Birchfield Nursery School

Birchfield Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 110958 Local Authority Halton Inspection number 356838 Inspection dates 8–9 February 2011 Reporting inspector Frank Carruthers

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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 119 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr David Green Headteacher Mrs Sue Duxbury Date of previous school inspection 12 May 2008 School address Victoria Avenue Widnes Cheshire WA8 7TH Telephone number 0151 424 4681 Fax number 0 Email address Head.birchfieldnursery@halton.gov.uk

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Age group 3–4 Inspection dates 8–9 February 2011 Inspection number 356838 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 123 4234, 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 123 4234 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. Twelve lessons or parts of lessons were observed involving the two teachers and all teaching assistants. Meetings were held with senior staff and the Chair and one other member of the Governing Body. Inspectors spoke to parents and carers, observed the school's work, and looked at children's records and profiles, school assessments, planning and school policies, including those concerning the safeguarding of children. Eighty-eight questionnaires were returned by parents or carers, which were read and analysed. Staff also completed a questionnaire. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.  How well all children are achieving, including those with additional needs and the very few who are learning English as an additional language.  Whether the high quality of provision has been maintained since the time of the last

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Introduction

inspection.  How effective leadership and management at all levels are.  How robust all aspects of safeguarding are.

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Information about the school

Birchfield is larger than most nursery schools. Most children spend three terms at the school prior to moving on to local primary schools. They attend either morning or afternoon sessions. Almost all children are White British. A small proportion has special educational needs and/or disabilities, which are mainly speech and language delay, social and emotional needs or medical needs. A few children have English as an additional language. The school has gained the I CAN certification in communication skills, the Financial Management in Schools award, the Healthy Schools status and the Gold Tooth Care 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

The school continues to provide an outstanding education for its children. It has maintained, and in some aspects, improved the high quality of teaching, learning and the curriculum that was found at the last inspection. Leadership, management and governance are excellent in all aspects. They are rooted in outstanding teamwork and a firm commitment to doing the very best for all children. Children love coming to school and make excellent progress in all areas of learning. They settle in quickly and make great strides in their personal, social and emotional development. Of particular note to any visitor to school is how busy and interested the children are in all that they do. They concentrate extremely well, getting the most out of each activity before moving on to the next. They play very happily together; take turns well and share things. They are kind to one another and become confident and independent learners. Because of the work of very well trained teaching assistants,

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Main findings

children with additional needs, such as delay in their speech and language development, make excellent progress. Children's behaviour is excellent, and their skills of speaking and listening develop at a fast rate. They are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their schooling. Staff have created an outstanding environment for learning which results in excellent achievement for children. Classrooms are interestingly laid out to match the six areas of learning appropriate for the age group. The outdoor area is exceptional for the range and quality of opportunities it provides. Currently, staff cannot take full advantage of the outdoor provision when the weather is poor, although the school has good plans in hand to provide cover. The quality of teaching by all staff is excellent. Planning the programme of learning for children matches their needs extremely well. There is an excellent balance

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Main findings

of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Relationships with the children are warm and supportive and all aspects of care, guidance and support are of high quality and, as a consequence, children feel extremely safe. The headteacher and the assistant headteacher share their driving ambition and commitment to continuous improvement with all staff and those connected to the school. They make excellent use of partnerships with others to enrich the provision for children. The contribution of the governing body is excellent. All involved in school have an excellent awareness of how the school is performing and make extremely effective use of this information to do the best for all children, whatever their particular circumstances. As a result of these strengths, the school has excellent capacity to sustain this high level of performance, and provides excellent value for money.

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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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Pursue the plans to extend the children's opportunities outside classrooms by providing a covered area.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

Most children start school with levels of attainment that are typical of children who have just turned three years old. From the moment children arrive, they are ready to learn and they eagerly start on the day's activities. All, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities and those with English as an additional language greatly enjoy school and make excellent progress. After three terms, most children have surpassed expectations and many are well on the way to achieving the early learning goals in each area of learning. Their achievement is excellent. Older children provide excellent role models for younger ones as they start school, not only in how they behave but in how they hold conversations and respond to questions in class. Children frequently reply in complete sentences. For example, one child described tying a shoelace as 'you have to pull it round and inside out'. Boys' language and early

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

literacy skills were identified as lagging behind expected progress. Through a concerted focus on providing activities that involve the children in talking together, staff have narrowed this attainment gap between boys and girls. Boys are much more likely now to use pencils and pens to draw and write lists and plans linked to what they are making or constructing. Through songs and action rhymes the children quickly gain a very good understanding of numbers and counting forward and back. Children become independent in dressing themselves for outdoor play, washing hands and using aprons. They gain an excellent awareness of personal hygiene before they eat snacks or after they go to the toilet. Staff help them to understand what happens to their bodies when they take exercise. Their physical development is excellent. They become increasingly safe and skilful using the climbing frames, ladders, steps and tunnels. They

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

look after resources very well, readily tidying up when asked. They proudly show parents and carers and visitors what they have done each day.

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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

These are the grades for children's outcomes

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 1

Taking into account: Children's attainment¹

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 1

The quality of children's learning and their progress 1

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Children's achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 1

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

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1

Taking into account: Children's attendance¹

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The extent of children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1

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?

The outstanding provision is the result of high quality staff who put into practice skills they have learnt from one another and excellent training opportunities they have had. Teaching assistants have developed specific skills that complement the work of the school exceptionally well, focusing, for example, on aspects such as speech and language delay or the emotional development of the children. Classrooms are furnished and equipped to a high standard to cover specific areas of learning. Staff and children move between rooms throughout the week and cover each area in depth. Children are grouped together with key adults so that each one gets to know the children in their group exceptionally well and tracks their progress meticulously. Staff have high expectations of children. In registration groups, for example, conversations are carried on in French. There is an excellent balance between whole class sessions,

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How effective is the provision?

'family group' work and individual and small group sessions with teaching assistants and very skilled volunteers. In these sessions the children are helped to be confident, develop skills of fine control with their hands and improve their understanding of letters and sounds. Outdoors, children have the space to enjoy a full range of exciting activities, using large wheeled toys, sand and water play, dressing up, building and constructing, playing in several houses and dens, as well as digging and planting in the vegetable area. This has been an area of significant development in recent years and is an outstanding facility.

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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

Plans to cover areas outside classrooms to improve the quality of provision in poor weather are in hand. All aspects of care, guidance and support are excellent. The staff do a great deal to support parents and carers, especially those who have children with additional needs. Daily contact with parents and carers means the school can provide excellent support during periods of family stress. Extremely thorough assessments of each child's needs ensure that support for both their welfare and their learning is carefully targeted. In addition there are comprehensive arrangements for the smooth transition of children to each of the local schools at the end of the summer term.

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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 1

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

The shared vision of all staff and governors drives school improvement forward at a very good pace. Governors bring their many skills to oversee strategic planning exceptionally well. They deliberate with and challenge the senior leadership team to ensure all decisions are carefully reached, monitored and costed. At the centre of decision-making is the quality of provision so that all children can blossom. The school promotes equality of opportunity by offering places to children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and catering for them extremely well. Regular risk assessments and thorough child protection measures, including the safe recruitment of staff, mean safeguarding procedures are outstanding. Governors use their considerable business and industrial experience to make an excellent contribution in these matters. The school promotes community cohesion exceptionally well through excellent links with

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How effective are leadership and management?

parents and carers, providing opportunities for them to improve their own skills and their understanding of how children develop. Partnerships with other services, such as those providing speech therapy, are very effective in helping children to overcome barriers to their learning. The school invites into school a wide range of people from the community such as the fire and police services, local dance and drama groups and parents and carers from minority cultures. It has developed good links with schools in China, France and Ghana to promote the children's awareness of other cultures.

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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

These are the grades for leadership and management

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1

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

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Views of parents and carers

In terms of the percentage of questionnaires returned, the response was very high compared to most inspections of similar schools. Almost all parents and carers who responded expressed their full support for the work of the school. Their response to almost all the questions was unanimously positive. Just under half of respondents included appreciative comments about the school. They greatly value the welcoming, family atmosphere the staff generate. A comment typical of those in many questionnaires was 'I cannot speak highly enough of Birchfield. This is a wonderful environment, under the excellent leadership of the headteacher and her fabulous team. Both of my children have flourished.' Parents and carers appreciate how the school helps their children to achieve very well and report how much their children enjoy school. They consider teaching to be excellent and their children are extremely well looked after. They feel they are kept well

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Views of parents and carers

informed about school and about how their children are doing. Inspectors endorse these positive opinions and consider they are a reflection of the highly successful partnerships the school has with parents and carers. A few parents and carers report they would like more information about how well their child is doing. However, the school has an open door policy of informing parents and carers about their children's development and sends home a profile of each child during the second term after they have started. The profile is due to be sent home this month and was therefore preceded by the inspection questionnaire.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Birchfield Nursery School 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.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

The inspection team received 88 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 119 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 74 84 14 16 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 83 94 5 6 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My school informs me about my child's progress 57 65 25 28 4 5 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child is making enough progress at this school 68 77 18 20 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The teaching is good at this school 78 89 9 10 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps me to support my child's learning 77 88 11 13 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 72 82 16 18 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) 64 73 18 20 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 71 81 17 19 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 64 73 18 20 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 66 75 18 20 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 79 90 8 9 1 1 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 80 91 8 9 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 August 2010 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspec tion outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 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. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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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 Birchfield Nursery School, Widnes, WA8 7TH

I really enjoyed visiting you all at your school. It was marvellous seeing how much you enjoy everything you do. You were so busy! When you were playing outdoors, I was astonished at how much there was for you to do. I would have liked to have a go with the cement mixers but you were all shovelling and mixing the sand so well I did not want to disturb you. Your parents and carers think your school is fantastic and I agree. It is outstanding. The grown-ups look after you all so well and give you so many things to do that I am not surprised you all love it. I enjoyed working in the new Garden House which you will all soon be using. The grown- ups also want to put a roof outside the classrooms so you can play there even more happily when it is raining. That's a good idea I think they should do. It is really great that you are all learning so well and I hope you carry on enjoying this school and the next one you go to.

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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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