Hirst Wood Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 November 2023

'We are a community' is the school's motto for autumn term. The sense of community in the school is palpable. Adults treat children with compassion and care. Each child is known and their needs understood by staff. Leaders focus intently on building positive relationships between staff and children. These relationships create an environment of emotional and physical safety for children. This sense of team and partnership extends to relationships with parents. Leaders and staff foster positive and collaborative relationships. Children are taught to follow clear routines. These routines help children to develop positive learning behaviours. For example, children understand and demonstrate how to be 'good listeners' and to participate in 'good sitting' during their group time. Leaders have high expectations about what children can achieve. Staff quickly identify children who may need more help with their learning. Staff are alert and identify if a child may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children in the specially resourced provision for children with SEND are given frequent and meaningful opportunities to learn and play alongside their friends. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Staff across the school combine their passion for children's achievement with their knowledge of how to support them.

What the school should improve

• In some parts of the curriculum, the small steps of knowledge, experiences and vocabulary children are taught are not clearly defined. As a result, some opportunities are missed to give a highly coherent learning journey for children through some parts of the curriculum. The school should ensure that there is greater clarity on the knowledge and vocabulary children will be taught in those few areas of the curriculum where this is less clear.

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