Turncroft Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Turncroft Nursery School Highfield Road, Darwen, Lancashire BB3 2DN

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Outcome

Turncroft Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This nursery school is a super place for children to learn. Staff expect a lot from the children and give them all the help that they need to succeed. Children learn much new knowledge. For instance, they learn to talk about different story books, sing many nursery rhymes and use numbers accurately in their learning activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At the start of the school day, children settle quickly and happily. The nursery is calm but full of talk. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included fully in learning activities. Children become deeply involved in their play with friends and staff. They explore with confidence and enthusiasm indoors and outdoors. As one parent said, ‘The staff get the children thinking.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff share books with children often. Books are everywhere. Children proudly and confidently showed me the many books, puppets and resources that staff set out for them to use. Children relish writing stories and making their own books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff set up clear routines for the school day. Children know that staff expect them to behave. They show much self-control. The times when a child may be unkind to another are rare and resolved properly by staff. Staff make extra sure that children are safe.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

All staff skilfully help children to increase the number of words that they know. They understand the importance of this knowledge for children’s lives. Staff teach unfamiliar words extremely well through their carefully planned use of stories. They help children to become familiar with the language of story books. They teach more unusual words, such as ‘trapdoor’, that they find in books. Staff develop each child’s ability to speak and communicate through logical and well-ordered activities. All children learn to speak and to use signs and symbols to communicate. This helps children, including those with SEND, to express their needs and ideas very well. 17 December 2019

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Staff help children to know and remember many nursery rhymes. They make this teaching exciting. For example, when the teacher deliberately confused the words of a rhyme, children eagerly and accurately corrected her.

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Staff teach children to recognise the sounds that letters represent, for instance in their names. In reading, communication and mathematics, children achieve highly. Primary schools tell the nursery school that children join them ready for Reception class.

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Leaders and staff know what they want children to learn. They make sure that mathematics is a priority at the school. They teach children to become confident in using numbers and counting. Children become independent, able mathematicians. They are enthusiastic about knowing more. They enjoy solving problems, such as in a treasure hunt to find the number labels on spaceships set out in the room.

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Leaders ensure that children with SEND have the same high-quality learning as other children. They use experts from outside the school to give extra help to these children. They make certain that parents and carers are fully involved in decisions about their children.

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There is no low-level interruption to learning at the school. Children persevere and try hard in their learning activities. Children who spoke with inspectors represented themselves and their school wonderfully.

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Leaders make sure that staff give first-rate support for children’s broader development. Staff help children to know about the different faith and beliefs of local people. They teach children about the town where they live. Children visit a farm to learn about rural life.

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Leaders give great emphasis to developing the well-being of their staff. Staff told us that they love their jobs at the school. Their enthusiasm for nursery education was clear throughout the inspection. Teachers and nursery nurses said that leaders ensure that staff workload is manageable.

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Staff are experts in teaching young children and often share their impressive work with other schools and nurseries.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors make certain that staff know their responsibilities for safeguarding children. Leaders and staff are vigilant, and they listen to children. They ensure that children stay safe at the school. They watch children’s behaviour carefully. Staff look for signs of when children are upset about any aspect of their lives. Staff spot any low-level concerns and act quickly to gain a correct picture about children’s safety and feelings. Leaders make proper links with other agencies to protect children from harm. 17 December 2019

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Background

When we have judged a maintained nursery school to be outstanding we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in November 2014.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 17 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10058091 Type of school Nursery

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.turncroftnurseryschool.co.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–20 November 2014

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Information about this school

 The school provides places for children before and after school. This provision was not part of this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 We looked in detail at how the school develops children’s knowledge. We focused on communication and language, reading and mathematics. We spoke with leaders, staff and children. We made visits to activities in the classroom and outdoors. We considered examples of children’s work.  We met with the headteacher about the learning of children with SEND.  We spoke with a representative of the local authority and with the chair of the governing body.  We met with leaders to discuss their work to keep children safe. We asked staff about protecting children from harm. We checked a sample of school policies and records about the safeguarding of children. We checked the suitability of staff and governors at the school to work with children.  We spoke with some parents as they brought their children to school. We considered the findings of a recent school survey of parents’ views. There were too few responses

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to Ofsted’s Parent View survey to analyse.  We asked staff for their views about working at the school and about their workload. We considered the 10 responses from staff to an Ofsted survey.

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Inspection team

Tim Vaughan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor Her Majesty’s Inspector 17 December 2019

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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