South Acton Childrens Centre

School report South Acton Children’s Centre Nursery Castle Close, London, W3 8RX

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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

 This is a nursery where everyone is made to feel welcome and valued. Adults are committed to ensuring that children enjoy learning and make at least good progress. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the support for their children.  Children achieve well in all areas of learning. A few children make rapid progress in relation to their starting points. Parents say that their children leave nursery well prepared for life in Reception.  Teaching is good and at times outstanding. Adults know the children in their groups and have a good understanding of how these young children learn. They use this information to plan activities to suit the different needs of the children.  Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well within the curriculum. Children enjoy exciting activities which interest them. They have many opportunities to develop the skills necessary to be kind and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

considerate towards each other, reflect on their actions and begin to learn about British values.  The recently appointed headteacher has gained the confidence of the governors and parents. A team of middle managers has been established and good provision has been maintained from the previous inspection.  The headteacher and her team, well supported by governors, are striving for excellence. Teaching has improved because it is thoroughly monitored by the headteacher and members of her middle management. This has ensured achievement has remained good.  Procedures for monitoring attendance have been focused on and children are attending more regularly.  The high expectations of all adults along with the well-established daily routines ensure that children feel safe and secure. Behaviour is always at least good.  Governors know the school well and are effective in supporting the new leadership team in driving the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

nursery forward so that it keeps improving.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Adults do not always fully involve children of all abilities when questioning them about their learning.  Sometimes adult interactions do not give children time to articulate their thinking and then enable them to use the new words they have learned.  Too few adults encourage children to comment on the spoken responses of their friends.  When compiling children’s ‘learning journeys’ (examples of their work) staff do not always collect enough evidence to clearly demonstrate the good progress that children make.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight parts of sessions taught by two teachers, two nursery managers and seven nursery officers.  Discussions were held with the headteacher and her staff, children, two members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector looked at a range of documents including children’s performance information relating to their achievement, curriculum documentation and planning, the nursery’s own check on its performance, improvement planning and safeguarding documents.  There were too few responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, to be considered as representative. The inspector spoke to many parents, along with scrutinizing information staff had collected regarding parents’ views on nursery provision.  The views of staff were also considered through the scrutiny of 14 completed questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Nina Bee, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized nursery school situated within South Acton Children’s Centre which provides wrap-around care before and after nursery hours and during the school holidays. This provision was not inspected. The nursery provides part-time or full-time support for nursery-aged children during term time.  The headteacher was appointed in September 2014 and is also the locality lead of three other children’s centres in Acton.  The proportion of children who are learning to speak English as an additional language is well above average. Just over half of the children come from ethnic minority groups.  The proportion of children who are disabled or have special educational needs is above average. This includes nine children who receive additional support for speech and language.  An above average number of children are disadvantaged. The nursery has not yet received the early years pupil premium for these children. The early years premium is additional government funding for children

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Information about this school

known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen teaching by making sure that all adults:  ask children, of all abilities, questions that encourage them to think about what they are learning  encourage children to articulate their thinking and enable them to use as much language as possible in their replies  collect evidence for children’s learning journeys that clearly show the good progress, in each area of learning, that they make over time.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, ably supported by her middle managers and governors, ensures that appropriate improvements are identified and worked on so children receive provision that is at least good. Staff morale is high. Everyone works effectively with one aim in mind which is to provide all children with an education that prepares them well for their next stage.  The curriculum offered is suitably focused on the different areas of learning for children of this age group and their differing needs. There is no discrimination and all children have equal opportunities to take part in all activities. Children’s spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is particularly well developed. Adults continually foster good relations and promote values such as the importance of being kind and respectful. Children have many opportunities to learn about world celebrations and British traditions through stories and rhymes. The many different backgrounds of the children in the nursery enable them

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The leadership and management are good

to begin to understand the differences between themselves and their friends as they play and learn alongside each other. This prepares them for life in modern Britain.  The way teaching is monitored by middle leaders has been developed. Middle leaders are effective adults who are keen to learn and develop their practice. Points of improvement are given after observations. As a result, children make at least good progress in all they do.  All adults are involved in assessing children’s progress in all areas of learning. This information is then transferred into an electronic tracking system which gives leaders precise information on how different groups and individuals are achieving. Adults use this information to inform future planning.  The local authority has effectively supported the nursery by helping the headteacher and her team in developing the system to monitor the quality of teaching and supporting the governors in their role in

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The leadership and management are good

appraising the headteacher.  The nursery is making preparations to receive the early years pupil premium. A large number of children have been identified as being eligible for this funding.  Arrangements for safeguarding are overseen by the headteacher and governors to ensure that children are secure at all times and are always fully protected and that statutory requirements are met. Parents spoken to have no concerns relating to safety. All parents stated that their children are happy at nursery and are progressing well. They say that staff are welcoming and supportive. Children were observed confidently coming into nursery each day ready to learn.  The governance of the school:  Governance is effective. Governors are actively involved in the life of the nursery, have had appropriate training and demonstrate a good understanding of their main roles and responsibilities. A recent look at governors’ responsibilities has resulted in individual governors being linked to health and safety, special

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The leadership and management are good

educational needs and safeguarding.  Governors know about the quality of teaching through visits, reports and regular meetings. They have a good understanding of the appraisal system, particularly relating to the headteacher with whom they are involved, and how the performance of adults links to the pay structure. They also know how any underperformance is tackled.  Governors are well aware of how well children are achieving because they are kept up to date by the headteacher and so are able to ask questions and understand how well children are achieving.  Policies and procedures for safeguarding are regularly updated and reviewed. Governors walk the site to ensure that the inside and outdoor areas are safe for children to learn as they play. Governors are well trained in safeguarding procedures, such as safer recruitment.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of children is good. Children know how to behave in the different surroundings they find themselves in. Whether they play as they learn inside or out or during the time they eat their lunch in the canteen area, behaviour is at least good.  Behaviour is outstanding during interactions with adults when questioning is addressing all children’s needs and abilities and activities are captivating the attention of all children. This is particularly noticeable when specialists work with children who have severe and specific speech and language difficulties. Language is expertly developed as new vocabulary is introduced and reinforced and children’s understanding consistently checked.  Children usually demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and generally stay focused because they are eager to learn and enjoy what is on offer each session.  Adults have clear systems to record behaviour that is not good but there are very few incidents identified.

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Behaviour

All adults have a consistent approach to behaviour management along with high expectations of expected behaviour.

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Safety

 The nursery’s work to keep children safe and secure is good. Adults are vigilant both inside and out to check that children are playing safely and are not in any danger. The outside area, in particular, allows children to take risks and run about while being safe and secure.  Adults complete risk assessments for various activities where necessary. The format and quality of these has recently been revised and improved. They are fit for purpose and focus well on all aspects of safety.  There is a very thorough system to enable adults to check all adults who have access to the nursery, including the outside area, to avoid any risk to the children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good and promotes good learning for all groups of children. At times learning is better than good. Adults plan activities that support children’s learning effectively. Individual needs are generally well catered for and additional support is given where necessary.  Activities are well resourced and interest and excite the children. As a result, all children learn well as they develop skills, knowledge and understanding in all areas of learning.  Much excitement was observed as children enthusiastically painted with coloured frozen ice. They correctly likened the sticks to lollipops and made interesting patterns. Others decided to write their names and showed a developing understanding of identifying some of the letter sounds in their names.  All children have many opportunities to develop physically as they climb and run about outside. Children use all apparatus carefully and safely because they know that is what adults expect of them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children were seen developing personal and social skills effectively as they learned how to sit properly and ask for food and drinks politely during their lunch and snack sessions. Adults promote literacy skills well. Children looking at books after lunch showed a developing awareness of the love of books as they carefully handled books and looked at and talked about the sequence of the pictures.  Children enjoyed making cheese and cucumber sandwiches. The activity was very well planned, resourced and explained to the group. This resulted in the children understanding exactly what they had to do. They were encouraged to think things through so that they got the sequence of events correct. Consequently, children worked with confidence and accuracy. All children were totally involved and the adult encouraged them to respond to each other’s comments. Much enjoyment was observed, especially as they ate their

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The quality of teaching is good

delicious sandwich.  Children with severe and specific speech and language difficulties are expertly supported by the specialist. She is an excellent role model for the adults who work with her. During these sessions, expectations are extremely high and no opportunities missed to reinforce and develop vocabulary, for all children, in all areas of learning.  Questioning is often good. However, a few adults do not consistently ask children questions which allow them to think about what they are learning. At other times, children are not always encouraged to articulate what they are thinking. This affects the learning of all groups of children.  The children’s learning journeys contain a record of the wide range of activities offered to children. However, they do not always contain clear evidence of the good progress that children make during their time in the nursery.

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The achievement of pupils

 Nursery data on entry show that children’s starting points are below those typically expected for their ages. Exit data show that many reach levels that are typical for their age.  Children achieve well during their time in nursery. They make good progress as they acquire a range of skills, knowledge and understanding in all areas in relation to their starting points. A few children make better than good progress and this includes disabled children, those identified with special educational needs, children who speak English as an additional language and the most able children.  Children achieve well in all areas of learning because adults plan activities that thoroughly cover all that is expected within the curriculum for this age group and carefully track each child’s progress. Literacy, numeracy and personal and social skills are promoted particularly well across all areas and are evident in

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The achievement of pupils

most activities. Children begin to identify letters and sounds and confidently count during group times. Children quickly learn how to behave in all different areas in the nursery and demonstrate kindness and consideration towards each other as they play and share equipment.  The most able children achieve well because adults know who they are and develop their learning when they individually interact with them or during adult-focused activities.  Similarly, disabled children and those identified with special educational needs are sensitively supported in all they do. The provision planned carefully meets their needs. As a result, their achievement is at least good. Parents, during the inspection, spoke of how pleased they were with the progress their children had made.  Disadvantaged children achieve well because, as with all other groups, their needs are effectively focused on in all that they do.

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The achievement of pupils

 Children with severe and specific speech and language problems and children who speak English as an additional language receive effective support as they take part in the activities that are offered to all children. Adults are generally aware of the importance of reinforcing and developing vocabulary to enable these children to gain the confidence to speak during one-to-one situations and small-group times.

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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 101861 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 447904

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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 3–4 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 111 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Hall Headteacher Beth Kellett Date of previous school inspection 04–05 October 2011 Telephone number 020 8992 0724 Fax number 020 8896 0468 Email address head@southactoncc.com 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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