Bushy Leaze Early Years Centre

Inspection of an outstanding school: Bushy Leaze Early Years Centre Eastbrook Road, Alton, Hampshire GU34 2DR

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this initial (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now. The next inspection will therefore be a full (section 5) inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children at this school are delightful. They show enjoyment in their learning and being together with each other. They are safe and happy. Adults are caring and nurturing, and parents and carers agree with this. One parent who spoke to an inspector said, ‘I trust the staff 100%.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over a third of children at Bushy Leaze have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders are clear that Bushy Leaze is a nursery for all. Children play with and alongside each other well. Poor behaviour is rare because children know how to share and take turns. Leaders and other adults use a popular storybook about feelings to help children learn to recognise their own emotions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children take part in a range of experiences, including visiting the forest area at the local junior school and taking part in workshops. In a recent music workshop, children, including those with SEND, enjoyed finding out about instruments such as the harp.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for children. It is important to them that children take part in a range of experiences beyond the school. This ambition is not yet carried through fully into the taught curriculum. Leaders are at an early stage of adjusting their plans to meet new statutory guidance.

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

At Bushy Leaze, relationships between adults and children are strong. The key worker system means that the children and their interests are well known. Leaders use this information to plan ‘core experiences’ for children to take part in. Children, including those with SEND, know that adults are there to help them, but do not rely on their help. Instead, children thrive on becoming independent and doing things for themselves, such 22 March 2022

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as pouring the water at snack time. Adults know when to step back and when to join in with play. Adults use this time to model and extend children’s use of language.

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The development of children’s communication skills weaves through the curriculum. Children, including those with SEND, enjoy joining in with daily stories and songs. During the inspection, children retold the story, ‘The three little pigs’, to an inspector. They were keen to share all the new words they had learned. Others built houses and shelters linked to the story. Children have many opportunities to be creative and use their imagination.

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Staff have created a list of books they want children to know and recognise. These books are selected to support children’s understanding of the world around them and to help them learn new words. Leaders help parents understand the importance of stories and books. A lending library has been set up where parents and children can choose a book to take home each week.

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Children with SEND take part in well-thought-through learning activities. Adults build sensory experiences into their day. This helps children to be calm. Staff are knowledgeable about the children’s needs and know how to adapt learning for them. Children with SEND take part in the core experiences, such as visiting the local library, because adults take time to teach the children what to expect. This helps to prepare children for learning and to join in with other children.

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Adults plan engaging activities for children, using the children’s interests to tailor the learning. For example, children matched numbers on a ‘bus ticket’ and then used this to identify numbers and count objects. Children are active. While they are playing, there is a wide range of equipment for children to explore. Children focus and concentrate well when completing activities, for example when chalking numbers on the floor or travelling along different surfaces. However, the activities that the children complete are sometimes too easy. Although adults know the children well, they have not received clear guidance on how to help children take their next steps in the curriculum.

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Leaders have thought about what they want children to be able to do by the time they leave this school. However, they have not clearly set out or agreed the knowledge and skills that children need to learn. Staff have a good understanding of how children develop and learn, but do not focus sharply enough on how this knowledge builds over time. Leaders have started to look at curriculum planning and sequencing. This may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection.

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Staff are proud to be members of this school. They feel well supported by leaders, for both their well-being and their professional development. Leaders look at ways in which staff can work more efficiently, for example by changing the way they use assessment. Staff appreciate this. The governing body has recently created a well-being link governor role. Leaders place high importance on the well-being of staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 22 March 2022

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Leaders’ approach to safeguarding is clear: ‘It could happen here, to any family.’ Staff are well trained to spot the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know children well and are quick to raise any concerns. Children’s needs are identified early as a result of the joined- up approach between the nursery and the family support centre. Support for children and their families is put into place quickly. This helps families to get the support they need quickly.

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Children manage their own safety well when moving around the nursery, especially when exploring the outside area on their tricycles.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Curriculum plans do not show how knowledge builds sequentially towards the school’s curriculum goals. The skills and knowledge children need to learn are not precisely mapped out. Too often, individual staff decide what children will learn and when. Leaders need to ensure that their plans show how knowledge builds cumulatively towards the school’s curriculum goals.

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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 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 September 2016.

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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 . 22 March 2022

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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. 22 March 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

13 September 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The nursery caters for two- to four-year-old children. Most children attend part time. Approximately a third of children attend full time. There are 30 places allocated to children with SEND.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  There have been several changes of headteacher in this academic year. The current interim headteacher took up role in January 2022. The governing body plans to recruit a substantive headteacher by the end of this academic year.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, members of staff and five representatives from the governing body. An inspector also spoke on the 22 March 2022

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telephone to two representatives from the local authority and the special educational needs coordinator.  Inspectors spoke with parents at the school gate and considered the 14 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and parents’ written responses.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas: communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited lessons, spoke to early years practitioners, spoke to some children about their learning and looked at their work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other areas of learning.  Inspectors looked at the school’s own evaluation and development plans.  Inspectors spoke to children, parents and staff about the school’s work to keep children safe. They considered a range of safeguarding documentation.

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 During the inspection, nine members of staff were absent due to COVID-19.

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Inspection team

Clare Haines, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Debra Anderson Ofsted Inspector 22 March 2022

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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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