Walton Lane Nursery School

Walton Lane Nursery School

Address: Walton Lane, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8BP Unique reference number (URN): 119079

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

From their starting points, children mostly develop the essential knowledge and skills that they need. They make positive progress through the curriculum. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children progress well due to the school’s careful focus on their needs. Children develop important habits, such as persistence, independence and cooperation. They enjoy learning curriculum content. Children want to investigate and find out more.

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Achievement Expected standard

In the main, children are well prepared for primary school. They build an effective understanding of important words, which helps them to talk with others. Children develop the imaginative and physical skills they need for learning to write in the Reception Year. Children learn to handle books carefully and to talk about the storyline and pictures. They develop important mathematical skills, such as being able to recognise the number of objects in a small group without counting them.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations of children’s attendance. Where needed, leaders challenge parents and carers about children being at school often enough. Children’s attendance improves during their time at the school. Leaders check attendance information, including about children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to inform the school’s support for families. Leaders recognise that some of their actions to improve attendance could be better informed by this information.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders think carefully about how to ensure that children behave sensibly. They have created a calm, happy school. Teachers and teaching assistants follow the school’s clear, positive approach to support children’s behaviour. Staff ensure that bullying between children is avoided. Discrimination is not tolerated. Generally, children who struggle with behaviour benefit from sensitive, patient support from staff. Where behaviour difficulties are connected to the specific needs of some children with SEND, staff carefully adjust the support they offer to suit each child’s needs. Typically, children behave well and demonstrate appropriate self-discipline. They embrace the helpful support provided by staff.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In each area of learning, leaders’ curriculum identifies in a logical order what children need to know. Leaders think carefully about teaching children important basics, such as in communication and language and in mathematics. They also prioritise children’s personal and emotional development and the improvement of their physical skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff benefit from the training that leaders provide. The teaching of mathematics draws well on the school’s recent involvement in educational research. Leaders check where to refine staff’s subject and curriculum knowledge further. Mostly, staff teach the curriculum successfully. They use carefully chosen books, songs and rhymes to support children’s language development. Staff talk with children skilfully and communicate with well-chosen pictures and gestures. Where needed, staff provide children, such as some disadvantaged children, with additional teaching and practise. On occasion, teaching is less effective because some staff are unclear how to teach some curriculum content.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In the main, staff identify effectively when children need extra help to learn essential information. Where children have individual learning plans, staff understand, review and act on these well. Sometimes, staff’s checks of children’s learning does not fully align with the content of the school’s curriculum. As a result, some teaching is less well matched to children’s needs than it could be.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders work effectively with families so that staff are well informed about children’s needs. Leaders use the advice of other professionals to sharpen support for specific children, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school acts to remove obstacles that might get in the way of children’s successful education. Leaders ensure that staff’s actions make a positive difference to children’s progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school focuses on the needs of children who may be vulnerable. Leaders know how to work with the local authority when a child is in care. Leaders use extra funding to ensure that, where needed, staff give disadvantaged children efficient extra support to catch up with their peers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff benefit from the effective training that leaders provide to support vulnerable children. The school follows a step-by-step approach to support children with SEND. Where children have individual plans for their development, such as an education health and care plan, leaders ensure that staff follow these well.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Some of leaders’ long-term plans to improve the school’s SEND provision could be sharpened further. This weakness does not hold back the quality of support for children in the classroom.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders build on the strengths of the school’s curriculum and teaching to improve staff’s work effectively. They consider the needs of children, parents and carers to help the school act in the best interests of children. The school links well with an on-site private nursery, meaning that families can access early years education all day in one building.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Some changes outside the school's control, for example relating to staffing and resources, have affected the success of some of the school’s work. Where possible, leaders and governors take thoughtful decisions to overcome such challenges. Leaders prioritise the education of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, as they consider this to be where the school’s work is most needed. Leaders ensure that staff have helpful professional learning, including links to educational research and professional qualifications. Leaders support staff efficiently with their workload and wellbeing. Teachers and teaching assistants work well together as a team. Leaders value staff and consult them appropriately on the school’s important decisions, such as about its priorities for improvement.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Over a sustained period, governors have pursued an ambitious vision for the school’s long- term development. The governing body meets its duties. Generally, it aids the school’s development. However, some of the board’s combined knowledge of the effectiveness of the school’s work is less well informed. Leaders have rightly identified the need to improve this further. With the assistance of the local authority, the quality of governance has started to strengthen.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff attend closely to children’s all-round development. The school’s personal development curriculum builds children’s feelings, independence, confidence and the quality of their relationships with others. Leaders’ programme of activities and experiences enrich children’s knowledge of themselves, their families, school and the wider community. Leaders check that all children benefit from the school’s provision. Leaders ensure that disadvantaged children access important additional opportunities, such as to visit a theatre.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff teach children to act responsibly. Children try hard, such as to successfully dress themselves with waterproofs and wellies, ready to play outdoors. Children learn about the importance of privacy about their bodies. They understand the roles of people who help the community, such as police officers, postal workers and fire fighters. Staff help children to learn to act safely, such as when they use the internet or travel on the school’s minibus.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Children feel good about themselves and their learning. They benefit from time in a well- organised special group with their allocated key person. Leaders and staff build children’s sense of who they are. When needed, children know how to find emotional and practical support from trusted staff. This means, for example, if children have a toileting accident, staff are on hand to support them kindly and positively.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Children develop genuine regard for other people’s beliefs, attitudes and outlooks. They gain a suitable knowledge of fundamental British values, such as respect and tolerance. Staff celebrate children’s own family traditions, culture and community. They connect their teaching to the diverse world of modern Britain. For example, staff teach children to understand the importance of different local places of worship. Children develop pride in their local area, including nearby Pendle Hill.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children at the school are safe and happy. They develop multiple friendships, including with those children who visit from the on-site private nursery. Children have trusting connections with staff, especially their key person. Staff teach children to relate positively to other people, including how to listen, respond kindly and take turns. Generally, children behave well. They understand the impact of their behaviour on others. Bullying is not an issue because leaders and staff ensure that small misunderstandings between children do not escalate.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children are calm and settled. This is because their wellbeing and feelings are a central focus of staff’s attention. Staff spot which children need support with their emotions. They help children to cope with any unexpected changes in life, at home or school. Children learn how to speak about their feelings with trusted adults.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Most children attend school often, and leaders support parents and carers well with this. Children enjoy school. They explore the well-organised classroom and outdoor areas with confidence and eagerness. Children become independent, responsible and helpful.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, become successful learners. Leaders work with staff effectively to identify any obstacles to children’s success. Staff act so children are included and achieve well. In the main, children gain the skills and knowledge that they need for primary school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children are well prepared to be modern British citizens. Staff celebrate children’s own family and community culture. Leaders’ personal development curriculum assists staff to teach children that people can be different, such as in language, religion or family make-up. Children learn to show respect and tolerance. Leaders ensure that children learn about the fascinating jobs that some adults hold, such as in coding or being a disc jockey.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff use checks of children’s knowledge of the school’s curriculum to make highly effective choices about what to teach children next and that staff understand and teach the curriculum consistently well, resulting in children being fully prepared for primary school. Leaders should build on their successful work to support children’s behaviour, so all children demonstrate high levels of self-discipline and dedication to their learning. Leaders should sharpen their understanding of patterns of children’s attendance to better inform their actions so that all children have high attendance. Governors should deepen their knowledge and expertise so that they provide leaders with more effective support and challenge on the school’s priorities. Leaders and governors should make certain that their overall long-term plans and reviews of the school’s inclusion work consistently enhance its provision for pupils.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England. Inspection activities:

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What does this mean?

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, senior teacher and other staff during the inspection. An inspector spoke with two representatives of the local authority about the school's work. The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair.

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What does this mean?

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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What does this mean?

The chair of the board of governors of this school is Angela Towers.

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What does this mean?

The school shares a building with a private nursery registered with Ofsted. Some children and staff from that provision spend time each day in the school classroom mixed with school staff and children. This private nursery was not part of the school inspection.

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What does this mean?

At the time of this inspection, two children had an education, health and care plan.

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What does this mean?

The school does not use alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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