Peter Pan Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK42 9DR

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Outcome

Peter Pan Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children flourish in this small school. They develop as independent, enthusiastic learners in a diverse, stimulating community. Strong routines help children to feel safe. They quickly settle happily to the day ahead.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have the highest expectations of all that children can achieve. They provide stimulating opportunities to learn in all activities that children do each day. Adults skilfully draw children into new experiences and ideas. They encourage and support children to express their ideas and follow their interests. The environment enables children to work together and independently.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children make the most of all that is available to them. They select activities carefully, concentrate and keep going when things get tricky.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children form strong, trusting relationships with adults and each other. They learn to understand and respect the feelings of others. Children learn good manners and to be considerate members of the school community. They learn to be patient and take their turn when they are playing and talking to others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff develop strong, effective relationships with parents. They provide parents with regular updates, so they know how their child is developing and can help with their learning. Parents rightly describe the school as ‘fantastic, warm and caring’.

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

Leaders are ambitious for every child to achieve well. They have developed a well- structured curriculum, which staff understand and use effectively. All staff share leaders’ high aspirations for children. They plan learning in sequences of small steps so that children succeed well. 19 April 2023

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Adults establish effective relationships with parents from the start. They check how well children are developing their skills and understanding. They use this information to adjust provision each day. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make very strong progress during their time at the school.

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Leaders prioritise communication and language skills. Throughout the day, adults teach children new words and how to use these in sentences. Children have many opportunities to enjoy stories, rhymes and songs. Props, such as puppets, dual-language books and lively storytelling enhance these sessions. Children retell the stories that are read to them enthusiastically, with the events in the right order. Through books, children’s understanding of the world beyond their home and nursery expands, as does their vocabulary. Older children start to learn phonics, which they use to read and write simple words.

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Staff skilfully weave learning into activities across the curriculum. For example, children develop their understanding of mathematical concepts by following a recipe to make their own play dough. These activities are sensitively adjusted to include children with SEND.

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Leaders enrich the curriculum by inviting visitors such as theatre groups, the fire service and local farmers. Trips out of school are skilfully interwoven with learning about life skills, including road and water safety. Children develop a sense of wonder at the natural world through activities such as watching caterpillars develop into butterflies. Moments of stillness and reflection enable children to think about their experiences and friendships.

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Leaders are ambitious for children with SEND to achieve as well as possible. Staff work closely with parents to identify children’s strengths and additional needs. Adults are highly sensitive to developing the communication of children who do not speak. They work tenaciously to include them with their peers, as well as following their interests. As a result of skilful support, children with SEND make exceptional progress.

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Behaviour and relationships remain excellent. Adults know children and provide particularly well for their interests and needs. As a result, even the youngest children can concentrate for sustained periods of time. Adults make clear links between behaviours and feelings. Children learn to make their own choices confidently and manage tricky things safely. Adults give children the time and space they need to do this well, but they are always on hand to help and guide where needed.

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Staff appreciate leaders’ support for their well-being. They get the time and training they need to carry out their roles effectively. They feel part of a happy, supportive team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained and know children and their families well. They are vigilant for any safeguarding risks. They report their concerns clearly and immediately, in line with school systems. 19 April 2023

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Leaders follow up concerns promptly and tenaciously. They work well with external services, including social services and health visitors, to keep children safe. Systems to ensure that staff are safe to work with children are securely in place and accurately recorded.

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Governors regularly check that agreed safeguarding processes are being followed. Leaders help parents to recognise online safety risks. They teach children how to stay safe outside of school when, for example, crossing roads.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in February 2013.

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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. 19 April 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10200318 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 8 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Peter Pan Nursery School is part of the Bedford Nursery Schools Federation.  The school admits children from the age of two years.  Leaders do not use any providers of alternative education.

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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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the designated safeguarding leader, the special educational needs coordinator and other members of staff. The inspector also spoke with a school improvement partner from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in three subjects: communication and language, mathematics, and personal, social and emotional development. For each deep dive, the inspectors spoke to leaders, visited classrooms, spoke with staff, spoke with children and viewed children’s work. 19 April 2023

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 The inspectors viewed a range of documents, including curriculum planning and safeguarding records.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and representative of the governing body.  The inspectors considered the 23 responses made by parents to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and 12 free-text responses.  The inspectors took account of the 20 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey. The inspectors spoke with children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Lynne Williams, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Mellors His Majesty’s Inspector 19 April 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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