Birchfield Nursery School

Overview

Birchfield Nursery School continues to be a good school, providing a happy environment where children benefit from "gentle, thoughtful support" and trust staff. Leaders have established a "meaningful curriculum" that helps children become "confident, enthusiastic investigators," with effective measures in place to resolve learning gaps caused by the pandemic.

Strengths

• Children are "kind and self-controlled," participating well in group activities and resolving disagreements quickly with staff help.
• Staff provide "interesting and challenging learning activities," ensuring children gain a "secure foundation for continuing to learn to read."
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive a "beneficial education, which is as ambitious as that of their peers."
• Leaders "act fairly to reduce staff’s workload" and support staff well-being, ensuring staff feel valued and use their professional expertise.
• Staff communicate well with parents, effectively guiding them through the "big step" of starting school.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must clarify the "key foundational knowledge" in all curriculum areas, as children currently "learn less deeply than they might" in a few subjects.
• Staff should focus assessment techniques on children’s learning of the curriculum rather than "over-us[ing] age bands," which risks missing how well children are learning intended content.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff up to date on issues, making appropriate records, and sharing concerns with other agencies.