Otley Street Community Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Otley Street Community Nursery School Otley Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1ET

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Outcome

Otley Street Community 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 receive exceptional care and support in this nursery. Right from the start of the day, children are keen to come in and get started on their learning. They feel very happy and safe in their nursery environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The nursery has high expectations for children’s learning. Children repay these expectations by looking after each other and their environment. After they have drawn a picture, solved a puzzle or made play dough pancakes, they put all the equipment away themselves. Adults make sure that no moment of learning time is lost. Children walk through the nursery quietly and calmly when they need to get to another room.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Music and singing are a regular part of each day. Children enjoy this immensely. They learn rhythm and important words through learning songs and rhymes. They also relish their regular story times. Children join in with completing sentences and guess what will happen next.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are kind and respectful to each other. They learn about how to treat others fairly. They feel listened to and supported. Staff introduce learning about British fundamental values intelligently. For instance, they help children to understand individual liberty through the example of giving everyone a chance to talk on the carpet. Children talk about their feelings using teddy bears or stories which help them explain what they are feeling. 12 November 2024

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

The school focuses on the fundamental skills that children need to be successful. Staff are expert in teaching children how to be independent and follow routines. Children settle into these routines very quickly and behave exceptionally well throughout the day.

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

The school has ensured that there is a clear curriculum for staff to use. This curriculum breaks down what children need to do and practise into small steps. This is particularly successful in improving children’s early literacy. Children learn about the sounds that make up words and practise making these with their tongue and teeth. This helps them to be ready for learning phonics when they move to their next school.

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

Staff are also highly successful in supporting children in their physical development. Outside, children build and move large objects. Children practise large movements, such as making circles with chalk on the ground or painting up and down strokes. Inside, children focus on smaller movements, such as using tweezers to pick up buttons. All of this helps to contribute to further success, such as children developing a correct pencil grip.

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

Where the curriculum is well known, the school is highly skilled in using it. Staff improve the spoken language of children very well. Staff listen to what children say and have natural and supportive conversations with them. Staff repeat what children say with higher-level vocabulary that children then use in their own speech. The stories and rhymes that children learn also help with their spoken language. In some parts of numeracy and expressive art and design, teaching sometimes does not focus on the core skills needed in these areas as well.

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

The school knows the children well. Staff are especially strong in knowing what children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) need help with. Staff give them the help and support that they need. Staff are quick to identify any children who might need further support. Children with SEND feel a strong sense of belonging in the school. They participate in all that the nursery has to offer.

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

Children learn about different festivals celebrated in their community. However, there is a lack of opportunities for children to help them develop an understanding of the world around them. Leaders intend to map this out, but this is not currently in place.

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

The school works closely with parents and carers. Parents value the school highly. Parents contribute their own home learning notes to their child’s record of learning. Children attend well. The school knows which children have missed sessions and look to support parents to improve attendance.

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

The governing body has helped to steer the school through recent changes in senior leadership. Its members have helped to ensure that the school makes the most of support from the local authority. The school has duly used this support well. Staff are well trained and have a good understanding of early child development. 12 November 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some of the areas of learning have new curriculums in place or the school has recently refined the existing curriculum. Occasionally, staff do not cover the most important knowledge in these curriculums in their teaching. The school needs to ensure that staff know how to implement the curriculum in these areas so that they are confident to focus on the intended knowledge in their teaching.  There is some lack of coherence and depth in how the school decides on enrichment experiences and maps these to match with the curriculum. Children do not have sufficient opportunities to gain the depth of understanding about life outside the nursery that they need. The school should follow through on their plans to diversify these experiences and ensure that they clearly match them to the curriculum.

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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 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 March 2015. 12 November 2024

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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). 12 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The substantive headteacher was not present for this inspection. During the inspection the two interim co-headteachers, Georgina Sykes and Janice Thomas, led the school.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  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 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 have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the interim co-headteachers, some members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority about actions taken since the last inspection. 12 November 2024

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 Inspectors visited the classroom throughout the day, looked at samples of children’s work and spoke to children while they were in the classroom.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.  Inspectors spoke with staff throughout the school and visited the breakfast club while it was running.  Inspectors spoke to parents outside and evaluated the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Matthew Knox, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Judy Shaw Ofsted Inspector 12 November 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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