Longshaw Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Longshaw Nursery School Crosby Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB2 3NF

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Outcome

Longshaw 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 welcoming nursery school. The school is ambitious for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Building children’s confidence and self-esteem is an important aspect of the school’s ambition for its children. Nurturing staff provide children with a range of learning opportunities that help to realise this. Many children, including those with SEND, achieve well.

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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 school day. For example, they readily brush their teeth before home time. Staff help children to learn good manners. Children say ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ when sharing out food during snack times. Staff promote positive behaviour consistently from the moment children join the school. Children learn the importance of sharing and cooperating with one another. This helps them to learn with little disruption to their activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A range of visitors help children to learn about people who help us in society, for instance the fire brigade and the local dentist. The school prioritises specific activities that it wants children to take part in. For example, carving a pumpkin and making a birthday cake. These experiences extend children’s wider development.

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

The school has developed a broad and balanced curriculum. This curriculum is aspirational and well designed to meet the needs and interests of children, including those with SEND. The school has set out what children should learn in the two-year-old provision and how this is built upon when they progress to the Nursery Year. Furthermore, the school has carefully considered how the nursery curriculum gives children the knowledge and skills that they need to be ready for the Reception Year. 23 April 2024

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Across many areas of the curriculum, staff are well trained in educating young children, including two-year-olds. In most areas of learning, staff use assessment information well to identify any gaps in key knowledge that children have. In the main, staff design and deliver learning activities that build on what children already know. That said, in a small number of activities, staff are not clear about the important knowledge that they should teach children. In these activities, children do not deepen their knowledge as well as they could.

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The school has effective systems in place to identify and assess the additional needs of children with SEND. Carefully considered support and resources ensure that children with SEND access the same curriculum as their classmates. This ensures that these children are well prepared for the next stage of education.

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The development of children’s communication and language skills flows through many areas of learning. Staff explore new words with children through different activities and books. Children enjoy joining in with songs and nursery rhymes. Those at an early stage of developing their spoken language are supported well to communicate using gestures and simple words.

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Staff help children to understand and communicate how they feel. This helps staff to provide extra support for those children who need it. The school’s clear rules and expectations help to create calm classrooms. Children are keen to help out at tidy-up time and enjoy the praise that they receive from staff for being kind to others.

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Children benefit from a range of wider development opportunities. For example, they learn about the important festivals in different communities. Staff teach children to be independent. For instance, children learning to put their coat on by themselves and to wash their hands before eating food. Children are encouraged to eat healthily. At snack time, they eat fruit and vegetables.

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The governing body has a secure understanding of the quality of education provided by the school. It offers effective support and challenge. 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 a small number of activities, staff are not clear about the important knowledge that they should teach children. In these activities, children do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff design and deliver learning activities which help children build on what they already know. 23 April 2024

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2019.

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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). 23 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.longshawinfants.co.uk/topic/nursery

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is federated with Longshaw Community Infant School. The headteacher for both schools is Joanne Leak.  The school has provision for two-year-olds.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The governing body operates a breakfast club.

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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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  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 23 April 2024

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spoke to staff. Inspectors spoke with children when visiting lessons and considered their work.  The inspectors spoke with the headteacher, 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 representatives 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

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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

Sandra Hamilton Ofsted Inspector 23 April 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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