Our 2-3 year old room (Little Acorns) and 3-4 year old room & specialist send unit (Oak Tree, The Nest) are inspected separately.

Oak Tree Room

Oak Tree was last inspected on November 4, 2021, and we were proud to maintain our “Good” rating.

You can view the report here: Chatham Nursery School-School Inspection Report 2021 – 

Learning point’s from our most recent inspection:

To ensure opportunities to develop children’s early reading and mathematical skills are embedded across the curriculum and throughout the learning environment.

Actions taken since our most recent inspection:

  • Staff have participated in Early Years maths training and are currently enrolled in the Maths Champion Programme.
  • In Autumn 2024 we subscribed to a maths scheme aligned with the White Rose Maths mastery framework. This includes a comprehensive progression plan for the year, featuring detailed lesson plans, home learning activities, continuous provision ideas, and recommended books and nursery rhymes.
  • We have delivered ‘Maths at Home’ workshops for parents and offer a maths bag lending library to support learning beyond the classroom.
  • To enhance our provision, we visited outstanding Early Years settings to gain inspiration for developing maths opportunities within continuous provision.
  • Chatham has shared its maths practice during training sessions for other settings at SIL, contributing to wider professional development.
  • Small group maths sessions are now embedded into our daily routine, supporting targeted learning.
  • We have used Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ECERS) to evaluate and refine our maths provision within the learning environment.
  • A dedicated maths-themed parent workshop and ‘Stay and Play’ session is held during the summer term to engage families in their children’s mathematical development.

 

  • Using Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ECERS) , we have embedded meaningful reading opportunities throughout both our indoor and outdoor environments.
  • We actively promote books and encourage shared reading across the nursery school, integrating this into all home learning initiatives, including themed gifts for occasions such as Christmas and Eid.
  • We have launched a year-round Family Book Club, offering shared reading experiences and guided activities designed to support children’s language and literacy development.
  • Our Chatham’s Little Library scheme encourages all families to borrow books and share their reading experiences with us via Tapestry.
  • Children regularly visit Wavertree Library, fostering a love of books and familiarity with library environments.
  • Through our Reading Buddy Scheme in partnership with St Hugh’s Catholic Primary School, Year 5 and 6 pupils visit weekly to share stories with our children, promoting intergenerational reading experiences.
  • We are working with School Improvement Liverpool (SIL) to deliver whole-staff training on developing a love of reading, scheduled for 3rd November 2025.
  • Small group language and phonics sessions are now embedded into our daily routine.
  • As of September 2025, we have invested in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme. This evidence-based approach helps us identify early language difficulties and supports the development of oral language skills and behaviour in 3- to 4-year-olds through shared storybook reading and guided play.

Childcare Provision

We are pleased that ongoing commitment to providing high-quality education and care for our children have been recognised so positively.