Stockingford Maintained Nursery School

Stockingford Nursery St Paul's Road, Stockingford, Nuneaton, CV10 8HW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  Achievement is good because caring adults and warm relationships enable children to really enjoy their time in nursery and make at least good progress.  Teaching is good. Children receive interesting and exciting, well-planned learning experiences which cater for their needs and abilities.  Behaviour is good and at times outstanding as children move around the nursery, either when inside the classroom area, in the extensive garden or when they are sitting eating their lunch. They move about confidently and display positive attitudes to learning because they feel safe and secure.  Many parents speak about how quickly their children settle into nursery life and how approachable staff are. They are extremely pleased with the support their children and they themselves receive from the staff.  The recently appointed acting headteacher is well aware of what needs to be done for further improvement, particularly in relation to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

moving teaching from good to outstanding. She has quickly gained the trust and support of the governors and parents, and staff morale is high.  The governors are effectively involved in the work of the nursery and are well informed about the quality of teaching, learning and achievement in the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 When adults interact with individuals and groups they do not always focus effectively on developing children’s language skills.  At times, minor health and safety issues are evident.  Although the learning environment is magical and exciting, it is not a language-enriched environment which many of these children, with limited language skills, need.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 11 parts of sessions, many observed with the acting headteacher, taught by two teachers, three early years educators and four teaching assistants. She also observed the children’s behaviour during all parts of the school day.  Discussions were held with the headteacher and other staff, children, three members of the governing body and a large number of parents.  There were insufficient responses to the Ofsted online survey. However, the inspector analysed 20 questionnaires which the school had sent out to parents and carers in the week before the inspection.  A wide range of documentation was looked at, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning, teachers’ planning, minutes from meetings of the governing body, information relating to the progress and achievement of the children, and safeguarding documents.  The views of the staff were considered through the scrutiny of 11 completed staff

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Inspection team

Nina Bee, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Stockingford Nursery is smaller than the average school. Children attend part time for four days each week and full time for one day a week.  The acting headteacher has been in post since the beginning of September 2013.  Most children come from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average.  The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. Most of these children have learning difficulties.  A minority of children are identified as having speech and language difficulties.  The school is not eligible to receive pupil premium funding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more of it is outstanding by:  focusing more effectively on developing children’s language skills, particularly when adults interact with children during child-initiated activities and those which are adult-led  ensuring that children learn through play in a more language-rich environment which enables them to learn through not only listening to the spoken word but also by seeing more examples of well-written words supported by pictures and symbol prompts  being more vigilant, in the day-to-day teaching, so that minor health and safety issues are not evident.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children start in the nursery, their skills and knowledge are well below those expected for their ages, particularly in communication and language. In relation to their starting points, they make at least good progress by the time they leave, although most do not reach the expected levels for their ages in most areas, but especially in understanding of the world and people and communities, communication and language and literacy.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children achieve well because adults focus effectively on all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and their progress is carefully tracked. Parents are pleased with how their children are progressing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Staff are good at identifying disabled children and those who have special educational needs and, in particular, children who display speech and language difficulties. These children achieve as well as their classmates because they are well supported by the adults and, at times, by external specialists.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children who speak English as an additional language achieve well because their needs are identified and catered for. For example, during a session where children were using electronic tablets, children who speak English as an additional language were given time to think and answer questions so understood what they were doing and learnt as well as the others.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enjoy coming to nursery and are eager to start learning. Most confidently choose the activities set out for them and work and play alongside each other and the adults who help them. As a result, they achieve well. Children were observed, listening carefully as they were shown how to roll out dough without it sticking to the rolling pin or the table. They were then able to make their cakes and use their imagination effectively as they ‘cooked’ them in the pretend oven.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Generally, adults give clear instructions and ask questions which reinforce and develop learning. However, at times, adults do too much of the talking and do not successfully develop the children’s speaking and language skills. Then, children’s progress in developing speaking skills is not as rapid as it should be.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children usually receive teaching which is good. Occasionally, teaching is outstanding. For example, when a group of boys were playing with wooden bricks and small plastic people, the teacher’s intervention and expert questioning developed speaking and listening skills very effectively. Much cooperation and collaboration was evident as the teacher expertly developed thinking skills by asking open-ended questions. Opportunities were not missed to reinforce and develop number skills as they enthusiastically spoke about and then wrote down number codes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children of all abilities are generally taught well because the adults know the children extremely well. However, when adults interact with children they do not always focus effectively on developing language skills. At such times, learning is not a rapid as it should be.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults create an exciting environment which is conducive to learning. Currently, as Christmas is approaching, the indoor area is transformed into an exciting wonderland of activities which focus on the Christmas period and this time of the year. As a result, children were observed having great fun as they reinforced and developed their understanding of the Nativity story. Others experimented with torches in a darkened area as they experimented with ‘dark’ and ‘light’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 At times, when adults interact with children they do not provide them with a language-rich environment to develop subject-specific vocabulary, not just orally, but through the use of pictures and/or symbols and the written word.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As children learn as they play, adults regularly collect assessment information on how well individuals are doing. This valuable information is then used for future planning and to focus on activities which are developed from the children’s own interests.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Induction procedures to prepare children before they come to nursery are thorough and include home visits. Parents and carers, as a result, feel that their children are well prepared for nursery. Added to which, they are made to feel welcome at the start and end of each session which helps staff build on the already strong links they have with the parents and carers of the children. As a result, children quickly become confident about separating from the people who look after them at home and feel safe and secure in the nursery.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 No incidents of poor behaviour have been recorded by the staff, and there have been no racist incidents during the last few years.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children know how to behave because adults generally have high expectations regarding the different types of behaviour which are allowed inside and outside in the garden area. Very few incidents of anti-social behaviour were observed. Most children know, for example, that running is for outside and not in the classroom area and that they need to listen carefully and be kind to each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At times, adults are not vigilant enough in the classroom area or in the garden area. Too many items, for example, were observed on the floor. Although most children know that they need to wash their hands before eating snacks or their lunch, a few children need to be reminded. Occasionally, adults do not focus effectively on the importance of washing hands before eating snacks.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Risk assessments are devised to ensure that children are safe at all times such as when playing outside or visiting the local area.

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The leadership and management are good

 All leaders and managers, including the governors focus well on ensuring that the children are taught well and receive good-quality support. The school’s improvement planning is well focused on maintaining at least good provision and contains clear actions for the further development of the nursery. Self-evaluation is generally accurate but, although there are systems to monitor the quality of teaching, the nursery’s overall judgement of past teaching is slightly over-generous. The acting headteacher has an accurate understanding of the current quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 In the short time that she has been in post, the acting headteacher has improved the quality of teachers’ personal targets to improve their practice, so that they are more specific and so progress towards reaching them is easier to measure. These are also now linked more effectively to school development planning. A clear plan for this academic year shows that staff professional development is well organised and linked to any needs identified through procedures to manage the performance of staff. In addition, the analysis of information on children’s performance has led to a focus on understanding the world because this is an area where, in the past, children have not achieved as well as in other areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 The provision for children with specific difficulties is good. Parents and carers speak appreciatively of their involvement and the additional support their children receive. They are overwhelmingly supportive of the work of the nursery. Many spoke of the recent Christmas Craft Day when almost all parents and carers supported their children in the classroom. They were keen to speak about the exciting day they had ‘learning with their children’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The nursery provides well for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the children. Consequently, children quickly learn how to behave and be kind towards each other. They begin to learn about different cultures and religions through learning about celebrations such as Diwali and Christmas and making pastries from different countries. Children were seen at snack time eating Polish ‘kotaczki’, little pastries originating from Eastern Europe, which they had previously made.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has a good understanding of the work of the nursery because governors visit regularly and are well informed and so can support and challenge the school when necessary. They are aware of nursery development planning which has focused on sounds and letters, know that teaching is at least good and are involved in the management of staff performance which is linked to pay scales. Governors ensure policies are reviewed regularly. They ensure that leaders focus on children’s learning and that links with parents are very good. Inspection evidence supports this view. They ensure that the school is safe and secure and 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 125491 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 427069

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kathy McGale Headteacher Julia Gazeley (Acting headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 19 January 2011 Telephone number 02476 383708 Fax number 02476 383708 Email address head1041@welearn365.com 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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