Selly Oak Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Selly Oak Nursery School 26 Tiverton Road, Birmingham B29 6BP

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Outcome

Selly Oak Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Selly Oak Nursery School is a very happy place, full of excited children who love to learn. This is because leaders and other adults have consistently high expectations of what children can achieve and how they should behave. Children need only occasional reminders of how to treat others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children learn about their rights, such as the right to play and the right to shelter, and why these are important. Through well-established routines and songs, such as the ‘tidy- up song’, children learn about taking responsibility.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The exciting environment fills children with wonder at the world around them. In the forest school, children hunt for minibeasts and build dens. Children love observing the chicks and caterpillars brought into school to enrich the curriculum. Visits to the theatre and musical performances broaden children’s horizons, both culturally and socially.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders see the school as central to the community. All members of the school community embrace the school’s vision. As one parent said, ‘I cannot fault the school’.

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

Children achieve exceptionally well because leaders and staff have exceptionally high expectations, and children rise to these. Leaders leave nothing to chance. They meticulously plan the curriculum and each activity to bring out the best in children. Every interaction between adults and children expands children’s vocabulary, which helps them to express their feelings or learn about good behaviour. The school day runs seamlessly due to the meticulous attention to detail that leaders and staff put into planning every aspect of the provision.

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

Through the curriculum and through well-established routines, adults teach children how to behave. Children’s personal, social and emotional development is threaded into all 26 April 2023

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activities. At snack time, children develop confidence by acting as the group leader, handing out drinks and snacks, for example. In formal teaching sessions, children learn how to take turns and listen to others. As a result, children behave exceptionally well and treat others with respect.

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Staff carefully adapt the curriculum to take into account children’s starting points. In phonics sessions, children enjoy learning letters and sounds at a pace that is right for them. They sing songs and join in with gestures, which helps them to remember what they have learned. In mathematics, adults use mathematical vocabulary, so children quickly become familiar with it. As a result, children achieve well beyond expectations for their age in early reading and mathematics.

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The headteacher, deputy headteacher and nursery teacher support staff skilfully to develop their practice. Parents value the committed and talented staff, who support their children so well. Every day, staff discuss children’s learning, and they consider how to improve the curriculum further based on children’s next steps. Leaders want assessment to be an ongoing process, not a time-consuming administrative task. This is because they want staff to spend the majority of their time supporting children.

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Adults know the children and their families well. Staff support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), very effectively. No child is excluded from any aspect of the curriculum. All children learn Makaton sign language, which helps them to communicate, especially those who struggle with speech or who speak English as an additional language. Parents appreciate the workshops they attend to help them support children’s learning at home.

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Governors bring a wide range of relevant expertise to their roles. They are passionately committed to supporting the school. They do not take at face value what leaders tell them. They work in partnership with leaders to continually review the impact of new initiatives. The impact of this commitment and hard work is evident, with happy, excited children who delight in learning. Staff are well supported in terms of their well-being and workload. They are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff quickly report any concerns about a child’s well-being. They receive regular safeguarding training and updates. Adults know the children well and talk to parents immediately if they have any concerns. Leaders ensure that children promptly receive the support they need. Staff record any concerns, which leaders analyse to spot trends.

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Safeguarding

Leaders carry out and record rigorous pre-employment checks on new staff. Leaders and governors complete comprehensive checklists at each stage of the process.

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Safeguarding

Children learn how to keep themselves safe, both around school and beyond, by assessing risks and how to avoid them in the forest school or the playground. 26 April 2023

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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 June 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. 26 April 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268975 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 1 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Selly Oak Nursery School admits pupils from the age of two. Most pupils leave the nursery to begin their Reception Year at primary school.  The school does not 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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Before the inspection, the lead inspector read documents on the school website and the school’s previous inspection report. During the pre-inspection telephone call, the lead inspector discussed the school’s curriculum and the current context with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors visited lessons, indoors and outdoors, including in the forest school area.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in communication and language, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development. 26 April 2023

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 Inspectors spoke to parents as they arrived to drop off their children at the start of the school day.  Inspectors considered responses to the staff survey and Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors spoke to children about their learning and about how adults teach them about safety and good behaviour.  The lead inspector discussed with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, as joint designated safeguarding leaders , how they keep children safe, including checking the single central register and other safer recruitment practices. The lead inspector also met with representatives of the governing body.  The lead inspector met with the nursery teacher and the deputy headteacher to discuss curriculum planning and assessment.  The team inspector met with the lead member of staff for behaviour to discuss behaviour management.  Inspectors spoke to staff about their workload and how leaders take this into consideration.

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Inspection team

Jane Spilsbury, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Beardmore Ofsted Inspector 26 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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