Freshfield Nursery School

Freshfield Nursery School Inspection report

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Age group 3–5 Inspection date(s) 24–25 January 2012 Inspection number 377341 Unique Reference Number 106021 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 377341 Inspection dates 24–25 January 2012 Lead inspector Sarah Quinn

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Nursery School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 78 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Les Jones Headteacher Linda Shaw Date of previous school inspection 13 May 2009 School address Mauldeth Road Heaton Mersey Stockport SK4 3NB Telephone number 0161 4426944 Fax number 0161 4327607 Email address headteacher@freshfield.stockport.sch.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspector spent seven hours observing direct teaching and independent, continuous learning, involving nine staff. Meetings were held with members of the governing body and staff and children were spoken to. The inspector observed the school's work, and looked at observation, assessment and planning records, togther with policies and management documentation related to safeguarding and health and safety. She scrutinised examples of children’s ‘records of achievement,’ as well as other documentation relating to children’s achievement. The inspector took account of questionnaires completed by staff and 55 parents and carers. At the time of the inspection, there were no responses recorded on the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) website to aid inspection planning.

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Information about the school

This is an average sized nursery school compared to other nursery schools nationally. It has places for 78 children who attend part-time. This is organised into different sessions over the week. Children are generally admitted the term after their third birthday. Children are transferred to up to nine local primary schools. Most children are from a White British heritage and a small minority speaks English as an additional language. A minority of children has special educational needs. The school has achieved Extended School and Healthy School status, has the Eco-Schools award and has achieved the Financial Management Standard in Schools.

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Information about the school

The school offers a range of extended provision to families in the community. There are sessions for parents and carers to ‘stay and play’ with their children aged from nought to three, for childminders to liaise, and for families to meet each other. There are parenting courses and health-related services delivered by health professionals. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key Findings

■ This is an outstanding nursery school. Children’s achievement is outstanding as they make excellent progress from their starting points.

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Key Findings

■ Children with additional needs are extremely well supported and make progress in line with that of their peers. Their needs are swiftly identified and intervention is personalised and effective, from a range of specialist agencies and highly trained and dedicated nursery staff.

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Key Findings

■ Staff interaction with children is challenging and supportive and they capably develop children’s learning as they have in-depth knowledge and understanding of child development. On occasion, staff are too quick to support children rather than allowing them to develop their own skills independently.

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Key Findings

■ Staff expertly adapt the environment to ensure it constantly meets the needs of individual children. They value children’s interests and ensure that the bright and welcoming environment is appealing and exciting and allows for development in all areas of learning.

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Key Findings

■ Behaviour is outstanding and contributes to learning. Children show high levels of care and cooperation. Staff promote respect and consideration, and children respond very well.

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Key Findings

■ Children have excellent knowledge in relation to keeping themselves safe. The environment is secure and children skilfully assess risk and their own capabilities when playing by themselves and with each other.

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Key Findings

■ The nursery is a valuable resource and is central in the community providing a wide range of invaluable and supportive activities for parents, carers and families. ■ Leaders and managers are aspirational and drive improvement. Continual professional development is a large focus for all of the team. Staff have a strong vision and are evaluative and reflective. This enables them to quickly identify potential improvements.

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Key Findings

■ Parents and carers are very positive about the school and their comments are overwhelmingly complimentary and appreciative, for example, ‘We feel very privileged our child has the opportunity to attend a wonderful environment.’ 

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Continue to develop staff knowledge and understanding to enable all staff to understand how to support children’s independence fully through peer role modelling and sharing of good practice.

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Achievement of children

Children enter nursery with skills and knowledge that are generally in line with national expectations. Some notable weakness in communication, language and literacy development and personal, social and emotional development are very quickly supported, in particular children’s speech and language and emotional development, to ensure that children make rapid progress. By the time they move on to school, they have made significant gains in their learning and some are working within the Early Learning goals, which is well above national expectations. Parents and carers comment that they are impressed with the progress their children make and are given much information in relation to the Early Years Foundation Stage and their own child’s achievement. Inspection findings concur with these very positive views.

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Achievement of children

Specialist agencies or highly-trained staff expertly support children with special educational needs and they make progress at least in line with that of their peers. Those who speak English as an additional language are supported by skilled staff at the nursery and also by bi-lingual staff from other agencies. Their progress is particularly notable and they use visual timetables, symbols and signs to support their development of English.

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Achievement of children

Children thoroughly enjoy the forest school and listen attentively when told a story under the tent in the rain. They listen to the rain falling on the tent and splash in the puddles in their wellingtons whilst staff show them how to measure the water levels with sticks. They work together to make ‘stick men’ demonstrating tolerance and cooperation. They use vocabulary such as, longer than, and directional language, such as, right, and left, with confidence. They enjoy periods for reflection when they think about what their stick could be and staff give them time to develop their thoughts. This experience allows children to deepen and develop their knowledge and understanding well. They enjoy dancing together with ribbons and follow each other’s movements with guidance from the teacher. Children cooperate and develop all areas of learning well in the pretend fire engine. They write reports, compare fire

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Achievement of children

hoses, climb ladders and rescue kittens.

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Achievement of children

Children choose from a range of activities either indoors or outdoors and make progress across all areas of learning as they use chopsticks to count shapes into bowls, or mould dough into differently sized pots and pans. They demonstrate a very strong knowledge of numbers and counting as they count the spots on dominoes and play games with staff and each other.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is consistently outstanding whether during group times, during adult-led activities or during continuous play. This is the reason for children’s high level of achievement. Insightful observations are recorded and this enables staff to plan effectively to address the next steps in children’s learning and development. Thorough assessment procedures enable staff to track children’s progress regularly and accurately and any concerns about their development are addressed effectively. Staff monitor the environment carefully and plan a diverse curriculum to ensure that all areas of learning are covered and ensure that they make activities appealing to all children. As a result, children learn exceptionally well across all areas of learning.

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Quality of teaching

A range of specialised programmes is delivered at the school, such as the nurture group to support early behaviour and emotional skills, and the ‘LEAP’ group, which addresses early speech and language difficulties. Children respond very well to these groups and show high levels of enjoyment and engagement as they celebrate each other’s achievements, or play listening games with music boxes. Parents and carers appreciate the skills of staff in detecting potential issues, for example, a parent said, ‘The school was especially quick at referring my child to speech therapy. They proved to be very intuitive to children’s needs.’ Children’s groupings are well thought out and tailored to ensure that each child gets the most out of their sessions.

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Quality of teaching

Children learn excellent skills to support their own learning because staff are strong role models and teach them to problem solve and think creatively. Staff have high expectations and are enthusiastic. Teaching has a very positive impact in promoting children's step-by-step progress in all areas of their learning, including their personal, social and emotional development. Their vocabulary development is very well supported by staff who continually monitor activities and challenge play or model learning skills. Occasionally, staff are a little quick to help children rather than allowing them to fully explore their own capabilities during simple tasks like getting ready to go outside or putting bags on their backs ready for forest school. Parents and carers are very positive about the teaching at the school and show high levels of appreciation for the progress their children make and the efforts that staff make in

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Quality of teaching

ensuring that their children’s needs are met effectively.

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Quality of teaching

Curiosity is very well fostered as staff use ‘secret’ baskets to unfold objects and activities slowly, for example, a beautiful basket contains a whole selection of objects related to Chinese New Year. These are carefully unwrapped as the group time progresses and children are transfixed on the beautiful objects in the basket. Each object relates to activities around the room that children can choose to complete and they access the activities with excitement.

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Behaviour and safety of children

Behaviour is outstanding and children show exceptional levels of respect for each other and for adults. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the behaviour and safety at the school. They comment that their children have received focused support to help them when they have had difficulties controlling their behaviour. Parents and carers are also offered support through the ‘positive parenting’ course and the behaviour support drop-in sessions held at the school. Staff have very high expectations and children respond very well to them. Children show a strong understanding of safe practices, as they climb on to the climbing frame and enjoy the monkey bars. They effectively learn about safety through well- planned activities around the topic ‘People who help us’. They use lollipop sticks and wear high visibility jackets as the crossing patrol or play with the small world animals in the vet surgery. Children say they feel safe in the nursery and the staff ensure

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Behaviour and safety of children

that they seek the views of children on this topic regularly through careful questioning and supportive sessions with key workers.

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Behaviour and safety of children

Attendance levels are very high and children love coming to school. Parents and carers report that they want to come every day, even weekends. The nursery works successfully with parents and carers to foster a culture of regular attendance and this shows in the numbers of children attending. Children learn right from wrong effectively as staff demonstrate and praise appropriate behaviour.

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Behaviour and safety of children

Staff promote an atmosphere of respect and promote family groups, a variety of cultures and are committed to developing the ethos of equal opportunity. There are no cases of bullying or name-calling as a result.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are outstanding. Children are very well safeguarded and this is because leaders and managers are committed to continually assessing and ensuring their safety. Risk assessments are highly effective and safeguarding requirements are fully met. The school is committed to equality of opportunity and this is reflected in the ethos of respect. The governing body understands the strengths and weaknesses of the school and supports and challenges the school well. The school is recognised as an essential central resource in the community and feedback from partners and local people is overwhelmingly positive. The school goes ‘above and beyond’ to identify and meet needs for parents, carers and families.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers are driven and focused on continual improvement. Since the last inspection, they have shown a strong commitment to improvement year on year that has enabled the nursery to maintain its outstanding quality. Strong and successful teamwork ensures that improvements are rapid and that all staff are fully ‘on board’ with the direction in which the school is heading. The school development plans are detailed, focused and effective and support the progress of the setting. Professional development is a key aspect of the success of the school. Leaders and managers recognise the importance of keeping abreast of the developments in Early Years practice and attend training to enable them to implement the most effective aspects of their findings. Leaders focus rightly on the development of teaching and learning and this is highly effective, as reflected in the quality of adult interaction and

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Leadership and management

achievement. The school's capacity to improve further is excellent.

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Leadership and management

The promotion of children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and the school's focus on emotional development and Early Years philosophy enables them to develop this area well. They have developed strong links with schools in different contexts, which enable them to explore cultural and language differences. The curriculum is outstanding because staff continually reassess and evolve the areas of learning to match children’s interests and ensure that they provide an enabling environment to support all areas of learning.

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Leadership and management

Parents typically comment that there is a ‘Fantastic leadership with a clear vision and good management of the school.’ They appreciate the highly productive relationship the school has fostered with them. The school provides daily information to parents and carers when they drop off and pick up children. Leaders make themselves available to talk to parents and carers on request. There are written reports and parent and carer discussions with teachers throughout the year. Children’s records of achievement are shared with parents and carers who are then encouraged to make comments and contribute to the record. Other methods of engaging parents and carers are highly successful and the school has started a ‘blog’ on its website as another innovative method of communication.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its children's needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its children well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its children. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its children. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the children's work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of children at school and in lessons, taking into account the school's efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. children's punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well children acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which children are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the children' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe children are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Children's freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

 Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome when I came to visit the nursery school. You have a lovely time and you learn lots and lots every day. I know this because you smile a lot and laugh together all day. This is why your nursery school is outstanding (brilliant!).

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

Your teachers think that you are very special and work very hard to make sure the activities you enjoy every day are perfect for you. I really enjoyed playing with you in the fire engine and listening to the story in forest school while the rain fell on the tent.

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

You are very well behaved and you know how to keep yourselves safe. I enjoyed watching you climbing on the frame outside and jumping and skipping together. You are very good at using tools like scissors to help you in your activities.

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

The staff are always looking at how to make it even better. They have some very exciting plans for activities that you will really enjoy in the future!

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

To make your school even better, I have asked the staff to think about how to help you to be even more independent. You can help them by trying very hard to put on your coats and gloves and helping to put on your friends' bags to go to forest school.

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

Carry on working hard and enjoying playing together and I know you will all continue to enjoy nursery.

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Inspection of Freshfield Nursery School, Stockport, SK4 3NB

Sarah Quinn Lead Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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