Chertsey Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Chertsey Nursery School Pyrcroft Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9ER

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Outcome

Chertsey Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment children arrive at nursery, they are expertly supported by kind and caring staff. Established routines help children to settle quickly into their sessions. Staff know the children well. Adults know when to provide additional time to talk to children about any concerns they may have. Children are happy here. They grow in confidence and enjoy the many exciting opportunities for play and exploration that staff create for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are expected to be kind to each other. Staff offer gentle reminders when necessary and are always on hand to help children understand turn taking or how to be polite and share. This helps children to behave well and feel safe. Disagreements between children are rare and quickly resolved. Staff skilfully anticipate children’s needs for rest, snacks or some peace and quiet so that they do not become tired or overwhelmed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents like how the school develops children in ‘their own personal ways at their own pace’. Parents of children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are particularly positive. One parent captured the views of many in describing how the dedication and care their child had received had resulted in development ‘beyond anything we thought he could achieve’.

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

The school has high ambitions for all children. A carefully crafted curriculum ensures that children build their knowledge, interests and skills across a wide range of areas. This helps them to be well prepared for the next stages of their education. Children with SEND have their needs quickly identified. They get the support they need to access and enjoy the rich opportunities offered by the exciting curriculum.

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

A sharp focus on communication and language weaves through children’s experiences. Staff know the importance of developing children’s vocabulary and encouraging talk for all children, including those with SEND. The school has ensured that staff have the training 24 April 2024

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they need to build language development into all activities. Mostly this works well. Staff adapt activities and guide play to introduce words and sentences. The school is rightly continuing to train and support staff in understanding this important aspect of children’s development.

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The school has developed a welcoming library area. This helps children explore and enjoy books in addition to the regular stories, rhymes and songs that they enjoy as part of their sessions. Children handle the books carefully and are beginning to make choices about which ones they enjoy. They are thrilled to be able to take their favourites home.

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The school has considered how the environment is developed to support delivery of the curriculum. Woodland sessions and bug hunts enthral children and help develop their understanding of the natural world well. Staff observe children and their learning closely to plan appropriate next steps. The school is continuing to provide training and support for staff to match these next steps even more closely to what children already know and remember across the curriculum.

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Children develop independence in a way that ensures they still feel secure as they hone important learning behaviours. For example, children begin to identify their place at a table using their photograph before progressing to recognising their written names. Expectations of behaviour are clear and are reinforced by staff at every opportunity. For example, at lunchtime staff say, ‘We’re waiting for all our friends to finish before we get down.’

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The school benefits from helping children to learn about each other’s different cultures. Many children speak English as an additional language. The school relishes the opportunity to help children celebrate all the different languages they can speak. Children are accepting of each other. Everyone is welcomed and included.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported by leaders. Staff say that their workload is considered and adapted where needed to support their focus on working with children. Governors provide strong leadership. They have the skills and information they need to hold the school to account and help continue to drive it forward.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, the typical sharp focus on communication and language is not always evident. When this happens, opportunities to develop children’s vocabulary and sentence development are sometimes missed by a focus on the activity rather than the learning. The school should continue to train and support staff so that there is a 24 April 2024

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consistent focus on developing communication and language across all activities and for all children.  The school is in the process of refining learning across the curriculum beyond communication and language. Occasionally, staff are not yet as clear about the sequence of development in these other curriculum areas. The school should continue to support staff in building successfully on what children already know and can do across the wider curriculum.

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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 May 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). 24 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Donna Harwood-Duffy (Executive Headteacher) Anita Cheeseman (Head of School) Website www.chertsey.surrey.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The governing body is federated with Dorking Nursery School. Staff across the two schools work closely together and share an executive headteacher and some other staff.  The school does not currently use any 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 received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with school leaders. The lead inspector also met with the representatives of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. 24 April 2024

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and language, personal and social education, and knowledge and understanding of the world. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited sessions to observe children learn and play, and spoke to practitioners about children’s learning.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders and staff; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.  The inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent and staff surveys. An inspector spoke to some parents at the beginning of the day.  An inspector talked to staff to gather their views about the school, including their workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Deborah Gordon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Munt Ofsted Inspector 24 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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