Windham Nursery School

Windham Nursery Windham Road, Richmond, TW9 2HP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Overall effectiveness

This is an outstanding school.  This nursery certainly ensures that its vision for ‘Happy Children, Happy People’ is true and is a place where everyone in the nursery and its wider community work together very well.  Children are known extremely well as individuals, and make exceptional progress from their starting points because staff are highly skilled at building children’s skills and following their interests, and at making sure the nursery is a fun and exciting place to learn.  Children learn to communicate well and have many opportunities to develop early skills in mathematics. They enjoy a wide variety of physical activities that develop coordination, from ball skills to gripping pencils.  Children relate very well together, are kind and courteous to each other and adults, and behave exceptionally well.  Children with social communication difficulties also make exceptional progress because their individual needs are met very well and staff

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Overall effectiveness

know exactly how to ensure that they make small steps of progress, sometimes from day to day.  Senior leaders, ably supported by the governing body, are helping the nursery to improve all the time. They want the nursery to be, ‘Inclusive, Inspiring, Innovative’. The inspection found this to be true, a view wholly supported by parents and carers.  The nursery has identified that it would be helpful to analyse carefully the impact of each area of learning on children’s progress to enable staff to know exactly how to design activities that will move learning on even more.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 13 sessions or part sessions of teaching and also undertook a joint observation with the headteacher.  The inspector took account of 30 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and results of a previous questionnaire held in the nursery.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, the headteacher and middle leaders, a telphone call was made to a local authority representative and informal conversations took place with children and parents and carers.  The inspector observed the nursery’s work and looked at documents including the record of assessment of childrens’ learning and development, the planning for improvement, the monitoring of teaching and learning, records relating to attendance and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Janet Dinsmore, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The nursery provides part-time places for morning or afternoon sessions, and some full-time places for one year or more before children start school. It shares a building and some facilities with a local authority centre, which provides support to families with disabled children but was not part of this inspection.  The nursery runs a lunch club providing extended day care for children on site.  The nursery has specially resourced provision for children with special educational needs named ‘Jigsaw’ with eight places for assessing and meeting the needs of children with social communication difficulties.  The proportion of children supported through early years action is above average.  There is a higher than average proportion of children with special educational needs supported at early years action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  At the time of the inspection no children were receiving the pupil premium.

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Information about this school

 There is a much higher than average proportion of children who speak English as an additional language and from minority ethnic groups.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the work to check how well children are doing by focusing more on the impact of different areas of learning on their progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children arrive in the nursery with a wide range of skills, the majority at or just below the levels expected for their age. They make exceptional progress from their starting points so that by the time they leave, one year later, the large majority are reaching or exceeding expectations for their age.  Children who speak English as an additional language make rapid and sustained progress because they have many opportunities to practise listening and speaking. They learn new vocabulary and can use their own language. Parents and carers commented how their children’s communication had improved rapidly in a short time, how they could discuss what they were doing at nursery and how they were getting on with their friends.  Children in the ‘Jigsaw’ unit make rapid and sustained progress from a wide range of starting points because their needs are exceptionally well met. For example, they are able to choose an

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

activity or snack food by pointing, learning initial sounds and signs. Staff are highly skilled at maintaining small steps of progress rapidly. The partnership with parents and carers is strong, with parents and carers reinforcing children’s learning at home and being amazed at their children’s progress.  Children develop good communication skills; they are confident to speak to adults, discuss what they are doing and play together in imaginative games and role play. For example, they ran to the telephone box in the playground to ‘ring for the fire brigade when the volcano was about to explode’. Parents and carers commented about how quickly their children’s communication skills have improved since attending the nursery.  Children can explain why they choose to do activities, recount stories they enjoy, look at books every day and take them home to share with parents, so developing early reading skills. They

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

recognise and begin to write their names.  They show confidence in balancing and climbing. Children were discussing whether they could manage to try a new physical skill sitting at the top of the climbing frame saying, ‘Come on we are big, we can do this!’ Children practise their movement skills using small objects for making patterns and marks.  Children develop excellent mathematical skills, creating patterns, ordering by size and colour, and matching. For example, children used coloured magnetic blocks of different shapes to determine the exact piece they would need to complete their construction. Good questioning from an adult enabled them to work accurately and talk about the shapes and colours.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The activities give pupils lots of ideas to use in their play. Adults help them adapt these and solve problems. For example children’s interest in volcanoes and spiders on one day was followed up the following day by adults putting out toy fire engines and boxes; a range of model insects and creatures in the role-play area meant that children incorporated these into their games.  Adults ask excellent questions to help them assess children’s learning. They also help children develop their thinking, for example in determining choices of materials for making signs, choosing ingredients for adding to the water tray to make ’soup’ and working out how to build a tower even higher. Group times provide a focus for each session. Adults use small groups to help develop social skills, for example sharing, turn taking and listening to others during story and snack time. Large group time is used for children to experience songs and actions, play

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

instruments and follow instructions.  Staff use observations exceptionally well in weekly review meetings to discuss how children are doing. Their excellent knowledge of children’s development in their early years enables them to use the information they gather about the children to develop next steps in their learning.  Focused small groups, particularly for language development, take place if checks show that children are falling behind. Children who speak English as an additional language make particularly good progress because of this as staff understand their individual requirements accurately. This also ensures that any disabled children or those who have special educational needs are identified early on and given very effective support.  ‘International Week’ provided an excellent opportunity for children and parents and carers to celebrate the wide variety of languages and cultures represented in the nursery. Parents and

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

carers visited to tell stories in their home language and share items that were particularly special to their background and culture.  Visits to a local wildlife area, and visitors bringing many interesting objects for children to explore, extend children’s knowledge, understanding and experience well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children are highly enthusiastic and very engaged in their play so their behaviour is outstanding. Minor incidents when children are not willing to share are dealt with very well by staff who show children what behaviour they expect. Parents and carers say that their children are really keen to come to nursery and really want to attend at weekends too.  Children in the ‘Jigsaw’ unit who have social and communication difficulties learn how to communicate choices through signs and symbols so minimising anxiety and potential for behaviour that is more difficult to manage. The routines and structured activities also help children’s understanding of what to expect each day. Parents and carers commented that the staff are extremely skilful in understanding their children’s needs, easing communication and so improving behaviour.  Children have an excellent understanding of keeping safe. For example, in discussing whether a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

pushchair could be used on a climbing ramp, they said if they did the ‘baby would fall out because the pushchair would go bump, bump, bump’. Children also explained how they were using scissors safely. Children understand how to be kind to one another and there is no bullying.  Children are given the confidence to take risks, for example discussing whether they have the skills to climb up onto the rocking horse, and using blocks for steps to build a tower even higher. There is an excellent range of resources that can be used for many purposes and which were manoeuvred safely and cooperatively by children during the two days of the inspection. These included large wooden blocks that were used for towers, vehicles, castles and pirate ships.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders produce high quality plans to keep the nursery at the top of its game. They have an excellent understanding of its strengths and what could be improved, and all staff are involved in considering the previous year’s performance. Governors also review and monitor how the nursery is getting on each year.  The nursery has tackled the issue from the previous inspection extremely well. It uses tracking of assessment to see how well individuals and groups of children are doing. However, it does not routinely check the impact of different areas of learning on children’s progress enough.  Parents and carers warmly extoll the nursery’s virtues and there are excellent opportunities for them to become involved. They are told how they can help each week and they volunteer. In the spring term they spend a session playing with their children to gain a greater understanding of what happens and to appreciate the high quality of education their children are receiving.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Performance of all staff is managed well. Teachers receive good professional development and pay is linked to meeting the ‘Teachers’ Standards’. The appraisal system for support staff is also closely linked to the nursery development plan. For example their questioning is now of a high standard.  The nursery is used as a resource across the local authority. Nursery staff provide training for other staff and host visits that enable others to improve their practice. Staff have strong partnerships with colleagues in other early years settings and the local authority gives the nursery minimum support because it too recognises that it is outstanding.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. Access to visitors is closely controlled at the shared entrance to the building.  The governance of the school:  Governors are knowledgeable and effective in supporting the nursery and in asking searching

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The leadership and management are outstanding

questions about its work. They bring a wide range of skills from business and finance that are used to good effect. They ensure that there are very robust performance management arrangements for the headteacher and all other staff to the benefit of all the children. They monitor the nursery’s work extremely closely through regular visits and considering reports from the headteacher.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 102882 Local authority Richmond Inspection number 400575

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Nursery School category Community Age range of pupils 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 75 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Katherine Theobald Headteacher Maggie Stovold Date of previous school inspection 21–22 October 2009 Telephone number 020 8831 6060 Fax number NA Email address info@windham.richmond.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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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School details

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

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