Bognor Regis Nursery School

Age group 3−5 Inspection date(s) 23−24 May 2012 Inspection number 381132 Bognor Regis Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 125807 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 381132 Inspection dates 23–24 May 2012 Lead inspector Susan Mann HMI

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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 sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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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 155 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Emma Priest (Vice-chair) Headteacher Siân Rees-Jones Date of previous school inspection 12 November 2008 School address 85 Victoria Drive Bognor Regis West Sussex PO21 2TB Telephone number 01243 642924 Email address head@bognorregis-nursery.w-sussex.sch.uk

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Registered childcare provision Orchard Room Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 12 November 2008 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed over nine hours of teaching and child-initiated activities. Of this time, one hour was spent exclusively observing the under threes day-care provision in the Orchard Room. They observed seven teachers and all other staff who worked with the children and were present during the inspection. They observed practice in the Nursery, the Special Support Centre and the Orchard Room. Inspectors spoke with children, met with members of the governing body, held meetings with senior staff and had discussions with teachers. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at written policies and procedures, information provided for parents and carers, safety information and records of meetings. They reviewed the questionnaire responses from 53 parents and carers as well as those completed by staff.

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Information about the school

Bognor Regis Nursery School is located on the same site as the children’s centre. It is located in an area among the most 20% disadvantaged in the country and is of average size. It offers sessional provision for children aged over three years. Full day care and extended provision is available between 8.00am and 6.00pm each day. A minority of children are of minority ethnic heritage, mostly Central and Eastern European backgrounds. The school has two members of staff who speak Polish as their first language.

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Information about the school

A few children have special educational needs, including four with a statement of special educational needs. The school includes the Special Support Centre for eight children (or the full-time equivalent of eight places) with significant speech and/or language and complex needs. Children who attend this special provision are integrated in the main Nursery provision and have a base in the Garden Room. There is provision for children aged from birth to three years of age in the Orchard Room, which is also managed by the governing body. The provision is registered on the early years register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the childcare register. Since the last inspection, the Orchard Room has been extended and there has been significant internal renovation to increase the open space of the provision. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Information about the school

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

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Key findings

 This is an outstanding school. The day-care provision is also outstanding. Excellent leadership provides an inspirational curriculum that meets children’s needs exceptionally well. All leaders and staff are committed to building on existing high standards; this is exemplified by how previous outstanding practice has been sustained and enhanced.

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Key findings

 Almost all children make outstanding progress in their learning and development. Children for whom English is an additional language make similarly rapid progress, particularly in communication and literacy, as a result of targeted provision and support, for example, by Polish speaking staff.

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Key findings

 Children with special educational needs are extremely settled and make outstanding progress. Exceptionally effective intervention is based on their educational, physical and emotional needs and also supports their families so that development has very strong foundations.

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Key findings

 Teaching is consistently exemplary throughout the Nursery school and day care. Almost all teaching observed during the inspection was judged to be outstanding.

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Key findings

 Children demonstrate exceptionally positive behaviour. Almost all are extremely kind and considerate to one another. They are full of enthusiasm and eager to participate in activities and nursery life. They show an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management give very high regard to achieving the very best outcomes for children. The quality of teaching is rigorously monitored through well-established and highly effective assessment. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered extremely well. The Nursery’s philosophy of child-led learning promotes great independence which engenders superb collaborative skills and acceptance of others. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 The Nursery has extremely good relationships with parents and carers. Polish speaking families receive superb support from staff who are fluent in speaking their home language. The Nursery readily accesses translation services for additional languages so parents and carers receive all essential information. However, a few parents and carers have limited opportunity to understand the finer details of nursery life because their comprehension of English is limited.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Enhance the provision of information for those families who are learning English as an additional language so that all may develop a good understanding of how the Nursery helps children learn.

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Achievement of pupils

Children achieve exceptionally well while at Nursery. Starting points are variable, and about half of the cohort enters Nursery with levels of development that are below those expected for their age. Most parents and carers are pleased with how well their child is progressing at Nursery and the inspection confirms this view. The Nursery rigorously assesses children’s development. Their analysis of this information shows that almost all children are making rapid and sustained progress in all areas of learning, including communication, literacy and number work. Children are extremely eager to communicate through speech and sign language: most are extremely articulate in explaining their ideas. Many have already achieved skills expected at the end of their first year at school. Children in need and children whose circumstances make them vulnerable make excellent progress and rapidly catch up with their peers;

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Achievement of pupils

their progress in personal, social and emotional development and literacy is particularly rapid. Disabled children and those with special educational needs, including those children based in the Special Support Centre, also make outstanding progress. This is as a result of expert intervention and highly effective engagement with relevant external agencies, for example speech and language therapy and educational psychology services.

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Achievement of pupils

Children show exceptional levels of concentration in their play, which they sustain for long periods of time. They persevere with activities and complete them to a very high standard, regardless of whether they have direct adult support or are working unaided. Children spend almost all their time choosing, creating and doing their own activities. This results in the development of excellent communication, team-working and problem-solving skills. For example, a group of children in the ‘tree house’ created an imaginative scenario. They were ‘sleeping builders’ and they painted and discussed plans at length for their construction while dressed up in bedtime clothing and hard hats. Children thoroughly enjoy themselves, are curious and wholly motivated to learn as they move around the exemplary nursery environment. The overwhelming majority exceed age-related expectations in their personal Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Achievement of pupils

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

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Achievement of pupils

development while at Nursery. Their evident self-assurance prepares them extremely well for the next stage of their education. One parent summed up the views of many, commenting, ‘This is an excellent Nursery and provides an excellent base for starting school’.

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Quality of teaching

All staff are highly knowledgeable and greatly enthusiastic in their delivery of the curriculum. Children are inspired to achieve by the enabling approach of all staff. Adults have very high expectations of all children, and are appreciative of their work and effort. All have great concern for the children’s emotional well-being and teaching is completely centred on the needs of each individual child. The exceptional level of challenge provided by the adventurous and highly stimulating environment enables children to explore and extend their own capabilities within safe and supervised surroundings. As a result, they are empowered to try new experiences. Children express huge satisfaction when they pull themselves up a rope, or slide down a ‘fireman’s pole’, activities they clearly find enjoyable yet demanding. Staff extend children’s learning very well during interactions and activities. They seize

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Quality of teaching

every learning opportunity by listening carefully to children’s responses and giving clear explanation to progress their thinking. For example, children develop their skills of number and prediction when playing with Russian dolls and guessing how many there might be. All staff make the most of opportunities to explore letters and sounds with children, and as a result children are confident to sound out letters as they listen to stories and look at books. Disabled children and those who have special educational needs benefit from equally expert teaching that is based on excellent assessment of their prior learning. Parents and carers are valued partners in their children’s learning and as a result, almost all parents and carers believe their child is taught well at Nursery.

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Quality of teaching

The leadership of teaching is extremely influential in the delivery of excellent provision. Staff expertise is shared throughout the Nursery, Garden and Orchard Rooms so all children receive a high quality learning experience that meets their needs very well. The Nursery’s system of pairing key staff and teachers is highly effective in promoting consistently excellent practice that is based on the needs of the child. Assessment is thorough and analysis of this provides a robust framework used to examine overall trends in progress. This allows staff to monitor the extent of children’s learning in play-based activity. There remains a clear emphasis on the academic and emotional development of the individual child. Furthermore, children are beginning to develop their own understanding of their progress because staff give good and encouraging feedback on how well they have completed an activity.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The behaviour of children is exemplary. Almost all show great care and kindness to one another, and are considerate to those who are younger or less able. Older children are mindful of toddlers when playing outdoors, waiting for them to move Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

away from the slide before coming down, for example. Children demonstrate highly positive attitudes to their learning and as a result, very few activities are interrupted by disruptive behaviour. When adult intervention is required, practice is consistent and staff take time to discuss the unwanted behaviour in a positive way. This suits children’s understanding and enables them to develop a mature sense of what is right or wrong. Parents and carers are highly positive about behaviour and safety. The large majority of parents and carers who expressed a view believe that children are safe and behaviour is good at the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ management of their own safety is impressive in the Nursery’s expansive environment. They are skilled at measuring the risks for themselves and others to make sure they stay safe. They make an exceptional contribution to their own learning. Staff are highly vigilant and discreetly supervise children’s play without interrupting their creativity. At ‘beach school’ for example, children explored the texture and scent of seaweed as they happily paddled in the sea. Adults were exceptionally vigilant to ensure their safety, supported by comprehensive risk assessment of possible dangers, which allowed children the joy of exploring the seashore safely.

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Leadership and management

All leaders are dedicated to providing high quality care and education. The governing body is very effective and provides a high level of challenge to ensure the best outcomes for the children. Governors are proactive in addressing issues. They managed the recent reorganisation of staffing structure and premises extremely well. They have excellent relationships with the headteacher and senior staff, and regularly visit the Nursery which gives them a realistic view of the provision. The headteacher is wholly focused on raising standards further. Previous outstanding practice has been sustained and enhanced because of accurate evaluation and aspirational development planning. Future improvement is underpinned further by extensive action planning by subject leaders who provide an extremely effective management group which takes responsibility for evaluating and developing the curriculum. The implementation of some developments is responsive to children’s

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Leadership and management

needs. For example, ‘transition bags’ were developed to support children staying at Nursery for extended day care, so that they are reassured when some of their peers go home before them. These have had a very positive effect on helping children to cope more happily at these times of the day. Performance management is supportive yet rigorous and is consistently applied throughout the team, making a significant contribution to the excellence of teaching.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding arrangements are robust. All staff are trained appropriately and required procedures for protecting children are securely in place. Attendance of children, though not compulsory for children of this age, is monitored and absence is checked so staff know a child is safe when absent. Partnerships with parents and carers enhance children’s experiences, although not all are fully aware of the Nursery’s philosophy of play-based learning. The ethnically diverse community of the Nursery is celebrated through sharing appropriate festivals. Parents and carers share 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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Leadership and management

traditional foods and customs for Chinese New Year celebrations, for example. Children discuss their own experiences at length with adults and with one another, sharing family customs and habits. Inclusive practice threads through the provision. This is exemplified by how children meander to and from the Garden and Orchard Rooms as they play. No area is exclusive to a particular group of children, and as a result children quickly learn to work with all members of the school community.

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Leadership and management

The outstanding curriculum is innovative and grounded in the needs of those children who attend. Activities comprehensively cover all aspects of children’s learning and ensure equality of opportunity for all. The promotion of children’s social and moral development permeates every part of nursery life and emotional well-being is given exceptionally high regard. A parent summed up what many feel saying, ‘This is a fantastic school where the staff are friendly, caring and fantastic educators. There is always a buzz at Nursery. It is a stimulating environment, yet warm and nurturing. My child loves attending and cries when she cannot attend in the school holidays.’

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childcare provision

Children in the Orchard Room make outstanding progress in all areas of learning. A rich indoor and outdoor curriculum engages them exceptionally well. The development of their personal, social and communication skills is particularly rapid. Children with additional or special educational needs benefit from tailored support which is significantly enhanced by the partnership with nursery staff and external agencies. The environment is expertly arranged so that children have multiple opportunities to access excellent resources freely without becoming overwhelmed. Staff are very attentive and caring, and children demonstrate high levels of attachment to their key staff, snuggling in to them to enjoy a story or watch the bubble machine. Children choose to access areas used by the older nursery children, which develops their self-confidence and provides greater challenge for those ready to extend their learning beyond the Orchard Room environment. Children often

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childcare provision

choose to stroll around the large outdoor area with a member of staff. They enjoy watching the older children play and participate in appropriate activities such as water play or painting with water. This also gives extended opportunities for physical development, especially for those new to walking.

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childcare provision

Excellent leadership is enhanced by strong links with the Nursery. Management arrangements dovetail with the nursery school’s procedures and are rigorously applied. Development planning and evaluation are highly effective in driving improvement. Assessment of teaching and of children’s learning and development is rigorous and well established to sustain excellent practice and outstanding achievement and development. Staff are highly knowledgeable and demonstrate consistently expert practice. The needs of every child are given high regard and planning incorporates activities that will help each progress at their own pace. Transition arrangements are managed extremely effectively so that children are very 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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childcare provision

well prepared to move on to the next stage of their education.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision 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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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Regis PO21 2TB

Thank you for the friendly welcome you gave us when we visited your Nursery. It was very helpful for us to see you playing. We enjoyed talking with you and watching how you learn.

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Regis PO21 2TB

We have judged both the Nursery and day care of Bognor Regis to be outstanding. This means that it is one of the best nurseries. There are so many excellent things about your Nursery there are too many to mention them all. Here are just a few things we thought were especially good.

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Regis PO21 2TB

 Your teachers are very good at helping you to learn. This is because they take a lot of time to know what you can already do, and what you like doing best. They make sure that all the activities at Nursery are exciting and interesting to help you learn as much as you can.  You are all learning very well indeed. You listen well at group time, and lots of you are very good at recognising the sounds of letters, and working with numbers. Many of you are experts at building and making things. We were very impressed at how well you use your ideas and work with one another to make up your own games.  We greatly enjoyed watching how well you all behave, and how kind you are to one another. You are also excellent at keeping yourselves safe and taking care not to hurt others. For example, when you are in the garden, lots of you are very careful not to bump into each other when pulling the carts or riding the

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Regis PO21 2TB

tricycles.  We think your headteacher and governors are doing an outstanding job at making sure the Nursery is a safe and enjoyable place for you to spend time.

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Regis PO21 2TB

We know that lots of your parents and carers know a great deal about what goes on at Nursery. We have asked the staff to do even more so that every family can find out more information if they want to.

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Regis PO21 2TB

We really enjoyed our time at your Nursery and we hope you all continue to have fun and learn lots of new things there.

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Regis PO21 2TB

Yours sincerely Susan Mann Her Majesty's 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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