New Bridge Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: New Bridge Nursery School Montague Street, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire RG4 5AU

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Outcome

New Bridge Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places great emphasis on knowing each child and understanding their individual needs. This results in a highly inclusive provision where everyone is valued and welcomed. Staff take time to form strong relationships with each child and their families. The ‘all about me’ profiles help staff to find out key information about the children before they start in Nursery. As a result, children flourish here. This is recognised by parents. One parent described the school as ‘life-changing’ for their child. Others reflected on staff’s caring manner.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children learn the routines of Nursery life quickly. They know where to hang their coats up and diligently place their water bottles in the correct tray. During group time, they sit and listen. This understanding of shared routines continues during outside play. Here, children happily take turns and readily share equipment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Across the early years foundation stage curriculum, children are prepared exceptionally well for their future learning. They rise up to meet adults’ very high aspirations for them. A love of rhymes and stories permeates throughout the Nursery. Children happily recite these with enthusiasm.

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

Leaders, including governors, have high ambition for all children to be fully prepared for the next stage of their education. This ambition pervades the Nursery as leaders ensure that staff know how to provide the highest-quality provision. This ambition coupled with adults’ strong understanding of each child results in an exceptional learning environment.

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

The school has thoughtfully considered what children must learn before they progress to Reception. Staff are highly trained in how best to support children’s development during their time at Nursery. Their consistent application of this shared knowledge is evident 18 October 2023

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throughout the whole Nursery. Development of communication and language is a high priority. Staff model the use of expected vocabulary and relay this back to children to ensure they have understood the key words. Children explore identified stories in depth. Staff help them to understand the key messages and design story maps which are shared with families. This supports children’s immersion in rich texts.

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The most disadvantaged children achieve exceptionally well here. There is a strong understanding of children’s needs and the early identification of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a priority. This means that children quickly get the support they need to access learning. This is seen both in the mainstream provision and in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), where staff demonstrate high levels of skill in their interactions with children.

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Developing children’s independence is of great importance in the Nursery. Staff expertly take time to teach children how to do things for themselves, such as putting on their waterproof clothing before going outside. They then provide children with time and space to practise. As a result, children develop resilience and begin to master key skills.

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The school has designed a system whereby each child has a focus week in the half term. Prior to this week, staff carefully determine what the child needs support with and they communicate with parents about this. During the focus week, adults help the child with the identified target area and then provide feedback for parents. This process helps staff to ensure children get the precise support they need to enable them to flourish.

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Teaching children the routines of school life is a priority. Staff support children to understand the behavioural expectations and help them to meet these. Adults model care and respect towards the children, and as a result, there is a calm atmosphere throughout the Nursery. Children are kind and courteous towards one another. At lunchtime, children sit with their friends and discuss what they are eating. Staff also use this as a time to further develop children’s vocabulary. For example, during the inspection, adults and children were seen comparing the shapes of cucumber that different children have in their lunchboxes.

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Children’s personal development is a strength of the Nursery. The school has developed a charter of all the activities that children will complete during their time here. Within this, there has been deep thought about the actual learning in each activity. The school has also thought about how these opportunities link to what children have already learned. A falconry visit, for example, helps children to recall their learning about owls. The school places great emphasis on ensuring that children will have a range of experiences that they would not have outside of Nursery. This helps to build children’s understanding of their community and the wider world. For example, children were enthralled during the inspection when a teacher played the saxophone for them. They listened attentively and began to evaluate what they heard.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 October 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 July 2014.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 18 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Joanne Budge (Executive Headteacher) Jean Read (Head of School) Website www.reysfederation.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Reading Early Years Schools Federation.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school has a specially resourced provision for 10 children. The provision caters for children on the pathway to a diagnosis of autism.  The executive headteacher and head of school commenced their roles since the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, head of school and special educational 18 October 2023

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needs and disabilities coordinator.  Inspectors met with three governors, including the chair of governors, and spoke with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and literacy. During the deep dives, inspectors talked to leaders about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited classrooms and outdoor learning environments, spoke to staff, spoke to some children about their learning and observed children learning, playing and interacting with staff.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders and staff about children’s learning in other areas of the early years foundation stage.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors checked the single central record, reviewed safeguarding records and spoke to leaders, staff and governors. The inspector considered how well the school manages safer recruitment, and how it manages

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allegations about adults.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and school development plan.  Inspectors reviewed responses to the parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the 14 free-text comments. An inspector spoke to parents on the morning of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Sara Staggs, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Laura James His Majesty’s Inspector 18 October 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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