Rothesay Nursery School

Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 109419 Local Authority Luton Inspection number 356537 Inspection dates 14–15 September 2010 Reporting inspector Susan Vale

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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 108 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jonathon Lodge Headteacher Janet Brownjohn Date of previous school inspection 29 April 2008 School address 59 Rothesay Road Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 1RB Telephone number 01582 726966 Fax number 01582 726966 Email address Rothesay.nursery.admin@luton.gov.uk

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Age group 3–5 Inspection dates 14–15 September 2010 Inspection number 356537 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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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 1234 234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the documentation in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to 'Subscribe'. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA T: 0300 1234 234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors, one of whom visited the school for half a day, specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures. The majority of time was spent observing the children learning indoors and outside. Eight lessons were observed and all teachers were seen. Children were observed at lunch time and in working in small groups with one to one support, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Meetings were held with the head teacher, staff in charge of assessment and with responsibility for children identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Discussions were held with the Chair of the Governing Body and some parents. Inspectors observed the school's work and looked at a number of school documents including the school development plan, tracking information and, policies and procedures. In addition they took into account 48 parent questionnaires

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Introduction

and staff questionnaires. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at the following.  How the nursery has managed and developed in the long term absence of the substantive head teacher and other members of the senior management team.  The quality of provision for the large proportion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The quality of provision for those children who are new to learning English as they form the majority of children attending the nursery.

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Information about the school

Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre draws its children from a diverse range of cultural and social backgrounds. Almost two thirds of the children are from minority ethnic groups and new to learning English. The main languages spoken are Urdu, Bengali and Polish. About a fifth of children have complex special educational needs and/or disabilities. The main needs identified are communication and language difficulties or delay, autism, and physical difficulties. Rothesay offers a range of services to parents and carers and the wider community in partnership with other agencies to fulfil its role as a children's centre. This includes before and after school care for children. Children stay at the nursery from between 2 to 5 terms. At the time of the inspection the head teacher had just returned to a full time position after a year of illness. The nursery has received 'Investors in Families accreditation' and the bronze ECO Schools award.

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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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Main findings

Rothesay Nursery provides a satisfactory quality of education. Parents are overwhelmingly in agreement that the care, guidance and support their children receive at Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre is good. The inspection findings support this view. As a result, many children make good progress in their learning, and enjoy being at the nursery. Children's skills and abilities on entry are below those expected for their age, particularly in communication language and literacy, problem solving, reasoning and numeracy and knowledge and understanding of the world. Children make good progress and by the time they leave, the majority reach standards expected for their age. There are however children who are capable of making even more rapid progress in their learning but who miss out on this because of inconsistency in different adults' approach to language development and engaging children in active and meaningful discussion. On occasions,

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Main findings

some adults miss opportunities to extend and promote children's language development by failing to ask open-ended questions to encourage children to develop confidence in speaking in order to make more rapid progress in developing their language skills. They act more as facilitators rather than teachers. The head teacher in the short time that she has been back in post full time has already identified this as an area for development within the nursery. Additionally, leaders and managers at all levels have shown a willingness to take on extra roles and responsibilities, particularly in terms of evaluating the centre's performance. Quick and determined response to addressing weaknesses by all adults, along with an accurate and realistic view of the nursery's performance, is a positive indicator that the nursery is in a good position to move forward and improve. Teaching overall is satisfactory but within this there are a number of good features. Some

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Main findings

teachers are adept at role modelling good language and helping children to become individual learners through problem solving, but this is not consistent for all staff members. Staff are careful to ensure full inclusion and that there is equally good provision for children identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for the increasing numbers who are new to learning English. There is good support for families, parents and carers, supported well by bilingual adults working in the nursery and excellent links with a range of outside agencies. Early intervention by the centre also enhances children's progress, particularly for those with specific learning difficulties and needs. Attendance is broadly average. Whilst some children have serious medical conditions which mean that they are hospitalised for considerable time, there are other families who do not consistently bring their children to nursery. The nursery is looking into ways of

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Main findings

encouraging improved attendance. Parents, carers and their families are actively encouraged to be part of the learning process. Children's individual portfolios, showing the activities they do and the progress

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

they make, form a strong shared link between home and school. Assessment and tracking of children's progress is good. There are some inconsistencies however amongst the quality of observations of children learning and the way that these feed into staff plans to develop individual children's next steps for learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching by; reviewing the way that adults talk to and engage children in their learning ensuring that adults act fully as educators, being actively involved in children's learning and always modelling rich conversations to encourage reflective and purposeful dialogue with all children by extending and enhancing children's vocabulary.  Develop a consistency of approach to assessing what children know understand and can do in order to ensure that the next steps for individual children's learning are clearly identified and shared with parents.  Work effectively with parents to improve attendance.  Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 3

Children achieve well, often from starting points which are below those expected for their age. By the end of their time in the nursery, the attainment of many of the children is in line with what is expected for their age. This represents good progress. The large numbers of children who are new to learning English and the high percentage of those identified with specific learning difficulties and/or disabilities make equally good progress from their starting points Children enjoy learning activities. There was impressive discussion amongst some children about how they could get spider man down from the tree! This sort of problem solving helps them to make good progress in their learning. When groups of children were cooking, 'rice crispie' cakes and pakoras, their attention and concentration were good and adults encouraged their speaking and thinking skills in dialogue with them. However, there were other times when some children were wandering aimlessly, and were not fully

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 3

engaged in learning. Children behave well and play with and alongside each other purposefully. This is particularly noticeable when they are outside on the bikes, taking turns, and giving each other lifts. On the odd occasion when there is some conflict, staff deal with the situation calmly, explaining what is and is not acceptable behaviour. Healthy eating and life styles are encouraged and children enjoyed chopping up onions to make pakoras! Children say they usually feel safe at school and parents and carers agree. Children know about the main risks they might face, for example, when crossing roads. They understand satisfactorily how these risks may threaten their own and others' safety. During the inspection a number of children were new to the nursery and their parents were encouraged to stay and support them as they made the transition into new

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

surroundings. Staff show great care and concern for children new to the nursery. The good inclusion of all children and the free flow of movement between all areas in the nursery enable the younger children to make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development as they mix with older ones. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children is good. Children are interested in the world around them and many are eager to try out new experiences which broaden their knowledge and understanding. They engage effectively with their friends from different backgrounds and are developing an understanding of different cultures. Their good behaviour shows they are beginning to differentiate between right and wrong.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for children's outcomes

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

Taking into account: Children's attainment¹

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

The quality of children's learning and their progress 2

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

The quality of learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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3

Taking into account: Children's attendance¹

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The extent of children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4

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How effective is the provision?

Assessment and tracking of individual children's achievement and progress is good. There are clear and robust systems in place which clearly identify what children have done and how these relate to the early learning goals. There are some examples of good observations that lead into planning and which support children's learning well. However there are inconsistencies in the way that children's next steps for learning are identified and shared with adults and parents. Some good examples of teaching were observed where children were effectively engaged in their learning. The quality of dialogue between

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

adults and children varies. Some are competent at engaging children in discussion whilst others use questions that only required a yes or no answer and which do not stretch children's learning or help to develop their vocabulary. During the inspection this did improve and staff made concerted efforts to ensure that children were actively engaged in their learning. The curriculum is interesting and varied and caters very well for the wide range of differing abilities within the setting. The large soft play area is well utilised and loved, by parents and children alike! As one mother commented, 'I feel relaxed just watching my daughter play.' This is of great benefit for those children with physical disabilities. Great enjoyment was had by a number of children outside in the garden when building a 'den.' This was a good example of involving children in problem solving and starting to think of solutions for themselves. It certainly challenged the more able children, in deciding what

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

materials would be best suited to use and where they might be able to find a blanket! Care, guidance and support are good. Sometimes adults concentrate their efforts so much on caring for the children that there are missed opportunities to use the time to develop their knowledge and to help to move them on in their learning. The setting is very inclusive and opportunities are open to all children regardless of their specific needs or abilities. Inclusion is very good as is the provision and support for children identified with specific learning needs and/or disabilities. Parents really appreciated that fact that they are included as much as possible in the support available for their children.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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The quality of teaching 3

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

The head teacher and senior leadership team have done well in ensuring that the care and support for individuals and their families is good. They are fully aware of the areas for development within the school and are driving forward a rigorous approach to the centre's improvement through accurate self evaluation. The governing body is fully supportive and aware of the setting's strengths and areas for attention. Safeguarding procedures meet requirements and risk assessments for the safety of the children both on site and when out on visits and trips are regularly and efficiently carried out. The good relationship between home and school begins when the staff first visit children's homes before they start to attend the nursery. This first-hand knowledge is used well to support differing family needs, and parents appreciate this.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

The setting places the promotion of equality of opportunity at the heart of all its work and the inclusion of children with complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities is a strength of its provision. Staff use their considerable knowledge of each child's individual needs and interests extremely well to secure equality. Outstanding links with external agencies support the school's commitment to a 'holistic' approach to developing all aspects of children's learning and personal development and support for families. The nursery has forged good links with the local community and celebrates and values the wide and varied cultures and countries that the children come from. An audit regarding community cohesion has been done and there are plans to develop links with a school in Spain.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for leadership and management

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3

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Views of parents and carers

All but one of the parents who responded to the questionnaire said that they are very happy with what the nursery and the children's centre provide and the education their children receive. However very few wrote any comments, those that did were complimentary about the care, guidance and support which their children receive. Inspectors endorse their support.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of children registered at Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 48 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 108 children registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 41 85 6 13 1 2 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 37 77 10 21 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My school informs me about my child's progress 33 69 15 31 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child is making enough progress at this school 30 63 15 31 1 2 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The teaching is good at this school 39 81 8 17 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps me to support my child's learning 31 65 17 35 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 30 63 17 35 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 26 54 21 44 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 34 71 13 27 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 32 67 16 33 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 32 67 15 31 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 33 69 14 29 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 39 81 9 19 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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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.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its children well.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its children.

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Grade Judgement Description

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

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2009 to 31 March 2010 and are the most recently published data available (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). Please note that the sample of schools inspected during the autumn and spring terms 2009/10 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Secondary school figures in clude those that have sixth forms, and sixth form figures include only the data specifically for sixth form inspection judgements.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a child in their learning and development.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: in other phases of school, for example primary schools, attainment is the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons. However, there is no national average for three- and four-year-olds. Therefore, in inspections of nursery schools, inspectors take account of expectations in the age-related bands of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on 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 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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of children.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets children's needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which children are learning in nursery sessions and over longer periods of time.

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre, Luton, LU1 1RB

It was lovely for me to meet and spend time with you when I visited your nursery. Thank you for making me so welcome. I really enjoyed seeing some of the activities you were involved in. I was interested to hear how you felt you could get spider man out of the tree. These are some of the things I especially liked. You are well cared for, all the adults really look after you. Those of you who have extra learning needs are also cared for and provided for very well. You are lucky to have such a wonderful soft play area. Many of you make good progress in your learning and teachers prepare you well for your next school. You are learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and most of you make healthy choices most of the time. You play well together and your behaviour is good. I have asked your teachers to help you even more with developing your language and speaking skills. I have also asked them to look at the way they record information about

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Inspection of Rothesay Nursery and Children's Centre, Luton, LU1 1RB

what you need to learn next. Of course, you can all help too; by always trying to come to nursery every day and to continue to enjoy your learning

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www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please

telephone 0300 1234 234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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