Bushy Leaze Early Years Centre

Inspection of Bushy Leaze Early Years Centre Eastbrook Road, Alton, Hampshire GU34 2DR

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding 11 and 12 July 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bushy Leaze Early Years Centre is full of happy children who learn well. They arrive bursting with excitement to see staff and their friends and to discover their learning for the day. As sessions begin, children settle quickly into their daily routines. They enjoy joining in with familiar nursery rhymes and songs. Staff take the time to get to know them and their lives beyond school. Families are encouraged to contribute ‘wow moment’ leaves to the ‘learning trees’ and to use the online platform to share their children’s interests and achievements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave exceptionally well. This is because staff model kindness and empathy, and children replicate these values in their interactions. Children are actively encouraged to consider the impact of their actions and emotions, alongside those of their friends. This helps even the youngest children to regulate and talk about their feelings. Children feel safe and well looked after in this caring environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a warm welcome extended to all families at Bushy Leaze. Leaders commit to far-reaching and extensive support through their ‘family support team’. This is highly valued by all for the positive relationships it builds. One parent summed up the views of many when they said, ‘This centre really changes lives.’

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better?

Leaders have strengthened the curriculum since the last inspection and utilised support from the local authority well. In most areas of learning, staff have increased clarity about what children need to learn. They check carefully how well children are learning and use this information to shape individual children’s next steps. There is a clear focus on preparing children for their next educational stage. This is particularly strong in terms of developing children’s communication and language skills. Staff model using whole sentences and encourage children to articulate their learning using the right vocabulary. Children are supported to be confident when joining in with conversations, knowing they will be listened to when they express their views.

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better?

Children have many well-considered opportunities to encounter number and shape activities in the learning environment. Older children can count and use numbers beyond the expectations of the curriculum. Staff incorporate mathematical language into many wider activities. For example, when children are playing with building blocks or climbing, they are encouraged to compare shapes and to use appropriate language to describe movement and position.

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better?

Frequent story and singing times benefit children’s literacy skills. They enjoy joining in with the refrains in familiar books and rhymes. They know the basic structure of a book, and how to start at the front and turn the pages as they move through it. Most children recognise their name in written form. They use this knowledge to move their name when it is their turn to have a snack or to show they are ready for ‘family time’. However, children are not provided with enough opportunities to 11 and 12 July 2023

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develop their early writing skills through mark making. There is not enough clarity about what is expected at different ages in terms of mark making and what children should be able to do by the time they leave the centre.

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Children show high levels of independence and resilience. They know where to find resources to support their learning and will readily ask for help if needed. Children collaborate and work together. They take turns and share equipment in a considerate way, requiring minimal adult intervention. For example, the highly popular water activities allow children to work together to create ponds for their ducks and to explore the use of sand to create dams. These activities also help children to understand the world around them and to be inquisitive. They have a growing understanding about life cycles after watching their caterpillars become butterflies and seeing chicks hatch from eggs.

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The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength. Teaching in ‘Dragonflies’ provides highly effective specialised support, alongside the use of expertise from external agencies. Across the whole centre, children with SEND are fully included in all aspects of nursery life. They experience the same curriculum ambition, tailored appropriately so that they can access it. Parents are highly complimentary about this provision and about how well their views are included.

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Children benefit from learning about their local community. They delight in meeting visitors from the fire service and the police. Walks around the town help them to understand what the area has to offer. They enjoy visiting the library and watching the diggers on a nearby construction site. School leaders and governors use parental surveys well to find out what matters to families and what children experience in their daily lives. There is a shared ambition for all children to leave Bushy Leaze with a willingness to ‘have a try’ at anything.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

This school has a strong safeguarding culture because leaders encourage professional curiosity. Training for staff is frequent and relevant to the school’s context. This means that staff are knowledgeable about how to identify and report any concerns. When appropriate, leaders report these concerns to external agencies and utilise the strength within their family support team. They show diligence in checking that the right support is secured for families who need it. Children develop strong relationships with staff and willingly share any worries they may have. Governors understand their statutory responsibilities and routinely check the effectiveness of the school’s procedures. 11 and 12 July 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not have enough clarity about the curriculum progression for developing children’s early writing skills. This means that children do not have suitable opportunities for mark making and therefore do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that mark-making activities are progressively built into the curriculum to allow children to be ready for their next educational stage.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 March 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The centre has a specially resourced provision for up to 15 full-time spaces for children with SEND. The admissions for this provision are managed by the local authority.  The centre does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, school leaders, staff and children.  The lead inspector met with a group of governors, including the chair of governors. She also had a telephone call with a representative from the local authority. 11 and 12 July 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; understanding the world; 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, reviewed safeguarding records and spoke to leaders, staff and governors.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and development plans.  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 the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, and the additional free-text responses. The inspectors also had informal conversations with some parents at the start and end of sessions.

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Inspection team

Kate Fripp, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mo Galway Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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