Willow Nursery School

Overview

Children at Willow Nursery School are described as "happy and confident," thriving in a "calm, safe, well-ordered environment." The inspection highlights "exceptional" behaviour and strong relationships, noting that children settle quickly and embrace learning activities with enthusiasm.

Strengths

• Children demonstrate "exceptional" behaviour, sharing resources, taking turns, and showing perseverance even when tasks are challenging.
• Staff know children "extremely well," using this knowledge to adapt activities and support those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively.
• The curriculum has been significantly improved, with "clear, ambitious aims" linked to the statutory framework and the local community.
• Language development is supported through high-quality books, stories, songs, and structured phonics sessions for older children.
• Governors have improved their understanding of education quality and ensure the school meets its statutory responsibilities.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure staff receive support to use interactions to "address misconceptions and deepen learning," as some opportunities to extend learning are currently missed.
• Curriculum leaders need support to better understand how their specific areas link together, enabling them to identify where improvements are needed more clearly.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."