St Anthony's Catholic Primary School & Nursery

Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School & Nursery St Anthonys Catholic Primary School, Farnham Road, Farnham Royal, Slough SL2 3AA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children enjoy lots of individual attention in the small, friendly and welcoming nursery environment. Effective settling-in procedures allow staff to meet children's individual needs from the outset. Children are happy and secure, and show good levels of emotional well-being. They confidently explore the well-organised environment. However, on occasions, the staff do not follow children's interests or give them time to complete their activities. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from a full and positive learning experience.

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The provision is good

The headteacher and her team are committed to their roles and responsibilities. They have high expectations for all children and have developed a curriculum based on children's interests and what they need to learn next. Staff use the information they gather through observations and assessments of children to provide a range of experiences to support their learning further. They work well with parents and other professionals involved in children's care, to ensure that any child who needs additional help quickly receives the support they need to enable them to progress.

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The provision is good

Staff provide an abundance of praise and celebrate children's individual achievements. Overall, children's behaviour is good. However, they do not adopt a range of strategies effectively to support children who struggle to regulate their own feelings and behaviour.

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need to do better?

n The headteacher and her staff have an ambitious vision for providing high- quality, inclusive care for all children and their families. They use a variety of methods to evaluate their provision, such as quality improvement plans. They make good use of appraisals to provide staff with regular feedback on their performance and identify areas for development. They are proactive in making positive changes and focus well on improving practitioner knowledge of how children learn, for instance through training and networking with other provisions. n Staff interact well with children and successfully support their developing language and communication. Throughout activities they provide commentary, model good conversational skills and introduce new vocabulary. Staff successfully use singing sessions to support children's good communication skills. Children enthusiastically join in with songs, learning the words to new

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need to do better?

songs and confidently using actions as they sing. n Children of all ages have access to a good variety of books and listen with interest to familiar stories. Staff use these opportunities to enhance children's understanding of counting and numbers. For example, they point to the pictures

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need to do better?

24 September 2019 and count how many they can see. n Children benefit from regular exercise and fresh air in the nursery garden, and during visits to local parks. They demonstrate good physical skills, confidence in their own abilities and have an awareness of how to manage appropriate risks, such as when using large apparatus. n Staff use assessments well to check children's progress and plan for their next steps. However, they do not consistently respond to children's spontaneous interests or allow them to finish activities. For example, when children repeatedly ask if they can use scissors for cutting, staff do not allow them to do this, their play is stopped, and children are moved on to the next activity. n Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff regularly discuss children's progress with them and involve them fully in their children's learning. Feedback from parents is positive and they report on the positive impact the nursery has on

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need to do better?

their children's learning and development. n Overall, staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. However, they do not consistently support children who find difficulty in controlling their feelings. For example, children become frustrated when their play is interrupted, and staff do not adapt their approach to find the most effective strategies to help children to manage their emotions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff ensure that children's safety is given good priority. The premises are safe and secure, and children are well supervised. The headteacher ensures that staff have up-to-date knowledge and have a clear understanding of the signs that a child may be at risk of harm. All staff attend regular training and are aware of what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. The school follows robust recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of staff working with children. Regular checks on the environment help leaders and staff to identify and eliminate any potential risks.

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should:

n ensure children have enough time to complete activities or finish games n respond consistently to children's interests and engage them in more challenging learning experiences n continue to explore a range of strategies, to help support children who find difficulty in regulating their feelings and behaviour.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY547179 Local authority Slough Inspection number 10104826 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 1 to 3 Total number of places 8 Number of children on roll 8 Name of registered person St Peter Catholic Academy Trust

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reference number

Telephone number 01753 645828 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

St Anthony's Catholic Primary School & Nursery re-registered in 2017, due to the school changing to Trust status. It operates from within St Anthony's Primary School and is solely for the children of staff. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8.15am to 4.15pm, during term time only. The setting employs three staff, two of whom hold relevant early years qualifications at level 6 and level 3.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector and the deputy headteacher completed a learning walk across all areas of the nursery to understand how the early years provision and the curriculum are organised. n The inspector completed a joint observation of an activity with the deputy headteacher. n The inspector asked the staff questions throughout the inspection to establish their understanding of how to safeguard children, and how they assess and plan for children's learning. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and the children and considered the impact on their learning. n The inspector sampled documentation, including staff qualifications, children's records and evidence of paediatric first-aid training.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

24 September 2019 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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