Hednesford Nursery School

Age group 3–4 Inspection date(s) 19–20 September 2011 Inspection number 380766 Hednesford Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 123962 Local Authority Staffordshire Inspection number 380766 Inspection dates 19–20 September 2011 Reporting inspector Andrew Clark

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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 17 Appropriate authority The local authority Chair Gwen White Headteacher Christine Wood Date of previous school inspection 7 July 2009 School address Eskrett Street Hednesford Cannock WS12 1AR Telephone number 01543 512225 Fax number 01543 512226 Email address headteacher@hednesford.staffs.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

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by one additional inspector. The inspector visited seven lessons and parts of lessons led by a teacher who is the headteacher and teaching assistants, one of whom is a senior teaching assistant. The inspector held meetings with representatives of the governing body, the staff, parents and carers. The inspector observed the school's work and looked at a range of documentation, including essential policies, the school improvement plan, information about children’s progress and attainment data. The inspector analysed nine completed questionnaires from parents and carers, as well as questionnaires completed by staff.

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Introduction

The inspector reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. He looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

 The progress made by all groups of children in letter recognition and counting skills.  The quality of the questions that staff ask children and whether they encourage meaningful learning.  The effectiveness of the governing body in holding the school to account.

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Information about the school

Hednesford Nursery School is much smaller than other schools of this type. The majority of children are of White British heritage. There are fewer children with special educational needs and/or disabilities than usual. The school has achieved National Healthy Schools status. The headteacher has received a European leadership award.

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Information about the school

There is a children’s centre on site which is subject to a separate inspection.

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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

Hednesford Nursery is an outstanding school. Parents and carers are extremely pleased with the excellent start children receive to their school life. ‘This is such an outstandingly wonderful place for children to learn,’ is typical of their views. The headteacher’s clear vision, passion and commitment to the school is mirrored in the work of all staff and the governing body. The school has excellent systems to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and establish clear priorities for improvement. This has enabled the school to maintain the high standards in all its work that were found at the previous inspection. As a result, the school has an outstanding capacity for further improvement.

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Main findings

Children’s achievement is excellent. They are eager, curious and enthusiastic to learn. They start school at around the age of three with skills which are generally typical for their age. They leave to start Reception with levels of attainment which are well above those usually found. Children of all abilities, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve extremely well from their starting points. They make very good gains in the early stages of reading, writing and number work. Their behaviour is excellent and they feel extremely safe. Children are very fit and active, making excellent use of chances to move, dance, run and jump indoors and out in the promotion of excellent healthy life styles. Attendance is high. Children become very independent and are extremely well prepared for their future learning. The make an outstanding contribution to their community, delivering

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Main findings

food to the elderly and regularly participating in sponsored walks. The very well- planned use of thought-provoking story books and adults’ strong guidance mean that children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent.

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Main findings

The quality of teaching is outstanding. Highly effective relationships are quickly established. Staff make extremely good use of detailed measures of children’s progress to plan for the next steps and hasten their learning. Children are challenged to think for themselves and make decisions. They quickly grow in confidence. There are very well-planned learning opportunities and an excellent balance between adult- led activities and those that children select for themselves. The excellent outdoor area is used very well to promote all areas of learning. This warm and friendly school provides excellent levels of care, guidance and support for all its children. Staff are very reflective and there are extremely rigorous procedures to keep children safe from harm.

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Main findings

There is an outstandingly good partnership with parents and carers, and the school

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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

makes very good use of links with many other professional services. The views of a parent sum up its many strengths: ‘We love the facilities provided by the Nursery and go out of our way to attend. It is a wonderfully supporting and encouraging environment.’

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to maintain the high quality provision, use existing self-evaluation systems and thorough development planning to drive continuous school improvement.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

It is clear that children love coming to school. The warm and caring ethos means that they very quickly settle in and establish strong, confident relationships with the other children and adults. They are extremely curious and keen to explore the many stimulating activities. For example, they really enjoy investigating the ‘mystery bags’ of objects; guessing what might come out and giggling with excitement. Children express themselves very clearly and also listen extremely well to others. They thoroughly engage with stories, following them carefully and offering thoughtful suggestions as to what happens next. A very large majority learn to count well beyond 10 and calculate one more or one less. They identify the names and properties of many shapes including circle, semi-circle, square and rectangle. They use their knowledge well to solve problems. For example, they arrange patterns of giant shapes in an exciting obstacle course outdoors. Children make outstanding

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

progress in recognising initial letters, writing their names, simple early sentences and developing an excellent understanding of the value and purpose of writing. They use language rich in meaningful adjectives and adverbs in response to the adults’ excellent questioning and high expectations.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

Children make excellent progress from their individual starting points. Those of all abilities, including children with special educational needs and or/disabilities, make outstanding progress in all areas of learning. Both boys and girls achieve equally well from their starting points. They consistently achieve particularly well in developing communication and personal skills as a result of the extremely rich curriculum and careful tracking of their individual progress. The few children from minority heritage backgrounds also achieve very well. Detailed recording and tracking of children’s achievements shows that high standards have been maintained since the previous inspection. The more-able children achieve very well because staff set consistently high expectations and encourage very good levels of independence and decision- making. Children who find learning more difficult also make excellent progress

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

because of the rigorous attention to their individual needs and the very good quality adult support they receive.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

Children feel extremely safe in school and it is a very friendly place. The close relationship staff establish with parents and carers from the beginning effectively

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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

builds trust and security. Children’s behaviour is excellent because they develop high levels of self-awareness and self-control. They develop an excellent awareness of healthy lifestyles. They produce models and collages of foods which are good for them, making the choices themselves. Through fun activities with giant teeth and brushes, they learn about dental hygiene. They are active throughout the day with dance, games and challenges indoors and out. Children rarely miss a day and stay for extended periods from the start. They are extremely well prepared for their future learning. They reach a high level in many basic skills and have very positive attitudes to school life. They develop extremely good skills in managing information and communication technology through computer programmes which they select for themselves, the use of cameras and recording equipment. From the beginning, children learn to think deeply in response to very thoughtful questions and to explain

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

the reasons for their decisions. Through imaginative role play and meeting several visitors, they learn to appreciate different cultures and lifestyles from celebrations of Saint George to dancing, singing, playing instruments and taking part in a variety of exciting activities linked to Diwali and the Chinese New Year as well as Christian Festivals.

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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

Taking into account: Children’s attainment 1 The quality of children’s learning and their progress The quality of learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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economic well-being

Taking into account: Children’s attendance 1

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How effective is the provision?

The outstanding interaction between adults and children, combined with extremely thorough planning, organisation and use of resources, ensures that provision is of a high quality. Staff work very closely together to provide an outstanding quality of

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How effective is the provision?

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

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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

teaching. They provide excellent role models for children because they are actively involved in all elements of their learning. For example, they participate fully in children’s role play subtly asking questions which reinforce and deepen their learning. They sensitively manage children’s behaviour. A key strength of the teaching is the excellent balance between adult-led activities and tasks children choose for themselves, encouraging high levels of independence. Many activities are linked by a central theme that skilfully reinforces the key points of the learning. For example, children act as explorers using maps, telescopes and magnifiers linked to a range of measuring and comparison games and puzzles indoors and out. Regular and detailed observations of children’s progress are carefully analysed to plan the next steps in their learning. The pace of teaching is excellent and effectively matched to

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

The curriculum is rich and exciting. The promotion of communication, language and literacy is an extremely strong focus within the school's curriculum. Staff frequently talk with and alongside children in engaging ways. For example, using mirrors to investigate their faces, staff talk about ‘bright, sparkling eyes’ and ‘flecks of grey’. They extend children’s language constantly. As a result, all children are becoming confident communicators. The stunning outdoor provision contributes significantly to children’s experience and ensures that learning is fun and full of surprises. Children have the space to enjoy a full range of challenging tasks, including opportunities to climb, crawl, dig, build, talk, read and write. They learn about the world around them through exciting sensory role play activities on themes such as ‘space’ and ‘light’, and a very good range of visits to local venues such as the supermarket or further afield

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

to the Severn Valley railways or the Reindeer Centre. The school offers a very flexible day for children through the luncheon club, crèche and strong links with the on-site children’s centre. The schools provides an exciting range of book and toy library services enjoyed by children and adults in partnership with the children’s centre. In this way, the school offers the best for children and their parents and carers. As one parent writes, ‘I feel the school handles the different learning needs and levels very well. They provide a strong moral code and diverse cultural experiences.

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

Excellent care, guidance and support are paramount to the school's provision. Other professionals are used extremely well to support children with special educational needs and or/disabilities when needed. Staff have significant experience and training themselves to draw on. Rigorous monitoring and promotion of good behaviour and attendance, working alongside parents and carers, means those standards are high. A key feature of the care the school provides is the well-planned procedure to welcome in new children and support their parents and carers, particularly as for many this is there first experience of separation. Daily meetings and regular parents’ evenings ensure parents and carers are very well informed about progress and how they can support their children’s learning at home.

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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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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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The quality of teaching

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. She is extremely well supported by the staff and governing body. They are exceptionally passionate and ambitious for the school’s ongoing success. They share a very clear vision and bring a depth of experience to their role. Above all, the staff understand the needs of young children very well and bring this to bear on all their work. There are very well-established systems for monitoring and improving the quality of provision including teaching. Although the staff is small, responsibilities are effectively shared and performance is very well managed. The governing body is very efficient and fully involved in the life of the school. Its members hold the school to account well. This is very evident in their contribution to the development of a new early ‘letters and sounds’ scheme. The school knows its strengths and areas for improvement extremely well and draws

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How effective are leadership and management?

strongly on the views of parents and carers and children in self-evaluation. There are very sharply focused priorities for school improvement and the staff are energetic in response to them.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher and governing body are very diligent and systematic in all their work. Record-keeping is excellent and contributes to outstanding safeguarding procedures. The school makes very good use of modern technologies to keep children safe from harm. Procedures to ensure adults are suitable to work with children are very rigorous and all staff are well trained in child protection procedures. The school promotes equality of opportunity very well so that all groups of children achieve exceptionally well and reach high standards. The school is effective in taking steps to avoid any discrimination. Leaders have conducted a rigorous audit of the school’s contribution to the wider community. It plays an extremely active part in the local community involving children in the lives of the elderly and many fund-raising activities as well as links with other nationalities and children in different circumstances. As a result, this small school makes an excellent contribution to

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How effective are leadership and management?

Overall, the energy, drive and efficiency of the headteacher and staff mean that children really benefit from their time at Hednesford Nursery and get off to a flying start to their education.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management

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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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driving improvement

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

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Views of parents and carers

The percentage of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire was higher than usual. A number of parents and carers spoke to the inspector or sent in further written comments. Parents and carers are wholly supportive of the school. They particularly commented on the warm, caring ethos and the stimulating learning opportunities. They feel their children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. ‘I think the staff at this Nursery are excellent. I would recommend it to anyone’ is typical of their views. The inspection report reflects these opinions because it found that all areas of the school’s work are outstanding.

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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 Hednesford 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. The inspector received 9 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 17 children registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 9 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 9 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child’s progress 7 78 2 22 0 0 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 6 67 2 22 0 0 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 9 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child’s learning 6 67 2 22 0 0 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 9 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 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) 6 67 3 33 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child’s particular needs 8 89 1 11 0 0 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 8 89 1 11 0 0 0 0 The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 6 67 3 33 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 8 89 1 11 0 0 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 9 100 0 0 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. 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 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5

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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 2010 to 08 April 2011 and 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. 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.  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 Hednesford Nursery School, Cannock WS12 1AR

It was lovely to see you all when I came to visit your school recently. You made me feel very welcome and I enjoyed watching you work, play, sing and dance. I want to tell you about some of the things I found when I was there.

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Inspection of Hednesford Nursery School, Cannock WS12 1AR

 You go to an outstanding school.  You are very well behaved and everyone takes excellent care of you.  Your teachers make learning lots of fun so you love doing your work and finding out about new things.  You are very proud of things you make and do and your teachers are very proud of you.  You find out lots of interesting things about the world around you and go on exciting trips.  Your parents and carers are very proud of the school and give lots of help.  Your teachers give you many exciting things to do indoors and out.  You learn to decide what you want to play with and to tidy up after yourselves.  You know how to keep yourselves very safe and healthy.

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Inspection of Hednesford Nursery School, Cannock WS12 1AR

I have asked the school to make certain that it always does the very best it can for you and keeps making things even better.

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Inspection of Hednesford Nursery School, Cannock WS12 1AR

You can help your teachers by working and playing hard and looking after each other.

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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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