Ofsted Report 2014

Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

 

 

 

 

  In the Nursery and Reception Years teaching is expert, particularly in relation to children learning letters and the sounds    they    make. A busy day is planned for children and it is filled with many stimulating, challenging activities, which give sharp focus to all areas of learning. A lot of the outstanding teaching takes place in the Nursery and Reception Years and in Years 1 and 2.

Attitudes to learning are very positive throughout the school. Pupils are expected to get straight down to work when they arrive and they respond to this in an extremely impressive manner. Children arriving for the Nursery and Reception class day are greeted with a wide choice of activities prepared by staff in which they get immediately immersed. Teaching stresses the preciousness of time and pupils make good use of time to progress their work.

  Teaching in Nursery and Reception Years is outstanding. Teachers and their assistants have an excellent knowledge of  

  children which they get from their close engagement with parents and their thorough assessments.

Overall, children start the Nursery Year with skills and knowledge below what is typical for their age. Throughout the Nursery and Reception Years to the end of Year 2 they make outstanding progress, the majority exceeding expected levels in all areas of their development, particularly in communication, language, literacy and mathematics. Children learn quickly to read words and they are skilled in linking letters and the sounds they make and being able to read new and difficult words.

The leadership of the Nursery and Reception Years is outstanding. In Nursery and Reception, work and activities are extremely well organised and the rigorous checks of children’s progress are used productively to plan and improve how children learn.