Brookhill Nursery School

Brookhill Nursery School Brookhill Road, East Barnet, EN4 8SD

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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.  Leadership is outstanding. School leaders have a clear vision for Brookhill Nursery and set high standards for early years practice. Children and staff are viewed as unique individuals. Standards have continued to rise and morale is high.  Children flourish and achieve quickly in this calm and inviting Nursery. Their achievement is outstanding. By the time they leave, most children exceed the levels expected for their age. This prepares them exceptionally well for the next stage in their learning.  Outstanding teaching underpins the gains that children make in their learning. All staff have consistently high expectations of children and one another. Children make rapid gains in their learning because adults continuously share information about children’s needs, interests and achievements.  Children from a range of backgrounds, including disabled children, those with special

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

educational needs and those at early stages of learning English, make rapid progress.  Children come to school eager to return to their friends and activities. The stimulating environment and excellent behaviour contribute strongly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Partnerships with parents and carers are exceptionally strong. This enables children to settle quickly. Parents could not praise the school highly enough. Many parents repeated that ‘the school knows my child as an individual’.  The governing body knows the work of the school extremely well. Governors are regular visitors to the school and provide an effective balance of support and challenge that has helped drive improvements. They actively support and promote the sharing of high- quality early years practice more widely.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching across all four learning sessions both indoors and outdoors. Half of these were observed with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. The inspector talked to children about their learning, observed their interactions with adults and each other and scrutinised a range of work and children’s learning records known as ‘special books’.  During the inspection children were observed learning about the sounds that letters make (phonics). Some time was spent tracking the experiences of children with special educational needs. Behaviour was observed throughout the day, including at breakfast club and in the after- school provision.  The inspector looked at documentation such as policies including those related to safeguarding, behaviour and children with additional needs and also the school’s development planning and information about children’s progress and attendance.  The inspector took account of 70 responses to the online Parent View survey as well as two

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Information about this inspection

letters received during the inspection and the school’s own survey. The inspector also talked to a wide range of parents during the inspection. In addition, 17 responses from the staff questionnaire were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Narinder Dohel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized nursery school.  Approximately one third of children are of White British heritage. The remainder are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. A fifth of children speak English as an additional language, many of whom are at early stages.  The proportion of disabled children and those with special educational needs supported at early years action is below average. The proportion at early years action plus or with a statement of needs is also below the national average. Most of these have speech and communication difficulties.  No children are entitled to pupil premium because of their age. However, approximately a quarter of children are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school provides a breakfast club and after-school provision.  The school has just opened a provision for two-year-old children.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Embed and widen the role of the school in supporting high-quality early years practice locally and nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Most children join the school with a range of skills and knowledge typically expected of children their age. Highly effective teaching ensures that children from all backgrounds, whatever their needs, are guided to make rapid progress. Consequently, an increasing proportion of children leave school having made outstanding progress, well equipped for the next stage in their learning.  Staff work closely with parents and each other to gather and exchange information. This starts before children join the school and throughout their time in the school. This ensures that children settle quickly and enables planned opportunities to very closely match the needs and interests of children. This results in rapid gains across all areas of learning and most notably in children’s physical development.  There are exciting and excellent opportunities for children to develop their early skills of reading, writing and mathematics through creative and imaginative play. One group of children ran into

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

school at the start of the day to resume counting how many pigs were in the puddle outside left from the day before.  All children develop their language and communication skills well. Adults consistently model language, for example, when finding and sequencing numbers to ten or trying out new sounds and words while exploring the texture of paint mixed with cornflour and water.  Children have a great deal of knowledge about letters and the sounds they make. This is developed through songs, rhyme and story. Some children were observed blending sounds into words and later chose to go on and write these words. These activities also ensure that children at an early stage of learning English acquire skills and knowledge quickly and appropriately.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs are extremely well supported and also make rapid gains in their learning. Small groups of children are selected to develop

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

their physical development and motor control. This helps develop their skills and confidence in other areas of their learning such as mark making and problem solving.  The indoor and outdoor areas provide excellent opportunities for children to extend their social, physical and imaginative skills as well as their understanding of the world. Children were observed using a ‘book hut’ for planning their adventures, wheeled toys such as bikes and wheelbarrows for racing or finding different routes around the outdoors, or sitting with an adult examining mini beasts using reference books and magnifiers.  Parents are extremely happy with the progress their children make and agree that their children’s needs and interests are met well.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Outstanding teaching has been maintained since the previous inspection because of the emphasis placed on high-quality interactions with children and their families. Teams take turns in filming a learning activity with a child and use this to share and develop their own expertise and that of their colleagues.  All adults encourage children to be independent and develop high levels of communication, confidence and skill. They do this by playing, modelling and ‘finding out’ alongside children. They skilfully and sensitively extend children’s language, concentration and ideas both indoors and outdoors. As a result, children make quick and immediate gains and show delight in their achievements and discoveries.  Guidance and praise in equal measure is used effectively to help children ‘take risks’ such as finding ways to climb up onto a bench, balance along a beam and jump off. Children went from saying they were unable to do this, to doing this independently within a very short space of

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

time.  The school uses a ‘key worker’ system. This means that each member of staff is responsible for a group of children, maintaining learning records and planning learning experiences that show how well the children get on. Daily reviews enable staff to agree next steps for children’s learning.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs achieve well because staff ensure that they quickly develop an understanding about their specific needs. This results in an individualised approach to planning. Children at early stages of learning English benefit from the consistently high-quality modelling of language by adults.  Staff build a close relationship with parents and carers and exchange information and ideas about children’s learning and how their children can be supported. Families are encouraged to support their children at home, for example through the ‘maths challenge’ that provides practical

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

ways to approach mathematical concepts such as ‘Who in your family has the biggest hands?’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children’s behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. They are pleased to see one other and greet each other in the mornings as long-lost friends. They are extremely purposeful and show great consideration towards one another. Where there are moments of tension, adults quickly and gently talk to children, showing and explaining how to solve conflicts appropriately. This results in safe and trusting relationships between children and between children and adults.  Parents and carers, governors and staff rightly agree that children’s behaviour is excellent in school, at breakfast and in the after-school tea provision. Children delight in learning together and invite others to join their imaginative play.  Children with social, emotional, behavioural or special educational needs are skilfully supported in taking a full part in all the Nursery has to offer. Space, resources and activities are designed

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

to ensure that the needs of all children are being met. For example, small groups called nurture’ groups are used to help children develop their physical and social skills.  There is a strong focus on developing children’s understanding of health and well-being. They know about washing hands before and after meal-times or snack-times, and how to care for small creatures they look for and study in the outdoors. During this inspection children were very excited about baking and selling cakes to raise money for a children’s charity.  Children really enjoy coming to school and this can be seen by their punctuality and high levels of attendance.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher, governors and all members of staff are passionate about children as individuals, and about how they learn and achieve as well as they can. This is at the heart of the improvements made by the headteacher and staff. This has resulted in continued outstanding outcomes for children and outstanding teaching. The headteacher and governors have started sharing their expertise and approach with colleagues in other schools.  The headteacher ensures that high-quality teaching is achieved through an effective system of managing performance and professional development. Staff are encouraged to develop their skills and are helped to access and achieve a range of professional qualifications. As a result, morale is high and accounts for the continuously improving practice across the Nursery.  Leaders accurately assess the strengths of the Nursery, as demonstrated in the school’s own evaluation of its work and in the school plans for further improvement. Leaders have responded

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The leadership and management are outstanding

with great success to recommendations such as improving children’s skills and knowledge in using sounds that letters make.  Parents highly praise the work of the school and the opportunities the school provides for families to help their children learn. Parents are regular volunteers. Some go on to become parent governors and some are inspired to undertake training to become early years professionals.  Children thoroughly enjoy their learning. The curriculum provides interesting and relevant opportunities that underpin all aspects of children’s development exceptionally well, from the moment they arrive in breakfast club until they leave school. These impact well on children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The school consistently promotes equality of opportunity, fosters good relationships and tackles discrimination. Children have an excellent understanding of the needs and choices of others.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority considers the school to be a leader of exemplary practice. It provides ‘light- touch’ support and has helped the school to start sharing this practice further afield. School leaders are keen to develop this aspect of the school’s work and look to become a teaching school.  Safeguarding practices are secure. Not only does the school meet statutory requirements, it also undertakes additional checks and training which provide greater detail about the school’s work in this area. Risk assessments for activities in and around as well as beyond the school are undertaken regularly and rigorously.  The governance of the school:  The effectiveness of the governing body is exceptional. Governors bring a wealth of experience to the work of the school, particularly in the areas of safeguarding and finance. They regularly spend time in the school working with children and staff. They have high

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The leadership and management are outstanding

standards and expectations and are acutely aware of how well different groups of children achieve and are prepared for the next stage in their learning. Governors contribute well to the monitoring of the objectives in the school development plan. They seek training, to ensure that they are up to date, and guidance when managing the performance of their headteacher. They have policies that make clear how the work of staff is recognised and underperformance addressed. Governors ensure that safeguarding requirements are thoroughly 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 101251 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 425490

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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 81 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair June Last Headteacher Caron Rudge Date of previous school inspection 12–13 October 2010 Telephone number 020 8449 0601 Fax number 020 8441 7367 Email address headteacher@brookhillnursery.barnetmail.net 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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