Crosfield Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Crosfield Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 18 December 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings.

The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2015. This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

Since the last inspection, Crosfield Nursery has federated with another nursery school. You are the executive headteacher of the federation which runs both nursery schools. In addition to expanding provision to include two-year-olds, C...rosfield Nursery has also taken on the running of Rainbow Class, which is a local authority nursery provision for children who have profound and multiple learning difficulties.

You are well supported in the running of Crosfield Nursery by an enthusiastic and very able deputy headteacher who has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the school. Central to the ethos of the nursery is the inclusive, nurturing and caring environment. Leaders are keen to support good attendance.

They are flexible and adapt hours and sessions to meet the needs of parents and carers, to help support them into work and further education. You work closely with the on-site children's centre and other professionals, who often signpost vulnerable families to you. The school is a warm and welcoming place.

Parents speak in very positive terms about their children's experiences. They value the time and care that staff spend getting to know their child and developing links with each family through the very successful key-worker system. They value the commitment leaders show in ensuring that children are safe and happy and the sensitive way children are supported to behave and learn how to get along with others.

Parents are rightly proud of the gains their children have made, both academically and socially. They enjoy sharing 'WOW' moments of things their child does at home and appreciate opportunities to take part with their children in such activities as singalongs and stay-and-play sessions. Parents are keen to learn more about how they can further support learning at home and are very clear that the nursery plays an essential role in getting their children ready for school.

Leaders have been quick to address the areas highlighted at the time of the last inspection. The deputy headteacher has been instrumental in training staff and governors in how to use a new system to track the progress children make. This has helped ensure that everybody has a very clear understanding of how well children are learning and what areas need to be addressed to secure even better progress.

Teachers and key workers make useful observations of children at work and play and regularly share this information to ensure that they plan a range of opportunities to support further development. Governors have ensured that financial decisions have supported all children, including the youngest, by purchasing new hardware and software to develop their computer skills. Safeguarding is effective.

Safeguarding procedures are fit for purpose. Governors ensure that systems for recruiting staff are meticulous. Records show that staff receive a range of statutory training so that they are aware of the varied ways children might be at risk of harm.

There are secure systems in place to log and track concerns and staff are confident in what to do if they suspect a child may be at risk. Leaders liaise effectively with external agencies and are robust in following up actions to ensure that 'no child falls through the net'. Very effective systems are in place to provide early help to targeted families when they most need it.

Relationships with adults are strong and children benefit hugely from the key-worker system that operates across the nursery as it ensures that information is shared quickly between home and school with a trusted and known individual. You are clear that children achieve best when they attend school regularly. Attendance is rigorously tracked and absence concerns are followed up quickly.

As a result, attendance is improving. Inspection findings ? As the federation has grown, you have been careful to ensure that improvements made are sustainable. Both the main nursery, including the provision for two-year-olds, and the specialist provision for children with profound and multiple disabilities are led by skilled and knowledgeable individuals who share your passion for learning in the early years.

• Leaders have a comprehensive and realistic view of the school's strengths and areas for development. They are steadfast in their view that they want the school to be the very best it can be and that every day matters for every child. Self-evaluation is accurate and is used by governors as a tool to plan future developments across the federation.

• The school development plan is constantly updated to reflect the outcomes of monitoring. The school's current focus is around developing literacy and social skills. Governors visit the school and follow up on actions in the school development plan.

They have a thorough understanding of the school, are reflective and challenge leaders appropriately. ? The quality of learning is carefully monitored across the provision. Leaders use this information to plan staff development.

Recent staff training has included promoting quality interactions with children and improving opportunities for children to develop mathematical knowledge. This has paid dividends as children's skills in number, problem-solving and shape have improved. The focus on problem-solving has been applied to many areas in the three- and four-year-old rooms, including construction and design activities.

Work on walls clearly shows the process children have been through when thinking how to create and improve their models. ? Leaders have developed an appropriate curriculum for the ages and stages that children are at. The quality of provision inside and out is broad, stimulating and exciting.

There is clear progression as children get older and can concentrate for longer periods of time. Careful thought has gone into developing children's social skills. Younger children have lots of opportunities to work alongside their peers with adults who model and praise sharing and turn taking.

Cooperative and collaborative play is a strong feature of the curriculum for older children, who clearly show that they understand how to take turns, help each other, wait for and share resources. Staff are good language role models and there is a strong focus on developing vocabulary and relationships. Self-registration encourages independence and moves children on from finding a photograph of themselves to recognising and finally writing their own name.

• Children in the two-year-old room are encouraged to develop their physical strength and coordination, wait for a turn and support each other by climbing and balancing, with adult support. Older children demonstrate confidence in these skills and their ability to assess risk safely by using climbing equipment independently. ? Younger children enjoy using paint to mark-make.

Older children have some opportunities to write at a well-resourced writing table. However, opportunities to develop writing and mark-making are not maximised fully in other areas of the nursery. ? Accurate tracking helps staff check learning carefully and use this knowledge to set appropriately challenging next steps.

Adult-led activities are well planned to move learning forward. There is a strong emphasis on developing speaking and listening skills. Some activities are targeted at specific groups of pupils, for example those at the early stages of learning English, those who need additional support and those who need more challenge in certain areas.

Some adults are skilled at asking open-ended questions that get children thinking hard and imagining new things. However, adults do not take enough advantage of opportunities to extend children's thinking and learning by engaging in activities that children choose themselves. As a result, opportunities to extend child-initiated play are not maximised.

• The specialist provision for children who have multiple and profound learning difficulties, Rainbow Class, is a significant strength. Children's complex needs are exceptionally well catered for by a multisensory curriculum that focuses on ways to stimulate the senses and remove barriers to learning. Staff work with a range of other professionals to ensure that health and welfare needs are met.

Social events like mealtimes are inclusive, provide high levels of support where appropriate while also encouraging independence where possible. High-quality interactions coupled with positive and warm relationships create an environment where every child feels secure and happy. Children enjoy the security of the well-established routines that are in place.

Individual learning is meticulously planned and each step in the journey carefully recorded. This ensures that children are making very good progress against their individual targets. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? they create more opportunities for children to develop writing and mark-making skills both inside and out by providing resources that encourage fine and gross motor development ? adults take opportunities to extend children's learning by engaging in play and using questioning to extend and deepen thinking during child-initiated activities ? they capitalise on parents' eagerness to develop ways they can more effectively support learning at home.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Croydon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Lou Anderson Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection I met with the executive headteacher, deputy headteacher, senior leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority, and scrutinised pupils' work around the nursery and in learning books.

I observed children's learning in the two-, three- and four-year-olds' rooms and in Rainbow Class. I observed lunchtime. I talked to children throughout the day.

I met with parents at the start of the school day and analysed responses to Parent View, Ofsted's online questionnaire for parents. I analysed staff questionnaires. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school's self-evaluation, school improvement plans, pupils' attendance information, documentation related to safeguarding, and the school's assessment and behaviour information.