Hindley Nursery School

Hindley Surestart Nursery Mornington Road, Hindley, Wigan, WN2 4LG

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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 a good start to their school life because teaching is good and they make good progress. They improve their knowledge and understanding of early writing and speaking because staff concentrate on extending children’s reading and writing.  Children with special educational needs and the most able children make good progress.  Teachers, key workers and support staff are knowledgeable and skilled in early years education. They are passionate about developing children’s curiosity for learning.  Children feel safe. They are ready to learn because staff encourage ‘good sitting’, ‘good walking’ and ‘good listening’.  Parents are rightly pleased with the education and care their children receive.  Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides a clear, no-nonsense approach to improving children’s standards. All staff act on this and work together well to prepare children well for their future.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher has re-formed the governing body effectively so that governors, leaders and staff share in the drive to improve teaching.  The curriculum is effective and is central to the school’s emphasis on the importance of children having the skills to communicate well.  Governance is good. Governors show their determination to improve children’s learning by checking how well children are doing and observing lessons.  Children’s achievement and the quality of teaching have improved significantly over the past five years.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not outstanding and so children do not make exceptional progress.  There is less coverage of mathematics than literacy in the curriculum and progress is not as rapid as in other areas of learning.  The school’s challenging targets are not high enough to result in exceptional progress and are not re-set quickly enough once children reach their targets.  The low attendance by some children limits their opportunities to learn.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed six sessions taught by two teachers and support staff, including two sessions that were observed jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors observed children’s work with the headteacher. Inspectors also reviewed the school’s work, including their explanation of how well the school is doing and its plan for improvement, documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, records of governing body meetings and information on children’s progress.  Meetings were held with staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.  There were not enough responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) to analyse parental responses. Inspectors talked to parents before school and took account of the seven responses by staff to the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Marie Cordey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Halford Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hindley is an average-sized nursery school.  The proportion of children supported through school action is average. The number of children supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  There is a children’s centre on site which was not part of this inspection. The inspection report for this setting is available at www.ofsted.gov.uk

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in all areas of learning, particularly children’s mathematical knowledge, and increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  further raising expectations of what children can achieve so that all staff are focused on children making exceptional progress in order to reach standards that are above those expected for their age  emphasising the teaching of mathematical knowledge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management from good to outstanding by:  simplifying systems to target and record children’s progress  setting more challenging targets so that all staff are focused on children making exceptional progress in order to reach standards that are above those expected for their age  working further with parents to improve their child’s attendance.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make good progress from their below, and sometimes well-below, starting points when compared with their age. Their communication skills, in particular, are well-developed so that children have the basic skills necessary to express themselves, make early writing marks, start to read and gain knowledge. Because of this children can, ‘sign in’ to school, put letters and sounds together and develop their literacy and numeracy knowledge early so as to help them in all their activities.  Progress in lessons and over time is good and sometimes it is exceptional. This is the case when the quality of teaching inspires children so they are dogged in their determination to grasp ideas and add to their knowledge.  Children develop their skills in the prime areas of communication and personal and physical development well because it is a school priority from the outset. Although progress is good in

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The achievement of pupils is good

their mathematical knowledge and understanding of the world it is not quite as fast as it is in literacy.  Children with special educational needs make good progress because they are carefully nurtured and guided; not just in their academic development but also in their personal and emotional development. Every child is treated as an individual and given the same opportunities to be successful.  The most able children make good progress. Occasionally, they are not encouraged to stretch their thinking even further when activities are not challenging enough.  Children enjoy their many opportunities to experience art, cookery and physical education as well as scientific experiments, for example, while playing in water, sand or with number activities. They acquire the skills to become life-long learners.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Both indoors and out, children enjoy the many activities to help them learn. Because teachers and staff have high expectations of what most children can do, the setting is a hive of purposeful learning.  Teachers aim to encourage children to reach their potential. This enables children to make good progress. Targets are based on children making at least good progress. Work is not targeted routinely to enable children to make exceptional progress and this restricts opportunities for children to stretch their abilities even further, especially for a small number of the more able children.  Consistently good teaching carefully develops children’s knowledge as well as their understanding by stimulating children’s curiosity at the same time as painstakingly explaining and building on children’s learning.  When learning is highly successful, children are seen to be rapt in their work and completely focused. A good example of this was seen when children concentrated hard when they were

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The quality of teaching is good

taught to use their tongues, neck, teeth and mouth to make the sounds of words accurately and expressively.  Children are eager to learn and discover more because of skilled and knowledgeable teaching, particularly in the wide range of well-planned activities indoors. Children learn well outdoors. They appreciate chances to climb, experiment, and to act out their favourite characters, especially police officers, in role play. Occasionally, children are not as involved in their activities outdoors and become restless because they have not been encouraged to move on to a different activity.  Children learn to use mathematical language and early reading and writing skills in lots of things that they do because teachers demonstrate how to do this in an enjoyable way. This emphasis on fun stimulates children’s eagerness to use sign language as shorthand for their learning, for example, when putting their index fingers together to signal ‘same’ in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Key workers and teaching assistants are knowledgeable and effective because they regularly take part in specialist training and plan children’s learning with teachers. They know precisely what needs to be done in order to support children who require extra help and effectively guide children to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of children is good. This is the cornerstone of the school’s work to prepare children for learning. Children are polite, welcome visitors and help each other. They are encouraged to try things for themselves. This can be anything from buttoning up their coats to showing their readiness to learn through ‘good sitting’ and ‘good listening’.  Children are given responsibilities and are proud to be of help. ‘Special helpers’ find equipment, and help others to put on the very smart suits for outdoors or to line up. All parents spoken to comment on the good behaviour of children.  Teachers successfully inspire good attitudes to learning. Children look forward to their activities and try very hard to complete their work because they are motivated to succeed in their activities. Behaviour is well-managed by trained staff who quietly and calmly deal with any instances of inattention or inappropriate behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children settle down quickly because of the care and time taken in preparing both them and their parents for school life. The ‘Inspire’ block of workshops is well attended by parents and children before joining the Nursery.  Children’s attendance is not statutory at this age but, nevertheless, the absence of some children slows down their learning. School actions to improve attendance have resulted in lower rates of absence but these remain too high to enable some children to make the most of their time in the Nursery.  The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is good. Leaders, staff and governors update their training on a regular basis and are well-informed about safety arrangements. Records are up to date and thorough. These are not kept centrally, which makes it difficult for leaders to identify any particular patterns in behaviour and attendance, for example.

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The leadership and management are good

 In the last few years leadership qualities have transformed the school’s effectiveness. This is most evident in improving the quality of teaching leading to better outcomes for children. Changes in staffing have been particularly well managed in appointing knowledgeable and effective staff to teach children.  Performance-management targets are exacting and thorough because of the headteacher’s commitment to the achievement of children. Professional training is frequent and closely matched to what will make a difference to children’s work and the quality of teaching.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher communicate their vision for the school’s success in a practical and down to earth manner. Staff respond well to this and are unreservedly committed to improvement. Leaders, governors and staff visit outstanding nursery schools to help move the quality of teaching to outstanding at Hindley.  The curriculum is enjoyable and wide-ranging. It fosters children’s interests and prepares them

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The leadership and management are good

well for the next stage in their education. Coverage of mathematics is less extensive than that of literacy and governors and leaders have correctly made this a priority for further improvement.  Children’s personal development and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are strengths of the school. Their behaviour is thoughtful and the strides they make in their social development are exceptional. Children are consciously well-mannered and polite. They learn about the world around them and internationally through world maps and the study of different peoples and cultures.  Targets are challenging but not routinely based on expectations of children making exceptional progress. Targets are not systematically reset quickly enough once children achieve them. Systems to record and target children’s progress are unnecessarily detailed and numerous. This sometimes makes them hard to follow, especially when establishing precisely what children need

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The leadership and management are good

to learn in order to make exceptional progress.  The local authority provides effective support to the school; not only in terms of challenge and support to leaders but also through staff and governor training and in the provision of specialist special educational needs support.  The governance of the school:  Governance is good. The newly reconstituted governing body has rapidly made its mark in effectively governing the school. Governors are increasingly involved in training and in direct observations of teaching and of children’s work. Governors have deliberately focused on improving teaching to best increase children’s rates of progress and raise their standards. They know their school including what it does well and what is needed to improve it further. This is because they are involved in the life of the school and are well informed by the headteacher. Governors are well aware and involved in the performance management of staff.

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The leadership and management are good

They regard this as crucial in improving the school’s effectiveness. Weaknesses in teaching have been tackled successfully and pay progression is used effectively to reward good teaching. The school’s finances are well-managed and expenditure is closely related to improvements in children’s learning, such as the planned spending on information and communication technology resources and training to guide increases in the coverage of mathematical knowledge in the curriculum.

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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 106397 Local authority Wigan Inspection number 430602

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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 116 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Haskayne Headteacher Rachel Lewis Date of previous school inspection 25 January 2012 Telephone number 01942 488228 Fax number 01942 776132 Email address enquiries@admin.hindleysurestart.wigan.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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