Horsham Nursery School

Horsham Nursery School Inspection report

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125809 Unique Reference Number West Sussex Local Authority 328404 Inspection number 18 March 2009 Inspection date Diane Wilkinson Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Nursery Type of school Community School category 3–4 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 84 School (total) 24 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Shiraz Rustom Chair Debbie Carter Headteacher 16 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Harwood Road School address Horsham RH13 5UT 01403 224444 Telephone number 01403 224444 Fax number

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3–4 Age group 18 March 2009 Inspection date 328404 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ the extent to which the move to the children's centre has helped enhance the quality of children's development and welfare ■ how well leaders and managers have built on and extended the provision seen at the last inspection as well as developing their new roles within the children's centre. Evidence was gathered from observations of activities in both the main nursery and under-threes group, observations of the before and after school and lunch clubs, analysis of school tracking and assessment data, development planning and documents relating to the holiday club, and from discussions with the headteacher, members of the governing body, senior staff and children. Parental views were gathered from the returns of the Ofsted and the school's own questionnaires and through talking to parents. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation forms,

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Introduction

were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a large nursery school providing education for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In the main nursery, most children attend for either the morning or afternoon session, although a growing number stay for the whole day. Since its last inspection, the nursery school has become part of Horsham Children and Family Centre, which also provides full day care for children under three and before and after school, and holiday care. This provision was also inspected and is referred to in the report. The work of the centre is under the leadership of the headteacher and is managed by the governing body. In addition, the centre provides a range of other services for children and their parents, for example in speech and language support. These were not inspected. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average. Just over 10 per cent of children come from minority ethnic backgrounds

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Description of the school

and are at the early stages of learning English.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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Grade: 1

The nursery provides outstanding education and care for children aged six months to four years, including in the out of school clubs offered. The move to the purpose built children's centre has provided excellent accommodation and resources, which are used to the very best effect by staff in meeting individual children's needs. In this, the key workers play a very effective role in caring for children and supporting their development. Children thrive because they love being in the nursery and thoroughly enjoy the excellent activities on offer. Parents are delighted with the nursery's outstanding work and one put the views of many when commenting, 'It is the best nursery I have ever seen.' When children enter the nursery, their skills are at the level expected for their age. In this safe and stimulating environment, they make exceptional progress and reach high standards in both their academic and personal development. From the time children enter the under-threes group,

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Grade: 1

their personal, social and emotional development is promoted particularly well. Toddlers quickly develop confidence and interact especially well with adults and other children of their age, sustaining interest and persevering on difficult tasks. Behaviour throughout all aspects of the provision is excellent. Children work especially well together, develop a sense of responsibility and are very kind to each other. For example, one four year old was observed helping a younger child to climb out of the sandpit and, without prompting, a toddler carefully gave their neighbour a beaker at snack time. Staff are especially good at helping children to use equipment such as tools and scissors and children develop a very good awareness of how to keep healthy and safe. The excellent outdoor resources, including climbing frames for different age groups, help children develop their physical skills especially well. These aspects are also promoted

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Grade: 1

exceptionally well in the various clubs run by the nursery, for example children at the holiday club learn a great deal about safety through a topic on the emergency services. Children's contribution to the nursery community is excellent. Children take great pride in their nursery. Their ideas are sought and acted on and children are very careful when handling and putting away resources. Although not compulsory for children of this age, attendance is good because children love coming to the nursery, with parents reporting that children are very disappointed when they have to go home. The learning and development of children in the nursery is excellent, being exceptionally well matched to the needs and interests of the different age groups. Children's very good literacy, numeracy and social skills prepare them particularly well for their future lives. High quality learning is underpinned by the excellent information staff record about children's progress,

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Grade: 1

gained from very effective observation of their activities. From this, staff develop individual learning plans which enable them to provide activities especially well adapted to each child's needs. This process helps ensure that those who have specific learning, behavioural or language needs make excellent progress, similar to that of other children. The staff are highly skilled and the nursery employs specialist teachers for music and physical education, helping children to make especially good progress in their physical and creative development. Staff are skilled at linking the different areas of learning so that activities are relevant and interesting, for example the story about the gingerbread man was used as the basis for a counting activity which the older children loved. Staff are especially good at helping children to explore and discover things for themselves. Consequently, children take great delight in finding out new things and develop

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Grade: 1

an excellent knowledge of the world around them. For example, the under- threes loved the game of covering their heads with different materials to see which were transparent and older 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009 children were thrilled to make the wind chimes produce a magical sound to accompany their singing. The quality of discussions that adults hold with children is excellent. From the time they enter the nursery, the under-threes are encouraged to communicate. Children grow in confidence and develop exceptionally good speaking and listening skills by the time they leave to go to primary school. Meal times are very social occasions and thoroughly enjoyed by the children, who develop especially good eating habits. This is a very caring nursery where excellent attention is given to children's safety and welfare. Many parents wrote of the genuine care that staff show to their children, which was evident

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Grade: 1

in the way an upset child was comforted during the inspection. The nursery fully complies with government guidelines on health and safety issues. Pastoral care is outstanding because staff know children so well and cooperate very closely with parents in meeting their needs. Excellent induction procedures are in place to help children settle in and older children are very well prepared for the move to primary school. There are very good links with a wide range of agencies, including those sited in the centre, which benefit children's welfare and education especially well. However, the nursery is well aware that more could be done to liaise with the other educational settings that some children also attend in order to ensure a cohesive approach to their development. Outstanding arrangements have been made for governors and senior managers to take on the widening responsibilities of the work of the children's centre through very effective delegation

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Grade: 1

of tasks. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership and has enabled staff to develop the skills needed to run the different aspects of the provision, allowing her to retain an overview and ensure a consistent approach. In particular, this has allowed children to benefit from similar procedures and expectations, for example through behaviour management, when they move from the under-threes group to the main nursery and when they attend the different out of school clubs. In addition, shared management has allowed staff to make a very effective contribution to maintaining the high quality education and care. Governors have instituted a very effective committee system, with delegated powers, ensuring that the workload is manageable and that governors' expertise is used to best effect. Self-evaluation is excellent. It has been adapted very effectively to the changing provision in the centre and allows staff

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Grade: 1

and governors to easily identify weaker aspects and speedily address them. This, together with the excellent improvement in provision since the nursery was last inspected, ensures that it is particularly well placed to improve further. Staff and governors have been very successful in establishing a cohesive community which fully meets the needs and aspirations of those who use the centre. They are now in the process of surveying the wider community so that the centre can respond to the needs of the local area.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Build on and extend the partnership with other educational settings which nursery children also attend in order to enhance their learning experiences. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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EYFS?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? 1 The standards[1] reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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children?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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The quality of provision

1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of the children in the EYFS promoted? 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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Leadership and management

1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed? How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 March 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Horsham Nursery School, Horsham, RH13 5UT Thank you for welcoming us to your nursery. We very much enjoyed the day we spent with you. We think the nursery is excellent and are delighted that you and your parents agree.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Here are some of the things we found that were especially good:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You very much enjoy all your activities and we were very impressed by how hard you work. Your progress is excellent and you can do a lot more things than most children of your age. ■ Your behaviour is outstanding, you are very kind to each other and you are very good at getting on with things on your own. ■ The activities staff plan for you and the way they help you to learn are excellent.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Staff are very good at keeping a check on how well you are doing so they are especially good at helping you to keep on improving your learning. ■ The nursery is very good at helping you to keep safe and, through your key workers, staff take especially good care of you. ■ Your headteacher is excellent at helping your nursery to get even better and all staff and governors support her especially well in doing this. Here is what I have asked the nursery to improve: ■ Staff are very good at working with your parents and some other groups to help you do well, but this would be even better if they worked more closely with the childminders and playgroups that some of you also go to. Thank you again for all your help and good luck for the future. Yours faithfully D Wilkinson Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Horsham Nursery School, 18 March 2009

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