Baylis Court Nursery School

Baylis Court Nursery School Oatlands Drive, Slough, SL1 3HS

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is well led by a strong headteacher and two senior teachers. They have the support of the staff and the confidence of the parents who are happy with the way the children are taught and looked after.  The leadership team makes sure that teaching is good and that children make good progress in all areas of the curriculum.  The resource unit for children with autistic spectrum disorder is well led and children make good progress from their different starting points because of the high quality support they receive.  Disabled children and those who have special educational needs who are supported in the main school also make good progress.  Children are well prepared to join the Reception classes in their next schools because they leave Nursery knowing how to get along with other children and adults and with good early reading, writing and mathematics skills.  The school is particularly successful at promoting

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

children’s personal, social and emotional development.  Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress because of the skilled teaching they receive.  Children behave well because adults have high expectations and children quickly learn what is expected of them. They are happy to come to school and enjoy taking part in well-planned activities.  Children feel safe and secure, and there are good arrangements to keep them safe in school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The most-able children are not always given work that is challenging enough, so they do not always make as much progress as they could.  The recently reformed governing body does not challenge the school in a sufficiently analytical way to enable it to move from good to outstanding.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed a wide range of activities over two days. They saw parts of six Nursery sessions and many group activities including those developing language skills, physical skills and social skills. Four of the observations were undertaken with the headteacher or senior teacher.  The inspectors observed many activities which were chosen by the children but supported by adults. These included model making and imaginative play in both the school and the outside area.  Meetings took place with the headteacher, senior teachers, the special educational needs coordinator, governors, staff, parents and two representatives from the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a wide range of documents including the school’s own information about children’s progress, planning, policies, children’s records (called learning journeys) and documents relating to safeguarding,  An inspector examined the work of the resource base for children with autistic spectrum disorder.

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Information about this inspection

 There were insufficient responses to the government’s online questionnaire, Parent View, for this to be taken into account. However, inspectors spoke to 10 parents and looked at the parental responses to the school’s own questionnaire from July 2014. Inspectors also analysed the 14 questionnaires from staff members.

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Inspection team

Janet Maul, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average sized school. It provides part-time education for up to 120 children.  Children start school in the term following their third birthday and leave in the July before their fifth birthday, so the youngest children are in the school for three terms and the oldest children attend for five terms.  The school has two classes and all children attend for 15 hours a week, either in the morning or the afternoon. Within their classes children are allocated to a key worker who has day-to-day responsibility for them, maintains the child’s records and liaises with parents.  A small proportion of children are disabled or have special educational needs. Some of these children are supported in the main school, but there is also a small specialist resource base for four children with autistic spectrum disorder.  The majority of children in the school are of Pakistani heritage but there are also children from a wide

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Information about this school

variety of other ethnic backgrounds.  A very large majority of children speak English as an additional language and most of these children are at an early stage of learning to speak English.  The school has a family support worker who runs a parent and toddler group twice a week, and a pre- nursery group also twice a week. The family support worker also runs sessions for parents on how they can support their children’s education, and health issues.  The school has a lunch club which is attended by a small number of children.  No children are eligible for the pupil premium funding because schools only receive this money for older pupils.  The school is due to undergo extensive building work this year. When this is complete there are plans to start admitting children from their second birthday.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Governors need to gain a more detailed analytical picture of the work of the school so that they can challenge the school leaders to further improve the school.  Challenge the most-able children in their learning and play activities so that they make even faster progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior teachers and governors are committed to providing the best quality provision and standard of care for the children. The staff are proud to work in the school and have confidence in the senior leadership team.  The leadership of teaching is good. The senior leaders run their teams effectively and set high standards.  The special educational needs coordinator is well trained and knowledgeable.  The school carefully tracks the progress of children and quickly intervenes if progress falters.  The leadership of the resource base is good. Adults are well trained to support children with autistic spectrum disorder, including using different communication methods. The unit is light and bright with plenty of space and good resources to aid learning.  The school works effectively with a variety of professionals and has good links with social services and the behaviour support service. Staff in the resource base work with a speech and language therapist,

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The leadership and management are good

educational psychologist, occupational therapist and specialist advisors.  There are good arrangements to settle children into school. The school’s family support worker runs parent and toddler and pre-nursery groups which enable parents and children to become familiar with the school and ready to get off to a good start.  The curriculum is planned to support all aspects of children’s development including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and this is threaded throughout the curriculum. Children are explicitly taught social skills including how to express their feelings. The school plans opportunities for children to have new experiences. For example, all children visit the forest school and all benefit from working with an artist in residence.  The school successfully prepares children for life in modern Britain and promotes British values. For example, children are taught about fairness through taking turns and sharing equipment. They learn that

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The leadership and management are good

there are rules and these apply to everybody. They are allowed to make choices but are supported through discussion to ensure that they are good choices. The adults in school model respect for all people. Cultural influences within the school and local community are celebrated through, for example, children and adults coming together in school to share each other’s festivals. These activities contribute to fostering good relationships and tackling discrimination. All children have equality of opportunity in school.  The school receives only light-touch support from the local authority. However, close links are maintained through meetings and training opportunities provided by the local authority’s Early Years Service and School Improvement Service. This enables the school to work with other local nursery schools to share good ideas. The local authority and the school are also currently planning together for the new building

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The leadership and management are good

and the admission of two year olds.  The school has the confidence of the parents who are extremely happy with the way it supports and educates their children. Parents find the school to be approachable and they are encouraged to work with the school by sharing information about their child and by meeting regularly with the key worker.  The arrangements for safeguarding children are good and meet the statutory requirements.  Attendance has improved in recent years and the school has been successful in convincing parents of the importance of regular attendance. Unexplained absence is followed up rigorously. This applies to the main school and the resource base.  The school runs a lunch club which gives children good opportunities to practise social skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very supportive of the school. All governors have undertaken training and the governors responsible for safeguarding and overseeing the provision for disabled children and those with special educational needs have had specialist training. Governors understand the school’s data and question the headteacher over children’s progress; however, they are not yet sufficiently knowledgeable about how to challenge the school to move from good to outstanding. The governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching in the school and they ensure that staff performance management and pay link to the school’s priorities. The governors manage the school’s finances well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of children is good.  A very large majority of children attend regularly and are on time each day. The school follows up absences diligently and works with families to ensure they understand the importance of coming to school regularly.  Children are making good progress at learning to take turns and they are able to share toys. For example, children were seen playing cooperatively while fishing for toy ducks in the water tray, linked to a counting activity. They are not yet so successful at sustaining concentration and do not always listen to each other, but the school is working to develop these skills.  Behavioural incidents are rare but when they do take place they are handled sensitively and parents are informed. The school has systems in place for recording any behavioural, racist or bullying incidents. These are monitored and reported to the governing body and local authority.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of children in the resource base is managed well.  All parents spoken to during the inspection think that behaviour is good and that their child is safe and well cared for. This was also the view of the parents when they were asked in July 2014. Parents all agreed that their child liked school, that their child was safe and well cared for, that children behave well and that their child is not harassed or bullied.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is good. The school has effective systems in place to check that people who work with children are suitable to do so. All staff have received training in safeguarding and some staff and governors have undertaken specialist training.  The school’s staff quickly intervene if there are any concerns over a child’s safety and any worries are followed up.  Children are taught how to stay safe, for example they know to be very careful with scissors and knives and not to run while inside the building ‘because you could fall over’. They also know that they must not run into the road but should hold an adult’s hand. The school reinforces this road safety message when children are playing on bikes in the outside area. Children explained to the inspector that they had to stop at the zebra crossing to let people cross. Children’s understanding of how to keep safe is good for their

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Safety

age and experience.  An inspector witnessed children stopping another child from walking on their newly constructed bridge because they said ‘It is too wobbly’ indicating that they are beginning to think about risk.  The site is kept safe and well maintained. The health and safety governor and staff member undertake regular inspections to ensure the safety of the site.  Parents are confident that their children are kept safe.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because staff are experienced and committed to the children’s progress, well-being and enjoyment of learning.  Adults listen carefully to children’s views. This modelling of polite, appropriate behaviour by adults as well as the specific teaching of social expectations means that children learn how to take turns and learn to listen to each other and to adults.  Staff use questioning well; they give children time to respond, to organise their thoughts and to form sentences. This helps to develop children’s speaking and listening skills. An inspector saw a good example of this during a discussion between a child and adult about whether the child had sufficient modelling material to make her pretend cakes. She also discussed how she was going to ensure that all of the cakes had the same number of candles. There is also targeted individual and group work for children who need extra help with their communication skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff regularly check children’s progress and record what they are able to do. This information is shared regularly with parents. These records are used to identify children’s next steps and plan interesting activities. Record keeping and planning for disabled children and those with special educational needs is good. However, staff are not always sufficiently ambitious for children who are ready to learn at a faster rate.  Children who speak English as an additional language are very well supported in their learning. The school has several members of staff who are fluent in two or more languages and they speak to children first in their home language and then repeat the statement in English. They use their professional judgement well in judging when to switch to mainly using English. This language support enables children to be confident in school and make fast progress with language acquisition.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled children and those who have special educational needs are quickly identified and support is put in place in both the main school and the resource base. Staff in the resource base are trained in different methods of communication which they use effectively when supporting children.  The school plans activities to help children to develop independence, for example at snack time an adult sits with a group of children and encourages them to converse while they pour their own milk and cut their own fruit. This activity helps to develop both social and physical skills.  The school teaches early reading skills well. Children are making good progress with discriminating different sounds and learning letter sounds and names. They enjoy sharing books with an adult, predicting what comes next in a story and retelling stories in their own words.  Children are given many opportunities to write. Staff plan activities so that children write with a purpose.

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The quality of teaching is good

During the inspection children were making their own security badges, complete with photograph and writing, so that they could gain entry to the princess’s castle. They were also writing shopping lists and some children were giving speeding tickets to children riding bicycles! This wide range of opportunities helps to ensure that all children are motivated to write.  The inspectors saw some good examples of learning about number. For example, the football coach was encouraging children to count the balls as they were put away and children enjoyed singing number songs. However, there was little mathematics work on display and some opportunities to reinforce mathematics were missed.

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is good

 Most children start school with skills and abilities below those of other children of the same age. The school’s tracking shows that all groups of pupils, including those from different ethnic backgrounds, make good progress. By the time they leave school children are well equipped to access the curriculum in the Reception classes in their new schools.  Children of Pakistani heritage are making at least expected progress, with half of the children making better than expected progress across the whole curriculum. Progress is particularly good in the areas of self-confidence and physical development. This is slightly better progress than for the whole group.  Children who speak English as an additional language are all making at least expected progress in all areas and many are making better than expected progress.  Children who enter school with poorly developed speech and language make fast progress due to the

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is good

good support they receive.  Children quickly learn social skills. They can take turns and share, and they are happy to mix with other children and adults. Children develop self-confidence with the result that they are keen to join in activities and express their point of view.  Children learn a good range of early reading skills which are a good foundation for the next stage in their education. Early writing is promoted through a range of activities designed to develop the fine skills that are needed, for example cutting and sticking, modelling and painting as well as mark making. By the time children leave the school a very large majority are ahead of age-related expectations.  Children also make good progress in mathematics and a large majority are ahead of where we expect them to be for their age.  Children who are disabled or with special educational needs, including those in the specialist resource

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is good

provision,make fast progress. Their needs are quickly identified and they receive well-targeted support and encouragement from all adults.

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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 109761 Local authority Slough Inspection number 447947

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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 113 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Valerie Oliver Headteacher Philip Gregory Date of previous school inspection 16–17 May 2012 Telephone number 01753 521917

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Email address

post@baylis-nursery.slough.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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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

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