Collyhurst Nursery School

Collyhurst Nursery School Inspection report

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Age group 3–5 Inspection date(s) 7–8 December 2011 Inspection number 377235 Unique Reference Number 105385 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 377235 Inspection dates 7–8 December 2011 Reporting inspector Kathryn Gethin HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Nursery School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 95 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alison Jones Headteacher Christine Rigby Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2009 School address Teignmouth Avenue Collyhurst Manchester M40 7QD Telephone number 0161 2051744 Fax number 0161 2035831 Email address head@collyhurst.manchester.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 rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after

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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.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and one additional inspector. The inspectors visited 10 sessions, and held meetings with the principal, staff, representatives of the governing body and spoke informally with parents and carers and children. They observed the school's work, and looked at a range of evidence including planning and assessment records, minutes of the governing body meetings, self-evaluation, children’s learning journeys, staff questionnaires and 27 parent and carer questionnaires.

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Introduction

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

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Introduction

 The emphasis on how well communication, language and literacy are being promoted for different groups, including children speaking English as an additional language and boys.  The effectiveness of the school’s strategies to promote community cohesion.  The effectiveness of the governing body when holding the school to account.  The success of strategies used by the school to tackle attendance issues.

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Information about the school

Collyhurst Nursery School is an average-sized nursery school. The vast majority of children are of White British heritage and there are a small number from minority ethnic groups, largely African heritage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average as is the number of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school provides a breakfast and after school club and holiday care. The school receives funding for two-year-old children. The school has achieved the gold Manchester Healthy Schools Award.

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Information about the school

Collyhurst Children’s Centre operates out of the same building. The work of the school and the centre is under the leadership of the school principal who is accountable to the governing body. The children’s centre was inspected by Ofsted in 2011.

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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

‘This school is everything this area needs’ and ‘an amazing school’ are typical of comments expressed by parents and carers who are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and staff. This helps to confirm why Collyhurst Nursery School is a good school. The nursery school environment is warm and welcoming and one in which a caring and motivated staff team know the children well and have high expectations for them. As a result, children are confident, keen to learn and make good progress.

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Main Findings

Children from a young age learn to be extremely proud of the community in which they live. They establish good relationships with the emergency services and describe how the police ‘drive cars and help people’. They also are aware of the needs of others and raise money for various charities. Children embrace opportunities to learn how families from other cultures celebrate and show an excellent understanding of how their actions may affect others.

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Main Findings

Teaching continues to improve through thoughtful questioning and by giving children the opportunity to think through problems. This allows them to use their initiative and make decisions. A significant amount of work has been undertaken to ensure all children’s individual needs are met. The highly effective key worker system and detailed observations ensure assessment is accurate and clearly informs the next steps children need to make. Sharing the learning journeys with parents and carers and the value given to their comments enhance the system.

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Main Findings

The rich learning environment offers well-planned and purposeful activities across all six areas of learning. Outdoor areas are generally used well and offer an environment where children can be physically active and exuberant. The school is aware of the need to develop the outdoor area further.

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Main Findings

The support given to families in the most vulnerable of situations is superb. ‘It means the world to me’ was one heartfelt message from a carer whose life and that of her family had been significantly improved. The school promotes a highly inclusive approach where all children learn to respect one other. As a consequence, children thrive and have a positive attitude to learning.

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Main Findings

The dedicated leadership from the principal drives the school forward. All staff say they ‘are proud’ to be part of the school. The senior leadership team have high expectations and, as a result, staff are motivated to excel. The governing body demonstrate a keen knowledge of the school and are kept well informed. However, some documentation is in need of updating. The improvement over time demonstrates accurate self-evaluation. This determines that the schools capacity to improve is good.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the outdoor area by extending the opportunities available across all six areas of learning.  Review all documentation and ensure information is updated on a regular basis.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

The skills and knowledge that the children have when they start at the nursery is variable but broadly in line with age related expectations. The large majority of children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with English as an additional language make good progress across all the areas of learning. Children enjoy school and are excited by the activities. In a language-rich environment, children are eager to participate and apply their skills well. Writing is promoted very well as children use pens with confidence and attempt to write their names as they arrive in the morning.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children confidently chant numbers and calculate how many Christmas decorations are needed for everyone to have an equal amount. They show high levels of concentration as they spend time wrapping presents for Santa and attempt to thread ribbon through gift tags. Children enjoy discovering how magnets work and show delight when they discover that they have made a chime bar from the metal objects. Information and communication technology is used well as children practise on the interactive whiteboard and use the computer mouse with ease. In the outdoor area children show awareness of space as they skilfully pedal the bikes at some speed safely around the area.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children establish warm, caring and secure relationships with staff and follow simple instructions very well. For example, following a hailstorm when the ground was covered in ice, children were more cautious yet keen to investigate as they experimented sliding their feet on an unfamiliar surface. Children have a good understanding of safe ways to use equipment and remind their friends of how to hold the handlebars correctly on the bikes.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children demonstrate a good understanding of what being healthy means. They eagerly participate in the energetic ‘wake up and shake up’ session at the beginning of the day and extend their knowledge as they talk with confidence about muscles and cooling down. Children are aware of different feelings as they describe why someone may be angry or sad and recognise how their behaviour affects others. Fresh fruit is freely available and children help themselves to it throughout the morning.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children are generally considerate to each other, respond well to frequent praise and are polite. Adults provide a host of opportunities for children to engage with the community. Children have demonstrated a great commitment to charity work and have raised money for several charities including Children in Need and Action Medical Research. Good relationships have been established with the local emergency services and children have been able to explore a fire engine, use the fire hose and test the sirens. Through a creative collaboration with artists the children and parents and carers produced wonderful portraits and mosaics. These are proudly displayed throughout the centre. Children develop their understanding in regard to different cultures and for their age have a very good appreciation of diversity. They take part in Eid and Diwali celebrations and younger children enjoy tea and toast toddler sessions run by the outreach worker at the local church. Children are beginning to

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

develop an understanding of recycling through the Eco-friendly project. While playing outside, a sudden hailstorm enthralled the children. They looked in amazement as the play area quickly became covered in ice. Children were able to take advantage of this unexpected learning opportunity and they took great delight in scooping up the hailstones and watching the ice melt through their fingers.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

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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contribute to their future economic well-being

Taking into account: Children's attendance 1

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How effective is the provision?

Teachers and teaching assistants work as a team. This contributes to the improvement in teaching across the school. Staff know the children exceptionally well and they provide well-planned activities that capture children’s interest. Exciting teaching engages the children and they have great fun demonstrating this as they sing action songs in dinosaur, robot and animal voices. Good use is made of music to accompany activities and children enjoyed the disco dough session as they moulded and shaped the dough to music.

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How effective is the provision?

An emphasis on speaking and listening is embedded in the teaching and curriculum. As a result, children develop their skills in this area. Children are given time to solve problems and questioning is used well to extend learning. A good balance of adult- led group work and child-initiated activities is in place, including the use of the

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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 outdoor area. The layout of the room is carefully planned and displays are of a high quality. A separate area enables small adult-led group work to take place in a quiet environment. A good range of resources including natural materials are easily accessible for children to investigate. Some focused activities take place in the outdoor area. However, at this time the emphasis is on physical play and resources do not extend across all the areas of learning. Outdoor areas for the younger children have been developed and provide more purposeful activities.

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How effective is the provision?

Assessment is used exceptionally well to ensure activities are closely linked to individual learning. Children’s progress is recorded in detailed learning journeys through notes and photographs. These identify clearly the next steps for children and provide an invaluable record to share with parents and carers and when making the transition to Reception.

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How effective is the provision?

Key workers provide exceptional support for children’s well-being. For those children who require additional support, visual aids and adapting activities ensure individual needs are met. Simple hand expressions are used to aid communication. There is an emphasis on promoting social and emotional development, where children are encouraged to discuss feelings and celebrate being star of the week. A recent anti- bullying campaign reminded children of the importance of being kind and showing respect for one another. Seamless links with the children’s centre ensure the families who are most vulnerable due to their circumstances receive the care and support needed from range of agencies.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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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 inspirational leadership of the principal has brought about improvements which have enhanced the quality of teaching and ultimately improved the learning and development for children. A quality assurance framework is used most successfully across the whole staff. This leads to high expectations for all staff and a focus on personal development. As a consequence, morale is high and enthusiasm is apparent. The introduction of peer monitoring has enabled staff to understand their weaknesses and build on their strengths. The success of training in the effective use of questions is apparent as staff use open-ended questions to encourage children to problem solve and encourage other children to offer solutions. Self-evaluation of the school's strengths and weaknesses is accurate and there is a shared vision for continuing improvement.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The governing body is kept well informed of developments and has a good knowledge of the local area. The effective governing body meeting minutes reflect how the school development plan is monitored and evidence on how suggestions from the governing body have been put into practice. For example, by making contact with parents and carers on the first day of absence, attendance has improved. High-quality procedures are in place for most aspects of safeguarding. However, the scrutiny of documentation is not always effective to ensure information is up-to-date.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Partnerships with parents and carers are excellent. ‘Staff are fabulous’ is a typical comment. Families are fully encouraged to be involved in their children’s learning and strong relationships are in place. The ‘All about me’ booklet provides a highly effective link between the home and school and establishes an early bond between the parents and carers and key workers. Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to the boasting board to celebrate their child’s achievements. Excellent partnerships with local schools enable transition arrangements to run smoothly. Highly effective multi-agency links are in place due to the work of the deputy principal and the outreach worker. This ensures families in difficult circumstances receive appropriate support.

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How effective are leadership and management?

‘At the centre of all we do are our children.’ This statement reflects the highly inclusive nature of the school. All children are treated as individuals and have equal opportunity to learn and succeed. Community cohesion is promoted well. Children took part in the ‘love where you live’ campaign to promote the positive aspects of their community and planted flowers as part of Manchester in Bloom.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for the leadership and management

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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

There was a slightly lower than average response to the Ofsted questionnaires. All parents and carers who did respond acknowledged that they are happy with their children’s experience at this school, with one parent/carer saying, ‘It means the world to me’. Parents and carers also felt that the school keeps their children safe.

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questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Collyhurst 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 27 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 95 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 22 81 5 19 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 25 93 2 7 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child's progress 21 78 6 22 0 0 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 22 81 5 19 0 0 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 23 85 4 15 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child's learning 22 81 5 19 0 0 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 22 81 5 19 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) 19 70 6 22 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 21 78 5 19 0 0 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 21 78 6 22 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 19 70 8 30 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 23 85 4 15 0 0 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 23 85 4 15 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 pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9 Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5 All schools 10 44 39 6

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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.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above is 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 ).

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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 pupil in their learning, development or training.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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 pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. 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 pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' 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 pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Collyhurst Nursery School, Manchester, M40 7QD

Thank you for being so kind to me when I came to visit your nursery school. I enjoyed talking to you and watching the exciting things that you do. I really liked your learning journeys. These show all the fun activities you do every day. I was pleased to see how you sit and practise your writing with the grown-ups who bring you to school and how you helped me write my notes. It was wonderful to see your fascination with the hailstorm and how you enjoyed sliding and feeling the ice afterwards.

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Inspection of Collyhurst Nursery School, Manchester, M40 7QD

You showed me that Collyhurst Nursery is a good school where all the adults take excellent care of you. They remind you how to behave well so everyone enjoys playing together. Your nursery school is always looking for ways to improve. To help them with this we have asked them to look at their school records and make your outdoor area even more exciting with more activities for you to learn from.

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Inspection of Collyhurst Nursery School, Manchester, M40 7QD

Enjoy your time at nursery and continue to have lots of fun.

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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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