encouraged to talk and voice opinions. Staff take a great deal of care to make sure that both boys and girls are enthusiastic and diligent participants in all the activities the school has to offer.  Outdoor activities are exciting, dynamic and innovative. The outside space is used to outstanding effect. There are many opportunities for the children to investigate language and numbers. Parents and grandparents supported the building of a Mud Kitchen build and are regular volunteers in the vegetable patch.  You encourage a love of books from the time the children join the school. The children share their favourite picture books and are delighted by joining in with the repeated text in the stories. Parents made a point of saying how

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Inspection findings

happy their children are at the school. They said that their children are well cared for and subsequently make exceptional progress. Speech and language teaching is a strength of this school.

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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

 links with the partner school are strengthened so that staff can share skills and maximise the benefits from the newly formed federation partnership.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection I held meetings with you, your executive headteacher, your lead teacher, the chair of governors and three members of the governing body over two separate meetings, and two representatives from the local authority. I spoke briefly with parents as they dropped off their children in the morning and I took account of the responses to the online Ofsted questionnaire Parent View completed by 32 parents and the school’s parent questionnaire conducted in December 2017 with 24 responses. I spoke informally with staff and children. Together, we observed teaching and learning, both indoors and outside, and watched a small intervention group developing focus and attention and a group being supported in a language activity. I looked at a sample of children’s individual records of achievement and key worker files with you and your lead teacher. I then observed these children in the setting. I also reviewed a wide range of documents, including

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Information about the inspection

the school’s self-evaluation, school development plan, external audits, and the single central record and other documentation relating to safeguarding.

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