Grandpont Nursery School

Grandpont Nursery and Children’s Centre 48 Whitehouse Road, Oxford, OX1 4QH

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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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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The Nursery and supporting services have successfully maintained and built on the strengths identified in the last inspection.  All groups of children in the Nursery and the Children’s Centre make outstanding progress.  Children make rapid gains in communication and language.  They apply their number skills very well to solve practical problems.  Chidren gain an exceptional knowledge and understanding of the world around them.  Art, music and role play contribute well to children’s creative development.  By the end of their time at Nursery, children’s attainment is securely above that expected.  Teaching is creative, inspirational and promotes powerful learning for children.  Teachers and staff expect the best of the children and the children respond accordingly.  The challenging and interesting learning activities provided are set at the right level for children’s needs.  Children are enthusiastic, highly motivated

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and make outstanding gains in their learning.  Adults create an extremely positive climate and environment for children to learn in.  Strong relationships are established and children are considerate and respectful to others.  Children’s behaviour enhances their learning and is mostly exemplary.  The Nursery and supporting services have been extremely well led and managed over time.  The headteacher and staff are firmly focused on providing high quality teaching and exciting learning experiences.  Teamwork among the staff is strong and all show a passion for doing the very best for the children and their families.  There is a strong capacity for further development.  The Family Centre provides a range of quality services to support parents.  Governors make a valuable contribution to the school’s success.  Highly productive partnerships have been established with parents and other agencies.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in 16 sessions, including some joint observations with the senior staff.  He held discussions with the headteacher, staff, parents, grandparents, a representative from the local authority and members of the governing body.  The inspector took account of the 23 responses to the online survey (Parent View) and correspondence from parents.  Responses to an inspection questionnaire from 11 staff were analysed.  The inspector examined school policies, information about children’s attainment and progress, teachers’ plans, children’s work and the school’s planning for improvement.

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Inspection team

Derek Watts, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Grandpont is a maintained nursery school with extended services including day care for children from one- to five-years-old in the Mulberry Room. There is also breakfast and after- school care for children up to the age of seven.  The Family Centre and Services provide a range of classes for adults including English language lessons, health care, sessions for young mothers and parenting for fathers.  All provision and services are managed by the governing body.  Just under half of the children are White British. The other children are from a wide range of other ethnic backgrounds with Any Other White and Indian backgrounds being the next largest groups.  About a third of the children speak English as an additional language and a small number are at an early stage of English acquisition.  Over a dozen languages are spoken in the school.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs supported

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Information about this school

through school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is above average.  A small proportion of children are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The headteacher took up the post in January 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the school’s system for assessing and checking the attainment and progress of different groups as set out in school’s improvement planning.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children enter the school with a broad range of skills but overall most year groups enter with attainment expected for their age.  Outstanding teaching and an exciting range of learning activities contribute to children’s rapid progress in all areas of learning. Attainment of children by the end of the Nursery is securely above that expected for their age.  All groups of children make exceptional progress. The most able are successfully extended through demanding and exciting activities.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress because of the well-planned and specific support they receive.  Children’s communication and language skills develop extremely well because of the emphasis that staff place on these areas. Skilful questioning and the good modelling of speech promote these areas very well. Many children are articulate and confident speakers.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children at an early stage of learning English receive effective support and their progress is carefully checked. Most make rapid gains in acquiring and using English.  Reading has a high profile in the school. Children thoroughly enjoy the wide range of attractive books displayed. Parents contribute well to children’s reading. A number are very happy to read stories in the reading area at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions.  Children make very good progress in mark making and early writing skills. They gain in confidence by using a range of writing implements.  In physical development, children make very good progress as they practise balancing, climbing and travel. Their coordination and manipulative skills improve through handling a range of different materials and tools.  In their understanding of the world, children make outstanding progress. For example, they were fascinated by the frogspawn in the classroom. With the help of books and skilful

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

teaching they acquired a detailed understanding of the life cycle of a frog.  Other children identified different birds in the woodland area using charts. A child astutely remarked, ‘I know it’s a blackbird, it is black and has a yellow beak.’ Through practical investigation and gardening, children acquired knowledge about different seeds and what is needed for them to grow. More able children explained clearly how their cress seeds had germinated.  Children successfully develop creativity through art, music and role play. They experiment with paints, explore percussion instruments and create attractive collages of natural materials such as bark, leaves, twigs and moss.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching continues to be excellent at Grandpont and is a key feature to its success. It is creative, enthusiastic and inspirational. Teaching promotes high quality learning for all groups of children.  Staff create a very positive climate for learning and foster children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. Relationships are strong and children learn and play very well together.  Adults expect the children to do their best and ‘have a go’. The children respond to these high expectations with enthusiasm and determination.  Teachers plan exciting and stimulating learning activities. Adults show a secure understanding of how children of this age learn.  The stimulating activities inside and outside the classroom are challenging and set at the right level for children’s different abilities. Children are fully engaged and make rapid gains in acquiring new knowledge, deepening their understanding and developing skills.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The teaching of essential skills, such as letters and the sounds they make and numeracy skills, are very effective. For example, in a successful mathematics session, the teacher used a range of colourful good quality learning resources to promote learning. Children correctly identified colours and numbers as they rolled different di. They accurately counted coloured model fruit and solved addition problems. Children acquired and used vocabulary such as the most, the least, and zero = none well. The teacher’s skilful questioning moved the children’s thinking on and they made rapid gains in their learning.  There is a highly effective blend of adult-led activities and those chosen by the children. Children have many opportunities to explore, be imaginative and learn independently. Adults are particularly skilled at knowing when to allow children to learn on their own and when to intervene and provide guidance and support.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Excellent use is made of the school’s well-designed indoor and outdoor accommodation. The woodland area and outdoor apparatus are all used to great effect.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children make exceptional progress in their personal and social development. This is because of the school’s extremely positive atmosphere, clear expectations and the high quality relationships that staff establish with children and their families.  First class induction arrangements, including home visits, help the children to settle quickly.  Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the school and are excited by the range of activities provided. They are eager and keen to learn and participate.  The children feel safe and extremely well looked after by caring and dedicated staff. Parents who completed the online questionnaire ‘Parent View’ and those who spoke to the inspector were particularly pleased with the children’s safely and how well the children are looked after. No concerns were expressed about behaviour.  Children share, take turns and show consideration and respect for others.  Lunchtime in the Nursery is a real social occasion. With encouragement and support from

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

staff children acquire good table manners. They show courtesy and consideration as their meals are served. They engage in conversation about their learning, family and friends.  Breakfast and tea in the Mulberry Room are equally well organised and effective in developing children’s personal and social skills.  Children’s outstanding behaviour contributes well to their rapid learning. Staff manage the children very well and any occasional inappropriate behaviour is skilfully and swiftly dealt with.  Children thoroughly enjoy coming to school because it is such an exciting place to learn. The vast majority of parents ensure that children attend regularly and arrive on time.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The Nursery and other services have been extremely well led and managed since the last inspection.  The new headteacher brings enthusiasm and considerable experience to the school. Parents report that the changeover to the new leadership has been a smooth one.  The leaders of Family Services, Day Care and teaching all work extremely well together. All are focused on providing high quality education, care and support for children and their families.  Teamwork among the staff is strong. High expectations, supporting colleagues and doing the very best for all children are part of the organisation’s professional culture. A parent commented, ‘The staff are so approachable and dedicated.’  The school has a clear overview of its performance and takes effective action to bring about improvements. Teachers use assessments well to plan their teaching. The school is currently implementing a new system in order to check the performance of different groups more

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The leadership and management are outstanding

efficiently. Further improving the assessment system is a key priority in the school’s improvement planning.  Leaders place considerable emphasis on providing high quality teaching and exciting learning activities. The school’s appraisal system for assessing the performance of staff, coaching and training all contribute to the high quality teaching.  Grandpont over the years has required minimum support from the local authority because of its outstanding performance. The school is working in partnership with the local authority and other settings to help ensure that the best Early Years practice is successfully shared.  Children from different backgrounds and cultures learn and develop in an extremely positive and harmonious community. All children, regardless of ability and needs, are highly valued and all have full access to the range of exciting activities on offer. Discrimination of any sort

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The leadership and management are outstanding

is not tolerated.  The school has been particularly successful in engaging with its parents. Parents are rightly delighted with the care and education provided for their children. They are particularly pleased with the quality of teaching and the progress their children make. Their many comments included: ‘Learning is so exciting here’, ‘A brilliant place’, ‘My children have blossomed’ and ‘Fantastic Nursery, I can’t fault it’. A very happy grandparent remarked, ‘The children learn, the parents learn, the grandparents learn’.  The Family Centre and Services work closely with other agencies and provide a range of quality courses and sessions mainly to help parents support their children’s learning and development. The organisation has been particularly successful in engaging fathers in children’s learning.

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The governance of the school:

 Governance is outstanding. Members of the governing body are enthusiastic and very supportive. They have a clear knowledge and understanding of the school’s performance and the community it serves. Governors have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and learning in the Nursery and the quality of the other services provided. Governors are up to date with recent requirements for the appraisal of staff performance. They attend relevant training to further enhance their effectiveness. Governors ensure that all safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 122969 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 402121 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 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 83 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nick Graham Headteacher Anna Gillespie Date of previous school inspection 24–25 March 2010 Telephone number 01865 242900 Fax number 01865 254878

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Email address

office.1010@grandpont-nurs.oxon.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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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

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