Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Warrington Road Nursery School

Inspection of Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Warrington Road Nursery School Naylor Road, Warrington Road Children’s Centre, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 0BS

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Outstanding Nursery School 15 and 16 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are happy at this caring nursery school. They show a strong sense of belonging. Children happily wave goodbye to their parents and carers at the start of each day. Staff get to know children well, which helps them to settle in and to feel secure.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for what children can achieve. This includes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Overall, children develop positive attitudes towards their learning. However, due to weaknesses in the design of the curriculum and how it is implemented, children do not learn as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children typically behave well. They develop their understanding of taking turns with other children during their play. Children learn about some of the differences that exist between themselves and others, and that these differences should be valued.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides children with experiences that help them to understand the world around them. For instance, children go on trips to a forest and a farm, which broadens their awareness of animals and nature. Visitors to the school, such as firefighters and police officers, help children to learn about safety and of people in the community who help others.

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

The school has implemented a broad curriculum that covers the areas of learning outlined in the early years foundation stage. However, the school’s curriculum thinking is in its infancy. As a result, children are not as well prepared for their next steps in learning as they should be.

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

Across many areas of learning, the important knowledge that children should learn has not been well determined. This makes it difficult for staff to know what they should teach to children and the order in which this should happen. Therefore, children do not consistently build on what they already know and can do.

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

The school provides some support for staff to develop their expertise to teach the curriculum. It enables staff to work together to choose the activities and resources that they will provide for children. Nonetheless, the curriculum is not delivered consistently well across different areas of learning. This means that some children do not routinely develop their knowledge and skills sufficiently well during their play and they do not learn as effectively as they should. The school is not effective in evaluating the implementation of the curriculum to identify what is working well and what requires further development.

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

The school has a suitable approach to check children’s communication and language development. However, the approaches to check that children learn all that they should across the curriculum are underdeveloped and not used consistently well. This hinders staff in identifying gaps and addressing next steps in some children’s learning. Nursery School 15 and 16 July 2025

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The school prioritises identifying children’s additional needs early. It works well with external agencies and parents to support the needs of children with SEND. This enables children with SEND to be fully included in school life.

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Staff foster children’s love of reading. Books are well chosen and are prominently placed across the school. Children enjoy listening to stories and joining in with songs. They spend time each week in the school’s library, where they choose books to take home to share with their families. Children recently visited an exciting venue to hear new stories.

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In the main, classrooms and outdoor areas are calm and orderly. Children learn well- established routines from the beginning of the classroom for two-year-old children. They develop their confidence around new people. The school has adopted effective strategies, including working with parents, to support children’s regular attendance habits.

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The school encourages children to develop their independence and self-care skills, such as handwashing and toileting, from an early age. At snack times, children select their plates and cups, pour drinks and butter crackers. They help tidy their things away afterwards. Children are provided with healthy foods and drinks.

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The governing body has strengthened the support and challenge that it provides to the school. It is self-reflective and shares in the school’s aim to continue to improve. Staff are positive about working at the school. While instability in staffing has strained some staff’s workload, overall, staff appreciate the support that they receive for their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In many areas of learning, the curriculum is not well designed. This means that staff do not have enough guidance to understand what children should learn and the order that it should be taught. The school should ensure that it identifies the important information that children should learn and when this should be taught, so that staff help children to know and remember more.  The curriculum is not delivered consistently well. The school is not as effective as it should be at evaluating the implementation of the curriculum and using this information to develop staff’s expertise. As a result, some children do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that it checks how well staff implement the curriculum and support staff to enable children to learn more effectively.  Staff do not check closely enough how well children develop and secure new knowledge across the curriculum. This means that gaps in children’s learning are not

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

consistently identified and addressed. The school should support staff in assessing how Nursery School 15 and 16 July 2025

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well children progress through the curriculum, to prepare them sufficiently for their next steps in learning.

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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). Nursery School 15 and 16 July 2025

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School details

Number of children on the school roll 66

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.warringtonroadnurseryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 January 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is federated with another local nursery school. Leadership and governance are responsible for both schools in the federation.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The school provides before- and after-school care for children.  The school provides educational provision for two-year-old children.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. Nursery School 15 and 16 July 2025

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these areas of learning: communication and language (taking account of early reading), mathematics and physical development. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum and visited classrooms and outdoor learning areas. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in some other areas of learning.  Inspectors observed staff sharing books with several children.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other school leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors spoke with representatives of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with children and observed their behaviour throughout the day as they played in the nursery, including at lunchtime and in the outdoor learning areas.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation documents, improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings and documents about children’s behaviour and levels of attendance.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and their well-being. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors met with some parents during the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record and took account of the views of leaders, staff and children. They considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.

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Inspection team

David Lobodzinski, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Pippa Jackson-Maitland His Majesty’s Inspector Nursery School 15 and 16 July 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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