Rainhill Community Nursery

Inspection of an outstanding school: Rainhill Community Nursery Deepdale Drive, Rainhill, Prescot, Merseyside L35 4NW

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Outcome

Rainhill Community Nursery continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children flourish at this school academically, socially and emotionally. This is because leaders have high expectations of what children can achieve. Leaders set a high standard for behaviour that staff and children follow. Children enjoy learning. They gain valuable new knowledge because staff plan interesting and challenging learning activities. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve highly. They gain many new skills, such as from their weekly group activities that teach them to exercise, breath and be calm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children’s exemplary behaviour shows that they are ready to work and learn. For example, they learn to act like the school’s puppet characters: Brave Beatrice, Resilient Ray, Creative Caroline and Learning Lee. They enjoy warm, supportive relationships with teachers and teaching assistants. Children make lots of friends. They feel safe at the school. Parents and carers said that staff care for their children very well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are confident and clearly communicate their needs and opinions to staff. Staff deal quickly with disagreements or any incidents of bullying that arise rarely between children.

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

The classrooms are calm yet full of talkative children deeply involved in learning. Staff act as positive role models and children follow their example. Children investigate, experiment and play with staff and with one another in a gentle hubbub of learning. Children’s excellent behaviour means that staff can teach without distractions.

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

Staff are highly trained in educating young children, including two-year-olds. They have an expert knowledge of child development. Staff take part in research projects of aspects within the early years to ensure that they remain fully informed and up to date. They receive regular training and use this learning successfully. Staff have developed a rich, well-considered curriculum for children in all subjects, indoors and outdoors. Teachers 18 November 2021

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plan learning activities in which staff teach all children, including those with SEND, the essential knowledge that they need. Staff teach children in thoughtful ways, such as by making an apple crumble together from locally sourced apples.

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Teachers and teaching assistants assess the knowledge and skills that children gain at school. Staff know the curriculum in detail and understand what learning children need to complete next. They introduce new learning when children confidently remember previous knowledge. Staff present new learning skilfully and give children precise and clear explanations. Teachers plan activities so that children practise and deepen their new knowledge very well.

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Leaders and staff respect what children say at school. For example, when children tell staff something special, staff share this with other children. They tell the other children that their classmate ‘has just said something important’. Staff teach children to listen properly to other people. They skilfully help children to use words and gestures to communicate their ideas and questions. Staff teach children about reading through well- chosen stories and non-fiction books that inform, challenge and enthuse the children. Staff carefully explain new and interesting words to children. They reuse these words often to help build children’s understanding. Where appropriate, they teach children the sounds that letters represent.

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Children are confident and thoughtful in their use of books. Children, including two-year- olds, know and enjoy many stories, rhymes and songs. They relish making up their own tales. Children are confident, skilful mathematicians. For instance, they instantly recognise up to three objects in a small group without needing to count them. This is because of the expert way that staff teach children. In their play and group activities, children count and record numbers with confidence.

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Staff identify promptly those children who find learning hard, including those with SEND. They give children the help that they need, including by teaching knowledge in smaller chunks. They ensure that all children with SEND learn the same curriculum as others in the school.

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Staff teach children to understand the characteristics and traditions of their own families. They also plan meaningful opportunities for children to learn about other people and communities. For instance, children learn about the celebration of Diwali, and Chinese New Year. They regularly look at books with staff that have text in two languages. Leaders and staff ensure that children learn about how adults have different jobs. For example, they teach children about the importance of roles that help the community, such as postal workers and police officers.

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Leaders have a clear, precise understanding of the curriculum and the work of staff. Leaders ensure that teachers and teaching assistants have a reasonable workload.

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Governors challenge and support leaders very well. For instance, governors ask leaders thoughtful questions about how to maintain and improve even further the high quality of education for children that leaders and staff provide. 18 November 2021

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Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. A parental comment, typical of many, is, ‘This is an amazing nursery that provides a rich and varied curriculum which allows my child to thrive. My child is very happy at the school and has formed good relationships with all the staff.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff understand that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders keep themselves and staff up to date about possible risks to children’s safety and well-being by attending training regularly. They listen to what children say about their experiences. They watch out for any changes in children’s behaviour that might suggest they are worried or upset by the behaviour of other people. Leaders and staff work closely with other agencies to safeguard children where necessary. They teach children often about staying safe. For instance, to use the internet carefully, to be wary when meeting strangers in person and to be sensible when walking near roads. Staff teach children how adults keep the school premises safe.

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Background

When we have judged a 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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in November 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 18 November 2021

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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. 18 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199729 Type of school Nursery

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.rainhillnursery.st-helens.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 May 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school includes places for two-year-old children.  No children attend alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other staff.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and three other governors. He spoke by telephone with an officer of the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to staff and looked at samples of children’s work. Inspectors spoke with children as they played in the nursery. 18 November 2021

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 The inspectors met with the designated safeguarding leader and checked how leaders record and respond to safeguarding concerns. They spoke with parents and staff about safeguarding. They checked a sample of school safeguarding policies and leaders records of checks on the suitability of staff to work with children.  The inspectors considered responses from staff and parents to surveys by Ofsted, including free-text comments. Inspectors considered information from leaders’ own survey of parents at the school. Inspectors spoke with some parents as they brought their children to school.

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Inspection team

Tim Vaughan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sheila Iwaskow Her Majesty’s Inspector 18 November 2021

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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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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