Evesham Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Evesham Nursery School Four Pools Lane, Evesham, Worcestershire WR11 1BN

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Outcome

Evesham Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are eager to come to Evesham Nursery School. They run and skip into school enthusiastically. They are keen to explore the exciting environment and range of high- quality resources that adults have prepared for them. Every child benefits from time in this magical place.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children form warm relationships with the staff, especially their key persons. They settle quickly because effective routines are in place. This ensures that they are safe. Staff help children learn important self-care practices at the right time. For example, children learn how to use the potty and wash their hands independently.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children who need extra help, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are fully supported by adults. The school wants all children to be ready for their move to primary school. Children respond to the high expectations that adults have for them. Even the very youngest children sit, listen, play and learn together effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults help children play alongside each other. Children respond by taking turns. They learn to ask others, ‘Please may I play with you?’ Staff teach children how to respond appropriately to something they do not like. Adults are quick to step in when children need help and guidance.

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

Leaders and staff have worked together to create a carefully constructed curriculum. The school provides a coherent plan for children’s progress, with clear, developmental milestones. The plan sets out what the school wants children to be able to do by the time they leave. The curriculum encourages children’s curiosity. It widens children’s experiences and understanding of the world around them. For example, children learn about the flowers in the meadow and work together to build sandcastles in the large sandpit. 6 June 2024

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The school’s curriculum is being adapted to meet the diverse range of needs in the community. In some areas, the curriculum does not make clear enough the knowledge that children will learn. This means that staff are sometimes unclear about what they want children to learn in any particular session. The school knows that some subjects need to be refined further to ensure that the way learning is sequenced over time helps pupils to build securely on what they already know and can do.

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The school prioritises communication and language development. Children are immersed in talk. The school uses every opportunity to develop children’s language skills. For example, two-year-olds learn about ‘big’ and ‘small’ after hearing the story about ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. Adults carefully and purposefully include mathematical language where they can, ensuring that children learn through their play. Staff are highly skilled in modelling and developing children’s vocabulary. This includes supporting children who speak English as an additional language.

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Developing a love of story is at the heart of this nursery. Adults use stories to extend children’s play. Children enjoy making up stories linked to a theme. For example, girls described a hippo stuck in the mud after seeing a picture of one in a game they were playing. Younger children enjoy sharing a book with staff and pointing at the pictures. They become familiar with certain books through the ‘together time’ sessions. Children who can, progress to recognising the sounds that some letters make and learn how to blend a few letters together.

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The school has an increasing number of pupils with significant needs who require a bespoke programme and high levels of support. For example, staff use sign language to help children with limited language skills. The school is highly effective in including these pupils, including managing their behavioural and emotional needs.

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Members of the strong staff team work together to overcome barriers to learning. They use their skills and passion to ensure that children enjoy their learning. The school ensures that staff are well trained. Governors have established a working party to consider workload and staff well-being in light of the current demands made on them.

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Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They say their children come home happy and excited, talking about their day.

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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, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that children should learn and when. This means that there are missed opportunities to build on what children already know. The school should ensure that, across the 6 June 2024

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curriculum, the important knowledge that children should learn is clearly identified so that staff can plan what to teach and when to teach it.  The school intake is changing, and there is an increase in the number of children with significant needs. As a result, the demands on staff, both physically and emotionally, have increased. The school should continue to consider staff’s well-being and workload, including the provision of supervision.

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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 January 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). 6 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides full- and part-time places for children aged two to four years.  No children attend 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 and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors focused on the following deep dives: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and mathematics. The inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and some children about their learning and looked at samples of children’s work.  Inspectors met regularly with the headteacher and leadership team. They also spoke to the SEND coordinator. 6 June 2024

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 The inspectors spoke to the headteacher and staff about children’s behaviour, and policies and procedures. Inspectors observed children’s behaviour.  The inspectors spoke with children to hear their views of their education as well as about behaviour and safety.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the day to hear their views about the school. The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View and the free-text comments. The inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and pupil questionnaire.  The lead inspector spoke by telephone with the school improvement adviser from the local authority about the work of the school.  The lead inspector spoke with the chair of governors and other governors.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and children; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.

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Inspection team

Nicola Harwood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Emily Garner Ofsted Inspector 6 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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