Maytree Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Maytree Nursery School 4 Allingham Road, London SW4 8EG

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children enjoy coming to this nursery school. Staff warmly welcome everyone at the beginning of each day. The school provides a safe and purposeful learning environment. Children explore the exciting learning opportunities with eagerness. They enjoy investigating in the garden area, where they hunt for minibeasts and carefully study them with a computer microscope. Children of all ages work and play alongside each other in a supportive and cooperative way.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations. Children rise to meet these expectations; they learn self-control and grow in independence. For example, at lunchtime, children sit together calmly. They help to collect place name cards and serve themselves water.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children enjoy a story-rich environment. Each day, staff read and discuss a range of books with children. Frequent repetition of stories, familiar rhymes and songs develops children’s language and imaginative play well. Staff encourage children to extend their learning by acting out these stories. For example, children got involved in building castles and retelling stories involving dragons when learning about St George.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are included well in the educational journey of their child. The school provides them with lots of information and resources, such as story packs, to use at home. Parents are happy with the strong start to education that their children receive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children achieve well. They are prepared for the next stages of learning when they move to primary school. 23 April 2024

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

The school has created an ambitious curriculum. It supports children to develop their learning over the time they spend here. Overall, the curriculum provides staff with a clear framework for developing children’s knowledge and understanding progressively. Staff’s knowledge of how children learn enables them to support children effectively. Nevertheless, some parts of the school’s curriculum thinking lack clarity. Sometimes, the small steps needed to support children’s learning are not identified or understood with sufficient precision. This reduces how successfully some teaching activities and resources promote children’s understanding.

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

Communication and language development are high priorities in the school. Staff recognise that children join the school with a wealth of different experiences. They work well with families to support children to develop their spoken and written language. Staff model new vocabulary clearly for children, giving them many opportunities to practise and use these words themselves. The school identifies children who may not be keeping up with their learning. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They receive the support that they need. As a result, children with SEND progress well through the curriculum.

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

Children are eager to take part in activities. Staff make sure that there are opportunities for children to share and to take the lead at different times of the day. For example, children call their friends in from outdoor play for fruit and milk time and tidy up the environment afterwards. Children cooperate and share during activities extremely well. For example, they take turns on the trampoline and carry blocks for each other in the wheelbarrows. Children sustain good levels of concentration overall. However, there are times when children lose focus, and adults do not step in quickly to reignite children’s motivation and interest in their learning.

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

Children have a wide range of opportunities to experience the wider world. To support this, staff make sure that there is a variety of well-chosen resources in the classroom and the garden area. For example, as part of children’s learning about minibeasts and the lifecycle of frogs, children use magnifying glasses to carefully look at the tiny creatures, such as frog spawn. Staff make good use of books and other resources to broaden children’s understanding and vocabulary. Children build a sense of wonder at the natural world through their interactions with it.

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

The school considers carefully how to teach children about a wide range of cultural events. Children learn about festivals, such as Christmas and Eid, and are taught about key events such as Black History Month. Children also learn about their local community and visit nearby places, such as the local fruit and vegetable market.

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

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They recognise the school’s hard work to be flexible and meet their children’s needs. The school works closely with parents, offering workshops and coffee mornings, where they can talk together and learn about ways that they can support their children.

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

Staff feel supported with their workload and well-being. They know that should they have 23 April 2024

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any concerns, the school listens to them and appropriate actions are put in place.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, a lack of precision in curriculum thinking means that teaching activities and resources are not as helpful as they could be in supporting children’s learning. This can affect how well children build on their existing knowledge and deepen their understanding. The school should make refinements to its curriculum thinking to support staff to select learning activities and resources that support children to develop knowledge consistently well.  In a few instances, the teaching and wider support provided do not respond fully to children who are struggling to engage with the planned activities and resources. This can lead to children losing focus and disengaging from learning. The school should ensure that staff are alert to these situations and are well equipped with purposeful approaches to ensure that children make the most of the learning opportunities provided.

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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 January 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. 23 April 2024

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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

Headteacher Luke Page (Executive Headteacher) Melanie Miah (Head of School) Website www.maytree-nursery.lambeth.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 29 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Lambeth Nursery Schools Federation, which includes four other nursery schools.  The school uses no 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the head of school, the executive headteacher and other staff. They met with a member of the governing body and spoke to the school improvement partner.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, mathematics and understanding the world. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited classrooms and watched staff interactions 23 April 2024

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with children. Inspectors reviewed children’s record books and held meetings with children’s key persons.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and children; 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 spoke to a range of staff members and reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online staff surveys. They also considered the views of parents who made responses to the parent online survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Adam Vincent, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sue Brooks 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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