Woodlands Park Nursery School and Childrens Centre

Woodlands Park Nursery School and Children's Centre Woodlands Park Road, London, N15 3SD

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Children make good progress from below expected starting points and achieve well over the time they are in the Nursery.  Teaching is good. Adult-led sessions, in particular, are carefully planned to build on what children know and can do so that they develop new skills quickly.  Children enjoy their time in the Nursery and join in activities readily. They are enthusiastic to work and play together. Children behave well and know how to keep themselves safe.  Adults maintain a friendly and safe environment. They are encouraging and relationships are consistently warm and positive.  Senior leaders and governors work effectively together and have successfully maintained the school’s good teaching, children’s good achievement and good behaviour since the previous inspection.  Governors are well informed and take their roles seriously. They provide an effective balance of support and challenge. They visit

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the school regularly and check how well children are achieving.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Activities for children to choose for themselves are not always as carefully matched to the full range of their abilities in order to move the children on quickly in their learning.  Priorities for development, identified through checks made on teaching and children’s progress, are not all followed up quickly to improve the school’s overall effectiveness further.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector spent nearly six hours observing teaching and learning during morning and afternoon sessions, including almost two hours in joint observations with the headteacher.  The inspector held discussions with staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Work in children’s learning profiles and the school’s information showing children’s achievement were evaluated.  The inspector looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school action plans, the self-evaluation report, records of the monitoring of teaching and information relating to teachers’ performance management and training. The school website and records relating to safeguarding were also checked.  The inspection took account of 27 responses to the Ofsted online survey Parent View. The inspector also took account of nine responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Woodlands Park Nursery School is a larger-than-average-sized nursery. There are 20 part-time places in the morning and 10 in the afternoon, as well as 36 full-time places.  Over a fifth of the children speak English as an additional language.  Very few children are supported through early school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The school organises and manages breakfast and after-school provision.  The children’s centre and the provision for children under three-years-old, that share the school site, are the subject of separate inspection arrangements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that activities for children to choose for themselves are always carefully planned to match the full range of children’s learning needs.  Make sure that development priorities, identified through checks on teaching and children’s achievement, are followed up quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make good progress from starting points that are generally below those expected for their age when they join the school. Personal, social and emotional development and literacy skills are often weakest. As a result of good teaching, children make good gains in their learning. By the time they leave the Nursery, the majority have reached age-related levels of skills. They make particularly good progress in personal, social and emotional development and in understanding the world.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs also make good progress. Individual guidance and support in small-group sessions help them to make particularly good progress in personal, social and emotional development, as well as in communication and language skills.  Children at the early stages of learning English quickly build up their spoken English skills because adults help them increase their knowledge of vocabulary, and develop confidence in

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The achievement of pupils is good

speaking English.  Fun activities led by adults help children develop mathematics skills. Children were observed counting teddy bears under a blanket, and toy frogs on lily pads, in games that helped them to practise their knowledge of numbers.  Children were observed looking at picture books and enjoying daily opportunities to listen to stories and sing songs during group sessions with the adults. Through joining in with actions and role-play during story telling and singing, children develop an enjoyment of shared reading.  Children are keen to join in activities as soon as they can and often sustain their interest in the work they are doing. They develop their independence quickly and follow established routines. They know, for example, to put on their coat before going outside when the weather is wet and cold, and to put on an apron before playing at the water tray or doing painting or modelling.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Sometimes, the pace of children’s learning is not as consistently brisk when activities for children to choose for themselves are not as carefully planned to help them practise what they know and can do already.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Interesting adult-led activities capture children’s interest and help the children to develop new skills quickly. Children were observed using modelling clay to explore how to form shapes. They listened carefully to the adult’s instructions, rolling the clay using their fingers and hands skilfully.  Staff make careful observations of what children enjoy and can do and often use the information to plan further activities that will develop children’s knowledge and extend their interests.  Children’s involvement is not as sustained by activities for them to choose for themselves when they are not as carefully tailored to their varying skills and interests.  Relationships between staff and children are consistently warm and encouraging so that children feel safe and are happy. Portfolios containing photographs of children’s early learning experiences and samples of their work celebrate the progress the children make. Children were

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The quality of teaching is good

observed looking through these with an adult and discussing the activities they have enjoyed.  Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their skills outside in the outdoor area which has been well designed to give children access to wooded play areas, as well as climbing apparatus, sand and water play. Staff make sure children put on wellington boots and waterproof clothing to help them access the outside spaces in wet weather.  Children who attend the breakfast provision enjoy a healthy menu of breakfast foods and socialise by eating together. Those who attend the after-school care eat a healthy meal at teatime and participate in activities that the staff organise to help them enjoy the end of the day.  Specialist music, creative arts and yoga teaching enrich children’s experiences and enable them to take part in workshop activities that develop confidence in using a range of resources, and

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The quality of teaching is good

introduce them to a variety of creative processes. Children used digital cameras to record activities and friends at the Nursery. In another group, children working with a musician contributed their ideas to make up a song about dinosaurs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children from a wide variety of different backgrounds work and play well together. Staff promote children’s understanding of sharing and turn taking through games and other group activities so that the children develop good social skills, and equality is promoted and discrimination tackled consistently well.  In the survey, all the parents and carers who responded confirmed that their child was happy at school and felt safe. Home visits by staff before children join help staff get to know all the children well as individuals, and the school, parents and carers to develop strong relationships. This supports children in settling quickly and promotes positive relations so that they make good friendships with other children.  Adults help children learn how to take precautions to keep themselves safe, and promote hand washing and sensible behaviour.  They strongly encourage children to be kind to one another and actively guide children in putting

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

right any problems that may occur. In Parent View, there were no parents or carers who disagreed that bullying is dealt with effectively and the very large majority were confident that the school makes sure the children are well behaved. Occasionally, children need to be reminded about the behaviour that is expected, for example when they are not fully engaged in an activity.  Most children arrive punctually and attend regularly. The school emphasises the importance of attending every day, and on time, in order to benefit from daily routines and valuable learning time.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teamwork is strong and, together with the staff, senior leaders and governors have successfully maintained the school’s good overall effectiveness since the previous inspection, demonstrating the school’s capacity to improve further.  Working closely together to check the quality of the school’s work helps leaders and governors to measure the impact carefully and accurately. Monitoring of teaching is regular and detailed. Appropriate priorities for development are identified and used to plan what the school needs to do to improve further.  For example, leaders and governors have introduced improvements to the school’s systems to check how well children are doing in order to measure the progress children make over the time they are in the Nursery.  Sometimes, improvements to raise the quality of the school’s work further are not secured as quickly when some areas for action in development planning are not followed up rigorously.

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The leadership and management are good

 Links with the children’s centre and the provision for children under three are very strong and enable the school to support children when they move up to the Nursery. Workshops and courses for parents and carers, organised in partnership with the children’s centre, help them to develop their skills including in English language.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted strongly, for example through growing fruit and vegetables in the school garden, exploring the outdoor wooded areas, painting self-portraits, visits to local places of interest and meeting visitors to the school.  The local authority provides light touch support for this good school.  The governance of the school:  Governors examine the information the school gathers about children’s achievement in order to check how well children make progress. They work with determination to support the school’s leaders in using the information to evaluate the quality of teaching, identify what the

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The leadership and management are good

school does well and where further improvements are needed. They take their role in performance management seriously and make sure there are clear links between children’s progress, teaching quality and salary. Governors attend appropriate training to support their roles and make regular visits to the school.

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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 102073 Local authority Haringey Inspection number 425493

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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 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 76 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anna Martinez Headteacher Peter Catling Date of previous school inspection 7–8 December 2010 Telephone number 0208 802 0041 Fax number 0208 800 6150 Email address admin@woodlandspark-nur.haringey.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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