Garretts Green Nursery School

Garretts Green Nursery School 117 Garretts Green Lane, Sheldon, Birmingham, B26 2JL

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement of all children in personal, social and emotional development is good due to the excellent relationships between adults, children and parents.  Teaching and learning are good. Children with learning difficulties receive outstanding teaching.  Adults ensure that they spend a lot of time both talking to and questioning children. This results in good achievement in speaking, listening and understanding.  Children’s behaviour is exemplary because they know what is expected of them.  Attitudes to learning are outstanding. Children learn in an exceptionally safe environment where all their ideas are valued.  The nursery is led and managed well by a headteacher whose main aim is that all children achieve their best.  The systems for checking the quality of teaching and ensuring that all children get a good quality of education are rigorous.  All staff enjoy their work, are supported and

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

are given good-quality training.  The governing body supports the nursery well and challenges how money is spent. It has helped the headteacher manage budget cuts and ensure that children are safe at all times.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although activities for learning are exciting, teachers sometimes miss opportunities to draw children’s attention to letters, sounds and early mark making.  Children need to be offered opportunities to develop their learning during independent play activities through extended support by adults.  The school development plan does not state how the school expects children’s learning to improve as a result of all the measures put in place to improve teaching and opportunities for learning.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out with half-a-day’s notice and took place over two days.  The inspectors observed 13 lessons and seven teachers.  Documentation was analysed including that related to: teachers’ planning, safeguarding, behaviour logs and the school’s systems for improving teaching and learning.  The inspectors took account of nine responses to the online Parent View survey and interviewed four parents.  Questionnaires from 11 staff were analysed.  The inspectors heard children read and held discussions with children about their learning and school life.  Discussions were held with the headteacher and her staff, a representative from the local authority, members of the governing body and children.

p.2

Inspection team

Bogusia Matusiak-Varley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Garretts Green Nursery School provides part-time education for 100 children.  The proportion of disabled children and those with special educational needs is in line with national averages, while the proportion supported by early years action plus is below the national average.  The large majority of children come from White British backgrounds. A small minority come from a range of minority ethnic groups but, of these, very few speak English as an additional language.  Until recently, the nursery school was also responsible for the children’s centre which is housed in the same building. As a result of budget cuts, the local authority has now reduced the number of services and taken over the running of the children’s centre. The nursery school now uses several rooms previously designated for the children’s centre and has put in an application to provide additional support for children with autism who are on early years action plus. These

p.3

Information about this school

children already have full access to all learning activities in the nursery.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide opportunities for children to develop early reading and writing skills through their play.  Increase the time children spend working on focused tasks with adults.  Ensure that the school development plan clearly shows how and when improvements are made.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the nursery with skills and knowledge at levels that are below those expected for their ages, particularly in speaking, understanding and personal, social and emotional development. When they leave the nursery, they are achieving expectations for their age in most areas of learning. However, progress in learning letter sounds and mark making through play activities is inconsistent.   They make good progress in developing speaking and personal, social and emotional skills because staff regularly check their understanding and ensure learning moves in the direction of children’s interest levels.   The high emphasis placed on developing children’s language is having a very positive effect on their understanding. Children were observed chanting their numbers and singing nursery rhymes. However, the time allocated to children choosing their own activities for learning is too long and, as a result, sometimes learning slows down. Staff have already recognised that more

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

time needs to be spent in teaching children in adult-led groups.   Children’s good achievement is attributable to exciting learning opportunities, good teaching and the outstanding relationships they have with their key workers. Children feel exceptionally safe in learning because they are familiar with routines. They know that adults in the nursery can be relied upon to help them.   Teachers are expert at identifying any children who are falling behind. The needs of disabled children and those who have special educational needs, especially children who receive additional support, are expertly met. These children receive sensitive support at all times which enables them to achieve as well as their classmates. The small proportion of children from ethnic minorities make good progress in all areas of learning.   Parents are delighted with the progress that their children make. ‘Star of the week’ assemblies

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

celebrate their children’s successes and children are regularly praised for their good achievements.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Adults understand how young children learn so they ensure that there is plenty of repetition, especially through songs. There is a song for most activities in the nursery. This has a very positive effect on managing children’s behaviour which is excellent because, as soon as an adult starts singing, children join in and refocus on learning.   The teaching of children with learning difficulties is outstanding as every opportunity is taken to ensure that these pupils are engaged in learning. This is done through creative work with an artist and a musician where children learn though listening and participating in working with clay and a variety of tools which they thoroughly enjoy.   Excellent relationships underpin all aspects of the nursery’s work. It was observed that when a child chose to match numbers up to 10 on the number carpet, the adult carefully intervened to make sure that all numbers were placed in the correct order and resulted in good learning.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

  Planning is thorough but, occasionally, too much emphasis is placed on identifying exciting learning opportunities rather than looking at what exactly the different groups of children need to learn. While this is picked up incidentally through play, the lack of focused activities for different groups occasionally slows down learning.   Good progress has been made since the last inspection in challenging children who find learning easy in mathematics. This is most evident in the way all children, including those whose first language is not English, use mathematical vocabulary. As children painted, they were observed identifying lines that were longer and shorter than others.   Personal, social and emotional skills are expertly promoted. Children gain confidence when they are praised. Adults provide good opportunities for children to take on responsibilities such as being ‘helpers of the day’.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers report accurately on children’s progress to parents and regularly check with each other to ensure that there is consistency in the way that progress is recorded.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Parents are fully aware of what types of behaviour are expected in the nursery because the behaviour policy has been shared with them.   All staff consistently manage behaviour in the same way and this contributes to outstanding outcomes. Children are polite and have exceptionally good manners. Those children who have only been in the nursery for a few days already know how to sit still during instructions, listen attentively and share toys.   Excellent opportunities to develop children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding contribute to outstanding behaviour. Excellent attitudes to learning permeate all learning opportunities. Children are taught to value others’ beliefs, respect differences and enjoy the wide variety of festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year.   Attendance and punctuality are good. Children love coming to see their friends and the adults who help them. They focus well on what they do because they are taught how to concentrate as

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

they learn through play. This contributes to their high levels of concentration.   The nursery prides itself in its highly robust safeguarding and welfare arrangements. The site is safe, and governors and staff take part in regular health and safety checks. Children quickly learn about safety and the importance of keeping themselves safe at all times.   There have been no instances of bullying. This view is shared by parents. Should bullying occur, staff are aware of the procedures to be followed.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has gained the respect and confidence of parents, staff, governors and children. Her main objective is to give children and families the best quality of support. Together with the governing body, she has ensured that the quality of the additional support for children with autism is good.   Self-evaluation is accurate. All staff are involved in assessing how well they are teaching. The headteacher has monitored teaching and learning against the ‘Teachers Standards’ and ensured that teachers know what they need to do in order to improve.   School development planning is robust, but the outcomes for success are not clearly identified. This prevents the school from knowing how well it is doing at any specific time.   Children’s achievements have improved year-on-year, and good teaching and learning have been maintained since the previous inspection. The nursery has successfully addressed the issues for

p.5

The leadership and management are good

improvement identified in the previous inspection. Teachers are now better skilled at matching tasks to children’s needs. Higher-attaining children are making better progress in mathematics.   Professional development is having a positive impact on staff’s confidence. The staff have made a very effective start at implementing the new Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. Staff with responsibility points are leading developments in learning such as developing creativity through the use of music and clay work.   Children receive very interesting, exciting and memorable experiences to reinforce and develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children know right from wrong because all of the traditional tales that they learn about are underpinned by moral questions, an example being whether Goldilocks should have entered the house of the bears without them being there.   The governance of the school:

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 The governing body is committed to equality of opportunity. It challenges and supports leaders effectively. This is reflected in the minutes of the governing body’s meetings where strategies to accelerate progress are noted. The governing body has made good progress since the last inspection and engages staff and parents to assess the progress of different groups of children. It has been supportive in developing additional support for children with autism and in evaluating the cost of such a decision. It ensures that the highest levels of health and safety are maintained and that all safeguarding practices meets requirements. It ensures awareness of the impact of performance management.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 103122 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 400583

p.8

School details

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

p.8

School details

Type of school Nursery School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 100 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Cooper Headteacher Lesley Martin Date of previous school inspection 30 November 2009 Telephone number 0121 7432284 Fax number 0121 7432284 Email address enquiry@garretts.bham.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9