Stoneygate Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Stoneygate Nursery School Stoneygate Walk, Preston, Lancashire PR1 3XU

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Outcome

Stoneygate 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 are happy at Stoneygate Nursery School. They benefit from caring and supportive relationships with staff. Children enjoy playing and investigating in the well- equipped classrooms and outdoor areas. They take part in learning activities with confidence. They know staff will help them to play and explore.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children achieve well from their differing starting points. This is because the school has high expectations for every child, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Typically, children move on to primary schools ready for the next stage of their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave sensibly. Staff promote positive behaviour from the moment children join the two-year-old provision. Children learn to play cooperatively. They share and take turns with their friends. On rare occasions when children find this difficult, staff gently and effectively remind them of behaviour expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Building independence is an important aspect of the school’s ambition for its children. Skilled staff help children learn the knowledge and skills to realise this. For example, children develop independence in pouring drinks, putting on aprons and tidying toys away. Through stories and celebrations, such as for Eid and Christmas, children learn about diversity among people and families. These experiences contribute well to children’s broader development.

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

The school has worked effectively to secure improvements to the quality of the curriculum since the last inspection. It has diligently considered the needs and interests of all its 14 January 2025

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children and has developed an ambitious curriculum. In most areas of learning, the school has carefully considered what it wants children to know and the order in which important knowledge will be taught. However, in one or two areas of learning, the school is still identifying the essential knowledge children should learn. This means that, on occasion, staff do not place the right emphasis on the knowledge the children need for future learning. This sometimes prevents children from learning as deeply as they can and making connections with what they have learned before.

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The school places a sharp focus on developing children’s early communication and language skills. Children benefit from carefully chosen books, songs and nursery rhymes. Staff make story time interesting such as by reading books with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Staff regularly check how well children are developing in their communication and language. They provide focused support for children who may be at risk of falling behind.

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The school identifies the needs of children with SEND early. It works closely with parents and with wider professionals to ensure that effective support is put in place. Children with SEND achieve well.

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Staff routinely check on what children know and remember. They use information from these checks effectively to determine what children should learn next. The school has reduced the amount of paperwork that staff collect when they carry out these checks on children’s development. This gives staff more time to support children in their learning.

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Staff skilfully and sensitively teach children to understand the expectations for their behaviour. Children, including two-year-olds, learn how to be kind towards others. Staff support children ably in developing the vocabulary they need to express their feelings and emotions. This enables children to confidently seek help and support from adults and from one another. Children who need extra help to manage their emotions receive the help and support they need from nurturing staff.

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The school supports children’s wider development well. Children have the opportunity to try as many new activities as possible, for example visiting the library and taking part in yoga. Visitors, including from the emergency services, talk to the children about their roles and responsibilities. This helps children to understand that there are people in the community who can help them. These meaningful experiences prepare children for life in modern Britain.

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The school considers staff’s workload and well-being, for instance how to best implement new initiatives without overburdening them. While governors are committed to the school, some have recently joined and do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities. This means that there are times that governors do not challenge the school well enough.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 14 January 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of areas of learning, the school is still determining the essential knowledge that children should learn. This makes it difficult for staff to design learning activities that build on what children already know. The school should clarify the foundational knowledge children should learn in each area of the curriculum.  Some governors are still developing in their roles. This means that the level of challenge the governing body currently offers does not hold the school fully to account. Governors should improve their knowledge and skills so they can support and challenge the school effectively to further improve the quality of education that children receive.

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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 good 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2019.

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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. 14 January 2025

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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). 14 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Yutunde Onilogbo

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision for children.  The school provides places for children aged two years.  Since the previous inspection, the headteacher and some other members of staff have been newly appointed to the school.  Several of the governors, including the chair of governors, have been appointed since the previous inspection.

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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 met with the headteacher. The lead inspector met with members of the 14 January 2025

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governing body, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  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 reviewed documentation, which included leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documentation relating to children’s attendance.  Inspectors visited classrooms and the outside area. They spoke with staff and considered a range of curriculum documentation.  Inspectors spoke with children and observed their behaviour as they played in the nursery. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also

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considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors met with parents and carers during the inspection. They also took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nicky Corfield Ofsted Inspector 14 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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