Broomhall Nursery School

Broomhall Nursery School 4 Broomhall Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2DN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 From a wide variety of starting points, children achieve exceptionally well from the time they join the nursery. All children make excellent progress.  Teachers and support staff create many inspirational and purposeful learning opportunities to interest children and fire their imaginations.  The impressive curriculum stimulates the desire to explore and learn in all children. A new strategy of ‘story scribing’ is already proving effective in developing children’s speaking, thinking and early writing skills but is not yet fully embedded.  Children rapidly develop outstanding behaviour and concentration because activities are so interesting.  Indoor and outdoor learning environments are highly appealing to children and support all areas of development exceptionally well.  The school ensures outstanding engagement with parents and families. The partnership with parents is forged even before children start in the nursery.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Advice and encouragement for parents are provided to help them support their children’s learning. Parents are unanimous in the view that their children are safe.  The inspirational headteacher leads a team of highly effective staff and is maintaining and developing the excellent provision noted at the previous inspection.  Governors are involved in all aspects of the school’s work. They ensure that all children have equal opportunities to be successful, and are understandably proud of the role that the school plays in the local and wider communities. Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed children learning in 11 sessions, including small focus groups, adult-led and child- initiated activities, indoors and out. These sessions were taught by two teachers and eight teaching assistants.  Joint observations were carried out with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with six members of the governing body, the headteacher and staff. The inspector talked to many children informally during observation times and at breakfast club.  The inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at a wide range of documentation including school improvement planning and self- evaluation, as well as school data from the checking of children’s progress. A sample of children’s ‘learning journeys’ showing their progress and achievement was scrutinised, as well as documentation detailing arrangements for the safeguarding of children.

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Information about this inspection

 The views of parents were gained from the 32 responses to Parent View (the online survey), the outcomes of the school’s recent questionnaire in July 2014, feedback from parents after consultation meetings and conversations with many parents bringing their children to school. Two parents took the trouble to write to the inspector during the inspection.  Questionnaire responses from 11 staff were considered.

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Inspection team

Judith Straw, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 The school is of an average size for a nursery school.  Children can attend either for morning or afternoon sessions or for the full day. They start in the term following their third birthday.  Nearly half of all children speak English as an additional language and some arrive at school knowing little or no English. Currently children speak 13 different home languages.  The staff identify early the children who need extra support. Currently, no children are supported at early action. Typically, the proportion of children supported at early years action plus or with a statement of additional needs is above average.  Since the previous inspection, staffing has been restructured and a new headteacher was appointed in September 2013 after the retirement of the previous headteacher.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase even further children’s confidence in speaking, listening and mark making by embedding the recent initiative of ‘story scribing’ across both classes. Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014 4 of 9

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher, supported by her outstanding and long-serving staff team, is unwavering in her determination to help all children achieve to the best of their ability and to provide them with a secure and happy learning environment. As a result, the outstanding quality of education provided at the previous inspection has been maintained and new initiatives are bringing even greater success.  Children’s progress is monitored meticulously. Staff have embraced new technology so that day-to-day assessments are photographed and recorded on hand-held electronic equipment and later organised into superb records of every child’s progress. These are used to plan the next steps for each individual so that children learn exceptionally well across all the areas of development.  The school tracks the progress of children individually and ensures that girls, boys, disabled children and those who have special educational needs all make equally strong progress.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The setting of targets for teachers and teaching assistants, to help them improve and develop their performance, is rigorous and exceptionally well planned. All staff are totally committed to their work in giving children an excellent start to their education and they always strive to make learning as enjoyable and effective as possible.  The school’s self-evaluation is accurate, based on first-hand observation of all learning activities and an assessment of children’s progress. Planned actions are all directed at improving children’s confidence, achievement and well-being.  The local authority holds the school in high regard and the representative is fully aware of the high quality of provision and outcomes.  Parents are unanimous in their praise of the education that their children receive and the commitment of the staff. They especially appreciate the key workers who keep in contact with them. They value the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

courses and information provided by the school to help them support their children’s early reading and numeracy skills. For example, one parent wrote, ‘I have had a lifelong fear of maths and I don’t want to pass this on to my child. I really like the idea of maths being fun and part of everyday life.’ Above all, parents are totally confident that their children are happy, safe and enjoying their time in school.  The nursery is always ready to embrace new ideas and has taken part in a highly successful project to improve mathematics for early learners. It is now developing ‘story scribing’ as a way of increasing children’s confidence in speaking, listening and writing but this is not yet fully embedded.  Safeguarding requirements are met. All staff have regular training. Staff work with families and support agencies to ensure the safety of children. Health and safety checks are regular and rigorous.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors know the school very well because they are frequent visitors and volunteers. They talk knowledgeably about its work and understand why it is successful. They set high expectations for the children, staff and themselves. Governors ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to be successful. Because they know how well staff are leading learning and the impact they have on children’s progress, they are able to set targets for the performance of every individual. Governors have a good grasp of finance and manage the budget effectively. They undertake regular training and so have excellent levels of expertise to monitor carefully the work of the nursery. They are fully involved in self-evaluation and future planning.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Children start school with limited skills but learn excellent patterns of behaviour quickly. Because learning activities are so stimulating, meaningful and interesting, they persevere, concentrate and give their full attention for long periods. For example, children have become fascinated by finding ladybirds in the outdoor learning area and diligently search for them; they treat them with care and can talk about them with confidence.  Children quickly learn how to listen, watch, sit still and concentrate in small focus groups when they enjoy special learning sessions directed at just a few children.  Children settle quickly and make friends. They soon learn to take turns, respect each other and play together. They respond well to the calm, happy atmosphere in the nursery. They enjoy the role-play Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014

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Behaviour

areas, currently set up as a hairdresser’s and a veterinary waiting room. They enjoy inviting each other for tea in the play kitchens.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Children are safe in the nursery because staff are vigilant at all times and the proper procedures are in place. Children are able to play and learn actively and safely. For example, they cycle vigorously, use the climbing frames, hunt for insects in the wooded areas and enjoy the ‘mud kitchen’ in a secure environment.  Children trust the adults totally and are open and interested when talking to visitors. Parents are unanimous in expressing their confidence that their children are safe in the nursery.  Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. They develop very good spiritual awareness through celebrating festivals of different faiths and their appreciation of nature, flowers, animals and the environment. They are aware of other cultures because of the many nationalities present in the school. Social awareness is excellent, seen in the way that children sit together at breakfast club

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Safety

and lunchtime, chatting and enjoying each other’s company, and in the way they work and play harmoniously together.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is of a consistently high standard. All adults, teachers and support staff, are skilled at turning activities into learning opportunities and make learning almost irresistible.  Children begin activities as soon as they arrive because an appetising array of different challenges is ready for them. Adults enable children to explore, investigate and make discoveries.  Children mostly learn through play and following their own interests. Regular sessions of music, singing and dancing encourage participation. Children new to English find that the regular singing which starts focus sessions soon becomes familiar and helps them to learn easily and understand. Bilingual staff help at lunchtime but the main focus in the school is to ensure that children learn English as quickly as possible.  The special needs coordinator and the headteacher ensure that any child who needs extra support is identified early. Plans are drawn up which clearly detail individuals’ needs and these are shared with all

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

staff. In this way, all adults are able to meet the individual needs of disabled children and those who have special educational needs, ensuring their excellent learning and progress.  Adults are constantly interacting with children, talking, developing language, guiding learning and counting. No opportunity is missed to develop numeracy skills, counting, problem solving and measuring. There is always an adult reading to individuals or groups and books are available in all parts of the nursery for children to dip into and enjoy. As a result, a love of reading and respect for books are developing.  Small focus groups allow adults to concentrate on specific learning challenges. For example, a group of children who have been in the nursery a longer time were able to enact beautifully the story of Humpty Dumpty and then to go on and identify many more rhyming words.  Children’s achievements are noted throughout the day electronically; they are later used to identify what

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

they have achieved and what the next steps must be to take them further.  The nursery provides a rich and interesting learning environment indoors and out. Fresh flowers are displayed in all rooms; numbers, words and letters are, literally, everywhere so that children are surrounded by opportunities to learn.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Most children join the nursery with skills, knowledge and understanding that are below typical starting points. They learn rapidly so that by the time they leave the nursery, most children reach with skills, knowledge and understanding that are similar to what is typical. Well over half achieve a good level of development, which is the level of skills usually found of children by the end of the Reception year, in all areas of learning.  Children currently in the nursery have settled quickly and are making excellent progress after only a few weeks. They are directing their own activities, making decisions and talking confidently about their activities.  Nearly half of the children currently in the nursery speak English as a second language; some have had Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014 6 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

little experience of English. The emphasis on adults talking to children enables them very quickly to understand simple instructions, build vocabulary and link words with objects.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs are quickly identified. Early assessments and staff support enable them to make the same excellent progress as other children.  Disadvantaged children make equally strong progress and there is no difference between their achievement and that of others in the school and nationally.  Children who start in the nursery with skills, knowledge and understanding which are above typical starting points make excellent progress and exceed the expectations for the end of nursery. Feedback from some of the primary schools to which children transfer shows that the children from Broomhall often make better progress than others, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The focus on personal, social and emotional development means that children quickly become confident enough to explore, ask questions and sustain concentration. They listen carefully to adults, learn new words and engage in conversation.  Children very quickly develop physical capability. Before going outside, they put on coats and hats, only occasionally needing help. In the garden area, they love the ‘mud kitchen’ where mud pies and cakes are ‘baked’. They play safely on the cycle track and on the climbing frame and use the many logs to build imaginary volcanoes and other exciting projects.  Children enjoy counting and measuring using funnels, jugs and cylinders. They can order numbers on a washing line, use ‘more’ and ‘less’ accurately and count up to 20. They enjoy using the computer in each classroom and are very fair in taking turns on it. The school has introduced special ‘maths bags’ as a way

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

of encouraging numeracy activities at home. These are popular with children and parents and can be borrowed by all children, rather like a library book.  The school is developing an initiative called ‘story scribing’. As children play, an adult asks them to talk about what they are imagining and writes this down for each child. Gradually, the children are encouraged to add their names to the story and, in time, will be able to write a few words themselves. Children have become very keen to tell their stories and so they rapidly increase their skills in speaking, early reading and mark making, and learn to appreciate the art of writing. However, this practice has yet to be embedded throughout the nursery.  Children enjoy many creative activities such as drawing, painting, and collage. They love music and join in songs and nursery rhymes, remembering both words and tunes. Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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. Inspection report: Broomhall Nursery School , 14–15 October 2014 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 106973 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 448090

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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 82 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steven Green Headteacher Diane Hetherington Date of previous school inspection 21 June 2012 Telephone number 0114 272 1453 Fax number 0114 273 8994 Email address broomhallnursery@lea.sheffield.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 and 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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