Histon Early Years Centre

Histon Early Years Centre

Address: New School Road, Histon, Histon Early Years, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB24 9LL Unique reference number (URN): 110595

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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

Children progress well through the curriculum appropriate for their age and stage. Staff address gaps in learning promptly. Children learn well because of the high-quality learning opportunities and meaningful interactions with adults. Children develop the basic skills of communication, listening and mark making well.

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Achievement Expected standard

Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities also make progress from their starting points. This is because leaders and staff identify children's' needs promptly and put effective actions in place.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop confidence and independence. They develop social, communication and interaction skills appropriate to their age. They confidently express their ideas and feelings. Children engage readily in learning, which shows they are prepared for the next stage. They talk to adults about what they have done and show interest in their learning.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders prioritise high attendance. They set clear expectations to prepare families and children for later education. Children enjoy attending nursery. They look forward to seeing the enthusiastic staff who they feel safe with. Leaders track attendance rigorously. They work closely with parents to provide early support so that attendance remains high.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders and staff have a clear and informed understanding of behaviour and attitudes across the school. They set high expectations. This is built on positive relationships, clear rules and well-established routines that children understand and follow.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Staff model positive behaviour. They reinforce expectations through calm dialogue and help children reflect on how others may feel. The use of simple, consistent phrases supports children's understanding of routines and rules in an age-appropriate way. Staff apply these strategies consistently, which supports clarity and fairness.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Children sit, listen and take turns in small groups. Adults guide them to use encouraging and positive voices. Children use the environment with care. They learn how to look after their environment and how to be kind and caring. Children learn how to share with their peers. Unkind behaviour is rare. As a result, behaviour is calm and purposeful.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum is thoughtfully designed, ambitious and extensive. Leaders have made intentional choices to prioritise how to teach children to learn. Leaders focus on the basics of communication and social interaction. This enables children to access learning and express their ideas and needs confidently.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that teachers have the skills to teach the curriculum effectively. Training about brain development, language development and how children learn has been prioritised. Staff use this to skilfully check on what children know and can do. They adapt learning in the moment to enable children to succeed in activities.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Early reading is prioritised. Children giggle in delight when they share and enjoy high-quality books. Careful thought has been given to book choices based on age and stage. These are used to develop children’s interest and communication, which underpin learning across the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff use high-quality interactions to engage children in activities. They model language effectively. Typically, children who need further help with language receive the support they need. Occasionally, staff do not adapt the curriculum well enough to support children who have lower levels of language.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have high aspirations for children with additional needs. They are committed to meeting the needs of children. They have created an inclusive environment. As a result, children develop independence and the skills and knowledge to achieve well.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff benefit from high-quality training. This develops their understanding of child development and additional needs, and strengthens provision. Children’s individual needs are identified and assessed promptly. Staff adapt the environment and activities to meet children’s needs. They respond to changes in children’s focus, attention and interests so that activities support children to make progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders build positive relationships with families and professionals. They work closely with families to identify when children may need extra support. This enables them to put in support promptly, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school uses early years pupil premium funding to provide targeted support. Typically, children receive support to develop their communication skills. However, staff do not always identify children who have gaps in their language development. As a result, some children do not benefit from consistently high-quality interactions.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Children experience activities beyond the classroom that help them to learn about the world around them. Staff prioritise independence, emotional literacy and social interaction.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that children develop a sense of responsibility from an early age. Children gradually become more independent through daily routines. For example, they put on shoes and coats, help at snack time and take on small tasks. As they get older, they do more independently in preparation for the next stage.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are confident in their environment. They know how to look after equipment in the rooms. They follow the rule ‘choose it, use it, put it away’. This helps children to take turns and work together when using equipment. Staff plan situations where children need to work cooperatively, such as providing three buckets for children to share.

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Needs attention

Children learn how to express their feelings, including when they feel upset or uncomfortable. For example, when a child has wet or sticky hands, they may say, ‘I have wet hands and I do not like it.’ This enables adults to help children resolve the problem. Staff use persona dolls to develop children’s understanding of different perspectives. This helps them to discuss worries, friendships and emotions in a safe and accessible way.

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Needs attention

Children learn about different cultures and religions. They learn about difference, kindness and respect through their visits to the local residential care home where they interact with adults of different ages. Children and families enjoy the community events arranged by the school. These events help children learn about their local area, seasonal celebrations and memorial events. They also support children’s understanding of the past and present and their connection to the community.

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Needs attention

Staff understand children’s emotional needs and make adjustments where required. This inclusive approach supports children, including those who are vulnerable or face additional barriers, to participate and benefit from the personal development programme.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders, including governors, are at an early stage of addressing areas that need further development, particularly in relation to reporting and recording systems. Leaders do not always share information with external agencies in a timely manner. This means that children do not always get the support they need quickly.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors do not yet have a secure understanding that leaders’ actions are having the intended impact. Governors know their statutory duties and are in the early stages of strengthening their questioning and challenge of leaders.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders, including governors, have high ambitions for the school and have an understanding of the school’s work. They are beginning to address these areas for development, with a focus on improving systems and processes.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate leaders’ efforts to look after their wellbeing and workload and feel invested in. The comprehensive programme of professional learning they have received supports them to do their jobs well.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders know the school and the community it serves well. They work tirelessly to build positive relationships. Parents feel that their children develop ‘long lasting relationships that positively shape their child’s future learning experiences.’ Families are highly complimentary about the staff and the setting.

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

Children enjoy coming to school. They attend regularly. They feel safe and happy. They have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. Children are included, cared for and listened to. Learning is engaging and helps children to grow in confidence. Children happily share their news with adults as they arrive at school. They eagerly tell adults about their learning. They look forward to activities such as ‘apple week’, where they learn about apples in the local area.

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

Children show curiosity in the learning activities that adults set up. They make progress through the curriculum. Adults build on children’s prior learning before moving on to more complex tasks. Children like to try new learning activities. If they find these tricky, adults adapt activities so that children can access the learning. Independence and self-care skills are central to the curriculum. Children learn to do things for themselves from an early stage. For example, they learn to put on their coats and shoes ready for outdoor learning or help with washing up at snack time. This helps children to be well prepared for their next stage. Children take pride in looking after their friends and their school.

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

Children follow clear and well-established routines. This helps them to feel calm and confident as they know what adults expect of them. Adults model and explain behaviour in ways that children understand. This helps them to make positive choices. As a result, classrooms are calm and purposeful. Children learn how to be kind and to understand others. For example, they talk about how their friends might feel and how their actions can affect others. This helps children to build friendships and respect each other.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure their reporting and recording systems are more rigorous so that actions can be timely particularly when sharing information with different agencies. Governors should ensure that they provide support and challenge to leaders to assure themselves that leaders actions are having the appropriate impact and leading to timely improvements. Leaders should strengthen their approach to identifying children with emerging language needs and ensure that all children have every opportunity to deepen their understanding through high-quality interactions with adults.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors is Phil Clements.

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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 updated 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

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 6 May 2026

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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.

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What does this mean?

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated safeguarding lead and other school leaders.

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What does this mean?

Inspectors spoke with several children, staff, parents and carers. They considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and the responses to the staff survey.

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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 school does not make use of alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The school also has a separately registered provision for children younger than 2 years old.

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What does this mean?

Headteacher : Karen Scott 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 needs support 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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