Flagg Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Flagg Nursery School Main Road, Flagg, Near Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 9QT

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Outcome

Flagg Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children settle quickly into life at this friendly and welcoming nursery school. They thoroughly enjoy playing together in the outdoor area. Staff encourage the children to have ‘kind hands’. Occasional disagreements are swiftly resolved as children learn to build friendships. Children find their own coats and get themselves ready to go out. They become independent and resilient learners who persist at activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is firmly rooted in the rural community that it serves. Events such as sponsored walks and strawberry fayres help children begin to understand that they can help others less fortunate than themselves. Children practise songs for the Harvest festival with enthusiasm. Through these songs, they learn about the seasons and the importance of sharing. Other songs, such as ‘Holly the Hedgehog’, teach children to recognise and value each other’s differences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are delighted with the school. They praise the way in which staff keep them informed of what their children are learning. Parents explain that it is ‘not just a nursery, it’s a community’. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) feel that their needs are exceptionally well met. Comments such as ‘My child is growing in confidence each day’ were typical.

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

Everyone at the school wants children to be able to communicate effectively, move with confidence and be able to manage their feelings. Children get off to a strong start by learning routines. At social times, such as snack times, children patiently wait their turn. 8 October 2024

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They make thoughtful choices and learn to pour their own drinks with care. Expectations are high, and children learn to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Staff enhance children’s vocabulary, for example through describing the ‘juice dribbling on your chin’ that children can feel when eating an orange.

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The school prioritises language. Staff explain that they ‘teach children to name the world’. They identify children who need help to catch up. Extra sessions with an adult are used to help children communicate better. For example, some children learned to describe signs of autumn, which prepared them well for what they would see outside. However, the school’s curricular thinking is not always broken down into small enough steps. This means that, sometimes, children who need the most opportunities to practise new words do not get all the chances they need during less structured parts of the day.

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Children gather eagerly for story time. They enjoy joining in with familiar refrains such as, ‘Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.’ Their comments and thoughts are valued by staff. Children who need more practice to tell the story in the right order get this. Occasionally, opportunities are missed to check that all children understand the vocabulary in a story.

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Older children control their movements as they play together with a parachute. They listen attentively and cooperate with each other well. Children with SEND get the right help so that they can move better. Staff understand their needs very well. They know how to support children when they use different equipment to improve their balance. Parents praise the progress that their children with SEND make.

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The school works closely with parents to help them understand the importance of their child attending nursery every day. Thoughtful support is offered when families find this difficult. Governors and leaders check on staff well-being to ensure that the challenges that staff face are understood. Plans are implemented wherever possible to alleviate undue workload.

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Leaders are not complacent. They actively seek feedback about how to make the school even better. For example, the ‘Reception Tea Party’ is a chance for last year’s leavers to return and for the school to check that children were well prepared for their next steps. The happiness of the children in this setting is palpable. Parents agree that it is ‘a beautiful place for children to start their journey into education’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 8 October 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Not all of the small steps of knowledge are identified as well as they could be in the school’s curricular thinking. Occasionally, opportunities are lost for children to practise this knowledge before they engage with an activity or while they play. The school should continue to refine the curriculum to ensure that all adults know exactly what children need to practise to secure important early knowledge.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in June 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. 8 October 2024

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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). 8 October 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

 Two-year-olds are admitted to this school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection that the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors visited classrooms and the outside area. They spoke with the headteacher and staff. They considered a range of curriculum documentation.  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 extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first. 8 October 2024

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 The lead inspector met those responsible for governance. She spoke with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors considered the views of parents expressed through Ofsted Parent View and also spoke with parents.  During the inspection, inspectors met with groups of staff and considered the responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Hazel Henson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

George Huthart Ofsted Inspector 8 October 2024

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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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