Chertsey Nursery School

Chertsey Nursery School Pyrcroft Road, Chertsey, KT16 9ER

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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

 Leaders and governors have consistently improved the quality of the teaching. As a result, children achieve well and are prepared well for the next phase of schooling.  Members of the leadership team have improved ways of checking how well children are learning. School records show clearly how much progress children make from the time they start to the time they leave. Governors use this information to hold the school to account and secure good achievement.  Leaders and governors have an honest and realistic understanding of their school and what needs to be done to improve it further. Their plans are clear and cover the right priorities. The school is well placed to continue to improve.  Parents and carers love the school. They are confident that their children are safe and making good progress. The school keeps them well informed about how well their children are doing.  The range of activities provided for children is

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

wide and stimulating and helps them learn well. The outdoor play areas are used well to promote children’s creativity and physical development.  The school develops children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Children respect others. They learn by example, because the adults take very good care of them.  Children’s behaviour is good. They get on well with one another. They are ready to cooperate and take turns.  The school keeps children safe. Adults who work with the children are rigorously checked. The site is secure.  Teaching is caring and good in quality. Adults plan well to meet the children’s needs and to provide extra support for those who need it. Adults plan stimulating activities for children, allowing free rein to their imagination.  Children achieve well. They make good progress, particularly in gaining self-confidence and acquiring personal and emotional skills. By the time they

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

leave, they are well prepared for the Reception Year.  Children in the Cluster Class make strong progress, particularly in listening to adults and to one another. Children who have a range of additional needs but who do not attend the Cluster Class also make strong progress. The school caters successfully for their individual needs.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Adults do not always expect enough from the children. Their questions do not always give children the chance to develop their language and thinking skills to the full.  Adults do not sufficiently use the outdoor play areas to promote children’s reading, writing and number skills.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector looked at the children’s learning in the indoor and outdoor play areas. Some of the observations were conducted jointly with the acting headteacher. The inspector observed the work of the Cluster Class. She observed the children eating lunch, tidying up and taking part in group sessions. The inspector attended a staff planning meeting.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator. She met a representative from the local authority. She also met the Chair of the Governing Body.  The inspector took account of responses to a questionnaire from 21 members of staff.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents and carers. She also took account of the school’s own survey of parents’ and carers’ views. There were too few responses to Parent View, the online survey, to be analysed.  The inspector looked at a range of documents. These included the school’s own views of how well it is

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Information about this inspection

doing, its plans for the future and the minutes of meetings of the governing body.  The inspector looked at information on the children’s attainment and progress, and examined records relating to behaviour and safety.

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is an average-sized nursery school.  The school incorporates a specialist resource unit, the Cluster Class. This provides for up to 10 children who have complex speech, language or communication needs or who have a diagnosis of autism. It is currently fully subscribed.  The children’s centre on site is inspected separately and did not form part of this inspection. This is also the case for the provision for two-year-olds in the school.  The acting headteacher has been in post since September 2014. She works for four days a week and the deputy headteacher manages the school for one day a week.  The proportion of children who come from minority ethnic backgrounds is higher than average. Children come from a wide variety of heritages with no one group predominating.  The proportion of children who speak English as an additional language is average.  An average proportion of children are disadvantaged. The school has not yet received the early years pupil

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Information about this school

premium for these children. The early years premium is additional government funding for children eligible for free school meals or those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of children who are disabled or have special educational needs, including those who attend the resource unit, is much higher than average. The proportion, not including those who attend the resource unit, is still higher than average.  Around two out of five children attend full time. The rest attend part time in either the morning or afternoon sessions.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 To improve the quality of teaching, make sure that all adults:  have consistently high expectations of all children and challenge them to do their very best work  ask children questions which encourage them think about the task they are doing and use as much language as possible in their replies.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide more opportunities for children to read, write and learn number skills in the outdoor areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and governors work in effective partnership. Strong leadership has maintained the school’s journey of improvement while governors look for a substantive headship appointment. The acting headteacher has made a strong personal contribution to improving the school, particularly by improving the quality of teaching. As a result, children learn well and are prepared effectively for the next phase of schooling.  Teaching has improved since the previous inspection because leaders check the adults’ work regularly and provide valuable advice on how to improve. Lesson observations are based firmly on how much children are learning and how well they achieve. Teachers are informed very clearly about how their performance is measured and that it is linked to pay awards.  Leaders have improved ways of checking children’s progress in their learning. New systems show clearly the level of children’s skills at the start and end of their time at the school. This information helps

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The leadership and management are good

governors to understand how much progress the children make. They ask searching questions to ensure that the school is held to account for children’s learning.  All staff share in checking children’s progress. They can see clearly how well the children are doing. The information identifies how well groups are learning. This ensures that no group falls behind.  Leaders and governors understand their school and accurately judge its strengths and remaining areas for improvement. Their plans for the future of the school cover detailed priorities to secure continued improvement. They are aware for instance of occasional inconsistencies in teaching.  Leaders and middle leaders effectively manage important areas of the school’s work. They manage provision well for children who have a range of additional needs. The Cluster Class is very well managed. Middle leaders take responsibility for managing outdoor learning. Lines of communication are clear.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides much helpful guidance to leaders, particularly in helping them to evaluate the quality of teaching. Their support has played an important part in ensuring that the school continues to improve.  The school has not yet received the early years pupil premium. However, leaders and governors have drawn up clear plans for its use, focusing on improving children’s literacy skills through extra adult support.  Parents and carers who spoke to the inspector or who completed the school’s survey of their views were very happy with the school. Typical comments were: ‘I can’t praise it enough’ and ‘It’s like family.’ Parents and carers reported that the school keeps their children safe and happy. They know how well their children are doing. They confirm that the school listens to any concerns they may have and deals with these quickly and effectively.  Leaders and governors effectively fulfil their statutory obligation to keep children safe. Procedures are well

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The leadership and management are good

organised and effective.  Leaders have created a culture in which children feel safe and secure, and in which they behave well. Children from all heritages and backgrounds get on well together. There is no bullying or discrimination against anyone. Each child has an equal opportunity to succeed.  The school provides a wide variety of stimulating activities for the children, both indoors and outdoors. The school is particularly strong in caring for the children. This brings out the children’s own caring side, and they are tender with living creatures. The school promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development strongly. The outside play areas are used effectively to stimulate children’s creative development and to give them good opportunities to develop their physical skills.  The school prepares children well for growing up in modern Britain. Children learn about different cultures

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The leadership and management are good

and religions. Children from the Cluster Class play and eat with those in the main nursery wherever possible, and those from the main nursery join the Cluster Class in many of their activities. In this way children learn to celebrate diversity and individuality.  The governance of the school:  Governors are actively involved in the life of the school and visit as often as possible to see its work for themselves. They know about the quality of teaching through informal walks around the school. These visits enable them to see that the children are learning well. Governors have maintained the school on its path of improvement while planning for a substantive headship appointment.  Governors keep up-to-date with how well the children are achieving. Leaders provide them with clear data on children’s progress. Such information enables them to ask searching questions and to understand how well the children are doing in comparison to others nationwide.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors secure good value for money from the teaching staff. Working closely with leaders, they set clear targets for performance from staff. They ensure that progression along the pay scales is linked to children’s learning. They are not afraid to tackle underperformance, should it occur.  Safeguarding is a high priority. Policies are regularly updated. Governors walk the site to ensure that the building is safe. Long-standing governors are well trained in safeguarding procedures, such as safer recruitment. They make sure that new governors are soon given training.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of children is good. They get on well with one another and quarrels are rare. Children are ready to take turns and to share the equipment. For example, children in the outdoor area cooperated happily to paint with rollers on a long piece of paper.  Children have positive attitudes to learning. They are invariably ready to try new activities.  Children from the Cluster Class and from the main nursery eat, play and learn together when the adults judge it to be appropriate. Lunchtimes provide valuable opportunities for children to cooperate and to learn good manners. This helps children to understand and value one another and get on well together.  The school promotes children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development strongly. They are cared for very well. This encourages them to learn by example and to respect others. For example, children learn to be gentle with living creatures when gathering eggs from the school’s chickens or when handling

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Behaviour

animals during a visit from a farmer.  Children in the Cluster Class also learn to take turns and to improve their communication. For example, when requesting a snack they are encouraged to use complete sentences and to be polite, and say, ‘I want raisins, please.’ This is a big achievement for some of the children who find it difficult to use full sentences or communicate confidently with adults and children in their class.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep children safe and secure is good. Adults ensure through constant vigilance that the building, a beautiful Grade II listed farmhouse with many nooks and crannies, is safe and secure. The outdoor garden has the right level of adventure for the children while remaining a safe environment.  Adults are carefully checked to rule out any risk to the children.  Children who have particular dietary requirements, such as food intolerances, are kept safe. The school ensures that their food poses no risk.  The school plans ahead for any possible risks that might arise when taking children out on trips or when visitors come to the school. For example, children were very well prepared for handling animals when the farmer brought pigs, goats and other animals for the children to learn about and stroke. Children were reminded to use antiseptic hand-wash gel and not to touch their faces until they had washed their hands.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is consistently good with just a few minor inconsistencies. Adults care for the children very well. They plan well to meet the needs of each child and provide effective additional support for those who may be falling behind.  Teaching in the Cluster Class is particularly strong. Adults patiently help children with complex needs to take turns and to listen to the adults and to one another. Singing is used effectively to help children to work together and to develop their language skills.  Adults provide a variety of stimulating tasks to help children learn a range of skills and understand the world around them. For example, a group of children explored why pouring water, which is soft, onto flour, which is also soft, resulted in hard lumps of dough. By the end of the session, children had learned a much wider range of vocabulary and had gained a good understanding of simple science.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults plan activities for the children which allow free rein to their imagination. For example, an outdoor activity of stacking wooden blocks allowed a group of the most-able children to cooperate in inventing an extended story. First, a child suggested that they should ‘make a hideout where people can hide and no one can find them’. The children then developed a drama about chickens needing a pen to protect them from a fox. Such imaginative play enables children to explore interesting ideas which they express in sophisticated language.  Questioning is generally good and adults are ready to engage in conversation with children. For example, one child made a ‘stable’ for his hobby horses. The adult asked what else the horses might need. The child answered, ‘You would need to give them some apples because they love apples.’ However, occasionally questions do not get children thinking sufficiently deeply about their activities. As a result,

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The quality of teaching is good

they sometimes do not answer in complete sentences and are not given time or encouragement to reflect on the activity or topic they are engaged in.  The school promotes children’s reading, writing and number skills well, particularly in the indoor play areas. Adults and children are often to be seen reading a good book together in the many attractive, quiet reading areas. Many indoor activities promote children’s writing skills well. For example, trays of ‘moon dust’ and ‘fairy dust’ are used to encourage children to trace letters with their fingers. Mathematical skills are promoted well. For example, an adult encouraged children to divide toy animals into different ‘fields’ and count whether one child’s field had more or fewer animals than another’s. However, the outdoor play areas are not fully enough used to provide children with similar opportunities to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is not outstanding because adults do not always expect the very best from the children. Children are not always challenged to do their very best work.

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is good

 Children achieve well in their time at the school. They make good progress in acquiring a range of skills. School data show that children develop particularly well in gaining self-confidence and in learning to control their emotions. The inspector observed a small group of children looking at pictures of sad or happy faces and talking about how they felt. In this way, they learned to understand their own feelings and use language confidently.  Children make good progress in developing literacy and numeracy skills from starting points which vary but which are below those typical for their age. By the time they leave school, they are generally confident in recognising letters, writing their name and understanding numbers and shapes, and are ready for the Reception Year.  Children who attend the Cluster Class make strong progress in learning to coordinate their actions and to work socially with others. For example, a group singsong of Old Macdonald Had a Farm enabled children

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is good

to take turns in wearing animal masks and to join in making animal noises. The activity also tied in successfully with the visit from the farmer, helping to stimulate the children’s imagination.  Children in the Cluster Class make similar good progress to children who have a range of additional needs but who do not attend the Cluster Class. All make good progress in acquiring a range of skills, including personal and emotional skills. Their needs are diagnosed early, and the school provides timely and effective interventions. As a result, disabled children and those who have a range of special educational needs do well at the school.  The most-able children do well and make good progress. This is because the school understands their needs and provides effective small-group support for them, enabling them to make good progress in line with other children at the school.  Children who are disadvantaged attain as well as others in the school and make similar good progress.

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is good

This is because the school accurately checks how well they are doing and puts support in place for any child at risk of falling behind.  The school has effective transition arrangements with the range of local schools to which children transfer. Teachers from the new schools visit the children and children are taken to see their next school before they transfer. Information about each child is transferred to make transitions smooth. As a result, children move confidently to the next phase of schooling.

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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 124911 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 449494

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 80 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Elizabeth Langley Headteacher Anne Sauer (acting headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 15 May 2012 Telephone number 01932 562225 Fax number 01932 561720 Email address info@chertsey.surrey.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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