Scartho Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 May 2024

All staff in this school have high expectations for how they want children to treat each other. Relationships between children and staff are characterised by warmth, care and kindness. Children then demonstrate this consideration to others. Children learn positive learning behaviours that help them to concentrate and engage in their learning for sustained periods. Staff intentionally teach children how to do important things such as taking turns and showing good manners. For example, during snack time, staff model to children how to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children quickly learn the importance of this and begin to do it without reminders. Staff introduce routines to help children develop their independence. Some transitions between different parts of the school day are not as focused as they could be, so some learning time is lost. The school works with parents and children to promote high attendance at school. Children are taught to recognise their own emotions and to consider the impact of their actions on their peers. Children are encouraged to be thoughtful individuals who understand that their actions can affect how others feel. The school's high expectations for children are generally reflected in the curriculum.

What the school should improve

• Some of the smaller steps of knowledge and vocabulary in some areas of the curriculum are not clearly defined as in others. This means that some interactions and activities develop and extend children's learning better in some areas than in others. The school should ensure that the smaller steps in knowledge and vocabulary are clearly defined from the starting point to the end point across the whole curriculum to support all staff in promoting children's learning at every opportunity.
• The school's monitoring of the implementation of the curriculum and other parts of the school's development priorities does not identify where practice is strong and where it needs development as precisely as it should. As a result, some of the training for staff is not specifically targeted to improvement priorities. The school should ensure that the monitoring and checks undertaken are used to inform further professional development for all staff and prioritise areas identified as needing improvement.
• Some transitions between different parts of the school day are not as focused as they could be. Some learning time is lost, and children are sometimes not given the best chance to develop their independence and positive learning behaviours. The school should ensure that there is clarity around routines and expectations for transitions between different parts of the school day.

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