Westfield Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 October 2023

Westfield Nursery School is a happy place to be. Children arrive excited to see staff and friends. Clear routines and expectations help to create a positive learning environment. This helps children to make a confident start to their learning. Children are kind to each other. On the rare occasions that children are not, adults remind them about having 'kind hands, kind feet and kind voices'. Children respond to these requests. The kindness extends to when they spend time with the school's guinea pigs. They treat the animals with gentleness. Children access a wide range of high-quality learning opportunities. Those who need extra help, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are well supported by staff. Children are calm and focused during formal classroom-based learning and when playing outside. Activities such as a visit by farm staff, and from the police and paramedics, help children develop their interests beyond the curriculum. Staff know the children and their families well. Children are safe and well cared for. This helps them settle in and feel safe. They develop their confidence and independence quickly, for example waiting their turn to wash their hands after outdoor play.

What the school should improve

• Not all teaching is adapted to challenge children to develop and extend their understanding across all seven areas of learning. This means that some children do not develop in all areas of the curriculum as quickly as they could. The school should continue to develop staff's approaches to teaching to help them consistently adapt and extend activities to develop children's learning.
• Systems that governors use to monitor the school's work are not yet embedded. This means that leaders' and governors' ambitions for the school are not yet fully realised. The school needs to ensure leaders at all levels, including governors, have the expertise to further advance and evaluate the impact of leaders' actions to improve provision.

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