Newburn Manor Nursery School

Newburn Manor Nursery School Townfield Gardens, Newburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE15 8PY

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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

 The inspirational and thoughtful headteacher is supported by a very enthusiastic and dedicated team who have the highest expectations for all children. Every step is taken to ensure each child thrives in nursery and achieves their potential.  Leaders, including the governing body, know the school very well and think hard about how to improve it further. They are determined to stay at the cutting edge of early years practice and to continue to be innovative and excellent.  Parents are all extremely positive and delighted that their children can come to this nursery. They value the warmth and respect with which everyone is treated and are particularly pleased by how quickly their children become confident and independent.  Behaviour is excellent. From the start, children are carefully taught how to behave and helped to think about what to do if a problem arises. This sensitive support leads to very independent,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

motivated children who work beautifully together.  Children are very safe and secure in school. Exceptionally strong relationships create an atmosphere of trust where children are comfortable challenging themselves to do more.  Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely strong because an understanding of and respect for each other are so embedded.  Teaching is outstanding and remarkably consistent. Practitioners have an excellent understanding of how young children learn and they support this in a highly skilled way. Their detailed and thorough knowledge of each child lets them plan activities that are carefully designed to move learning forward.  Children are encouraged to decide what they are going to do, to solve problems for themselves and then to think about what they have learnt. This is part of everyday life in nursery. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to look back on

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

previous activities and learning and see how their skills and knowledge have developed while in nursery.  Achievement is outstanding. Children make rapid progress from their starting points and, by the time they leave, are very well prepared for their next steps in learning. Children with special educational needs receive consistent and skilful support, enabling them to make the same excellent progress from their starting points.  Teaching of early reading, writing and mathematical skills is particularly strong. No opportunity is missed to reinforce children’s learning in these areas and, as a result, some children are beginning to read and write by the end of nursery.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed both formal group and informal play and learning sessions in the nursery. The headteacher took part in one shared observation with the inspector.  The inspector looked at a sample of children’s individual records of achievement and unique child folders.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, members of staff, representatives from the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector spoke to parents and took account of the school’s own consultations with parents. There were insufficient responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) for the inspector to be able to access them.  The inspector looked at a number of documents including data on children’s progress, documentation relating to safeguarding and reports on teaching.

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Inspection team

Nora Waugh, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a broadly average-sized nursery school. Children attend for three hours each morning or afternoon.  Children can attend nursery from the term of their third birthday until transferring to the Reception class of one of several local primary schools.  Almost all children are of White British heritage and no children are currently in the early stages of learning English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled children or children with special educational needs is lower than average.  The school is open from 8am until 6pm. Parents can buy additional sessions to extend the time their children spend in nursery. This childcare is run by the governing body.  The school holds the National Healthy School award, the Investing in Children award, is a Green Flag Eco- School and has International School Status.  The school is used regularly by Newcastle and other nearby local authorities to share good practice across

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Give children more opportunities to revisit and reflect on previous experiences and learning in nursery.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Everyone involved in the school shares the headteacher’s enthusiasm, enjoyment and belief in children and in going the extra mile to do everything they can for them. Her leadership is inspirational but is underpinned by exceptionally strong teamwork. This leads to a very nurturing ethos and remarkable consistency across all aspects of the nursery.  Leaders, including the governing body, have a highly accurate view of the school and a determination to ensure that it continues to improve. They carefully consider what is needed and then put plans in place to move forward. Careful checking then ensures that any initiative is making the difference intended. For example, the innovative acquisition of a computer table and electronic notepads not only improved children’s technology skills but also made a big difference to how enthusiastic boys are about writing.  Middle leaders support the development of teaching and learning extremely well. They lead curriculum

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The leadership and management are outstanding

reviews and actively contribute to the ongoing improvement of learning opportunities for children.  Checking on performance is very well structured. All staff have targets that are linked directly to their role in nursery and aimed at helping them to develop their skills. For teachers, salary progression is tightly linked to achieving these targets. Training opportunities are carefully planned to support the development of school priorities.  The curriculum is exceptionally well structured to promote children’s learning. Initially, time is spent teaching children routines, developing language, physical skills and how to work together. As a result children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and they learn to work alongside each other as part of a community. As children develop, the curriculum broadens and there is a wide range of opportunities to extend learning both indoors and out.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school works well with a range of partners both locally and from further afield. The headteacher is proud of the role the school takes in promoting good practice across the early years sector. As part of this the school regularly supports students from a range of further and higher education institutions.  Parents are very supportive of the school and extremely positive about it. One spoke for many when she said, ‘I have a smile on my face just bringing her here.’ The school, in turn, values parents greatly and works hard helping them to support their children’s learning at home.  The core school staff work flexibly to deliver the childcare services for families who want to buy additional sessions. This ensures that children have the security of remaining with familiar adults and that all opportunities are taken to enhance and consolidate their learning.  All groups of children are protected and cared for. Their progress is looked at carefully to ensure that they

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The leadership and management are outstanding

all do equally well. All policies and procedures relating to safeguarding are securely in place and reviewed regularly. Support for children whose circumstances may make them vulnerable is sensitively given and carefully documented.  The local authority has a close relationship with the school. It offers light touch support.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body are very proud of the school and know it well. They know it as highly inclusive and welcoming. Although many are comparatively new to their roles they evaluate the information they receive carefully and contribute to planning priorities. Governors understand data about the school’s performance and are aware of the quality of teaching. They manage finances very carefully, ensuring that the performance of staff is effective and that they have met their targets before they are rewarded financially. Governors fully appreciate their responsibilities and are very careful to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

ensure that all statutory requirements are met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of children is outstanding. When they start nursery children are carefully taught what is expected of them. Class books using puppets and photographs taken in nursery lead children step-by-step through how to behave at different points of the day. As a result ordinary routines like washing hands before food or tidying are quickly and effectively managed.  There are very few disputes but children learn to manage potential problems, such as not all being able to play in a particular area, themselves and come to appropriate solutions without adult intervention. A careful eye is kept as they do this and, if needed, a practitioner comes to help solve the problem.  Children love nursery and love learning. At the start of the day they plan with their parent or carer where they are going to play, and quickly go off to begin learning. Later they settle remarkably quickly for group time and concentrate hard on what they are being taught. This enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning,

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Behaviour

combined with high levels of independence, helps children to move confidently into school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is outstanding. Parents agree absolutely with this and are very confident about leaving their children in school. They are sure that there are no incidents of bullying.  Relationships are excellent throughout the nursery and children relate well with, and trust, all members of staff. They have key workers and younger children, in particular, often have a very close relationship with their special person. This very caring and nurturing ethos allows all children to flourish.  Children learn to take responsibility for being careful and staying safe. They are encouraged to think about what they do and learn to manage tools and equipment safely. Each day a child risk assesses the outdoor area with an adult and highlights risks like the grass being slippery. For visits in the local area the same procedure is followed so that before an autumn visit to the orchard a child could tell the others, ’Do not

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Safety

eat any berries.’  Attendance and punctuality are good with any absences being quickly followed up.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is of the highest quality and extremely consistent throughout the nursery. Practitioners have an excellent understanding of how children learn. Everyone believes in giving children as many opportunities as possible to think for themselves and to solve problems. This leads to children who are very independent learners and resourceful in finding solutions.  Adults work very well together and love being with children. This mutual respect and enjoyment is infectious. Children are eager to learn and concentrate intently when trying to do things. Questioning is used very well to promote children’s thinking skills. If children do not understand or respond at first, questions are reworded and support is given, allowing all children to succeed.  Adults are very skilled in teaching. They model language very well and expertly extend children’s vocabulary and language skills. Developing language skills is a priority. Children respond well to the

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

musical and singing activities that adults embed into their everyday experiences in order to develop their language. For example, children playing in shaving foam to develop physical skills were linking movements to actions in ’The wheels on the bus’.  Both personal and social skills and physical development are expertly taught in a way which captures children’s interest. Children practising circus skills or dancing with ribbon sticks are having fun but also developing physically. The sand-timer helps children to take turns at the exciting computer table.  No opportunities are missed to develop children’s understanding of sounds in words, or of counting and early mathematical skills. Writing opportunities abound, whether it be planning a tree den on a clipboard or adding your name to a list on an electronic notepad. As a result most children are writing their names already and make exceptionally good progress in these areas.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The curriculum is very well balanced. Children are encouraged to use resources creatively in their independent play whether indoors or out. Practitioners play alongside, offering ideas and challenging children’s thinking. Children participate regularly in group times which include some closely targeted teaching to develop skills and knowledge. The starting point is always to find out what children know already and to work from there.  A belief in listening to and empowering children is key to the philosophy of the school. Children effectively plan what they are going to do, go and play and then, with adult help, review their learning. They have limited opportunities to revisit or review their previous activities and experiences in nursery, meaning that opportunities are sometimes missed for them to make links and see how their skills have developed.  Practitioners carefully assess how children respond to activities and what they can do. They then use this

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

information to ensure that learning opportunities challenge and excite each child. No opportunity is overlooked. Lunchtime and after-school club are carefully planned for and designed to enhance the main nursery curriculum.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Most children enter nursery with skills which are generally below those typical for their age. Their communication and language skills are often particularly low. Children make outstanding progress. By the time they leave almost all children are at levels typical for their age and a minority above this. Attainment is particularly high in literacy and mathematical development.  When children begin nursery their starting points are carefully assessed and any gaps in development quickly identified. The emphasis is in helping children to develop social skills, develop physically and to listen to and understand each other. Small group activities which engage and excite children are used particularly well to promote learning.  Literacy skills are introduced from the start. Stories are often starting points for learning and children happily ‘read’ books to each other. Small group games, listening for sounds or sorting objects that rhyme,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

promote an awareness of sounds in words. Adults model writing and value children’s mark making. As a result children make very strong progress in literacy.  Progress is also extremely strong in mathematical development. Not only is every opportunity taken to count but children are encouraged to think about numbers and solve problems. Children have to decide how many more toys they need in order to have five in their bag, or how many to take out to be left with three. Practitioners constantly use the correct mathematical language and encourage children to do so too.  Children’s progress is meticulously tracked. Each child is looked at as an individual and activities planned to challenge them and enhance learning. This means that all children make outstanding progress.  Boys enter nursery with skills slightly behind those of girls. A lot of thought goes into designing activities that will enthuse boys about learning so that they make exceptionally strong progress and have about

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

caught up with girls by the time they leave nursery. Children who have been in nursery longer do comparatively better, even when data is adjusted for these children being older, which reflects the excellence of provision.  Children who need extra help, including those who are disabled or have special educational needs, make very good progress and often reach typical levels for their age. This is because of the skilled support they receive and the expectation throughout the school that all children can achieve.  The most able children are constantly challenged to extend their thinking and skills. They thrive on this approach and by the time they leave nursery are completely ready for the challenges of school.

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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.

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School details

Unique reference number 108430 Local authority Newcastle Upon Tyne Inspection number 448096

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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 81 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Clare Straughan Headteacher Celia Skilbeck Date of previous school inspection 29 May 2012 Telephone number 0191 2774180 Fax number 0191 2774182 Email address admin@newburnmanor-nur.newcastle.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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