Comet Nursery School and Children's Centre

Inspection of an outstanding school: Comet Nursery School and Children’s Centre 20 Halcomb Street, Hoxton, London N1 5RF

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Outcome

Comet Nursery School and Children’s Centre continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children thrive at this school. They arrive with smiles on their face and a skip in their step. Staff greet them warmly. They know all the families well. Children join in with the learning opportunities with enthusiasm. They are excited to see their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have extremely high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work hard together to ensure that every child meets their full potential. They empower all children to succeed. Staff use a range of communication methods and strategies to enable children to follow school rules.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are highly motivated. They are fully aware of the routines and have a great sense of belonging. They demonstrate high levels of concentration and self-control. They also collaborate well with their peers and show them care and respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have identified five experiences they want all children to have taken part in at their time at the school which they refer to as ‘5 by 5’. These include going to a restaurant, visiting a museum, and borrowing a book from the library. Children are given responsibilities such as being an eco-warrior, collecting rubbish and, most importantly, feeding Eddie the school terrapin.

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

The school have designed their curriculum so that it provides no limits or barriers for any child, including those with SEND. They have identified eight core goals and have expertly threaded the seven areas of learning and development through them.

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

Children of all ages demonstrate deep focus in their learning. For instance, when in the woodwork area they carefully follow the safety instructions when using the hammer and nails. 4 June 2024

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This is an extremely inclusive school. Children with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes. This is because all staff know the children well and carefully plan their next steps. Staff work very closely with families, who highly value their help. Clear systems and processes are in place to quickly identify children’s needs and a range of highly effective support is put in place to meet them. Leaders work with external agencies and other professionals to seek advice and ensure that children’s needs are met.

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All adults have regular, quality conversations with the children throughout the day. The environment is language rich. Adults build on children’s language effectively. Reading to children is made a priority and takes place daily. Adults engage with children in stories, and rhymes. Once a week, all children take part in constructing their own story in a group. Together, they choose the characters, setting, problem and resolution. The school has carefully chosen a core list of books to read with the children. They provide children with a broad range of opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts.

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Children’s interactions with staff and each other are impressive. This is because staff start developing children’s communication skills as soon as they join the school. All adults interact with them meaningfully. Staff manage to develop children’s curiosity and deepen their learning through modelling and carefully chosen questions.

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Children develop detailed knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. This is done through purposefully planned activities. Staff check children’s understanding very carefully. By doing so they also identify any misconceptions that children may have and respond appropriately.

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Children have many opportunities to practise their understanding of numbers every day. The opportunities are hands on and purposeful. This helps children to become confident in early mathematics. When engaging in the book ‘Ten in a Bed’, for example, they get to understand what ‘one less’ looks like.

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Staff are committed and happy working here. They are supported with their workload and say that leaders look out for their well-being. Governors are supportive and know the school well.

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Children’s behaviour is excellent. Adults skilfully support their regulation through co- regulation with the aim of them achieving self-regulation.

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Although children here are not of statutory school age, school leaders promote good attendance and punctuality. They want families to form good habits.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 June 2024

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Background

When we have judged 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 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). 4 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website https://www.cometnurseryandcc.co.uk/web site Date of previous inspection 11 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a nursery school for children aged two to five.  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 provi- sion.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body. The inspectors spoke to a representative from the local authority. The inspectors met with the headteacher and other members of the leadership team.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development. For each deep 4 June 2024

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dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some children about their learning and looked at samples of children’s work.  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.  Inspectors considered responses to surveys completed by parents and staff.  They also spoke to some parents and most staff.

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Wright His Majesty’s Inspector 4 June 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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