Houghton Community Nursery School has achieved the Inclusive School Award.
Outstanding Education for Children
Houghton Community Nursery School is a large Local Authority (LA) maintained school, which provides outstanding education for children aged between 0-5 years of age. The school forms part of a hard Federation with Mill Hill Nursery School. It is based in Houghton-Le-Spring area on the outskirts of Sunderland and serves a diverse community. The school was given a rating of ‘Outstanding’ in its last Ofsted inspection in November 2019.
As soon as our Assessor walked into Houghton Nursery School, it was evident that there is a long-standing commitment to inclusion and a drive towards providing the best education to all of its pupils. The Leadership Team, Governors and all staff are experienced in working with a range of children and their families, carefully adapting the curriculum, environment, teaching and learning to meet the individual needs of children. The nursery school caters extremely well for those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Individual programmes of support ensure that these children make the progress they should.
Staff Highly Skilled
The staff at Houghton Nursery School are highly skilled, extremely reflective and constantly reviewing practice and the learning environment to ensure it meets the needs of all its learners and that every child reaches their full potential. Leaders have high ambitions for what they want their children to learn and their plans identify what children should learn.
Staff are proud to work at the nursery school and feel supported and appreciated. The Headteacher, Leaders, Governors and staff share a passion for early year’s education that leads them to provide the best they can for all the children who attend their nursery school. All the adults who work with the children are highly skilled at questioning them and deepening their understanding.
Children are Extremely Happy
Children are extremely happy and come into nursery and settle quickly. Children meet the high expectations that adults have for them in both their learning and behaviour. As a result, a sense of calm pervades every learning space. Children are very considerate towards each other and play well alongside each other. They learn to share and take turns, express their emotions using words or symbols. Children have time to explore their interests and engage with a range of indoor and outdoor learning experiences with confidence. The children enjoy Forest School and beach school activities, which helps the children to develop their resilience and learn to take risks. Children make rapid progress because they benefit from a rich and varied curriculum that stimulates them and extends their thinking.
Houghton Nursery School has a strong community feel. Parents/Carers really appreciate the support that staff provide to them and their children. One parent commented how, ‘it’s like a family and she has also made friends.’ Parents are delighted with the nursery school and how their children thrive.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team please telephone:
028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm)
or email: [email protected] for further details.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.
• Our inaugural National Inclusion Conference will take place on the 27th November, for further details click here.