Martenscroft Nursery School & Children's Centre

Inspection of Martenscroft Nursery School & Children’s Centre 33 Epping Street, Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire M15 6PA

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 18 and 19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are provided with an exceptional start to their education at this school. The school is highly ambitious for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children are immersed in a curriculum that teaches them about where they live and the different cultures that make up their community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children happily come to school. They are keen to learn. Children benefit from carefully chosen learning activities that build on what they already know. These activities are delivered by skilled staff, who have a deep knowledge and understanding of child development. Many children, including those with SEND, achieve extremely well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of children’s behaviour. When children join the two-year-old provision, they quickly learn the importance of sharing, cooperating and taking turns. Children in the Nursery class are extremely well equipped with the vocabulary that they need to express their feelings. This helps them to confidently seek help and support from adults and from one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children make a positive contribution to their community. For example, they explore the impact of discarded plastic containers on wildlife. Such knowledge encourages them to carry out litter picks in the local community to help improve the environment.

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better?

The curriculum is highly aspirational. The school has used the expertise of staff across the setting to meticulously map out the important knowledge that children should learn through to the end of the Nursery Year. This helps staff to know how they should build on children’s knowledge as they move throughout the provision.

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better?

The school has put highly effective systems in place to accurately identify the additional needs of children with SEND. Staff use well-chosen activities and resources to ensure that children with SEND access the same curriculum as their classmates.

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better?

Staff use assessment information extremely well. They identify any small gaps in children’s knowledge and make sure that these are resolved quickly. This means that children’s knowledge is fully secure before they move on to exploring new ideas. Children, including those with SEND, are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of education.

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better?

The development of children’s communication and language is seamlessly woven across the different areas of learning. The highly effective and consistent approach to language development begins with the two-year-old children. This continues across the school. Many children have English as an additional language. Staff skilfully introduce children to new and interesting vocabulary as part of the different 18 and 19 June 2024

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learning activities. Children hear lots of carefully chosen language expertly repeated and modelled to them by staff. As a result, most children become very confident communicators by the end of the Nursery Year.

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Children experience a broad range of books from the moment that they join the school. These books are carefully chosen to support children to learn the words and phrases that they need at the different stages of language development. Children’s access to books is further enhanced by a wide range of nursery rhymes and songs that they regularly enjoy listening to and joining in with.

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The school’s clear rules and routines help to create calm classrooms in which children learn and flourish. Children act sensibly, take care of resources and are extremely considerate towards one another. The school works exceptionally well with families to ensure that children attend the nursery regularly. This helps children to benefit from the excellent standard of education that it provides.

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Children learn about the important celebrations in different cultures. They begin to understand which foods and drinks are healthy for them. This is modelled in school with children eating a range of healthy snacks and drinking either milk or water. Visits from police officers and members of the fire service help children to learn about keeping themselves safe. The school provides an exceptional range of opportunities to promote children’s personal development.

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Governors work in close collaboration with the school to make sure that the excellent standard of education is maintained. Partnerships with universities, galleries and museums further enhance the quality of education. Leaders at all levels are focused on giving children the best possible start to education. The school has highly effective relationships with parents and carers. For example, staff regularly organise parent workshops to explain what children are learning and to support parents with routines in the home.

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Staff are extremely proud to work at the school and value the consideration and support that the school shows towards them. For example, they welcome the training that they receive, which helps them to deliver the curriculum exceptionally well. Staff appreciate the school’s actions to keep paperwork to a minimum. This ensures that staff use most of their time helping children learn.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 18 and 19 June 2024

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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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.martenscroftnurseryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 March 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides educational provision for two-year-old children.  The school has a separate registration with Ofsted, on the Early Years Register, for provision for children aged below two years old.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The governing body operates a breakfast club and after-school provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas of learning: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and mathematics. For 18 and 19 June 2024

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each deep dive, the inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke to staff. Inspectors spoke with children when visiting lessons and considered their work. The inspectors also looked at the curriculum and children’s work in some other areas of learning.  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 a representative 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

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considered the views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online staff survey.  The inspectors spoke with some parents. They considered the responses to 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 18 and 19 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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