Boldon Nursery School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Boldon Nursery School Reginald Street, Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear NE35 9DG

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Outcome

Boldon Nursery School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children delight in the wide-ranging learning opportunities on offer at Boldon Nursery School. The school has high aspirations for all children who attend here. Leaders and staff bring these to life. Children thrive and do exceptionally well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have a detailed understanding of the children who attend. The precise support and guidance they give to all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enables children to make flying start to their learning journey. Children’s attitudes to learning and behaviour are exemplary. The school’s work to developing children’s social and emotional development is impactful. It means children are inquisitive and curious about the world.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have carefully planned a comprehensive offer that takes children off site regularly. Visits are seamlessly connected to the learning children do in the nursery school. Children revisit different locations such as the coast to embed and extend their learning. They visit across the school year to understand how the seasons impact on the different locations they go to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents celebrate the range of skills and knowledge that the school equips children with. One parent summed up the comments of others by saying, ‘Boldon Nursery School is an amazing environment for children to grow and develop.’

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that helps children succeed. They have carefully considered what children need to know and be able to do. This helps children be ready for their next stages of learning. Adults skilfully ensure that children encounter high- quality interactions and teaching opportunities across the provision. Adults precisely understand the learning pathways for each area of learning. Children benefit from activities that support their development in many ways. For example, during the inspection, aspects of mathematical language were explored when children were 28 June 2024

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comparing and contrasting the garden snails they found to the African land snails they care for. Unprompted, children modelled the Makaton word of the week – ‘snail’.

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Each area of the curriculum is carefully planned so that children make progress. Children can climb a felled tree to gain confidence. They can explain the skills they have been taught to do this successfully. This means, when they are ready, children can climb the dedicated climbing tree safely and with supervision.

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Adults use interactions between children to embed and extend communication and language. If children need support to name and understand different objects they are supported well to do so. Children come back to adults to show, with pride, what they have remembered. Equally, children are extended through thoughtful questioning. A core book selection ensures that children enjoy a wide variety of texts. Children and adults also use books linked to different areas of learning effectively.

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Children with SEND benefit from well-skilled adults who understand their needs. Children with SEND learn alongside their peers well. This is an inclusive school. Where needed, the school takes further advice from professionals to understand specific development needs further.

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The personal, social and emotional development (PSED) curriculum is ever present across the school day. Children play harmoniously together. They have warm and caring relationships with each other and with staff. Leaders have rightly prioritised the PSED offer. It enables children to access the rest of the school curriculum exceptionally well. Children are superb role models to each other. They have empathy and respect for their peers. The school helps children live out fundamental British values every day through their attitudes to learning. The school ensures that school visits are closely connected to on-site learning. This helps children make links between their learning. Each year children who leave to move to Reception Year fundraise to create a legacy project for other children to enjoy.

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School staff are incredibly proud to work here. They should be. The school enables staff to access pertinent training both locally and beyond. The school also supports other settings to develop their provision. Governors, along with leaders, provide effective support to the school community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 28 June 2024

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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 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 outstanding in March 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). 28 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in January 2022.  The school has a two-year-old provision.  The school offers a before-school breakfast club.  The school does not use any alternative providers of education.  The majority of the school’s curriculum is taught outdoors.

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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 has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Prior to the inspection, inspectors reviewed documents on the school’s website, as well as published information about the school’s performance and previous Ofsted inspections. 28 June 2024

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas of learning: communication and language, PSED and understanding the world. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited provision where they observed children at different times of the day and spoke to teachers and teaching assistants.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator and staff responsible for different areas of learning.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors spoke with leaders, staff and a range of stakeholders including governors. Safeguarding documentation was scrutinised, including the safeguarding policies, and the single central record of recruitment checks.  Inspectors gathered views of parents informally in person and formally through responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and free-text responses. The views of staff were considered through the staff survey and meetings with them.

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 Inspectors spoke with representatives from the governing body, those responsible for school improvement and the local authority.

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Inspection team

Emily Stevens, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Aitchison His Majesty's Inspector 28 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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