Shoshanim

Inspection of Shoshanim 7 Gladstone Terrace, Gateshead NE8 4DY

p.1

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.1

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Children enjoy school, attend regularly and are excited to learn. Staff form positive and caring relationships with children in this warm and welcoming setting. Leaders want every child to be ready for key stage 1 when they leave this nursery. Children achieve particularly well in their personal, social and emotional development (PSED) and mathematics.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Children experience a wide range of age-appropriate activities in each class. They enjoy activities about healthy eating or how plants grow, for example. Leaders have recently started to think more carefully about the essential knowledge they want the children to learn and in which order. Teachers use stories to discuss healthy relationships and staying safe. Children enjoy reading to adults in school but do not take their books home to practise their reading.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave well in classrooms, outdoors and around school. Lunchtimes are calm. Adults encourage children to listen carefully to others and be well-mannered. Some children share their concerns in a ‘worry box’. Adults take swift action to allay children’s fears. Unacceptable behaviour and bullying are not a problem in this school.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

All parents and carers who gave their views during the inspection were extremely positive. They appreciate the welcoming environment and say staff ‘genuinely care’ about their children. Many parents describe their children as ‘happy’, ‘safe’ and ‘thriving’ in school.

p.2

better?

Leaders place a high priority on developing children in a nurturing and caring environment. This is successful and PSED is a strength of the school. The curriculum for all areas of the early years foundations stage curriculum has been completely changed since September. Recently introduced long-term curriculum plans set out the ‘goals’ that children should reach by the end of every year. Leaders are in the early stages of identifying the smaller chunks of knowledge that children need to learn across the year to reach these end points. Teachers do not have access to these plans. The curriculum leader meets weekly with teaching staff to help them decide what to teach in each curriculum area. Some curriculum plans link to interesting lesson content or activities more than the knowledge they want children to learn. Leaders have provided some curriculum training for staff, for example on communication and language development. Staff have not accessed relevant training

p.2

better?

in other curriculum areas. This means that staff’s subject knowledge is variable across different curriculum areas.

p.2

better?

Leaders have also recently changed the way that they check how well the children are learning in each curriculum area. This is not fully in place. It is difficult for leaders to check what children know and can do when the curriculum is not fully established. 7 to 9 December 2021 This means that it is too soon to see how well this system is working. Children take most of their work in mathematics and English home at the end of the week. This limits how much leaders can check on how well children learn over time.

p.2

better?

Leaders have also changed the way that mathematics is planned and delivered. Teachers plan interesting activities to develop children’s understanding of number and numerical patterns. Children explore a range of mathematical activities in the outdoor learning environment.

p.3

better?

Children access regular early reading and phonics sessions. The books that children read in school match the sounds and words that they know. Children do not get the chance to take these books home to have further reading practice. Teaching staff use phonics resources from a variety of sources and programmes. This inconsistent approach can sometimes confuse some children when they try to read or spell words.

p.3

better?

Only a very small proportion of children have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) guides staff to support these children well. Parents, staff and professionals are involved in regular reviews to check how well the children are doing. Parents of pupils with SEND say that this support has improved their children’s confidence to access learning.

p.3

better?

Leaders promote some of the fundamental British values well. This is done in a way which is relevant to children’s ages. For example, children learn about the rule of law by considering their school rules. Teachers make links between democracy and choices children make. Mutual respect is threaded through the ethos of the nursery. However, leaders have chosen to teach children about faiths and cultures different to their own, but only when they decide that children are ready. They have not formally pinpointed when that time will be within the curriculum design.

p.3

better?

Members of the proprietor body make sure that the school provides the required information for parents. This includes a safeguarding policy, complaints policy and an annual progress report for every child. They ensure that a suitable accessibility plan is in place. This complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Staff are proud to work at this nursery. They say that they feel valued and leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

All staff access relevant training linked to safeguarding. They know what they must do if they have concerns about a child. Leaders have effective systems in place to check that any child who is absent is safe.

p.3

Safeguarding

Leaders carry out thorough safety checks on the staff who work at the school. The designated safeguarding leader (DSL) and deputy DSLs work well with parents to keep children safe. Leaders know the risks to children in the local area, for 7 to 9 December 2021 example road safety. They ensure that suitable and age-appropriate content about keeping safe is included in the curriculum.

p.3

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Although curriculum end points are identified for each year group and the curriculum contains content and activities, it is not sequenced well enough. This means that children’s learning is more content based than knowledge led. Leaders have very recently introduced new long-term plans which identify the essential knowledge they want children to learn in every area across the curriculum. Leaders need to implement these plans so that teachers are clear on what they must teach and in which order, term on term and year-to-year.  Leaders are in the early stages of implementing a new assessment system to check how well children are progressing over time. This is hindered by the sequenced curriculum not being fully established, to check whether children understand and remember it. Leaders should ensure that the system is finalised and information they gain from assessment is used to inform future planning.

p.4

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Teachers have not had specific training to support them to deliver the recently introduced long-term curriculum design. Some staff sometimes lack the subject knowledge they need to deliver some areas of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that teachers receive relevant high-quality curriculum training so that teachers gain the specific knowledge to deliver a coherently planned curriculum across the early years.  The resources staff use to teach children phonics and early reading come from a range of sources, and children do not take their reading books home. As a result, there is an inconsistent approach to phonics, and children do not get the chance to practise what they learn in school. Leaders should ensure that they have fidelity to one synthetic, systematic phonics programme and enable more opportunities for children to practise their reading.  Leaders promote some fundamental British values, such as mutual respect,

p.4

(Information for the school and proprietor)

democracy and rule of law. They intend to promote different cultures and faiths in the future but have not planned when this will be. Leaders need to develop a clear age-appropriate programme to help children understand about cultures and faiths different to their own.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

to 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. 7 to 9 December 2021 The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 7 to 9 December 2021

p.5

School details

Unique reference number 147700 DfE registration number 390/6013

p.6

School details

Inspection number 10202215 Type of school Other independent school

p.6

School details

Email address shoshanimgateshead@gmail.com

p.6

School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 7 to 9 December 2021

p.6

Information about this school

 The school was registered by the DfE on the 21 September 2020. This is the school’s first standard inspection.  Children learn Hebrew and some aspects of the early years curriculum on a morning. On an afternoon, children access the secular curriculum, which includes phonics, mathematics, additional reading sessions and all areas of the early years foundation stage curriculum.  The Nursery does not use alternative providers.  The Nursery has part-time provision for two-year-old children.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

p.7

Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. Checks of the premises were carried out to ensure compliance with part five of the independent school standards.

p.7

Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

p.7

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, curriculum leader, SENCo and staff to discuss the school’s work. The inspectors met with the proprietor several times throughout the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding procedures and practice through inspection activities with leaders, staff and children. The lead inspector checked a range of safeguarding records, including the single central record, and met with the DSL and proprietor to discuss safeguarding processes.  The inspectors viewed a range of documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and school development plan, long-term curriculum planning, behaviour logs, attendance logs and a range of policies.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading and phonics, mathematics, ‘communication and language’ and ‘understanding the world’. As part of the deep dives, inspectors met with leaders and teachers, visited lessons, reviewed

p.7

Information about this inspection

curriculum planning, looked at children’s work and talked to children informally.  There were 26 responses to Ofsted’s parents’ questionnaire and 21 written comments. Inspectors spoke to parents at the beginning and end of the school 7 to 9 December 2021 day. Inspectors gathered views of staff and pupils informally throughout the inspection.

p.7

Inspection team

Alison Aitchison, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Michael Reeves Her Majesty’s Inspector 7 to 9 December 2021 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format

p.8

Inspection team

or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspection team

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

p.9