Oliver Thomas Nursery School

Inspection of Oliver Thomas Nursery School Mathews Avenue, East Ham, London E6 6BU

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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 Good 11 and 12 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children and their parents and carers arrive at the school with smiles on their face. Children eagerly enter their classrooms, meet their friends and start their learning. They are met by friendly and welcoming staff. Staff know all the children exceptionally well. All staff have meaningful interactions with the children they work with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have extremely high expectations for all children. They make sure that every child meets their full potential. The school empowers children to succeed through helping them develop their skills and knowledge. Staff expect children to make the right choices in the way they behave. They teach them how to do this, breaking down expectations so that every child can understand them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children learn to have respect for each other. They enjoy learning on their own and as part of a team. When faced with challenges, children do not give up.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides children with rich opportunities, such as woodwork, growing plants, and watching butterflies grow. Children enjoy looking after animals, such as Pumpkin, one of the school guinea pigs. The annual community day is well attended. At this year’s event, all children got the chance to interact with a range of farm animals.

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better?

Leaders have designed their curriculum to be highly ambitious. Staff make sure that they have no limits or barriers for children to achieve well. They support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) extremely well. The school’s work to support all children is understood and consistently shared by all staff. This is achieved successfully because leaders have invested in high-quality training for all their staff. Staff regularly partake in education research, which informs their approaches to teaching children highly effectively. They feel listened to by the school’s leadership and that their well-being is always considered. Staff are extremely happy working here.

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better?

The school curriculum is built around the ambitious ‘20 things’ staff have agreed. This enables all children to have a wealth of experiences and learning. Staff plan for children’s needs very carefully. This helps to meet the needs of each child exceptionally well. Staff support children to learn curriculum content with great confidence. Staff routinely check children’s understanding. They make sure that children have enough opportunities to practise using and understanding numbers and counting every day. The opportunities are hands-on and purposeful. This helps children to become confident in early mathematics.

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better?

Children of all ages demonstrate deep focus in their learning. For instance, children concentrated while digging for worms, pumping for water or counting the balls in the ball pit. Children with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes. This is because 11 and 12 July 2024

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staff know the children well and carefully plan their next steps. Staff work very closely with families. Parents highly value the school’s help and are extremely happy with the progress their children make here. Staff develop children’s language skills expertly. Through modelling and carefully chosen questioning, staff manage to develop children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding across all areas of learning.

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Reading is at the heart of the school’s work. Books are carefully chosen to strengthen children’s understanding of the curriculum. Carefully designed book packs are sent home for parents to use with their child. Staff read to children with enthusiasm. Children are fully immersed in the stories they hear regularly.

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Children across the school are highly motivated. They eagerly join in the range of learning activities set out. Children behave exceptionally well across the school. They manage their own feelings maturely. Staff help children develop a sense of right from wrong. They encourage children with regular messages about how to keep healthy, both physically and mentally. Parents are valued and fully included as part of their child’s education. Staff work closely with them, providing them with the skills and resources to further develop their child’s learning at home.

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Children are fully prepared for their next stage in education, whether this is moving from the provision for two-year-olds to the classrooms for three- and four-year-olds or their next step to primary school. Leaders work closely with parents to make sure they form good habits regarding their child’s attendance. This is carefully monitored by the school.

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Children develop their independence and sense of adventure. For instance, children explore the outside area, which develops their wonder and curiosity about the world around them.

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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.

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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. 11 and 12 July 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). 11 and 12 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Miss Julie-ann Nicholls

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 May 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a small nursery school.  The school does not currently make use of alternate provision.  The school has a resource base for two children with SEND. The number of children in the resource base is planned to increase from September.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 11 and 12 July 2024

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 Inspectors met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body, spoke to a representative from the local authority, the headteacher and other members of the leadership team.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They also considered the curriculum in other areas of learning.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 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

Maureen Okoye Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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