Balham Nursery School

Balham Nursery and Children’s Centre 72 Endlesham Road, London, SW12 8JL

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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.  Through exceptional leadership, the Nursery and Children’s Centre have successfully maintained and built on the strengths identified in the last inspection.  Children make outstanding progress, and attainment by the end of Nursery is securely above that expected.  Children make rapid gains in communication and language because of the emphasis placed on speaking and listening.  They apply their number skills very well to solve practical problems.  In physical development, children make outstanding gains in balancing, coordination and travel.  Chidren gain an exceptional understanding of the world around them.  Art and role play contribute very well to children’s creativity and expression.  Teaching is creative, inspirational and promotes high-quality learning for children.  Teachers and staff expect the best of the children. Children are eager to learn.  Challenging and interesting learning activities

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

are set at the right level for children’s different needs.  Children thrive in an extremely positive and safe learning environment.  Strong relationships are established, and children are cooperative, considerate and respectful.  Children’s behaviour enhances their learning and is mostly exemplary.  An established and experienced headteacher provides strong leadership and educational direction. Other key leaders are very effective.  The headteacher and staff are firmly focused on providing high-quality teaching and exciting learning experiences.  Teamwork is strong and all staff show determination in doing the very best for the children and their families.  With outstanding leadership and strong teamwork, there is an outstanding capacity for further development.  The Children’s Centre provides a range of quality services to support parents.  Governance, the local authority and an external adviser make a valuable contribution

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

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 headteacher.  He held discussions with the headteacher, staff, parents and carers, a representative from the local authority, an external adviser and members of the governing body.  The inspector took account of the 14 responses to the online survey (Parent View) and the school’s own survey.  Responses to an inspection questionnaire from 19 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

 Balham is a maintained nursery school with a Children’s Centre providing extended services for families. There is also provision for two-year-old children.  The Children’s Centre provides a range of classes for adults, including parent and baby sessions, baby massage, health care and positive parenting.  All provision and services are managed by the governing body.  Just over a third of the children are White British. The other children are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.  Thirteen different languages are currently spoken in the school, including English, Italian, Polish, Arabic and Urdu.  About a third of the children speak English as an additional language and a small number are at an early stage of English acquisition.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus

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Information about this school

or a statement of special educational needs is well above average.  A small proportion of children are known to be eligible for free school meals.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen some elements of teaching by making sure that:  all questioning matches the high-quality practice in the Nursery and extends children’s thinking.  opportunities are not missed for staff to further extend children’s learning through suitable intervention and support.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children enter the school with a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills but overall, most year groups enter with attainment expected for their age.  The two-year-olds get off to a very good start and integrate well with the older children.  High-quality teaching and an exciting range of learning activities contribute to children’s rapid progress in all areas of learning. By the end of the Nursery, children’s attainment is securely above that expected for their age.  All groups of children make exceptional progress. Disabled children and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress because of the well-planned support they receive.  The learning of the most-able children is successfully extended through more demanding activities and tasks. They rise to the challenges set.  Children’s communication and language skills develop extremely well because of the strong

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

emphasis that adults place on these areas. For example, children made exceptional progress in ‘acting out’ Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Adults created a really good setting with furniture, props and utensils. The children chose the characters they wanted to be, dressed up in appropriate costumes and practised their speaking parts. They used animation and expression to great effect.  Those 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.  Children thoroughly enjoy the wide range of attractive books available. They are attentive and enthusiastic at story time and show a very clear understanding of characters and the events in the stories.  Children make very good progress in mark-making and early writing skills because they are provided with plenty of opportunities to practise using different writing implements. The most

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

able write imaginative stories about animals in spring.  In mathematics, children use a range of learning resources to develop counting skills and to solve problems. More-able children work with large numbers and identify numbers which are more or less than a given number.  Children make exceptional progress in physical development as they practise balancing, climbing and different forms of travel. One small group developed their throwing skills well, as they threw objects into a box from a set distance with increasing accuracy. With help, they recorded their results.  In their understanding of the world, children make outstanding progress. For example, after viewing some interesting photographs of castles, children were inspired to design their own, using wooden blocks. They worked well in creating a secure structure.  Children make outstanding progress in creative development and expressive arts. In a

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

successful painting activity in the garden, children explored mixing paints to create a deep pink, the same colour as the blossom on the ornamental cherry tree.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 High-quality teaching is a key factor contributing to children’s exceptional progress. Teaching is enthusiastic, imaginative and inspirational. Parents and carers reported to the inspector, ‘Teaching is brilliant.’  All adults create a very positive climate for learning and promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. As a result, children grow in confidence, are enthusiastic learners and relate extremely well to others.  Adults expect the children to do their best, participate and ‘have a go’. The children respond to these high expectations with determination and enthusiasm.  Adults possess a secure understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and how children of this age learn. They use this expertise well in planning learning activities.  Excellent use is made of the well-organised indoor and outdoor accommodation. Outdoor

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

learning activities in the attractive garden setting are particularly interesting.  Teachers use the information about children’s attainment to plan lessons and children’s learning. The stimulating activities inside and outside the classroom are demanding and set at the right level for children’s different abilities. These engage the children’s interest and they make rapid gains in acquiring new knowledge, deepening their understanding and developing skills.  The teaching of essential skills is effective. Adults are good role models for reading, and successfully promote children’s knowledge and understanding of letters and the sounds they make. Adults use practical learning resources well to promote children’s knowledge and skills in mathematics.  There are good opportunities provided to promote children’s speaking skills. Adults use questioning and prompting to promote children’s talk and for them to express their ideas.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

Most of the questioning is of a high calibre and has a positive impact on children’s learning. At times, the questioning falls below this high standard and is less successful in engaging children and in drawing out their thoughts and ideas.  Overall, there is an effective blend of adult-led activities and those chosen by the children. Children have many opportunities to explore, be imaginative and learn independently. In the main, adults are skilled at knowing when to allow children to learn on their own and when to intervene and provide guidance and support. Just occasionally, opportunities are missed to intervene and provide suitable guidance to move children’s learning on.  Children are strongly encouraged to talk about their learning and have a say in the activities they choose. Each child has a memory book, a clear record of their learning with photos and samples of work. Adults include careful notes of children’s thoughts and views.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The parents and carers who completed the online survey and those that spoke to the inspector were unanimously very positive about children’s behaviour and safety. Furthermore, they strongly agreed that their children were happy at school and well looked after.  Children make outstanding progress in their personal, social and emotional development. This is because of the school’s extremely positive and welcoming atmosphere and the high- quality relationships which adults establish with children.  Children grow in confidence, are eager to try new things and to participate in the range of indoor and outdoor learning adventures.  They learn and play together extremely well. Children take turns with others and consider others’ ideas and suggestions. They form very positive relationships with adults and their peers.  Behaviour is mostly outstanding and this contributes well to children’s high-quality learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

The very few children with behaviour issues are skilfully managed and supported by adults.  The school’s clear records of incidents indicate that behaviour and safety are typically outstanding over time.  Children are extremely keen to come to school because it is such a stimulating place to learn. The vast majority of parents and carers ensure that their children attend regularly and arrive on time.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The Nursery and Children’s Centre continue to be extremely well led and managed, and this results in high-quality teaching, exceptional care and outstanding outcomes for children.  The established and experienced headteacher provides strong leadership and educational direction. The school aims to, and succeeds in being, a centre of excellence in early childhood education. All policies and actions are driven by the interests of the child. All staff and governors share these key principles and values.  The headteacher, deputy headteacher and family service manager and staff all work extremely well together. Teamwork is strong and all staff show determination in doing the very best for children and their families.  Through clear analysis and checking, leaders, staff and governors have a clear overview of the school’s performance. Successful action is taken to make any necessary improvements.  Considerable emphasis is placed on providing high-quality teaching and exciting learning

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The leadership and management are outstanding

activities. There are very good procedures for assessing the performance of staff. Training and development are well linked to the school’s improvement priorities. A number of staff have, or are, pursuing higher degrees in Early Years education.  The local authority provides good support and has clear knowledge of the school. Effective use is also made of an external adviser. Both the local authority and external adviser make a valuable contribution to the school’s continuous drive for improvement.  Children from a range backgrounds and cultures learn and develop in an extremely harmonious community. All children, regardless of ability, background, needs or race are highly valued as a unique individual. There is no place for discrimination of any form at Balham and all children have access to the activities offered.  The school has been particularly successful in engaging with and supporting its parents and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

carers. They are extremely satisfied with the care and education provided for their children. They are especially pleased with the leadership and management of the organisation, children’s sense of enjoyment, safety and the information provided. Their many comments included: ‘Fabulous nursery’, ‘Children thrive here’ and ‘Staff really care for the children’.  The Children’s Centre and Nursery work closely with other agencies in order to provide children and families with the guidance and support they need. Some parents and carers remarked how well the school had helped them through difficulties.

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The governance of the school:

 Governance is highly effective. Members of the governing body bring a broad range of expertise and skills to benefit the school. They are extremely supportive and some have remained on the governing body long after their children have left the Nursery. Governors have a clear knowledge and understanding of the school’s performance and the community it serves. They receive detailed reports from the headteacher, local authority and an external adviser, so have an accurate view of teaching, learning and how well the school is doing. Governors are up to date with recent requirements for staff performance and development. They attend relevant training to further increase 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 100990 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 400445 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 2–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jonathan Davies-Jones Headteacher Helen McAuley Date of previous school inspection 25–26 May 2010 Telephone number 020 8673 4055 Fax number 020 8675 3627

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Email address

admin@balham-nursery.wandsworth.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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