Hindley Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Hindley Nursery School Mornington Road, Hindley, Wigan, Lancashire WN2 4LG

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Outcome

Hindley Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children thrive at this delightful and welcoming nursery school. They are happy and safe. They are exceptionally motivated to learn. Staff aim to give children the best start to their early education. They make sure that children do not miss any opportunity to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high aspirations for every child. Children thoroughly understand what staff expect of their behaviour and for their achievements. All areas of the nursery inspire children to develop into inquisitive learners. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve all that they can. They leave the nursery incredibly well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the earliest of ages, children learn to share and to take turns with others. If anyone is unkind, or bullying occurs, leaders and staff deal with it straightaway.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children learn to value everyone’s differences. They had thoughtful conversations with inspectors about the reasons why some people wear glasses. Visitors to the nursery strengthen children’s understanding of cultures different from their own.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children relish the vast array of experiences that staff provide. For example, staff bring in their own animals to help children learn how to care for living things. Children benefit from trips in the local community, such as to the shops to buy baking ingredients.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers were overwhelmingly positive about the school and praised staff for how nurturing and caring they are. They know that their children are ‘at the heart’ of all that leaders and staff do.

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

Leaders provide children with an exceptionally rich and broad curriculum. They have carefully designed the content and order of the curriculum to ensure that children can successfully build on what they already know and can do. Leaders, staff and parents 31 March 2023

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share the same very high ambition for the children. This helps children to develop an appetite for learning and to achieve very well.

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Staff have a precise understanding of how young children learn. They know their children remarkably well. As a result, they tailor their interactions with them to exactly what each child needs. Staff work closely as a team to identify children’s interests and their next steps in learning. This enables children to build their knowledge, skills and confidence across the curriculum. For instance, children showcased their mathematical skills while using marks to represent small amounts. They articulated their knowledge of direction by using words such as clockwise and anticlockwise.

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The support that leaders and staff provide for children with SEND is exceptional. Leaders prioritise the early identification of additional needs. They work extremely closely with parents and external professionals to make sure that all children have the support that they need. Staff know how to help every child to flourish.

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Staff immerse children in a language-rich environment. Leaders have made certain that children’s communication, language and literacy skills are central to all that they do. Children are captivated while they listen and join in with stories, songs and nursery rhymes. Staff expertly bring stories to life and help children to develop a strong love of reading. For example, children eagerly repeated words and actions while listening to one of their favourite stories. They retell stories during their play and delight in every opportunity to sit and read with their friends and with staff.

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Children show impeccable behaviour. They try their absolute best during independent play and during group-time activities. They concentrate especially well. Staff help children to grow into confident learners who have highly positive attitudes towards learning. For example, they gently encouraged two-year-old children to practise their coordination skills and spatial awareness while they balanced on a low-level beam.

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Staff nurture children’s personal development extraordinarily well. They greet children and their families with genuine warmth. Children have a strong sense of belonging. Staff encourage all of them to improve their self-care skills. For example, children learn to put on their own wellington boots and waterproof suits in readiness for outdoor play. They enjoy sessions that help to enrich their well-being, such as yoga.

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Leaders and governors are passionate about and rightly proud of all that the nursery school achieves. The local authority shares the best practice at Hindley Nursery School with other providers. Leaders focus strongly on staff’s well-being. They take staff’s workload into account when making changes. This means that staff morale is high, and they feel well supported and appreciated.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that safeguarding is of high priority. There is a strong focus on the safety and welfare of children and their families. Staff receive up-to-date safeguarding 31 March 2023

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training and know how to spot if a child is at risk of harm. They know the steps to take should there be concerns about the welfare of children. Leaders engage well with outside agencies to support children, families and staff.

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Safeguarding is covered well in the curriculum. Children learn how to voice any concerns. They learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, staff encourage them to think about potential risks in the outdoor area and how to minimise these.

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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 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 September 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents 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. 31 March 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 September 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new chair of governors has been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school offers provision for two-year-old children.  Leaders do not make use of alternative provision for children.

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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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and physical development. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with leaders and visited a sample of lessons. They spoke with staff and with some children about their learning. They looked at samples of children’s work.  The lead inspector observed some children sharing books with familiar adults.  Inspectors observed how children behaved around the school, including outdoors and during lunchtime. 31 March 2023

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 Inspectors reviewed school policies and procedures relating to safeguarding. They scrutinised documentation, such as the single central record and training records of staff. They discussed safeguarding with governors, leaders and staff.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders of the school. The lead inspector met with some governors. He also held a meeting with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. They spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey to consider.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. They met with parents at the start and end of the school day.

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Inspection team

David Lobodzinski, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Maria McGarry Ofsted Inspector 31 March 2023

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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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