Camborne Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Camborne Nursery School The Glebe, Camborne, Cornwall TR14 7DT

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Outcome

Camborne 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?

The school motto of ‘bring the world to the child and take the child into the world’ shines through in all that the school does. From the moment children join, staff prioritise getting to know them and their families well. Children benefit from warm and nurturing relationships. As a result, they feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly inclusive in its approach to supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff make careful adaptations to learning to help all children achieve success. This means that no child is left behind. The school meets needs well to ensure that all children are fully included.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Well-established rules mean children know how to behave. Children show positive attitudes towards learning and each other. They learn to be curious, resilient and sociable. For example, they actively share equipment, ride bikes or splash in puddles. Consistent routines, such as tidying up as you go, ensure that children respect their environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trips to the local woods, beach and supermarket broaden children’s experiences and bring the curriculum to life. Parents and carers are highly positive about the education their children receive. Many feel that there is a friendly atmosphere and strong community ethos.

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

The school has designed a relevant curriculum that meets the expectations of the early years foundation stage. It supports most children to reach the ambitious end points. Staff 7 January 2025

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link the curriculum to children’s interests and developmental needs as they learn about the world. For example, children reinforced their understanding of positional language by acting out the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ in the outdoor forest area.

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Communication and language are a priority. From the start of the provision for two-year- olds, staff immerse children in a world of much-loved songs, rhymes and stories. Adults read stories in engaging ways so that children are keen to join in with repeated words and phrases. Staff use sign language across the whole nursery. The children learn this through specific signs of the week. This helps children, including those with SEND, develop the communication and language skills they need to learn to read well.

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Most staff use their knowledge and training to create fun and stimulating learning experiences that meet children’s individual needs. When children follow their own interests and explore through play, most staff capture learning in the moment. For example, children learn the concepts of ‘full’ and ‘empty’ through high-quality discussions with adults as they play with different-sized containers in the water area. The school is still developing staff’s expertise in a few areas of learning. This means that some adults lack the confidence to teach these areas of the curriculum as well as the others. Therefore, children do not build their knowledge as securely as they do in the more established areas of learning. Furthermore, at times, some adult interactions do not consistently extend children’s speech and language skills.

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Leaders have taken effective action to sustain the schools’ performance since the last inspection. They make decisions in the best interests of children’s happiness, security and care. For example, the school has effective systems in place to check on patterns of absence. Staff work successfully with parents and carers to help them understand the importance of regular attendance. This is helping to improve attendance for many children.

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Inclusive practice is a strength of the school. Staff identify children’s additional needs swiftly. The school has excellent partnerships with parents and works well with outside agencies, such as educational psychologists, to develop strategies to support children’s learning.

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The school’s work to develop children’s personal development is effective. The school has high expectations for children’s behaviour. Children behave positively when working independently. They concentrate on the tasks they do. They keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements. Children are well prepared for life beyond the nursery. For example, children are supported to attend visits and experiences, such as a local farm and fire station.

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Many governors are new to the role. Despite this, they have steered the school onto a path of financial stability. However, they do not know enough about the quality of education that the school provides for children. Occasionally, they do not hold the school to account as effectively as they could. 7 January 2025

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The school uses high-quality educational research to inform staff’s training. Staff feel supported and proud of the work they do. They appreciate the recent changes the school has made to support their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Children are safe at the school. Staff attend regular training and know how to report any concerns. School leaders follow up on concerns in a timely manner. However, some governors do not have the knowledge they need to monitor the school’s work in this area. Some governors do not have a secure oversight of the school’s work to keep children safe as they do not have recent safeguarding training.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not ensure that all staff have a shared understanding of the intended curriculum and how to support children to learn well. When this happens, children do not develop or extend their speech and language skills as well as they could. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to develop children’s language acquisition.  Some governors are new to their role or have been recently appointed. As a result, they are still developing a secure understanding of the effectiveness of the curriculum and aspects of safeguarding. The local authority should continue to develop the role of governors, so they have the appropriate knowledge and skills to hold leaders to account successfully.

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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, 7 January 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the third ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in May 2012.

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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). 7 January 2025

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School details

School category Local authority nursery school

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.camborne-nursery.cornwall.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Camborne Nursery School is a maintained nursery, catering for children from the ages of two to five years.  The school provides a breakfast club and an after-school club for its children.  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 held meetings with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and members of staff. The lead inspector met governors and spoke with a representative of the local authority. 7 January 2025

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 The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some children about their learning and looked at samples of children’s work.  The inspectors observed children’s behaviour in lessons and around the school.  The inspector considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Gavin Summerfield, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sue Costello Ofsted Inspector 7 January 2025

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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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