Warwick Nursery School

PROTECT – INSPECTION

Age group 3–5 Inspection date(s) 8–9 November 2011 Inspection number 381081 Warwick Childrens Centre and Nursery School Inspection report

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

Unique Reference Number 125490 Local Authority Warwickshire Inspection number 381081 Inspection dates 8–9 November 2011 Reporting inspector Anna Coyle

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

Type of school Nursery School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 47 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Wes Lacey Headteacher Trudy Lindsay Date of previous school inspection 11 June 2009 School address Coventry Road Warwick CV34 4LJ Telephone number 01926 492701 Fax number 01926 402264 Email address admin1022@we-learn.com 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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PROTECT – INSPECTION

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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PROTECT – INSPECTION

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 an additional inspector. The inspector visited 10 activity sessions and observed eight adults including teachers and early years educators. Discussions were held with the headteacher, the education manager who is also the coordinator for special educational needs, members of staff, representatives of the governing body and groups of parents and carers. The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents including assessment and tracking information, the school development plan, monitoring reports and children’s learning journals. The inspection questionnaires were analysed, including 25 from parents and carers.

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Introduction

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

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Introduction

 Has the school developed its curriculum effectively since the last inspection to provide more opportunities for children to learn letters and sounds?  How effectively does teaching use assessment when children first transfer to the nursery from the children’s centre?  How effective is leadership, management and governance?

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Information about the school

This small nursery school is situated close to the town centre. The vast majority of children are of White British heritage. A small proportion who speak Rumanian, Slovakian, Kurdish, Swedish, Philippino and Amharic at home learn English as an additional language. The proportion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to other nursery schools: their needs include speech and language difficulties and complex needs. The school also has a 16-place nurture playgroup for children aged between two and three years, which was inspected as part of this nursery school inspection.

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Information about the school

The nursery school shares its site with the children’s centre which was inspected separately, but at the same time as the nursery school. 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

This is an outstanding nursery school, which has improved considerably since the last inspection under the inspirational leadership of the headteacher and the education manager. Their excellent sense of ambition and drive has resulted in children’s outstanding achievement and enjoyment of learning. The school is highly inclusive and its care, guidance and support for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are outstanding. One parent summed up the views of many by saying: ‘The nursery is a wonderful place which offers a wide range of learning opportunities. My child loves going and I am amazed at their development and social interaction since attending.’

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Main findings

Outcomes are outstanding because children acquire skills, knowledge and understanding at a rapid rate. All children, both in the nursery and in the nurture playgroup, make excellent progress in their learning and the majority attain good standards in the six areas of learning, especially in personal, social and emotional development where they excel. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their behaviour are outstanding. They show that they feel exceptionally safe by completely trusting the adults who look after them and playing together very happily.

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Main findings

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. All staff have exceptionally high expectations of the children and they make sure that they are kept very safe at school. Adults treat the children with great respect within a very happy and harmonious environment. They value each and every child equally and celebrate diversity positively. The school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are vulnerable due to their circumstances very effectively, which has had an outstanding impact on their learning. Keyworkers monitor and track children’s progress very carefully throughout the nursery and in the nurture playgroup, and they use the data from the children’s centre extremely well to guide planning.

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Main findings

Children benefit from a superb range of exciting activities that are tailored to meet their needs, indoors and outside. For example, the curriculum has been improved very effectively since the last inspection to provide far more opportunities for children to learn about letters and sounds through practical activities, which has had a very positive impact on their learning. The excellent outdoor area is used extremely well for children to participate in energetic physical activities and for exploring wildlife. 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 promotes good community cohesion and is developing links with wider communities to enhance learning even further. It has outstanding links with parents and carers, many of whom say that they are very pleased with the school. One parent said: ‘I think that this nursery is a fantastic place!’

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Main findings

Leadership at all levels is very committed and conscientious. Self-evaluation is accurate, although checks on the quality of teaching in the nursery and in the nurture playgroup are often informal and not always recorded. The nurture playgroup complies with the requirements for its Ofsted registration. The governing body fulfils its responsibilities, and key governors are very involved with the school. However, monitoring procedures are not perfected to enable governors to check on the impact of the new two-year project during which time the nursery will become a teaching centre providing expertise for other settings. Nevertheless, based on its outstanding track record, inspirational leadership and excellent outcomes and provision, the school has outstanding capacity to sustain further improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Sharpen up the procedures for monitoring by:  strengthening the role of the governing body so that it keeps a very close check on the new teacher centre project over the next two years  conducting more formal monitoring of teaching in the nursery and in the nurture playgroup, and keep up-to-date records of the findings.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

Children love coming to school and thoroughly enjoy learning. From low starting points, they achieve exceptionally well and attain highly by the time they leave the nursery, especially in personal, social and emotional development. All groups of children make outstanding progress. Behaviour is exemplary. Children learn to take turns, share toys and listen to adults and each other very successfully. They have an excellent understanding of right and wrong, play very well together and are extremely tolerant of each other. This helps them to settle quickly and join in with others during activities. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from the quiet, calm approach shown by adults, and are well supported by their peers. One parent commented: ‘I am extremely pleased with Warwick Nursery. They…(the staff)…are so caring and always do the best for all of the children’.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

Children’s early reading, writing and number skills are developing very well, and they show excellent imagination in creative play. The school’s strong focus on developing children’s communication, language and literacy is helping children to increase their speaking and listening skills rapidly. They learn effectively about letters and sounds through activities such as a dance programme that is linked with writing skills. Problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy skills are well honed due to the school’s positive approach to increasing children’s mathematical knowledge and excellent opportunities for role-play in the ‘Builder’s Yard’ and ‘Site Office’. Children explore the 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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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

outdoor area with great interest and energy so that they increase their knowledge and understanding of the world around them and develop their physical abilities very well. For instance, they love to run, jump and climb in the fresh air. They show a tremendous sense of awe and wonder when they discover wildlife such as wriggling worms in the ‘Forest School’ area and investigate the ‘bug hotel’ to see if they can find any tiny creatures. Children show that they feel very safe and understand how to live healthily. They enjoy contributing to the school by taking part in activities such as growing soft fruit and vegetables like raspberries and sweet peppers in the allotment and homemade greenhouse. Children also enjoy looking at the recently acquired chickens to see if they have laid any eggs. These activities help them to increase their awareness of eco-systems and the natural world.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 1

These are the grades for children’s outcomes Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1 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 The extent to which children feel safe 1 Children’s behaviour 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children contribute to the school and wider community 2 The extent to which children develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Children’s attendance 1 The extent of children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1

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How effective is the provision?

Staff are very welcoming and they have created a vibrant, stimulating learning environment for the children to enjoy, with plenty of displays of children’s highly colourful work. Teachers and keyworkers liaise exceedingly well together as an excellent team. They have very high expectations of the children, and relationships between them are extremely positive. Parents are very pleased with all that the staff do for their children, and one said: ‘I particularly love how the environment is always evolving with something new for the little ones to explore in each session. The nursery team are all enthusiastic and care about each individual child.’ All adults who work with the children have excellent knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage

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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 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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How effective is the provision?

and use questioning and sign language very skilfully to make sure that all children benefit from the huge range of adult-led and free-choice activities. Children’s progress is tracked and recorded conscientiously by keyworkers to help them plan activities. Excellent assessment profiles are kept for every individual child that show how children develop while they are at the nursery and in the nurture playgroup. These profiles contain plenty of plenty of information and photographs of children at work and at play, which are passed on to their families when they leave.

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How effective is the provision?

Children benefit considerably from the school’s very wide range of exciting activities that inspire and motivate them. They have plenty of opportunities to develop their independence indoors and outside in the excellent facilities provided. In addition, the youngest children have access to a wide range of activities in the nurture playgroup to help them learn and develop their basic skills. Activities are adapted sensitively for all children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that they benefit from all that the nursery has to offer within its excellent inclusive environment. One parent commented that, ‘My son loves his nursery school. Forest school is amazing! He is getting a great start to his educational journey.’

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How effective is the provision?

Outstanding care, guidance and support for the children originate from the staff’s detailed knowledge of families and an excellent understanding of children’s needs. Superb liaison between keyworkers, leaders and external agencies ensures that children are given very sensitive support. For example, case studies show that children with complex needs and those who are vulnerable because of their circumstances receive expert guidance from the coordinator for special educational needs and visiting specialists such as the speech therapist. This helps them to learn effectively and join in with other children of the same age. One parent praised the school for helping her child who has specific learning difficulties by saying: ‘We have been so impressed by the level of care and support we have received for our child’s nursery experience. The level of expertise and experience is very, very reassuring. A fantastic nursery.’ The school does all it can to promote good attendance and follows

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How effective is the provision?

up absences assiduously. It supports families very well when the time comes for their children to transfer to primary schools in the local area.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1 The quality of teaching Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning The extent to which the curriculum meets children’s needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 1

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How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher is an inspirational leader whose dedication and expertise has driven 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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How effective are leadership and management?

the school from being satisfactory at the last inspection two years ago, to its current outstanding status. She is supported exceedingly well by the education manager and the nurture playgroup manager, who are highly committed to the children. There is a very strong sense of ambition in the school, and highly accurate self-evaluation helps the senior leadership team to set challenging targets for the future and ensure excellent value for money. The quality of teaching and learning is monitored carefully, which ensures excellent equality of opportunity for all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Even so, some of the monitoring of teaching is too informal, not always recorded and does not necessarily include support staff. Nevertheless, the professional development of staff has a high priority and all undertake regular training to hone their skills and knowledge of the

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How effective are leadership and management?

The governing body fulfils its statutory duties well. The Chair of Governors and the Vice Chair of Governors are frequent visitors to the school and are very supportive of the staff. Other governors attend meetings regularly, and several new governors are soon to receive training to help them develop their roles. However, the governing body’s procedures for monitoring the effectiveness of the school are not sufficiently refined. This is an important omission as the school has recently been selected to become a part of the national two-year project for providing expertise to other settings as an Early Years Foundation Stage teaching centre. The school recognises rightly that it is therefore imperative that the governors measure the impact of the project upon their school.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school’s outstanding systems and procedures for safeguarding children and child protection mean that children are kept extremely safe while they are at school and in the nurture playgroup. This includes very effective procedures for the safe recruitment and suitability of staff and regular risk assessments to ensure that the school maintains children’s safety. Written policies are reviewed regularly and ratified by the governing body, and all staff undertake frequent training to update their knowledge of safeguarding.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school has excellent partnerships with external agencies, health services and national groups to support children. Community cohesion is promoted effectively and diversity is celebrated well through good links with the local neighbourhood that enhance children’s learning. Staff successfully encourage parents and carers to become very involved in their children’s learning and the school provides plenty of information to help them support their children at home; for example, the school’s excellent website contains a vast range of information about the school and the nurture playgroup to help parents and carers, such as regular newsletters. Parental comments indicate that they appreciate this and feel very valued by staff. One wrote: ‘I love this school! I am delighted with Warwick Nursery. The leadership is strong and clear - faultless. Staff attitudes and breadth of opportunities for the children to experience and learn are very impressive.’

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management 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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How effective are leadership and management?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met The effectiveness of the school’s engagement with parents and carers 1 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 1 The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 1 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 2 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money

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Views of parents and carers

An above average proportion of parents and carers responded to the questionnaire. The vast majority expressed their satisfaction with the education provided by the school. They feel that the school is led and managed well and that staff make sure that children are safe. Written comments included a lot of praise for the staff, whom parents and carers say are very supportive and caring, and they confirm that their children really enjoy coming to school. There were no significant concerns raised by parents and carers.

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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 Warwick Childrens Centre and 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 25 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 47 children registered at the school.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Statements Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total % Total % Total % Total % My child enjoys school 18 72 7 28 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 18 72 7 28 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child’s progress 8 32 14 56 0 0 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 13 52 8 32 1 4 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 16 64 8 32 1 4 0 0 The school helps me to support my child’s learning 11 44 10 40 0 0 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 20 80 5 20 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) 11 44 12 48 1 4 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school meets my child’s particular needs 14 56 9 36 1 4 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 10 40 13 52 0 0 0 0 The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 11 44 11 44 1 4 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school is led and managed effectively 15 60 9 36 1 4 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 17 68 8 32 0 0 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

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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CV34 4LJ

Hello everyone! Thank you for being so kind to me and helping me to learn about your school when I came to see you. I found out lots of things.

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CV34 4LJ

 You go to an excellent nursery school.  You and your parents told me that you love coming to the nursery and really enjoy learning.  You make exceptional progress and achieve very well by the time you leave.  Your behaviour is outstanding. You are very kind and thoughtful towards each other. Well done!  You understand that physical exercise and healthy food is good for you, and you love to run, jump and climb in the outdoor area.  There are lots of things for you to do indoors and outside. I really enjoyed seeing you explore places like the ‘Forest School’ and the ‘Builders’ Yard’. I know that you love to look at the chickens to see if they have laid any eggs!  The adults who work in the nursery take excellent care of you and make sure that you are very safe when you are in the school and the nurture playgroup.  The headteacher is an excellent leader and is supported really well by the education manager and the nurture playgroup manager.

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CV34 4LJ

I have asked your nursery school and nurture playgroup to make some small improvements so that they get even better. I want them to refine the ways in which leaders and governors keep a check on everything that goes on. You can help too by always doing your best and being helpful.

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CV34 4LJ

Dr Anna Coyle 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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