Chapel Street Nursery School

Chapel Street Nursery School Russell Street, Luton, LU1 5EA

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Inspection dates 28 February–1 March 2013

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  There is a strong focus on providing high- quality care for all children.  Children behave exceptionally well. They settle quickly, and thoroughly enjoy the wide range of activities provided.  Parents and carers overwhelmingly agree that the school is a happy, caring and safe environment.  Teaching is good so children make good progress and achieve well. They grow in confidence and are sociable and enthusiastic.  Children from a wide variety of backgrounds, and many who are new to learning English, make good progress in learning to communicate.  Staff work extremely well as a team and promote children’s personal development very effectively.  Children with additional needs are given very good support and make good progress.  All staff and the governing body are committed to doing their very best for all the children. The headteacher provides good leadership.  There are good systems to check the quality of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

teaching and to make sure that children receive a good quality education.  Senior leaders and the governing body know exactly what needs to be done to continue to improve the nursery. They have made sure that the nursery continues to be an effective school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching does not always promote rapid progress because the next steps to help children learn are not always precise enough.  Children’s progress in early numeracy skills is not fast enough because it is not incorporated into a wide range of activities.  The school needs to work more closely with parents and carers to involve them more in their child’s learning.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed a wide range of activities in the nursery over the two inspection days, including activities children had chosen themselves, others led by adults, and small-group sessions led by staff members.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school development plan, documents relating to safeguarding, behaviour and safety, and data on children’s current progress.  The inspectors spent time with individual children, looking at and talking to them about their ‘learning journey’ books, which maintain a record of their achievements.  The inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and several parents. A meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took into account the views expressed in the 29 completed staff questionnaires, and the 18 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Susan Thomas-Pounce, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Rosemary Barnfield Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This average-size nursery school provides morning and afternoon sessions, and admits children following their third birthday. Parents and carers can choose from these sessions.  The school has a children’s centre attached which is managed by the governing body. Nursery children can access additional hours from the centre to add to their 15-hour entitlement. The children’s centre also provides day care for 0−3 year olds. Evaluating this aspect of the provision was not part of this inspection.  The proportion of children who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs supported at early years action plus is much higher than average. The proportion supported at early years action is average.  The nursery incorporates specially resourced provision for children with special educational needs. There are 16 places for children with complex needs.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of children known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than average. At the time of the inspection, the nursery was not in receipt of pupil premium (additional government funding) for these children.  No children are educated in alternative provision away from the school site.  There are three qualified teachers on the staff. A newly qualified teacher was appointed to the school in September 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding in order to improve children’s progress by:  refining daily evaluations of children’s progress and planning more precisely the next steps in children’s learning  integrate early numeracy skills into a wide range of activities  providing additional opportunities for the teaching team to work with small groups and individual children on number work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the way parents support their children’s learning by:  providing more opportunities for parents and carers to stay and play  make the records of children’s progress more accessible and easily shared by children and their parents.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the school with skills that are generally well below those expected for their age. By the time they leave, children make at least the progress they should and most make more than expected progress in their personal, social and emotional development. This includes children who speak English as an additional language, disabled children and those identified as having special educational needs, including those with complex needs in the specially resourced provision.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children settle quickly and become independent and confident. They choose what to do and persevere well with the task they have chosen. Children take turns, share toys and equipment some of which they can take home. Learning activities are carefully organised and follow children’s interests. Good access to resources means that children can find and also put away items they have finished with when choosing the activities that interest them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading is promoted well throughout the nursery; books are available for children to look at share and borrow. Regular story times provide good opportunities to talk and learn new words. This is especially helpful for those learning to speak English. Children enjoy re-telling their favourite stories as they join in with words or sentences they remember.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s well-resourced outdoor facilities ensure that children’s physical and creative skills are developed well. Children run around, ride vehicles and explore ways across the climbing equipment, developing their balance and strength effectively. They develop fine motor skills equally well as they are confident in using scissors safely to cut, and to stick and paste their collages.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children show good skills in modeling, painting and collage work. They learn to recognise their own and others’ names and the sounds they start with, and some have developed correct pencil control and use marks to ‘write’ what is happening beside their pictures. Children benefit from regular opportunities to work with a music specialist to develop their skills in music and movement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Early number skills are developed as children sing and act out counting rhymes. They recognise numbers and shapes, and are encouraged to use the correct mathematical language. At times, opportunities to further extend children’s number skills, particularly in calculation, are missed. There are not enough regular opportunities for them to develop their early numeracy skills in planned small-group activities. Although improving, progress for some children is slower in numeracy than in other key skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children who are at risk of not doing well, those who speak little or no English when they start and those who have particular learning and/or emotional needs are quickly identified and very effectively supported by all adults. Those new to learning English have plenty of opportunities for speaking and listening to make sure that they develop these skills well. Consequently, they make very good progress, especially in communication skills and in their personal, social and physical development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled children and those who have special educational needs in the specially resourced provision make good progress because they are included fully in activities and because other children respect differences. They show positive attitudes to learning and they learn very clear boundaries for behaviour, which at times requires focused and intense support from staff.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All parents who responded to the online questionnaire or spoke to inspectors said that their child is taught well. The inspectors found that the quality of teaching overall is good. There are examples of outstanding practice, particularly in the very caring way that all adults develop supportive relationships and manage behaviour.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff make sure that every child including those in the specially resourced provision, can take a full part in all of the activities on offer. A good balance between adult-led learning and activities chosen by the children themselves is sustained.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff know the children well and they use this good knowledge to make sure that there are exciting activities for all groups of children. Topics are planned using storybooks. These involve the children well, are developed according to the children’s interests and help them to learn new words, which effectively develops their speaking skills. For example, recent work using The Hungry Caterpillar has enabled children to learn about insects, life cycles and healthy eating.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children are taught to be independent; they wash their hands sensibly after using the painting equipment or before eating. They act responsibly by knowing to put their coats on by themselves when they go outside.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff make sure that children take full advantage of the well-maintained and safe outside learning environment. Even though it was cold during the inspection, adults encouraged children to explore the exciting areas set up, and this successfully extended their physical skills as they played with great enjoyment.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There are planned opportunities for children to work in small groups with an adult to promote particular aspects of language and social skills development. This ensures that children who are finding learning difficult are well supported. Children new to speaking English learn to take turns and to communicate through signing and singing sessions. All children have excellent support that meets their particular needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff regularly assess children’s progress, which is recorded in ‘learning journals’. This helps staff to think carefully about what to do next to support children’s learning. There are inconsistencies in the use of these records, however. Recording is not precise enough to ensure that children make more rapid progress. Parents do not have enough opportunities to share home activities through text and photos. Planning does not take sufficient account of comments in these home- school link books.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although the daily activities are discussed by the staff team at the end of the day, daily plans are not systematically revised to take account of what the children have learnt. In addition, some staff only consider the activities to be arranged for the next day and not the next steps that children need to take to move their learning on.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although children and their parents and carers are warmly welcomed into the nursery, there are not enough opportunities for them to stay and take part in their children’s learning in the activities that begin and end every session.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children behave exceptionally well and are keen to get on with exploring the interesting tasks and resources which are available each day. They develop the ability to concentrate for increasing periods of time. They work well in pairs, often discussing what they are doing and helping each other; for example, as seen during the inspection when they were making Hungry Caterpillar pictures. They learn to play very well together and to share resources when working in groups, such as building a home for the Gruffalo. They all recognise the signal for tidy-up time and remind each other of what needs to be done.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Good teamwork and high-quality relationships are developed with children and parents and this enables children to settle quickly and feel secure at nursery.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 There is a very good focus on personal, social and emotional development, and high expectations of behaviour by all staff. Adults support children to understand how to stay safe in a range of situations.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Adults manage behaviour exceptionally well. Children who have complex needs, including autistic spectrum conditions, are supported well. They are helped to communicate well to minimise situations that might cause disruptive behaviour. Staff encourage children to recognise, respect and celebrate one another’s differences and to develop a tolerance for children who have specific needs and require support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Parents agree that the school keeps their children safe. Robust policies and procedures for safeguarding and welfare underpin the day-to-day running of the nursery and are met to a high standard.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has a very clear view of how successful the school can be and she is fully supported by all staff and the governing body. Good clear plans are in place, which focus on the right priorities to make further improvements. Effective teamwork and ambition demonstrate that there is good capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents are appreciative of the welcome they are given each day. Frequent newsletters keep them informed about developments within the nursery. Although there is a strong partnership with parents and regular formal sessions to discuss their child’s progress, parents do not have enough opportunities to spend regular time in the nursery contributing to the ‘learning journeys’ with their child.

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The leadership and management are good

 The excellent knowledge of early childhood development and practice of the headteacher and deputy headteacher enables them to ensure that staff are supported effectively. Teaching is checked through lesson observations, and all staff benefit from regular training closely linked to the school’s priorities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes equality of opportunity well and this is reflected in the range of activities that children can enjoy. For example, children participate in a range of celebrations from different traditions. This helps them to develop an awareness of different faiths and cultures. They learn to understand how to cooperate together and respect each other. All of this contributes to the very good range of activities the children experience, which successfully promotes their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 In their response to the online questionnaire, parents overwhelmingly agreed that they would recommend the school to others.  The local authority provides light-touch support for this good nursery school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of how well the school is doing. They know what the school is good at, as well as how it can get better. Governors carry out checks informally in the classrooms and talk with staff regularly. They know the links between the quality of teaching and children’s progress and ensure that teachers’ pay is linked to their performance. Members of the governing body regularly review safeguarding policies. They check that children, staff and buildings are safe and secure, and that safeguarding arrangement meet all regulatory requirements. Governors effectively support all the developments within the children’s centre and ensure financial stability. Governors have a range of skills that help them to ask searching questions and support developments in the school. They undertake regular, appropriate training for their role and are keen to improve their effectiveness further.

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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 109421 Local authority Luton Inspection number 401055

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 96 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Rowley Headteacher Julia Miller Date of previous school inspection 16 November 2009 Telephone number 01582 413552 Fax number 01582 540428 Email address chapel.street.nursery.head@luton.gov.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

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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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