St John the Baptist Nursery School in Portadown provides 'caring' environment where 'every child is known, valued and supported to thrive', inspection report states

The school was praised by the Education and Training Inspectorate as showing “excellent team-working, strong parental partnerships and high-quality, child-centred practice create a warm and purposeful ethos where every child is known, valued and supported to thrive.”

The inspectors reported the team works cohesively and with a shared commitment to the school’s vision ‘A happy child will learn’.

They said the school provides “a caring, values-driven and well-organised learning environment that supports every child to make meaningful progress from their individual starting points”.

“Together, they create a consistent, values-driven and child-centred ethos that is evident in the daily practice. The Catholic ethos is lived out authentically through daily routines, charitable involvement and whole-school initiatives, all of which contribute to the warm and nurturing culture of the school,” the report states.

“The school’s vision is reflected clearly in the children’s high levels of enjoyment and engagement across the well-planned provision. Most of the children achieve well across the pre-school curriculum, showing increasing confidence, independence and positive learning dispositions.

"School development planning is robust and strategically focused on well-being, special educational needs and digital skills. These priorities have been identified through wide consultation and align very well to the needs of the nursery school community.

"The parent-friendly version of the school development plan promotes a shared understanding and encourages families to play an active role in the school’s ongoing improvement work."

Inspectors praised the “highly reflective staff team” which reviews continuously the provision leading to increased daily outdoor learning opportunities for the children, which is “impacting positively on their well-being, emotional regulation and engagement”.

They said the “thoughtfully planned and carefully curated outdoor environment provides the children with a rich range of high-quality learning experiences”.

The inspectors also found the governors to be well-informed and understand clearly the school’s context and priorities, and “articulate a clear commitment to sustaining its child-centred ethos”.

They described the curriculum as “rich, well-balanced and developmentally appropriate, with notable strengths in personal, social, emotional, and language development; outdoor learning; and the purposeful use of digital technology.

"Staff interactions with the children are sensitive, skilful and responsive, meeting effectively the wide range of the children’s needs and enabling them to progress.”

The inspectors reported the children “benefit from a safe, nurturing and emotionally secure environment”.

They said “well-established routines, along with movement and mindfulness sessions, help them build confidence and develop awareness of their emotions”.

The report said most of the children are secure within these routines; they label their work, manage their snack independently and show developing social skills as they take turns and play collaboratively.

The inspectors found the children show a good interest in books, listen attentively during story time, retell familiar stories, and engage purposefully in mark-making. They respond enthusiastically to rhymes and songs.

They added that the children explore and investigate the richly resourced learning environment with confidence. They develop their early mathematical awareness through purposeful counting, sorting and matching that occur naturally within the daily routines and play.

"As part of their ongoing self-evaluation and curriculum review, the staff have identified appropriately the need to strengthen further the planning for early mathematical experiences in order to maximise opportunities for the children’s learning.

Inspectors highlighted how staff engage in “strategic professional learning opportunities” which is developing their knowledge of autism and effective strategies to use with the children.

Approaches to celebrating success are well-embedded, the report continues. “The children reflect on their learning through structured weekly evaluations of their play, and their progress is captured comprehensively in individual learning journals which provide a rich record of their achievements.”

Inspectors praised the “purposeful and productive partnerships”, which they said are a key strength of the provision at the school.

"The staff foster meaningful relationships with parents and a wide range of early years and community organisations to promote continuity and enhance outcomes for families.

"In particular, the well-established links with the local Sure Start, playgroup and primary school contribute significantly to smooth transitions and seamless progression in the children’s learning,” the report states.

The Education and Training Inspectorate said it will work with the school to share the examples of highly effective practice from which others may learn such as the “well designed and highly effective” outdoor provision which supports the children’s learning across all areas of the pre-school curriculum; and the “well-established partnerships” that enable the children’s needs to be met through collaborative and responsive practice.

St John the Baptist Nursery School principal Cathy Armstrong said the report reflects the “continual commitment and dedication” by staff in regards to teaching, learning and provision.

"It is a real privilege to lead such a wonderful team of professionals that put children at the heart and soul of everything we do,” she said.

Mrs Armstrong thanked the “absolutely fantastic staff” for always going above and beyond. She said in preparation for the inspection, staff worked late, came in early and worked the weekends just to add the finishing touches to the school - and were joined by friends, family and governors.

"I wish to thank the parents that took the time to complete the questionnaire, send in letters of praise and recognition and speak with inspectors during the visit… we were humbled to hear and read the comments.

"And again, thanks to the governors for always supporting our school and dedicating their valuable time to ensuring our standards remain outstanding!”