Pastures Way Nursery School

Pastures Way Nursery School Pastures Way, Luton, LU4 0PE

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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.  Children achieve well and make good progress in learning key skills such as reading, mathematics, physical development and in language and communication skills.  They make excellent progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Their behaviour is outstanding.  Children’s safety is a very important priority for the school and so they are kept safe outstandingly well.  The children’s self-confidence improves enormously because staff manage them in very positive ways and encourage them to try new things.  Children who have special educational needs make good progress because staff involve them effectively in nursery activities.  Teaching is good and staff use inside and outside areas well to interest children. This enables them to concentrate on what they are learning for relatively long periods of time.  Leaders make sure staff receive valuable training sessions and so the school takes part

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in artistic and creative projects.  Good leadership means the staff are always looking for ways to make the school better. It has effectively improved children’s attendance and so it is above average and continues to improve.  Leaders and governors watch over the quality of teaching and children’s achievement carefully. They are improving their use of data and the system to track children’s progress successfully. This is a considerable improvement since the previous inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally children’s targets, especially for boys’ writing skills, are not recorded in sufficient detail and so it is not clear which skills are being developed.  The children’s targets are not regularly shared with parents and so a few do not know how to help their child.  Staff do not always plan and use more difficult activities to help children move their skills on to the next stage of development.  Whilst leaders regularly set personal targets for staff they are not always specific enough to measure success in meeting them.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in seven sessions. Three observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.  Discussions were held with senior leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and one other governor, parents and carers, school staff, children and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector observed children’s behaviour and scrutinised the school’s safeguarding procedures. The inspector read and looked at some books with children. The inspector looked at children’s work in their records of achievement for all areas of learning and especially for personal, social and emotional development, literacy, mathematics and physical development.  No responses to the online Parent View survey were available but the inspector took into account the school survey completed last year by 13 parents and a survey set up by governors completed by 22 parents.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed the work of the school and looked at documentation including teachers’ planning, the school’s development plan, checks on children’s’ progress, records of the governing body activities and meetings and discussed arrangements for managing the performance of staff.

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Inspection team

Jackie Cousins, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This nursery school is larger than average.  The majority of children are from minority ethnic backgrounds; a minority of these are learning to speak English as an additional language. A minority of children are White British.  No children are supported through the extra pupil premium funding because children of this age do not receive it. An above average proportion of children are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs supported through early action is above average.  The proportion supported through early action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school has specially resourced provision for up to 16 children with special education needs and eight places have been taken up. These children have specially funded places at the nursery. Children’s additional needs include autistic spectrum disorder and global delay.

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Information about this school

 The school offers provision for two-year-olds and childcare and a range of services for families through an onsite children’s centre which were not part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise children’s achievement, especially for boys in writing, by ensuring:  children’s targets are recorded in detail  these targets are shared more effectively with parents.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and its effect on children’s progress by making sure:  children are challenged throughout adult-led sessions  staff receive specific personal targets so that their successes in improving children’s outcomes can be easily measured.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the school with skills which are lower than expected. They make good progress and many catch up and leave with levels of knowledge and understanding which are typical for their age. This is because staff find out about their interests before they start at school and plan topics which they will find exciting. As a result children have very positive attitudes to learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The children are well prepared for the next stage of education. Those who have attended this nursery, including those who have special educational needs, continue to make effective progress when they go on to primary school. Last year their results by the end of the Reception year were average in key areas of learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children, particularly the most able, learn to read successfully. Observations made by staff and work in children’s records of achievement show that they learn effectively to match the sounds that letters make with letter shapes. The children learn to read stories and look at pictures carefully as resources are used well and they are freely available for children to look at after staff have introduced a new book to them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The children, including those from minority ethnic groups develop their mathematics skills productively. They learn to count objects and add one more because staff use practical activities to engage children.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children who are eligible for free school meals are supported by staff and they develop their key skills successfully. This is because the school monitors the progress of individuals and that of groups of children carefully using a system to track their attainment which is a considerable improvement since the previous inspection.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children with special educational needs who have specially funded places at the school make good progress and develop basic skills. For instance, they learnt to effectively look at and describe what happened when a drop of coloured dye was added to water. This is because staff are skilled in working with young children who have additional needs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Some boys do not make as much progress in learning to write as girls. Writing targets for children are not regularly recorded in detail. As a result it is not obvious what skills are being developed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching by teachers and support staff mean children make good progress in nearly all areas of learning. The staff use both inside and outside areas thoughtfully. The outside area contains a wide range of resources to help children learn to be creative. For example, they made up stories about their families and imagined where they would go if they went on an adventure.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The staff have high expectations of children. Those who are learning to speak English as an additional language quickly learn to communicate well. In an effective session observed children developed their understanding of the world and language skills at the same time when they learnt to make the sounds that farm animals make such as clucking like a chicken. This was because the teacher demonstrated and expected children to make sounds clearly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff use questions effectively and so children learn to think deeply. As a result they learnt to predict what might happen next in a story because the teacher asked questions which enabled the children to use their own ideas about how a story could end.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Practical activities develop children’s knowledge well. As a result they find sessions fascinating and they engage successfully in learning new skills. For instance, children learnt about how to look after a fish because they helped to move a goldfish into a new container and found out about what it needed to be healthy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Early morning meetings by staff enable ways to help children with special educational needs to be considered thoughtfully. They share what they know about a child in detail and discuss ways to assist them to learn more effectively. Valuable strategies which will be used to help the child are agreed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of children with special educational needs who have specially funded places at the school is good. They enjoy mixing with other children as well as receiving extra tuition. Individual education plans set targets for children and staff check to see if these are met every day.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, staff do not set hard enough activities throughout a session and so one or two children do not move on to the next stage of development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of children is outstanding. This is because staff manage each child using very positive approaches. In recent years no children have been involved in racial incidents. Governors, staff and parents agree that behaviour is excellent.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children are extremely keen to come to the nursery and they concentrate for relatively long periods of time on tasks which intrigue them. This is because fascinating activities are planned for them such as investigating how caterpillars move and change into a butterfly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Their attendance is above average and is improving. Staff explain the benefits of regular attendance to parents and there has been a significant improvement since the previous inspection.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Checks made on children who attended the nursery show that their self-confidence and management of feelings and behaviour are above that found typically by the end of the Reception year. This is because staff use feedback very well to raise their self-esteem and develop their understanding of the consequences to their actions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is outstanding. The children say they are safe in school and have an adult they could go to if they had any worries or concerns. They know how to keep themselves safe in various situations including using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 No exclusions or bullying incidents have been recorded since the previous inspection. Children say that nasty words are rarely used in school and that staff deal with this effectively if they do occur.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Children with special educational needs who have specially funded places at the school improve their behaviour and have outstandingly positive attitudes to learning. Case studies show how the staff work very diligently to ensure that children learn to behave appropriately.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, deputy headteacher and leaders for each area of learning form a strong team. They are ably supported by all staff. They look carefully for ways to make the nursery even more effective. A detailed school development plan has been created by senior and subject leaders which ensures that everyone is clear about what they are working towards.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff attend many useful training sessions because leaders ensure that expertise from the school and from outside specialists is used well. For instance, staff attended sign language training which taught them how to teach children to communicate using their hands.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders treat everyone fairly and discrimination is not allowed. This means that children from all backgrounds and abilities are involved successfully in school life.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders observe teaching regularly and give staff valuable feedback. The personal targets set for staff do not regularly contain detailed objectives and so it is not easy to measure their effect on children’s outcomes.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents work productively with staff. They value the opportunities to talk to them before and after school. They say their concerns and comments are acted on efficiently by staff. A few said that they would like to know more about their child’s targets and how they could help their child to meet them successfully.

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The leadership and management are good

 The provision for children with special educational needs who have funded places at the school is well led. These children’s progress is monitored carefully and everyone is clear about the areas of development for each child.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. For instance, children learnt about life in African villages because books and resources were used extremely productively. This meant that children developed an outstanding respect for people from different countries and backgrounds.

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The leadership and management are good

 A wide range of activities are planned creatively by staff. The outside areas and staff expertise allow children to learn about the world around them and take part in sessions to improve their physical development and fitness levels. Wonderful projects mean children learn to paint and draw in the style of famous artists.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding procedures and policies are followed diligently. All staff are checked to see if they are suitable to work with children before they start at the school and a single central record is kept to show that these checks are complete. Many staff have first aid qualifications for children in the early years and they complete basic child protection training regularly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority supports and challenges the school productively. It has helped the school to develop a system which tracks children’s progress and the effect of teaching over time.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors support and challenge the school leaders successfully and understand the school’s overall effectiveness. They know the strengths and areas for development. Governors are improving their use of data through the system to track children’s progress which is in use. They know about the quality of teaching because senior leaders provide them with reports and they visit regularly to observe the work of staff. They understand how weaker staff are supported. The governors know that consequently these staff have improved their teaching skills. Governors are clear that pay rises and promotion are based on a track record of good performance. The headteacher’s performance is managed rigorously and targets for improvement 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 109423 Local authority Luton Inspection number 430766

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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 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 124 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Heredia Headteacher Jan Allen Date of previous school inspection 27 June 2011 Telephone number 01582 600691 Fax number 01582 600691 Email address pastures.way.nursery.admin@luton.gov.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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