Caversham Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Caversham Nursery School 114 Amersham Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire RG4 5NA

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Outcome

Caversham Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children’s smiling faces as they arrive each day show how much they adore attending this friendly and nurturing community. They are eager to begin their learning. Children receive a warm welcome from caring staff. Everyone is valued and respected.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders’ motto, ‘every moment matters’ shines through all areas. They have very high expectations for what children can achieve. There is a positive buzz as children play and learn happily with their friends. Staff encourage children to use their imagination and explore their ideas. For instance, children enjoy making ‘fish pasta’ and ‘cooking duck eggs’. They delight in ‘building a camper van’ to go on a road trip. Children become independent, resilient and confident learners. They leave remarkably well prepared for their primary schools.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave superbly. They feel safe and quickly learn the importance of being kind, sharing and taking turns. Children know that staff are there to help them if they feel sad or have any worries. Any unkind behaviour between children is dealt with in a calm and sensitive manner. Staff ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thrive and succeed. Parents and carers rightly have very positive views about this exceptional school.

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

Leaders, governors and staff are determined for all children to develop a love of learning for life and achieve well. Their commitment to providing children with an excellent start to their education is palpable. The ambitious and engaging curriculum is precisely planned and organised. Staff are crystal clear about what children are expected to learn.

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

Well-trained staff are experts in delivering the school’s curriculum. They know the children extremely well. Staff carefully check how well children are developing their knowledge and skills. They adapt activities to help any children who are falling behind. Staff are 21 September 2022

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equally skilled at adapting their approach to support children with SEND. Consequently, all children access a broad curriculum successfully and achieve highly in all areas of learning.

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Leaders’ focus on building children's communication and language is striking. Children get a superb introduction to early phonics through listening to sounds, rhyme and repetition. They often choose to make marks to represent writing. Two-year-olds enjoy listening to stories on their own with their key person, or as part of a group. Staff emphasise and continually model appropriate language and vocabulary extremely well. This helps children to learn, practise and broaden the language that they use. They also learn Makaton to help them to communicate. Staff use songs, rhymes and stories to engage and inspire children. For example, children develop their mathematical knowledge as they sing songs about numbers. They learn about living things when they share stories about animals. Consequently, children develop a love of reading.

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Children truly flourish at Caversham. They concentrate well and sustain their engagement in their play and learning. Children are confident to take risks and try new and unfamiliar activities. Equally, the youngest children quickly learn the routines that help them develop the independence and determination to do things for themselves. Staff are excellent role models. Children value the strong, trusting relationships they form with staff and the consistent messages that all adults provide.

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Children's broader development is catered for very well. The exciting curriculum enriches their experience of the world around them. For instance, children travel to town on the bus, delight in watching chicks hatching from their eggs and relish visits from the farm to learn about different animals. They learn to make healthy choices about food when they enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks. Currently, children are carefully looking after the vegetables they have planted. They talk excitedly about using their harvest to make vegetable soup.

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Leaders’ ambition that everyone should keep learning and improving is clear to see. Staff training is high on their agenda. Staff feel well supported in their roles and are proud to belong to the ‘school family’. They appreciate and praise leaders’ efforts to make sure that workloads are manageable. Like children, staff are well cared for. Governors give appropriate support and challenge to school leaders to ensure that the quality of education continues to be excellent.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Children’s welfare is a top priority. Leaders ensure that all necessary checks are made on staff to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Staff receive regular safeguarding training. They are alert to any changes in behaviour that may indicate a child is worried or upset. Staff act quickly when they have any concerns about a child’s welfare or safety. Where necessary, leaders work closely with other agencies, such as healthcare professionals and the local authority. This enables children and their families to get the support they need. 21 September 2022

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Background

When we have judged outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in May 2017.

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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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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. 21 September 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227910 Type of school Nursery

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 and 4 May 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Caversham Nursery School is a maintained nursery school with provision for two-to five-year-old children. At the time of the inspection, children were being taught in temporary classrooms due to flooding in July 2022.  Along with two other nursery schools, the school is part of the Reading Early Years Schools Federation. They share the same executive headteacher and governing body. The chair of governors was appointed in September 2021.  The governing body and leadership team also manage day care for children from birth to three years on the same site. This provision was not part of this inspection.  The school does not currently use any 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 21 September 2022

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 Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, the head of school, school leaders, staff and children.  The lead inspector met with two governors, including the chair of the governing body. Inspectors also spoke with a representative from Reading local authority.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited classrooms and outdoor learning areas, spoke to staff and talked with children.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors checked the single central record of recruitment checks and talked to leaders responsible for safeguarding.  The inspection team considered the responses to the confidential staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire and the

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additional free-text responses. An inspector had informal conversations with some parents at the start of the morning and afternoon nursery sessions.

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Inspection team

Louise Walker, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Debra Mansfield Ofsted Inspector 21 September 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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