Bordesley Green East Nursery School

Age group 3–4 Inspection date(s) 21–22 March 2012 Inspection number 376823 Bordesley Green East Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 103120 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 376823 Inspection dates 21–22 March 2012 Lead inspector Sheelagh Barnes

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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 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 95 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gail Wareham Headteacher Alison Starling Date of previous school inspection 14 May 2009 School address 358 Bordesley Green East East Stuart Road Birmingham B33 8QB Telephone number 0121 783 2138 Fax number 0121 785 2703 Email address enquiry@bgens.bham.sch.uk 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

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . 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 information 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’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.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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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Eight teaching sessions were observed, covering all parts of the school and different times of the school day. Meetings were held with staff and a representative of the governing body. The inspector took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at the tracking of children’s progress and curriculum planning documents. Policies and documents relating to safeguarding were scrutinised and examples of the ways in which the school supports different groups of children. The inspector also analysed completed questionnaires from staff and 33 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

Bordesley Green East Nursery School is much smaller than the average nursery. It serves an area covering both Stechford and North Yardley wards in Birmingham. About a fifth of the school population is White British. There is a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds, but families are predominantly of Pakistani heritage. A wide range of different languages are spoken and there has been a recent large increase in the number of children attending nursery who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery offers a 15-hour week as standard to 69 children and a further 26 full day placements. It is oversubscribed. Two children have a statement of special educational needs. A children’s centre is situated on the same site. This is inspected and reported on separately.

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Information about the school

The school holds the Healthy Setting Standard, Investors in People and two awards from the Basic Skills Quality Mark. The school has successfully completed a three- year programme of creative development with Creative Partnerships, by using a variety of artists to develop the children’s learning. 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 a good school. Children are cared for well, so that they feel safe and happy and grow in confidence, both in their social development and in their learning. Creating a cohesive community is at the very heart of the nursery’s work. The school is not outstanding because monitoring and evaluation are not rigorous or frequent enough to achieve its aim of outstanding provision and outcomes, and some children miss too much schooling through absence.

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Key findings

 Children from all groups achieve well from levels of skill, knowledge and understanding that are below those expected for their age, and by the time they leave attainment is broadly in line with the levels expected for their age.

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Key findings

 Good teaching leads to children making good progress in all six areas of learning. Teaching is particularly good and sometimes outstanding during child- initiated learning sessions, where an extremely wide and exciting range of opportunities are provided. Small group sessions, however, tends to focus largely on the activity, rather than the precise needs of each child.

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Key findings

 All school staff are consistent in the messages they give to children about how they are expected to behave. As a result, children behave well and develop good social skills. Their enjoyment is apparent in their positive attitudes and manner, but their attendance is inadequate because a significant number of parents take unauthorised, extended holidays abroad during term time.

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Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and management of performance are good. However, the monitoring of lessons does not focus enough on the impact of teaching on learning, and children’s progress is not checked frequently enough to ensure that intervention are always timely. The governing body is very supportive, but does not yet have the skills to fully hold the leaders to account in all aspects of its work. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that planning for adult-led sessions always takes full regard of the exact learning needs of each child on the group, so that they all make the best possible progress at all times.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  increasing the rigour with which teaching is evaluated by placing greater emphasis on the impact of teaching on each child’s learning  ensuring evaluations based on monitoring of the progress made by all groups are made more frequently, so that any required adjustments to planning can be made as swiftly as possible  enabling the governing body to take a more active role in evaluating the provision and holding the leaders to account.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Work to impress on all parents the impact regular attendance has in ensuring their children are as fully prepared as possible for transfer to their next schools.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the nursery with skills and knowledge that are below those expected for their age in all six areas of learning. Senior staff ensure that evaluations of children’s starting points are based on sound evidence. Parents are correct in their views that their children make good progress. This applies to all groups of children, and they achieve standards broadly in line with those expected for their age by the time they transfer into the reception classes in other schools. Accurate school data show that disabled children and those with special educational needs also make good progress, regardless of background or heritage. This is because their needs are planned for carefully and they are effectively supported throughout each session. This was confirmed in observations of teaching and learning during the inspection. Boys and girls make equal progress in their learning, as do those who are learning

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Achievement of pupils

English as an additional language. This is because the school places a suitably high emphasis on the development of language, including the possibility of translation, if required.

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Achievement of pupils

Nursery staff are adept at planning a wide range of exciting and challenging things for children to do and see, particularly in ‘free flow’ sessions. Children are enthused at these times and become completely engrossed in their learning. For example, after concentrating for some time, watching tadpoles in the small pond, one child excitedly said, while demonstrating actions with his whole body ‘He wiggles like this see! He has little, little arms to swim! He will grow into a frog.’ Staff are on hand to encourage and teach skills and develop vocabulary so that these times have a memorable and positive impact on children’s learning. Good opportunities are given 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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Achievement of pupils

to enable children to persevere and develop independence. For example, adults do not rush in to assist with the putting on of coats, as long as the children want to carry on trying for themselves. As a result, children develop determination and stamina in their learning.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and pupils accurately judge the quality of teaching to be good. Teachers choose resources with care, and memorable opportunities for children to develop skills and confidence reflect the diligence and thoughtfulness of staff. The curriculum is excellent in the range and interest of learning opportunities it provides. For example, chicks were brought into nursery for children to see and handle and caterpillar eggs obtained for the children to watch develop into butterflies. These activities have a positive impact on children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is good. Children are allowed good opportunities to concentrate, such as when looking at books, playing with construction toys, making Mother’s Day cards or copy writing. They are proud of what they achieve and joyful comments such as ‘Look at my curly whirly line!’ and ‘I used 10 feathers on my chick!’ are regularly heard.

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Quality of teaching

At ‘free flow’ times, when children choose from an extremely good range of activities those they wish to take part in, adults are on hand to coach and guide with sensitivity and at the exact level required for children to make good, and on occasion, outstanding progress. For example, gentle instructions on the dipping of a bubble wand, how best to blow, how to take consideration of the direction of the wind and how not to touch the wand to your lips, resulted in a moment of great joy for one child in particular. The resulting large bubble, after quite a time of trying, caused her to leap up and down with pleasure and rush around the garden. ‘I did it! I did it! A big one!’

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Quality of teaching

Teaching at group time, however, does not always result in all children making good progress. At these times, the progress of some children is only satisfactory. This is because teachers do not make full use of the assessments they have made on how far each child has progressed when planning what they will do next. The sessions are focused more on an expected outcome, such as learning to use a tape measure, than on the specific next steps to be made by all of the children in the group. As a result, while some children may make good gains in their learning in these sessions, others make only satisfactory progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is good, and children make good progress in their personal development because of the good emphasis placed on this aspect of their learning. At all times children are encouraged to behave in a considerate manner. As a result, children are clearly happy and relaxed in the nursery. The systems for promoting good behaviour and managing behaviour are consistently followed by all staff. Children develop into happy, outgoing and confident individuals. Children mainly work well with each other 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

and are considerate, learning to take the needs of others into account and to take turns. Children from minority ethnic groups, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are fully included. Rarely was any disruption due to unacceptable behaviour seen during the inspection. However, a small minority of parents expressed concerns about behaviour through their questionnaires. Inspection evidence showed that in general, children’s behaviour contributes very positively to the quality of learning in all parts of the school and any indications of bullying of any sort are quickly resolved by staff. At times when the behaviour of a very small minority of children does not come up the high standards set, adults are swift to intervene, calm in manner and effective in dissipating tensions and reminding children of what is expected. As a result, children feel safe in school and their well- being is ensured.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Children love coming to the nursery. They are keen to start activities and occasionally reluctant to leave. When their children start school, all parents complete an agreement that their child’s attendance will be regular. However, each year, especially during the spring and summer terms, significant numbers of parents take their children on unauthorised extended holidays abroad. On occasion this is without any prior warning to the school. This has a negative impact on these children’s preparation for the next stage in their learning. It also means that valuable places are denied to children on the extensive waiting list, while the school researches the reasons for each absence.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers have been successful in maintaining the good standards noted at the time of the previous inspection and also in tackling the areas of improvement identified at that time. For example, they have developed teachers’ questioning skills so that children benefit more from the learning experiences they are offered, and an effective system for analysing data for each term now means that leaders can monitor the impact of improvements made. In addition, the school has developed even stronger links with other schools and the local community. Links with the Children’s Centre have grown as the centre itself grows. All of these changes benefit children and their families. These improvements indicate the school’s capacity to sustain improvement still further is good.

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Leadership and management

The school promotes equality of opportunity well. It works to eliminate discrimination and ensure full integration of all children. Assessment systems are used effectively to track and monitor the progress made by different groups of learners, including disabled pupils and of those with special educational needs. Action is taken over any differences in performance. However, on occasion, this evaluation and resulting action takes place at the end of a term, so that while steady continuous improvement is made, this is at a good rather than outstanding rate. The management of teaching is good and information gathered from monitoring is utilised effectively for professional development. However, when evaluating the quality of teaching, a strong focus has been on what teachers do, rather than on the impact teachers’ actions may have on the progress each child makes. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and its development plan focuses on the right priorities within achievement and the quality of provision. The arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements and policies are good. Staff training ensures that child protection and health and safety practices follow good practice. The members of the governing body support the school and question managers and leaders. However, while they hold the school to account, they are not fully involved in setting targets because they lack skills and confidence to challenge leaders rigorously. This has been identified by the school as an area for improvement.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is outstanding and a real strength of the school. It is wide and extremely rich and meets children’s learning needs and interests exceptionally well. In particular, the work with a range of artists has led to the production of some high- quality art work that far exceeds the standard usually seen from such young age group. Children were heard to comment excitedly that the local potter ‘.. is coming in again and he is bringing his wheel with him’. The strong contribution made to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was demonstrated during the community afternoon, which celebrated a wide range of cultures, traditions and skills and was attended by over a hundred people from the community, including choirs from two local schools. The nursery has undertaken work to try to convince parents of the effect of unnecessary absence on their children’s learning and transition into

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Leadership and management

their next school, but with limited success so far.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. 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 pupils. 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. 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 ). 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. 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 pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils 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. Pupils’ 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 pupils 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 pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ 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 pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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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 Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

Thank you for being so kind and friendly to me when I visited your school recently. I enjoyed watching you learn and play and talking to you. You go to a good school and that means that you learn a lot and enjoy yourselves. These are the things I liked most.

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Inspection of Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

 All the teachers take care of you and make sure you are safe.  You behave well and look after each other.  You have fun doing the exciting things teachers plan for you.  You learn a lot of things because the teaching is good.  You have lots of friends, including children who go to some other schools where some of you will go when you are older, and people who come to show you how to do things like making pots.  You are happy in the nursery and know what to do, and this helps you to learn really well.  You learn a lot in ‘free flow’, because teachers make sure that each one of you learns exactly what you need to learn next to make really good progress.

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Inspection of Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

I have asked the school to do some things to make your learning even better.

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Inspection of Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

 The teachers should think more carefully about what each one of you needs to learn in small group time, so that it is easier for you to make good progress all through the day.  Everyone, including the governors, should check more regularly how things are going, so that those of you who need extra support can be helped quickly and you can all learn as much as possible.  I have asked teachers to let your parents know how very important it is for you to come to school unless you are ill.

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Inspection of Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

I hope you carry on enjoying your learning and making good progress throughout your time in all the schools you go to, as much as I saw you do when I visited the nursery.

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Inspection of Bordesley Green East Nursery School, Birmingham, B33 8QB

Sheelagh Barnes 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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