Eastwood Nursery School

Eastwood Nursery School 168 Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 4EU

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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.  Eastwood’s statement; ‘At the heart of the community with community at heart’ is true. Teamwork at all levels, high quality relationships, equality and inclusion are fundamental to the work of the nursery and underpin everything that it does.  Children make fantastic progress at the nursery. The majority arrive with skills significantly below that which would be expected, and by the time they leave, they are exceptionally well prepared for their next school. They can communicate particularly well.  Children with particular learning needs through disability, special educational needs or from families facing challenging circumstance make rapid and sustained progress, gaining confidence and are able to learn because of the well-structured programmes and staff who are very attuned to their needs.  Staff plan activities exceptionally well to ensure that children make the best possible

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress in their learning and development by constantly reviewing children’s interests and capabilities.  Children are so involved in play and interesting activities that their behaviour is excellent. They feel exceptionally safe and can handle large equipment independently and safely.  The leadership team working very closely with the governing body uses an exceptional range of very high quality systems to evaluate the work of the nursery. These are used extremely well to identify the next areas for further improvement and checking children’s progress with their learning.  Governors have highly developed skills from an excellent range of professions and use these superbly to support and challenge the nursery.  Leaders have identified that a system of coaching and mentoring will improve staff skills even further.  Parents speak very highly of the nursery saying that the staff are fantastic. They say that it has

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

helped them to understand how their children learn and also given them many opportunities to develop their own skills.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 12 sessions or part sessions of teaching and learning activities in the nursery and on a trip to ‘forest school’. These were taught by two teachers, six Early Years’ practitioners, speech and language, music and play therapists, and speech and language therapy assistants. A morning was spent in joint observations with the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, the Chair, vice Chair and three other representatives of the Governing Body, a staff governor and chair of parents’ group and a representative from the local authority. There were informal discussions with children and parents.  There were 11 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the inspector took account of a recent questionnaire for parents undertaken by the nursery.  The inspector looked at the nursery’s documents, including records of assessment and children’s

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Information about this inspection

progress, planning for improvement, monitoring of teaching and learning and records about attendance and safeguarding. Results from 13 staff questionnaires were analysed.

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Inspection team

Janet Dinsmore, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The nursery school is larger than most nurseries. It forms part of Eastwood Nursery School Centre for Children and Families. There is wrap-around care from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm, day care for 0–3 year olds and children’s centre services on the same site as well as off-site, all run by the governing body.  Nursery School sessions run from 9.15−11.45 am and 12.45−3.15 pm. Children start by attending for 15 hours each week, which includes one full day and parents can pay for additional time. Full-time places are available before children start school.  There are 10 places for children identified with social and communication difficulties and 10 for two year olds whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable.  The majority of children are from a very wide range of minority ethnic groups. There is a much higher than average proportion who are new to speaking English and a much higher than average proportion of children known to be eligible for free school meals. No children are

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Information about this school

currently in receipt of pupil premium, additional funding for those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school is part of a teaching centre, and will provide the Early Years component of initial teacher training courses.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop a system of coaching and mentoring so that the best practice in developing children’s creative thinking is consistent across the whole staff team.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The majority of children arrive at the nursery with skills that are below that which would be expected for their age. They make exceptional progress so that they leave with skills above that which would be expected. This rapid and sustained progress is particularly evident in their communication skills and their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs also make rapid and sustained progress and there are individual examples of amazing progress for those with social and communication difficulties, particularly in children’s ability to begin to work alongside others and to respond well through understanding of symbols and the structure and routines of the nursery.  Children who are new to speaking English make exceptional progress whatever their ethnic backgrounds, quickly learning vocabulary through songs, constant conversations with adults and

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

children and becoming confident and independent.  Children learn to communicate extremely well. Adults and children use excellent vocabulary, for example, in explaining the metamorphosis in the lifecycle of a butterfly as the children eagerly record their observations of the pupae and chrysalis. Children can also explain the difference between two- and three-dimensional shapes, exploring the changes with clay and balloons.  Children have excellent opportunities to demonstrate their creative, imaginative and physical skills in the mud kitchen and ‘forest school’ activities. They independently collect the water and carry it to where they need it. They choose and use an excellent range of resources demonstrating good vocabulary and colour knowledge when describing things they have found.  Children use writing materials all the time in the nursery to record their experiences of, for example, their family, journey to nursery or a visit to their new school. They begin to write

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

letters and words, for example, when recording a recipe or describing a character from a story.  Children use cameras frequently and the pictures they take are very well used for them to describe where they live, what they have been doing and recording and capturing their thoughts. The high quality pictures have been recognised both locally and nationally.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff teams in each classroom work very well together to review the learning each day and plan activities for the following day that will continue to promote children’s learning and development exceptionally well. The key person system is used very effectively to gather as groups twice during the day, checking children’s progress and reviewing their learning regularly.  An exceptionally wide range of activities are always provided for all children including music and movement. Speech, play, music and movement therapies are very well integrated into day-to- day activities with individual children or small groups. Professional, well-trained experts provide well-planned and targeted support that meets children’s needs particularly in developing communication and checking children’s progress.  Activities and equipment put out for each session are carefully chosen to stimulate and follow children’s interests. For example, children had developed a track with blocks escaping from

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

imaginary crocodiles which developed into map making and recording with chalk drawings the following day. Conversations and good questioning enable children to explain what they are learning and for adults to check and promote this continually.  Staff are extremely knowledgeable about children’s early development, particularly for those who have social and communication needs, so they adapt situations quickly, preventing anxiety because they know the children exceptionally well. This accurate observation contributes very effectively to planning the next small steps of learning that makes sure rapid progress is maintained and contributes very strongly to the overall assessment of children’s learning needs.  Outdoor learning including ‘forest school’ activities, playing with soil, water and other natural materials are integral to the planned activities. These provide excellent opportunities to check

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

children’s learning in different circumstances and extend children’s knowledge of the world and community around them. Children also visit other places, for example working with older people on a photography project.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children really enjoy coming to the nursery and demonstrate this by their full involvement in all the activities; as a consequence there is no bullying because children play together so well. If there is any minor falling out staff deal with it very well and provide excellent role models for working well together.  Children feel exceptionally safe and know how to use equipment safely, for example moving large construction blocks around, drying their feet and carrying water. They know how to stay safe in the sun by wearing hats and explaining why they have sun cream on their arms. They explain all the important rules at ‘forest school’, holding hands on the walk and keeping adults in sight at all times.  Children play exceptionally well together, for example discussing which number bus routes they travel on with their parents. They invite others to join imaginative games in the mud kitchen or develop role play with pictures of spiders they have drawn. They also experience many of the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

different cultures they come from, as parents share these with the children, bringing a rich variety.  Children with social and communication difficulties make excellent progress in acquiring behaviours that help them to learn and communicate. Excellently structured sensory programmes and music therapy enable them to express themselves.  Leaders have identified a few children who are not attending regularly and are working very well with their families so reinforcing the importance of regular attendance as children move on to school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The leadership team and the governing body demonstrate ambition and drive to make sure that the nursery continues to improve. This is particularly well focused on what young children can achieve and on building a strong sense of community in all aspects of the work of the centre.  Leaders are at the forefront of excellent practice and further research through the excellent links with the neighbouring university. The outstanding practice is shared continually through national partnerships, the recent Early Years Teaching Centre project and locally as a teaching school. The local authority provides light touch support for this outstanding nursery and highly values its contribution in providing training for private and voluntary settings.  There is an excellent relationship with parents. Family workers and key people work extremely well with them to make sure that their children achieve so well and the whole family thrives,

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The leadership and management are outstanding

especially those who are facing challenging circumstances. Excellent safeguarding practices, attending to every detail, underpin all that the nursery does and staff work extremely well with a wide range of other agencies including health and social care to ensure children are protected and the whole family cared for.  Staff are very well trained and continually developing their own skills and qualifications. Leaders and managers ensure this results in continually improving practice in the nursery through excellent appraisal and performance management systems. Staff identify how well senior leaders have supported their professional development.  The day care and children’s centre services are an integral part of the Eastwood Centre and the underpinning aims of equal opportunities, freedom from discrimination and inclusion are evident in the practical application of these policies on a day-to-day basis.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 There are many opportunities for parents to be involved in activities at the nursery. They are always welcome and participate in ‘forest school’ as well as family learning activities on a regular basis. They say how brilliant the nursery is and how well their children are doing. They highly value the relationship they have with their child’s key person.  Parents of disabled children and those with special educational needs say how well they have been guided by staff as well as their children, who are making great strides in confidence. Children have an excellent understanding of many of the cultures represented in the nursery through parents’ involvement, experiencing different foods and parents explaining their cultural traditions.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very experienced and use a wealth of professional knowledge from higher education and finance extremely well. They visit the nursery frequently and know exactly how well it is doing. They analyse data and use the results to ask challenging questions and to very effectively manage the performance of the headteacher. They maintain an excellent balance of challenge and support, working very effectively with the senior leadership team, ensuring that staff performance is well managed and salaries and responsibilities match. They are well trained and know exactly how the nursery compares with others nationally. They know that all groups of children, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, those whose circumstances make them more vulnerable, disabled children and those with special educational needs, do exceptionally well at this nursery.

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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 100991 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 400446

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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 Community Age range of pupils 2−5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 83 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Professor Adam Ockelford Headteacher Liz Rook Date of previous school inspection 21−22 January 2010 Telephone number 020 8876 3976 Fax number 020 8876 3976 Email address admin@eastwood.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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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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