Ronald Openshaw Nursery School

Ronald Openshaw Nursery School Henniker Road, Stratford, London, E15 1JP

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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.  This is a positive, inclusive, supportive place of learning for children, staff and parents.  Parents are very appreciative of all that the Nursery does for them and their children. They particularly like the friendliness and commitment of the staff and say that the Nursery is ‘like a family to us’.  All groups of children achieve well because teaching is good, activities and the environment are interesting and engaging, and relationships are warm and supportive.  Two-year-olds are looked after well. Staff are well trained and meet their physical, developmental and emotional needs well.  Children who receive specialist provision make good progress because staff are well trained, experienced and have high aspirations for them all.  Teaching is effective because staff know children well and prepare a wide range of interesting activities inside and outside.  Children behave extremely well and are very

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

safe. They have very positive attitudes to learning and their engagement in activities is extremely high.  Leaders use their good knowledge of the school to drive improvement in most areas, including teaching and achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Governors require improvement. They do not know the areas for development, including teaching and the impact of attendance on achievement, well enough to support and challenge leaders effectively.  Issues of low attendance have not been monitored fully. Patterns or trends have not been fully identified or addressed.  Teaching is not outstanding because leaders have not completed their revised policy on this and staff occasionally miss some opportunities to move learning on. 0ctober 2013 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 12 lessons taught by all three of the school’s teachers and nine teaching assistants. Nine of these observations were joint visits with senior staff.  Discussions were held with children, four governors, a representative from the local authority, senior and middle managers and staff, as well as with parents and carers.  There were too few responses to the online Parent View questionnaire for a report to be available. The inspector received the views of parents and carers through 45 responses to a school survey and informal discussions.  The inspector received the views of staff through 23 responses to the inspection questionnaire and discussions, as well as views of children through both informal and pre-arranged discussions.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s data on childrens’ current progress, the school’s development plan, planning and

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Information about this inspection

monitoring documents, documents relating to safeguarding, and records relating to behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Jo Curd, Lead inspector Additional Inspector 0ctober 2013 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 Ronald Openshaw Nursery is smaller than many other nursery schools.  The school is situated in a densely populated area of East London.  The school runs sessions between 8.45am and 3.15pm. It no longer offers extended childcare provision.  The school now takes two-year-olds who receive the nursery education grant.  The school has specialist provision for up to four nursery-aged children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. In accordance with local authority practice, none of the children have statements. These children are fully integrated into nursery sessions but have additional input, resources and support as required.  The proportion of children supported at the level of early school action plus is above that typical at this stage.  The proportion of disabled children and those with special educational needs supported at early action is high.  A high proportion of children are from a very diverse range of minority ethnic backgrounds.

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Information about this school

 A high proportion of children have English as an additional language. Thirty different languages are spoken by different children. About a quarter are at early levels of learning English.  The headteacher and assistant headteacher are new to these roles since the previous inspection. The current headteacher has worked at the school for 13 years.  As this is a nursery school none of the children are eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding for some groups of older pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding by: - completing the school’s revised policy for teaching - using this to make sure that all staff attend to the fine details of teaching and take every opportunity to promote learning further.  Improve attendance by frequently and carefully monitoring which individuals and groups have high rates of absence, as well as identifying and addressing reasons for this.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved. 0ctober 2013 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All groups of children achieve well because they are taught effectively, purposefully engage in a wide range of activities and develop very positive attitudes to learning.  As a whole, the children come into the nursery with knowledge, skills and experience well below those usually typical for this age. They progress well and the gap between their knowledge, understanding and skills and those typical for this age closes over time. By the time they leave most children are securely within the banding appropriate for their age. Achievement in personal and social development is particularly strong because this is central to the nursery. Children have very good opportunities to explore, express and channel their emotions, as well as build positive relationships with others.  Until recently, progress in calculations and linking sounds and letters, both early skills in mathematics and literacy, was slightly slower than other areas of learning. Leaders have

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The achievement of pupils is good

addressed this well through staff training and by providing more opportunities for children to learn and practise these skills. Achievement in these is improving.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs in specialist resource provision make good progress because staff are well trained, skilled and have high aspirations for them all. Some were seen exploring different textures of materials, successfully interacting with, and increasing their understanding of, the world around them. Others successfully extended their physical skills as they stood with support and crawled along a safe corridor.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs, who are not in the resource provision, progress well as they benefit from staff expertise, accessible activities and effective support from adults and peers.  Children who are at early stages of learning English achieve well because staff model language

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The achievement of pupils is good

effectively and because activities are very visual and practical. Small well-focused language groups also help these children develop their understanding and use of English while they are playing imaginatively with staff.  More-able children achieve well because staff have high expectations for them. Activities are open ended, providing scope and challenge for all. For example, some children carefully and accurately wrote their names with paint, whilst others extended their physical skills, hanging from bars on the climbing frame and carefully manoeuvring large trucks around the garden.  Equality of opportunity is good. All the children are valued and staff meet various needs well. There are some small differences between the achievement of different groups, for example, girls progress slightly faster than boys. These differences are addressed well, are narrowing and are not significant over time.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is not outstanding because poor attendance slows the progress of some and because staff occasionally miss some opportunities to extend learning further.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good, successfully promoting achievement and very positive attitudes to learning. Children develop confidence, independence and an interest in the world around them. They are well prepared for later life and learning.  Staff plan and prepare a wide range of interesting, stimulating activities, which promote positive engagement and progress. For example, boys and girls were very actively involved in drawing plans for houses which they then built together from large wooden bricks and planks. This helped their early literacy, creative, communication and mathematical skills well.  Staff use their accurate and detailed knowledge of children well to plan and adapt activities to meet different children’s needs. For example, children developed their creative and mathematical skills making collages of houses and finding different numbers to put on the doors. Less-able children developed cutting skills and played with wooden numerals, while more-able children

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The quality of teaching is good

carefully selected different materials, named and used numerals more relevantly and accurately.  An improved quality of teaching has raised progress in early literacy and mathematical skills. Staff have received effective training, been involved in successful projects with other schools and include opportunities for children to learn and practise these skills more often. For example, all groups of children made good progress in games involving listening and rhyming, as well as in counting and sorting inside and out.  Staff teach and model language well, teaching vocabulary clearly and correcting children where necessary. This helps all the children, including those who are at early stages of learning English. Children also help each other, for example explaining that ‘it is tidy up time now’ and showing others what this means.  Staff patiently and skilfully teach children who are less able, including some of the disabled

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The quality of teaching is good

children and those with special educational needs. They use a full range of activities and routines in the day for this. For example, some children were well motivated and developed their communication skills well with signs during lunch.  Staff occasionally miss opportunities to extend learning even further, for example always having books and a range of writing available outside, making sure that all children are listening carefully in a game, or that all four children actively used a computer rather than having one active and the others as more passive observers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children’s behaviour and attitudes extend greatly during their time at the nursery because staff are very positive role models. Activities are very interesting and children take part in a wide range of very positive, inspiring activities. They are very eager to attend, settle quickly and enjoy the nursery greatly.  Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted extremely well through a range of highly engaging and inspiring activities. For example, photographs and videos show just how awe inspired the children were when watching chicks hatch out of eggs and how very carefully they held and cossetted these baby birds.  Children are highly engaged in tasks and activities and develop very positive attitudes to learning. For example, one of the younger girls spent a long time pondering how she could climb large rocks up to the slide and then spent a long time doing this. Once she had reached the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

summit, she enjoyed the slide down and repeated her climb once again. She did this several times over several days, clearly concentrating, persevering and developing physical skills well. As an older child said, ‘Children never give up!’  Parents, staff and children are all very positive about children’s safety. Children say, ‘We are safe because we know how to take care and because our teachers help us.’ Children learn to take managed risks very safely because they have lots of experiences and opportunities to practise this; for example, exerting and extending physical skills in the garden and learning to use saws and build fires safely.  They understand about inappropriate behaviour and learn to say ‘stop’ or to tell an adult if incidents they dislike occur.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs, including those in resourced provision, feel safe because relationships are very open, positive and transparent. This is also

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

because staff are highly skilled, have good training and advice from other specialists, and because equipment is suitable and well fitted.  Children show great kindness and support to each other, including those with the most profound disabilities. They play and help these children sensitively and respectfully. The presence of the children in the resourced provision is an asset to all because discrimination is reduced and highly supportive relationships are built.  The most sensitive, young or new children develop confidence and settle quickly. One girl, who was distressed when her mother left, settled, and by her second day was involved in activities because of the skilful support of staff. The youngest or quietest children can choose to play in a smaller, quieter outdoor area if they are not ready for the more lively main garden.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management are effective because leaders are experienced, have good understanding of child development and are committed to providing meaningful experiences for all the children.  Leaders create a very positive, purposeful environment for learning and are very welcoming and inclusive. Staff are happy and settled. They are positive about the school, proactive and continuously seeking new opportunities and experiences for the children.  Parents are very appreciative of the nursery and all that it offers. They particularly value the staff and the way their children are cared for. Many parents are engaged well through special events, helping in the nursery and classes such as English and family learning. One parent expressed the views of most, saying, ‘It’s like my family.’  Despite positive relationships with families, attendance is not the top priority for all. Some children are persistently absent. This slightly reduces their progress, the school’s value for

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The leadership and management are good

money and its strong drive for equality. Some concerted efforts by leaders, such as closer monitoring and more frequent requests for explanations of absence, have improved attendance rates. However, leaders have not fully analysed data and have not yet identified or addressed the problem fully.  Leaders have a very accurate understanding of the school and know which areas need to be addressed. They know that they have a good nursery and that children develop excellent behaviour, social skills and safety. They pace themselves and are cautious about introducing new initiatives. However, they are slightly slow to drive some improvements and lack challenge from the governors in this.  Leaders have improved teaching, especially for literacy and mathematics, through training, better use of assessments, and more frequent adult-led teaching, especially in small groups. Teaching is now consistently good. Leaders are revising and refining their policy on teaching to

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The leadership and management are good

drive further improvements, but have not yet completed this.  The resourced provision is managed well. The leader is experienced and skilful. She has good relationships with parents and they are happy that their children can attend. She uses her effective links with other professionals well for advice, training and resources.  The garden is a very positive example of good leadership and effective partnership with others. In conjunction with others, and in a relatively small space, leaders have successfully created an inspiring, multi-level area accessible to all, including those who use wheelchairs. This promotes equal opportunities, children’s learning, enjoyment and motivation very well.  The local authority knows that this is a good school and keeps in touch with leaders through local meetings and training courses.  The governance of the school: - Governance requires improvement. Governors do not know enough about, or monitor, some

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The leadership and management are good

key aspects of the nursery, including details about teaching. They are therefore not able to support or challenge leaders sufficiently on these. Statutory duties, including safeguarding, are met because leaders within the school make sure that all aspects are covered. Governance is improving, however, and governors have a much better understanding of achievement since the previous inspection. They also have a better understanding of finance and have made some prudent, but difficult, financial decisions recently, including closing the nursery’s extended care provision. Governors manage the performance of the headteacher and are informed of performance management of staff. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved. 0ctober 2013 7 of 9

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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. 0ctober 2013 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 102703 Local authority Newham Inspection number 425583

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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 2−4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 73 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Owen Beckles Headteacher Alison Lentz Date of previous school inspection 26−27 January 2011 Telephone number 020 85346196 Fax number 020 85345600 Email address info@ronaldopenshaw.newham.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

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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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