Wigston Menphys Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Wigston Menphys Nursery School Launceston Road, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 2FR

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Outcome

Wigston Menphys 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?

A warm welcome awaits children when they arrive at Wigston Menphys Nursery School. Friendly and supportive staff form strong bonds with children and their families. Skilfully, staff understand how children express their emotional, learning or physical needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a clear ambition to prepare children for their next stage of education and development. Thoughtful support and a well-considered curriculum enable most children to achieve this aspiration.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers value the school’s support to help them to meet the needs of their children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This includes workshops to help parents understand their child’s development and guidance as to how parents can access external support. Parents praise the way that staff keep them informed of their child’s learning. Comments such as, ‘My child has come on in leaps and bounds,’ are typical.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children happily develop their early social skills, such as maintaining attention and giving eye contact. Staff help children use different communication methods to learn and follow school routines. They are quick to spot children who need extra help to manage their emotions and provide these children with appropriate sensory support. As a result, children learn in a calm and secure environment.

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

Most children attend this school in addition to another. Some children do not stay for the duration of their time in the early years. The school adapts its curriculum well to meet children’s needs. Staff check carefully on children’s starting points. They use this 25 March 2025

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information to map out the essential knowledge that children need to know next. Over time, this helps children to make secure, meaningful progress. For some children, their success in this school allows them to transition to mainstream settings. The school oversees this transition closely and provides the necessary support.

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Staff have a strong understanding of early childhood development. They use effective strategies to support the needs of children at the school. When changes are needed to better meet children’s particular needs, these are actioned promptly. Staff appreciate the training the school provides. They recognise how changes to policies and systems have a positive impact on children’s outcomes, while not creating additional work for staff.

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Children benefit from communication and language support that is matched carefully to their developmental needs. For example, staff use early childhood toys to model and repeat words such as ‘on’, ‘spin’ and ‘up’. Children learn to use words, signs and symbols to indicate that an activity is completed. However, for some learning activities, the knowledge that children need to know is not thought through precisely enough.

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Children learn to listen to sounds in the environment. They show pleasure in sharing books, enjoying the patterned language and rhymes. They use movement and dance in response to music and to follow the school’s routines. Those at the very early stages of reading make effective use of tactile resources to understand movements from left to right and develop an understanding that written words have an order.

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The school helps parents understand the importance of their child attending nursery every day. This support is having a positive impact on children’s strong attendance and good punctuality habits.

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The personal development programme aligns closely with children’s needs. They learn words that are linked to friendship and safety. The ‘not available’ sign helps them to understand about boundaries and self-control. Children learn words such as ‘I want’ and ‘stop’ using their communication tools. This helps them to express their needs and concerns. Self-care skills, such as brushing teeth, form part of the school’s daily routines. Children visit local places of interest, such as the library and shops, to better understand the world around them.

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Governors provide appropriate challenge and guidance to the school. They are proud of the expertise that the school gives to other educational establishments. However, the school does not make full use of information available to identify patterns in children’s behaviours. This limits governors’ capacity to improve this aspect of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 March 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few activities, the school has not identified the precise knowledge that children need to know. This slows down children’s learning and development. The school should ensure that all of the activities that children complete during the school day help them to know and recall more of the intended curriculum.  The school does not have a clear-enough oversight of the behaviours with which children present. As a result, it is difficult for the school to identify and respond to patterns and trends over time. This hinders governors’ understanding of this aspect of the school’s work. The school should make sure that it has a close understanding of children’s behaviours and shares this with governors so that leaders and governors can work together to continue to improve the school.

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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 1 and 2 October 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. 25 March 2025

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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). 25 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body John Harrison and Robert Martin (Co-chairs of governing body) Headteacher Laura Jeffs

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 1 and 2 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher and the governing body are responsible for this school and one other.  Children with SEND who attend this school have needs focused mainly around communication and interaction. Most of the children have a diagnosis of autism. Some of the children have an education, health and care plan.  Most of the children are dual registered. This means that they attend this school in addition to another setting.  The school has provision for children who are two years old.  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. 25 March 2025

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 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 SEND coordinator and a range of other staff.  Inspectors visited a range of lessons and spoke to children during the inspection.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority and members of the local governing body.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and staff through Ofsted’s online surveys. The inspection team also gathered the views of parents and staff while on site.

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Inspection team

Shaheen Hussain, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Talbot Ofsted Inspector 25 March 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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