Hylton Red House Nursery School

Hylton Red House Nursery School

Address: Rotherham Road, Red House, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR5 5QL Unique reference number (URN): 108748

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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 are typically ready for their next stage of learning. Leaders carefully consider children’s starting points. Children’s knowledge and skills are demonstrated in different ways across the curriculum. For example, in their ability to recognise their name, acknowledge and name feelings or improving their pencil grip through mark making in readiness to write. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress from their own starting points. Their success is seen in their ability to learn and play more readily with their peers or though their use of communication aids to share their needs and wants.

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Achievement Expected standard

Where there are gaps in children’s development, leaders ensure that these are addressed promptly. This enables children to develop the important early foundational skills and knowledge to move their learning forward. Leaders and staff share high expectations for all children. This ambition enables children to develop the language, behaviour and attitudes to learning needed for Reception Year.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Children make a positive start to their school attendance journey. Leaders work with parents and carers to promote and support school attendance. Leaders identify and analyse attendance patterns and trends. Leaders think carefully about barriers to attendance to provide appropriate support to parents where necessary. Leaders have clear procedures to check on children’s wellbeing if they are absent. Over time children improve their attendance. Positive relationships with parents foster attendance improvements. Typically, the longer children are on roll the better their attendance becomes.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Children demonstrate kindness and care towards each other. Leaders and staff foster a calm and welcoming ethos and learning environment which helps children settle well and get on with learning and play. Children find success in the familiar daily routines and expectations that leaders and staff set. If children find aspects of the day challenging, they are ably supported by well-skilled staff to help regulate their emotions. This helps them to get back on track promptly. Leaders ensure that any incidents of behaviour that do not meet their expectations are monitored. Leaders think carefully about how to further support children if they need help. This is effective in reducing any further incidents. Children typically demonstrate positive attitudes to school life. They sustain their focus and attention well during the day.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders’ recent work to review and enhance the curriculum is purposeful. It ensures that each stage of a child’s development is understood with important milestones identified. This helps children build small steps of progress and success securely. Leaders ensure that prime areas of learning, such as communication and language, are the foundations of success to support children to be ready for their next stage in learning. Leaders are astute. They know the strengths and the areas needing further refinement across the curriculum. The curriculum is generally taught well. Children benefit from planned opportunities to develop their pre-writing skills as well as develop a love of reading. Daily story time and the use of a range of books, including catalogues, supports children’s interest in a range of texts. Opportunities to discuss and apply early mathematical skills are used well. Children talk about capacity in the water areas and count and recognise number

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

across the day. Leaders recognise where the implementation of this curriculum needs more precision. Occasionally learning activities are not precisely matched to what leaders and staff want children to know and do.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff typically use assessment well. Whilst high-quality interactions between adults and children are evident, there are some occasions where opportunities to maximise learning through interactions are missed. Where this happens, children miss the chance to embed or extend their learning as effectively as they could.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff establish effective relationships with families and professionals to ensure that any barriers to learning that children have are well supported. This important work starts before children join the school. Leaders take effective action to ensure that children’s needs are identified and understood from the start. Together with families, they build an understanding of where further support or advice from professionals is needed. Where advice is sought, leaders and staff take sensible action to support children. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are otherwise disadvantaged. Leaders work effectively with social care colleagues to support children who may be cared for by the local authority.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders understand children’s needs well. They support staff to ensure that they understand the strategies, resources and approaches that enable children to access the school’s offer. Where interventions or adaptations are used, leaders and staff review the impact of this support appropriately. Recent work to develop a coherent and shared communication strategy for children to use is used with impact. It helps children, including children who are pre-verbal, to communicate with increasing confidence.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate and well-grounded understanding of the school, its strengths and its areas for further focus and refinement. They are reflective when evaluating the school’s offer. Any changes are rooted in leaders’ ambition for all children who attend to achieve well. Leaders set a positive example to staff and the community in their daily work. They consistently demonstrate high levels of professionalism. The school’s vision and values are clear. Leaders have high aspirations for children and staff. Staff and governors are unanimous in their support for the school and its development. Governors provide effective support and challenge to leaders in their work to move the school forward.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The leadership structure has recently grown to support the development of the school. Leaders are working collectively and effectively to develop and enhance the schools offer. This can be seen in the refinement of the curriculum. These roles and developments are somewhat new and not fully embedded. Continued oversight is needed to fully realise the impact of some of the school’s key focus areas in the curriculum. The schools professional learning for leaders and staff is effective. It enables adults to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. Leaders ensure that staff workload and wellbeing is well considered. Staff feel valued and work in a team that supports one another well. Governors maintain a watchful eye over the workload of leaders.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents are positive about the difference the school makes. They recognise and value the care that staff provide to children. It helps children feel safe and cared for.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that through a broad curriculum children are well supported to understand the world they live in, their own wellbeing and their personal development. Daily activities such as yoga and mindful breathing help children remain focused. They show determination and control as they hold different yoga poses. Each morning children check how their peers are feeling. Together they celebrate this or think together with staff about how to help each other if they are feeling worried, for example. This helps them name their emotions and develop resilience.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school makes effective use of local landmarks and amenities to help children develop a sense of their city and local area. Children contribute positively to the local community. They make resources to show local residents in care homes and businesses that they are kind and care about them. They visit the local shops to purchase snacks and ingredients. They welcome visitors into their school, such as those from the fire service. Children learn about fundamental British values in an age-appropriate way. Activities and direct learning moments are interwoven across the day. This helps them understand and learn about respect and tolerance as well understanding that everyone’s views are valued. This work is well matched to the school’s vision and core values. Children encounter different faiths, cultures and families through the books and resources the school uses. This enables children to have a sense of what life is like in modern Britain.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The personal, social and emotional development curriculum promotes independence well. Children demonstrate high levels of independence and self-care. This includes toilet training and washing hands. It helps children with wider aspects of school readiness. The recently introduced toothbrushing programme addresses mouth hygiene effectively. Careful consideration is given to children’s transition to primary school. Staff, through daily group time, talk and share images, uniform and signage for the various schools that children move on to. This supports children’s readiness for Reception Year.

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

Children arrive happy and smiling at this caring nursery school. They benefit from leaders and staff who know them and their parents and carers very well. Leaders take pride in knowing their school community. It helps them provide loving and caring support to children. Children are safe. They demonstrate this in the positive relationships they have with the key adults who care and nurture them each day. Leaders and staff foster a learning environment which is calm and welcoming. The school’s focus on supporting children’s emotional needs is ever present. Each day leaders and staff work with children to recognise and name emotions. It means they start the day positively. Children learn to cooperate well across the different activities they take part in. Children play together with focus and kindness. Staff are skilled at supporting children if they need help.

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

The school’s values of resilience and independence support children’s development well. The school’s curriculum is well matched to leaders' intentions. Teaching supports children to make progress during their time here. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from skilled staff and leaders who support them effectively. Children share their thoughts and ideas using different communication strategies confidently. It helps staff meet their needs promptly. There is a shared ambition between leaders, staff and governors that children will do well and be prepared for their next steps in education.

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

Leaders carefully consider how to enrich each and every day. Children enjoy weekly sessions linked to music. This helps them to understand rhythm and song. Children are excited to join in and play percussion instruments. Dedicated physical education sessions help children develop fundamental movement and physical skills. Children practise these in their outdoor learning opportunities over the week. It helps them be physically active and develop healthy habits.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that consistently high-quality interactions between adults and children maximise opportunities to extend key language, knowledge and skills. Through highly effective oversight, leaders should ensure that the curriculum is implemented with precision across areas of learning. Leaders and governors should continue their development of leaders at all levels to embed the positive contributions they make to support school improvement priorities.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Julie Heron.

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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 (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMI.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and staff during the inspection. The lead inspector spoke with representatives of the governing body including the chair of governors. The lead inspector spoke with those responsible for school improvement and a representative from the virtual school.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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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 7 July 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?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

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What does this mean?

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

Headteacher: Catherine Barnett 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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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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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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