Greenacre Community Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Greenacre Community Nursery School Province Place, Bootle, Merseyside L20 6PJ

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Outcome

Greenacre Community Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children settle quickly and are happy at this nursery school. Many children especially love the nursery’s outdoor area that offers exciting opportunities to run, climb and explore. The school is ambitious for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The broad range of effective learning opportunities offered by the school enables children to become confident and successful learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children, including those in the two-year-old provision, understand the routines of the day. They quickly settle at tables for lunch and put their coats on ready for the end of the day. Staff help children to manage sharing and taking turns. This includes children with SEND, who are supported well by nurturing staff. Any minor incidents of poor behaviour are quickly dealt with in a calm, low-key manner. This helps children to learn and play cooperatively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children learn about their local community through visits to the nearby book shop and supermarket. Activities, such as making cards for residents of a local care home, help children begin to learn about contributing to their community. A range of visitors help children to learn about the world around them. For example, a local farmer taught children how to look after the ducklings that he left in their care.

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

The school is ambitious for children, including those with SEND, to have a strong start to their early learning. The school has identified much of the important knowledge that staff will teach and the order in which children will learn it. Across many areas of the curriculum, staff are well trained in educating young children, including two-year-olds.

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

Staff identify and assess the additional needs of children with SEND. Staff carefully consider the resources that they use to support these children’s learning. This helps children with SEND take part in activities alongside their peers. Overall, children with SEND, like their peers, are well prepared for the next stage of their education. 26 March 2024

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In some areas of learning, the school has not identified the important knowledge that children should learn and remember in enough detail. This hinders staff when they design some learning activities, as it is not clear what they want children to know and understand. In these areas of learning, some children do not deepen their knowledge as well as they could.

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Children’s communication and language development are a priority. Staff explore new words with children through different activities and books. Staff also use opportunities during play to help children to communicate with gestures, words and simple sentences. Children enjoy joining in with songs and rhymes. Staff check where children need support with communication and language. They use this understanding to ably support children to build on what they already know.

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The school’s checks on what children know and remember is not as secure in some areas of learning. In these areas, staff do not check that children have the important knowledge that they need before starting new learning. This means that some children are introduced to new ideas or concepts too soon. Consequently, they struggle to make sense of new learning.

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The school’s clear rules and expectations help to create calm classrooms. Children learn with little disruption to their activities. When a classmate shows an interest in an activity, other children welcome them to join in. Children are proud of their achievements and enjoy the praise that they receive from staff.

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Staff teach children to be independent and to make important choices to stay healthy. For example, selecting nutritious foods to eat. The school provides meaningful opportunities for children to learn about different people and communities. For instance, children learn about the celebrations of Diwali and Eid. Older children take on a range of responsibilities, such as setting the tables for snack time and helping to sweep up at the end of the day.

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Governors challenge and support the school well on the quality of education provided. Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate the training and support that they receive, which helps them give children a positive start to their education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some areas of learning, the school has not identified the important knowledge that children should learn in enough detail. This hinders staff in knowing what learning they should prioritise when designing activities and slows some children’s learning. This contributes to some children not deepening their knowledge as well as they could. The school should finalise their curriculum thinking in these areas of learning. 26 March 2024

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 In a small number of areas, the school has not ensured that staff check on children’s understanding of the knowledge that they have been taught. As a result, some children have gaps in their knowledge. The school should ensure that staff check that children have the knowledge that they need to make sense of new learning.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. 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 good in February 2015.

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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). 26 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Heather Sinclair

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School details

Headteacher Cathy Earley (co-headteacher) Gill Quigley (co-headteacher) Website www.greenacrenurseryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since January 2024, the school has been led by two co-headteachers.  The school has provision for two-year-olds.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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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 had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken this into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas of learning: communication and language, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke to staff. Inspectors spoke with children when visiting lessons and considered their work. 26 March 2024

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 The inspectors spoke with the headteachers, other school leaders and members of staff.  The lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record and took account of the views of leaders and staff. They also considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.  The inspectors observed children’s behaviour in lessons.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also considered the views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online staff survey.  The inspectors spoke with some parents and carers. They considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

David Robinson, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Gower-Jones Ofsted Inspector 26 March 2024

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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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