Edith Cadbury Nursery School

School report Edith Cadbury Nursery School Somerford Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham, B29 5LB

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, leaders and governors work effectively to make sure the school provides a good start for children. They check teaching thoroughly and are ambitious to improve teaching and children’s achievement still further.  Children achieve well in all areas of learning including reading, writing and mathematics.  All children make good progress. Those who speak English as an additional language make good progress because they receive effective help.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs also make good progress because they are identified early and supported well.  The quality of teaching is consistently good. The wide variety of activities maintains children’s interest and enthusiasm.  Staff establish warm and caring relationships with children. This contributes to children’s confidence and their good achievement.  The creative use of the outdoors contributes significantly to the quality of children’s learning.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children’s behaviour is good. Children are enthusiastic about their learning and show good understanding of the routines of the nursery.  Children show a strong sense of security in this warm and welcoming nursery. The school works well to ensure children are kept safe.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Sometimes staff do not ask children the kind of questions that encourage them to think deeply and extend their learning.  Tasks for the more able children are sometimes too easy to get the best out of them because adults do not all make best use of the information they have about what children have already learned and can do.  Parents’ contribution to their children’s learning is reduced because they are not given sufficient opportunities to contribute to their children’s records.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight sessions, indoors and out, including those led by adults and also times when children chose activities for themselves. All the sessions were observed jointly with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body and the local authority.  The inspector looked at a wide range of documents, including: the school’s view about how well it is doing, its plans for improvement, information about children’s progress and attainment; school policies; records relating to safeguarding and behaviour; teachers’ planning of learning and the monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment.  The views expressed in nine questionnaires completed by staff were taken into account.  The inspector took account of the 12 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.

p.2

Inspection team

Steve Nelson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is smaller than average-sized nursery school. It provides part-time nursery education for up to 104 children.  Children join the school at three points during each year, at the start of term after their third birthday.  The proportion of disabled children and those who have special educational needs, is approximately one in twenty.  The large majority of children are from White British heritage. A minority of children are from minority ethnic groups.  Approximately a third of the children speak English as an additional language.  The nursery works in partnership with a group of other schools locally to share good practice.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the school’s overall effectiveness to outstanding by:  developing adults’ questioning skills so that they ask children questions to make them think harder  using assessment more effectively, so that the more able children build on what they can already do and are stretched and challenged to make more rapid progress  enhancing parents’ abilities to understand and support their children’s progress by making more use of class records.

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 The leadership team and the governing body are effectively driving school improvement. The headteacher is committed to ensuring that every child achieves his or her potential. All staff share this vision. The school provides a warm and welcoming place where children thrive.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The school is a harmonious, welcoming environment in which all children are valued and respected, and rules and routines are shared and understood. This practice contributes to children’s understanding of the British values of tolerance, respect and equality.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders at all levels have been coached well in how to use data for assessing children’s skills on entry to the nursery, and to track their progress. Consequently, staff are able to help children progress and perform as well as they can and have an equal opportunity to succeed. This approach ensures that no group is discriminated against.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Good use of information from the headteacher’s checks on teaching makes staff training well focused and effective in improving teaching. Teachers achieve the challenging targets set for them to show their skills have improved. Pay is linked to success. The school make a positive contribution to staff development thorough its support and training for students and apprentices.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The activities provided for children are broad and balanced and cover all areas of learning. Guest speakers, for example paramedics, and celebrations of different cultural events such as Chinese New Year and Diwali promotes children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well and prepares them for life in modern Britain.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Effective communication with families including text messages and frequent newsletters keeps everyone up to date with events in the school. There are however, insufficient opportunities for parents to participate in contributing to their child’s records (known in this school as ‘learning journals’) and so further develop their understanding of their child’s achievement.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements. Arrangements are effective in keeping children safe and secure, so that they are confident, happy and relaxed in the setting.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The local authority recognises this good school. It provides appropriate support, such as access to training for staff and keeping governors up to date with changing legislation.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are effective because they have a broad range of skills, which results in their good understanding of the quality of teaching. Governors know how any underperformance is tackled. They make sure teachers’ annual targets, and any pay increases, are closely linked to the children’s progress.  Governors are able to analyse and use information on children’s progress to arrive at well-informed conclusions. They are supportive, while challenging the school, and this professional balance helps improve pupils’ achievement further.  Governors monitor the school’s finances carefully and carry out their duties effectively, for example, governors work closely with the school to ensure that arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements.  Governors keep themselves up to date with relevant national changes in education.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of children is good. They enter eagerly and quickly engage in their learning as they purposefully explore the indoor and outdoor areas, for example investigating natural objects in the stone pit area.  Children quickly learn the nursery rules and how to behave well. They learn the importance of being kind towards others. They share the toys and equipment they use and tidy up willingly after each session. Children play happily together, for instance when acting out roles in the ‘home area’.

p.4

Behaviour

 The staff value each child as an individual and this helps children learn to respect each other and the adults that care for them. The views of children are valued.

p.5

Behaviour

 Children attend regularly. Parents report that their children enjoy coming to school, and the smiles on the children’s faces when they arrive confirms this view.

p.5

Behaviour

 Occasionally, when children sit in larger groups, some of them shout out and interrupt the adult or child who is speaking. This interrupts the flow of learning and does not ensure that all children are engaged and sustaining concentration.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is good. Children display a strong sense of security at school. Parents report that the school is a safe place for their children.

p.5

Safety

 Children show a good awareness of safety as they safely use a variety of climbing and balancing equipment in the outdoor area, including riding tricycles. Children quickly learn rules which keep them safe. For example, they know that running inside is not allowed but, outside where there is more space, it is acceptable.

p.5

Safety

 Children know how to be kind to one another. The school reports that there have been no bullying or racist incidents.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good over time, as a result children achieve well. Children have positive relationships with adults and work effectively with both teachers and additional staff. Each child is valued as unique and special and, as a result, they learn well.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Staff effectively promote children’s understanding of the sounds that letters make. Children learn the sounds that make up their name. They respond well to the interesting way in which staff present activities to develop their learning further. For example, children were highly engaged in an activity where they had to identify the initial letter sound of objects hidden in a bag. Children have many opportunities to develop writing skills, from early marks to recognisable letters and words. This is evident in their ‘learning journals’ and writing books.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of mathematics is good and children make good progress as a result. Children are taught to sort, count and order numbers systematically. Activities such as discussing shapes children can make by cutting out cardboard triangles, squares and semi-circles to stick them on to the surface of a plate develop children’s mathematical vocabulary well.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Adults regularly meet to review the progress of each child. Staff check children’s learning through a number of ways, such as on-going assessments and observation and learning journey profiles. Assessment data however, is not used as effectively as it might to make sure that activities consistently challenge the more able children.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Staff often question children well to develop their thinking skills, for example asking how many would be present if there was one more. At other times there are too few questions which make children think hard and extend their learning. This limits some children’s depth of learning.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Outdoors, staff have crafted a good range of learning activities that develop children’s physical skills well. Children have good opportunities to ride tricycles and scooters and this helps them to develop balance and co-ordination. The space is also used well to widen their understanding of counting, number and sometimes to promote early writing skills.

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children of all abilities make good progress from their individual starting points. Most children start school with skills below those typically expected for their age. By the time they leave nursery, all children are well prepared to start the Reception Year in school.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 The achievement of disabled children and those who have special educational needs is good because of the close support provided by staff and the effective links with other professionals to meet the children’s needs. Children from minority ethnic heritage and those who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to other children. This is because their learning needs are identified and responded to well, so that they settle quickly.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able children achieve well, although they are not always stretched and challenged sufficiently to extend their learning to make even more progress than they do.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children develop good listening skills and confidently talk together and with other adults. They enjoy listening to stories and rhymes and show a good recall of the key facts. For example children are able to recount enthusiastically and accurately the story of The Gruffalo, delighting in his encounter with the ‘little brown mouse’ in the ‘deep, dark wood’.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children quickly learn to read their names in different forms and start to recognise the sounds the letters make. Children show an enthusiasm for mark making, and make frequent use of the good range of opportunities provided by staff for them to record lists in the home corner, or make marks using chalk or other material in the outdoor area.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children show confidence in using their mathematical knowledge and make good progress. They respond quickly to high expectations of counting sequentially and develop an understanding of simple addition and subtraction. For example, sorting candy coated chocolates so that they all get an equal amount.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

 The school makes every child and their families welcome. Parents say that the home visit before their child starts nursery is especially effective because it establishes the link with the child’s key person and enables children to settle very quickly when they start school. Parents’ comments show that they are very pleased with the progress their children make.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 103150 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 447913

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

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 42 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sally Bateman Headteacher Sarah Vernon Date of previous school inspection 3 October 2011 Telephone number 0121 475 3098 Fax number 0121 475 3098 Email address enquiry@edithcadbury.bham.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9