Stockingford Maintained Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 July 2026

Children enjoy their time at this inclusive, nurturing nursery school. Staff work well with families. The priority to develop firm and lasting relationships starts before the children start school and continues throughout. Children arrive happily each day, settling into routines that they know and understand. If a child arrives but they are not quite ready to learn, they receive immediate support and care that helps them to settle. Relationships are a strength. Each child's key worker knows them very well and can tailor any support they might need to successfully tackle the day ahead. Children behave well. Structure, routine and clarity ensure that most pupils follow the rules that the nursery has established. Children quickly start to recognise and understand their own emotions. Staff model the language of this. The children are introduced to different ways of sharing how they feel at different stages of development. They are taught to develop independence through choosing what they would like to eat as a snack and to indicate which drink they would prefer. Self-care is promoted effectively. Children take part in all that the nursery has to offer. Some children are not ready to fully partake in activities in the largest room in 'big nursery'. For these children, a smaller, sensory room with staff who understand their needs well bridges this gap until they feel ready to join in with others. The forest school area is a highly positive addition to the nursery provision, where children learn to take risks, explore and investigate all that is on offer. Children show sustained interest and curiosity, whether this be using 'cement' in the tough tray to build walls following an external visitor to the setting, or searching for wildlife in the forest school. Everything has a purpose. As a result, most children are prepared for the next stage of education when the time comes.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should strengthen the monitoring of children's achievement across the curriculum to ensure that targets and subsequent support are effective in enabling all children to make the progress they are capable of from their individual starting points.
• Leaders should implement a consistent assessment cycle throughout the year so that teachers have an accurate understanding of children's knowledge, skills and understanding, enabling precise identification of starting points and next steps in learning for all groups of learners.
• Leaders should develop their evaluation and analytical skills so that they can accurately assess the school’s effectiveness across all aspects of its work and use this information to drive continual improvement.
• Leaders should improve systems for recording, monitoring and analysing both qualitative and quantitative information, including attendance, punctuality and pupil progress data. Leaders should then analyse this information to drive further improvements across aspects of the school's work

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)