Scartho Nursery School

Scartho Nursery School Pinfold Lane, Scartho, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN33 2EW

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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

This is an outstanding school.  Children achieve exceptionally well. Their progress is equally outstanding in every area of their learning.  The excellent progress children make in listening, understanding what is said to them, and speaking, helps to explain why they are such successful learners.  Teaching is first-rate. The adults in school work closely together to provide exactly the right conditions to enable each child to take the next steps in learning.  When children are playing, adults judge precisely when to step in, for example, to ask questions that encourage children to think hard.  Adults also allow plenty of time for children to learn and play independently. Highly stimulating activities and equipment inspire children to use their imagination and make discoveries for themselves.  Children behave remarkably well. No matter how busy they are, they can always find time to help someone else. They are patient and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

fair in their dealings with other children because staff always teach them to be very well-mannered and highly considerate.  Children’s happy faces, their eagerness to get involved in activities, and the sensible way in which they ask for help when they need it, all show how very safe they feel in school.  Outstanding leadership, management and governance have enabled the school to maintain the highest quality teaching and achievement. More than this, the school has in many ways improved since the previous inspection. For example, children now make even better progress in reading and writing.  The headteacher, staff and governing body are all determined to provide the best possible start to each child’s education. They know exactly what steps to take to keep the school moving forward.  Parents recently asked for more opportunities to get involved in school life and to find out how they can help their children to learn when

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

at home. The school has made a start, for example, with ‘stay and play’ sessions, but is keen to offer more.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited 10 lessons. One of these was observed jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with groups of staff and governors and with a representative of the local authority.  The views of 22 parents were received through the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). The inspector spoke with several parents as they brought or collected their children. The outcomes of the school’s own recent surveys of parents’ views were also examined.  The inspector looked at a range of documents including information about children’s progress and the records of achievement of 12 children.

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Inspection team

Rosemary Eaton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is of a typical size for a nursery school.  No children are currently supported through early years action. A very small minority are supported at early years action plus.  A few children are known to be eligible for free school meals. Children of nursery age are not eligible for the pupil premium. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after.)  Children are entitled to attend six sessions each week which are arranged flexibly to suit parents. Some parents pay for additional sessions. The school offers before- and after-school care.  The headteacher has joined the school since the previous inspection. Staffing consists of a teacher and a number of early years practitioners.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide even more opportunities for parents to be involved in school life and find out ways to help their children learn when they are at home by: - issuing more frequent invitations for parents to stay at school and join in activities with their children - arranging workshops so parents can learn more about the school’s approaches to teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 When children start school, their skills vary but are often below those expected for their age. They make outstanding and sustained progress in all areas of learning. As a result most children leave the school with skills that go beyond the levels typically expected at the start of the Reception Year. In every way, they are prepared exceptionally well for the next stage in their education.  From their individual starting points, all groups of children achieve extremely well. This is because the school gives all children equally successful opportunities to learn rapidly and benefit from the activities on offer.  Children known to be eligible for free school meals achieve as outstandingly well as other children. This is because staff make excellent use of all the information they collect about each child’s circumstances and stage of development so any gaps in learning and experiences are closed very quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Disabled children and those with special educational needs make outstanding progress. The school makes sure that these children each get the exact support they need, calling on a wide range of specialist services for advice and practical help.  Children very quickly develop their speaking and listening skills and reach impressive levels. This has a huge impact on their learning because they understand adults’ explanations and instructions, explain their own ideas clearly, and take part in animated discussions with other children.  Children develop and use a wide vocabulary. ‘We’ve abandoned ship!’ was the cry from one corner of the classroom. Adults are excellent examples to children and teach them to enjoy the richness of language. ‘I think we need to negotiate’, said an adult as two tricycles met on the narrow track outdoors.  The rate of children’s progress in reading and writing has accelerated still further because

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

literacy has been a school priority for the last couple of years. For example, staff had more training in teaching reading and spelling using the sounds made by letters (phonics). As a result the more-able children confidently read words such as ‘fish’ and ‘frog’ and spell simple words correctly. All children enjoy looking at books and handle them carefully. They recommend particular books to others and explain why they think a certain child will like a book.  Children count accurately and learn the names and properties of shapes such as cylinders and cuboids. Some use mathematical language and ideas as they play, for example, ‘The ship’s sinking because of the weight of the treasure!’  Children take full advantage of the high priority staff give to their physical development. They use varied tools and equipment safely and with control, for example, as they construct vehicles from kits or recycled materials. They balance and move their bodies with confidence and

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

pleasure, climbing and sliding, running and dancing.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Adults now record more-detailed information about what children have learned than they did at the time of the previous inspection. They use this knowledge exceptionally well to plan and adapt activities that enable children to take the next, highly successful, step in learning and to sustain the rapid progress they make. For example, when children are playing, adults may invite individuals to, ‘come and do a special job’. This might be to give a child extra practise in mastering a tricky skill or to push their learning forward faster because they are ready for a new challenge.  The staff are all specialists in teaching young children and are up-to-date with current national guidance about what, and how, children are expected to learn. They ensure that much of the time is available for children to learn through play but intersperse this with high-quality sessions during which adults teach skills such as phonics or lead discussions.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff choose materials and equipment that thoroughly interest children, encourage them to get involved and sustain their concentration.  When children are playing, adults seize all opportunities to extend their learning, for example, in literacy and mathematics. They judge exactly when to step in and ask a question or demonstrate a new skill. Seeing that a child was interested in the hopscotch markings, an adult explained the game, showed the child how to hop, and questioned her about the order of the numbers.  Adults’ use of questions to extend children’s thinking and communication skills is exceptionally good. In the sand tray, there were pebbles with faces drawn on. Not content when one child correctly said that the face was happy, the adult asked, ‘Why is she happy?’ After some thought, the child answered, ‘Because her mummy is very proud of her.’  Staff expect children to do as much for themselves as possible. For instance, staff encourage

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

children to collect cards to indicate their choice of activity and then get cracking. When they finish, they are required to leave the equipment ready for the next children. If they forget, staff gently remind them and explain why it is necessary to think about others and so very successfully promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  All the adults set excellent examples to children by the way they speak, their attention to detail and their caring attitudes to others, all of which are of the highest quality.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children listen very carefully to instructions and do as they are asked. This means that little time is wasted, for example, when children are taking turns to play a game. They watch with great interest when others are having their go, often applauding spontaneously when someone has done well or tried hard.  Behaviour is just as impressive when children are playing. They have an excellent sense of fairness and share equipment gladly, always happy for others to join in their activity.  Although they try their best to sort out their own problems, children are very confident to ask for help when they need it. Staff often ask another child to help, for example, when a boy or girl has difficulty logging on to the computer. The children are patient and pleased to help, giving advice such as, ‘The more you practise the better you get.’  Staff encourage children to take on responsibilities such as counting how many children are in

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

their group, making sure there is enough fruit for all, and handing round the snack.  Children’s excellent manners mean, for example, that lunch is a delightful social occasion.  Children show very clearly that they feel entirely safe in school and parents and staff express no concerns about safety. Adults draw children’s attention to safety routines such as checks to make sure gates are locked before anyone goes out to play. Children know that staff do this, ‘so we can keep safe’.  The school very successfully teaches children different ways to keep themselves safe. For example, they know how to behave when walking to the nearby community garden and that they should not speak to strangers.  There is nothing to suggest that there is any bullying behaviour. On the contrary, children are taught to be kind to others and they are welcoming and considerate when younger ones visit in preparation for joining the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 All staff and the governing body share the headteacher’s determination to provide as well as possible for every child. They all aim for the highest standards in every aspect of the school. All those involved in the school operate as a close-knit team whose purpose is to get the best out of each of the children.  The headteacher’s expertise has ensured that the many outstanding features identified during the school’s previous inspection have been strengthened even further. She has sharpened the systems used to check on how well the school is performing. As a result, it became clear that progress in reading and writing was rather slower than in other areas of learning and these became priorities for improvement.  The detailed plans to move the school forward are based on an accurate view of strengths and where there is room for improvement. They have led, for example, to children making even faster progress in reading and writing.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The teacher and other senior members of staff have become more involved in judging the quality of teaching. They have more opportunities than before to learn from each other and from visits to other settings. This has helped ensure that teaching remains first-rate.  In response to parents’ recent requests, the school has made a start in providing opportunities for them to find out more about the school and their children’s learning. For example, parents have twice been invited to ‘stay and play’ with their children. The school intends to offer more of these popular events and to organise workshops to guide parents further in helping their children develop skills such as reading.  The curriculum provides a wealth of exciting opportunities for learning. The outside area is used extensively and has recently been refurbished. Children love the new stage and sing, play instruments and dance with great enjoyment and creativity.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Safeguarding meets current government requirements. Careful steps are taken to minimise any potential risks to children’s safety.  The school is ‘more than happy’ with the support provided by the local authority. Now that the headteacher is established, the degree of support has diminished but the school is still entitled to ask for advice and practical assistance.  The governance of the school: - The previous inspection required governors to become better informed about the school’s work and have more impact on its development. They have risen very successfully to this challenge. Training has enabled governors to gain an accurate view of the school’s performance because they are able to interpret information about children’s achievement. This has made them confident to ask questions, for example, about how the more-able children are being stretched. Governors are well aware of how performance management works in the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school, the quality of teaching and how the headteacher makes sure that high standards of teaching and excellent outcomes for children are maintained.

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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 117700 Local authority North East Lincolnshire Inspection number 401684

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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 91 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Fran Fisher Headteacher Liz Jeffrey Date of previous school inspection 4 November 2009 Telephone number 01472 872129 Fax number 01472 872129 Email address office@snschool.co.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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