Moorlands Centre Nursery School

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

p.1

Deb Spinks Moorlands Centre Nursery School Beanhill Local Centre Dodkin Beanhill Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK6 4LP

p.1

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 18 July 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 June 2014.

p.1

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You provide highly effective leadership and have established a culture in which every person is valued and respected. You care very much about every child and are highly respected by staff, parents, carers and governors.

p.1

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

Your Nursery sits at the heart of the community. You know the children and their families extremely well, which means you can provide well-targeted support. You are focused on continual improvement and are committed to making the Nursery the very best place for children to learn. You and your staff are very reflective. You take time to think about what works well, and quickly adapt things when they are not so effective.

p.1

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

Children make good progress in all areas of learning. This is because staff are very good at checking what children can do when they arrive at the school and as they progress through each term. You work hard to engage parents in their children‟s learning, providing a variety of opportunities for parents to come into Nursery to talk about their children‟s progress. Parents are very appreciative of the Nursery. One parent wrote: „My child loves going to her Nursery every morning. She always asks me, “Is it morning? Is it nursery time?” The school has very strong leadership and any concerns and queries I may have, are dealt with quickly, no matter how small they are.‟ Both the „2Nursery‟ and the „3Nursery‟ are vibrant and caring environments in which children can investigate and discover new things. Children arrive for their session excited to see what the day holds for them.

p.1

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

Since the last inspection, you and your staff have given a lot of thought to the best ways of encouraging children to be more curious and find things out for themselves. The „in the moment‟ planning you have adopted very effectively supports children to make choices about their learning that build on their interests. The carefully selected resources you provide help the children to develop their speaking and listening skills as they work collaboratively. During my visit, a group of children were talking avidly about the ladybird they had found and the way in which they would transfer it safely to the bug hotel. Thoughtful questions and suggestions from an adult inspired the children to think and plan their next steps. They showed incredible patience, determination and care as they finally completed their mission successfully.

p.2

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

A real sense of purposeful activity pulses across the nursery. Two children were painting pictures of dinosaurs using cotton buds while chatting about their creations. The teacher intervened very effectively to support the children‟s learning. She encouraged them to think about telling the other children how they had made their pictures. She modelled the vocabulary that they might use, for example: „The tools we have used are cotton buds.‟ Every opportunity was taken to engage the children in conversation and to extend their vocabulary.

p.2

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

A large number of children in the Nursery have limited language, and some communicate by making sounds and gestures. Staff are skillful in supporting these children and nobody is left out. One little girl who has very limited speech was investigating the spaghetti in the tray. „It‟s sticky,‟ said the teaching assistant. „Can you feel it?‟ The adult‟s repetition of the word, her modelling and facial expressions led the girl to put in her hands and cry out in excitement, „Sticky!‟

p.2

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

Staff promote children‟s social development well, encouraging them to be kind to one another. When a boy is feeling sad because other children say he is the monster in their game, an adult is quick to intervene. She asks them to think about why their game is making the boy sad, and how they could put this right. It is all managed very quietly and calmly and the situation is quickly and happily resolved.

p.2

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

At the time of your last inspection, the inspector recognised the many strengths of the school. You have been successful in maintaining these strengths. You have addressed the area the inspector identified for improvement, notably improving opportunities for all children to further increase their language skills.

p.2

Short inspection of Moorlands Centre Nursery School

You have robust procedures to check that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff are well trained in child protection, and their knowledge is up to date. Governors have also received appropriate training in child protection, but are aware that they have not been sufficiently rigorous in regularly checking the impact of procedures and practice. Your staff are deployed well to supervise the children in their care and have very good knowledge of first aid. A number of children have complex medical needs and you and your staff support them extremely well. This is because you keep detailed risk assessments and train staff well to ensure that these children‟s needs are met. Your absolute determination that no child misses out on any activity is commendable.

p.2

Inspection findings

 During this inspection, I looked at the effectiveness of safeguarding, the opportunities children have to increase their language skills, the impact of additional funding on children‟s progress and the effectiveness of governance.  The culture of the school ensures that safeguarding has a high priority. As the Nursery is part of the Family Centre, you recognise the need for particular vigilance and have developed systems that keep everyone safe. Staff are able to identify when a child may be at risk of harm. They understand how to promptly record and report any worries about children‟s well-being. You swiftly follow up any concerns with the appropriate actions, involving different agencies when necessary. You are an advocate for children and their families and actively challenge other professionals when you believe it is necessary to do so.  You have provided good opportunities for staff to focus on developing a

p.3

Inspection findings

curriculum for all children that extends their spoken language. The practice of using signs and symbols to support children‟s understanding and develop their spoken language skills is developing but is not yet used consistently.  Staff are becoming very skilful in modelling and repeating words and sentences to extend children‟s learning. For example, when children tried to fill their watering cans from a shallow trough, the adult outside did not tell them how to do it, but said, „I wonder how you will fill the can?‟ This made the children think and try out different ways until they were successful in watering the plants.  Your staff work effectively to support children for whom English is an additional language, providing a range of books that reflect the diversity of children‟s experiences. Your „Storytime‟ sessions model storytelling for parents, and do so using some of the different languages spoken in the Nursery. As a result,

p.3

Inspection findings

different languages and cultures are valued and celebrated.  Children in receipt of additional funds benefit from extra opportunities that the Nursery provides. For example, they all make use of the forest school, where a trained forest school teacher plans activities which help to develop children‟s social and communication skills. Where children have very complex needs, a highly skilled practitioner offers support. You ensure that her knowledge and the strategies she uses are shared so that other staff can develop their practice and more children benefit.  Children in receipt of additional funds make progress that is close to that of other children with the same starting points. However, this information is not evaluated and reported on fully.  Governors are committed to the Nursery and share your passion and vision for excellence. They ask probing questions on the progress that children make and

p.3

Inspection findings

clearly understand what evidence the staff use to make their judgements. They are committed to developing their own skills and knowledge to help them to be more effective in their roles. They are working to raise their profile in the Nursery so that communication with parents is more effective and their work is better understood.  Governors know that the school‟s website does not meet statutory requirements and are addressing this so that it will be fully compliant.

p.4

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 the impact of additional funding on improving the progress made by disadvantaged children is evaluated thoroughly and reported on the Nursery‟s website  the Nursery‟s website is up to date and meets statutory requirements.

p.4

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 Milton Keynes. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I met with you and three governors, including the chair of governors. I spoke with a representative of the local authority. Together, you and I observed learning across the Nursery talking to children and staff as we did so. I looked at children‟s „Learning Journeys‟ and cross-referenced this information with progress data information. I took account of 12 responses from parents to Ofsted‟s online questionnaire, Parent View, and one handwritten note. There were 13 free-text comments. I spoke to 12 parents as they collected their children. I considered the views of six members of staff who responded to Ofsted‟s online survey. I analysed a range of the school‟s documentation, including information about children‟s achievement, and your self-evaluation. I checked the effectiveness of your safeguarding and welfare arrangements, including those related to recruitment and background checks on all adults working in school.

p.4