Granville Plus Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ms Lesley Benson Headteacher Granville Plus Nursery School Granville Road London NW6 5RA

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 20 June 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2015.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

Through your strong leadership, the school has continued to improve since the last inspection, with the previous areas for improvement being addressed successfully. You are ably supported by a deputy headteacher who is also the headteacher for one day a week. You, along with your staff, are passionate about ensuring that all children receive high-quality early years education.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

You have worked hard to strengthen teaching skills and develop leadership at all levels. As a result, staff feel supported and motivated to secure further improvements in their practice. Your focus on professional development and on improving leadership has led to improvements in the overall quality of teaching.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

Children enter the nursery with skills below those typical for their age and a high proportion speak English as an additional language. Your focus on developing early learning skills, particularly in communication and language development, means that children settle quickly in the nursery. Children are enthusiastic and excited to learn in a stimulating environment. The outdoor area enables children to explore, investigate and learn about the natural world, as well as encouraging them to experiment with managed risk. Several parents and carers spoke to me about the excellent support and provision, including in the ‘Horizon’ class for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). You ensure that an inclusive approach exists throughout the nursery and that all children have well-planned opportunities which develop their learning. The skilled team who work with the children develop children’s confidence

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

and learning skills effectively so that they make strong progress from their starting points.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

You and the other leaders have ensured that the statutory welfare requirements are fully met and safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

The school has a strong safeguarding culture. Leaders and staff are knowledgeable and well trained, ensuring that safeguarding is a high priority. Checks on staff suitability to work with children are robust and rigorous. Staff receive regular safeguarding training which ensures that they are highly vigilant and quick to recognise possible safeguarding risks. They have a thorough understanding of the procedures to follow if there is a concern and they are clear about their responsibilities. Staff are trained to the right level to fulfil their duties, including first aiders.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

Records are up to date, well organised and stored securely. They demonstrate that leaders act promptly when concerned about the welfare of a child. Leaders ensure that vulnerable families are well supported and receive the right level of support in a timely manner. They do this through effective ‘early help’ procedures and partnerships with external agencies.

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Short inspection of Granville Plus Nursery School

Children are confident and emotionally secure because of the effective relationships they have with adults. Staff give high priority to the safety of children. They are effective in supporting children’s developing understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children are provided with opportunities to make healthy choices independently through the café and lunchtimes. Parents are confident that their children are kept safe.

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Inspection findings

 The first focus for the inspection was to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies to develop early language and communication skills, including for those children with SEND. You wanted to show this area as a strength of the school and how this had improved since the last inspection.  The school is in an area of high deprivation. Most children join the school with language acquisition skills below those typical for their age. In many cases, children are at an early stage of learning to speak English and some children have social and communication difficulties.  Staff ensure that, in all areas of learning, activities are planned that enable children to develop their communication and language skills. I observed a range of activities where the development of language and communication was at the heart of the learning. Leaders have ensured that the children who start nursery with language and communication skills below those one would typically find

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Inspection findings

make strong progress.  Leaders have ensured that all adults are confident in using a range of communication systems, including Makaton and picture exchange systems. Staff ensure that language is taught using a developmental approach. Most adults understand when to extend and support children’s language development through the skilful use of questioning. Typically, adults are effective at modelling language, introducing and reinforcing vocabulary. However, some adults are not as consistent in ensuring that all opportunities are extended to develop children’s language skills.  The second focus for the inspection considered how effectively the school works in partnership with parents, including those who have children with SEND. This was identified by you as one of the strengths of the school.  Important information is gathered for all children in advance of them starting at the school. Through home visits and close liaison with external agencies, leaders

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Inspection findings

and staff work closely with parents. This ensures that all children, including those with SEND or who may be vulnerable, are well supported from the beginning.  The role of the key worker is well established and ensures that all staff have a thorough understanding of the families and the community served by the school. Relationships between the parents, children and key worker are strong. Parents appreciate the role that the key worker plays in supporting their children’s learning. A typical view from parents is that they trust the key worker to provide them with advice and deal with any concerns they have.  Parents are closely involved in their children’s learning through regular assessment meetings, workshops and parenting courses. Parents of children with SEND appreciate the regular specialist support that the school facilitates for them. The school’s approach to assessment, using individual profiles, provides

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Inspection findings

parents with the opportunity to share in their children’s learning and the target- setting process. Parents who I spoke to said that relationships between staff and parents are positive and they feel well supported. One parent spoke about ‘why this nursery is exceptional’, saying that ‘it is because of the way they share information and how it engenders trust’.  The third focus for the inspection was to evaluate how leaders, including middle leaders, ensure that the curriculum provision supports the needs of all children. You told me that this is now a strength of the school and it had been an area that you had focused on since the last inspection.  The school’s purposeful and stimulating learning environment offers children a range of engaging activities and high-quality resources, both inside and outdoors. Children are enthusiastic and excited by learning and sustain concentration for long periods of time. Following their interests, children can choose the equipment

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Inspection findings

and resources they need. Staff provide children with opportunities to develop their decision-making skills continuously through well-planned activities. For example, I observed children being encouraged to choose materials independently to build models and make choices for themselves.  Middle leaders are knowledgeable about their curriculum area of responsibility. They ensure that they offer support and advice to all practitioners so that the curriculum provision is of high quality. Leaders and staff make regular reviews of the provision on offer. This enables children to deepen and develop their learning and build and develop their knowledge, understanding and skills. All children across the age range are encouraged to be independent learners and they demonstrate confidence in the choices they make. Adults are skilful at intervening when needed to support children’s learning but do not interfere unnecessarily.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders and staff ensure that the curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of all children. I observed an activity where staff competently supported children with a range of differing SEND using a sensory approach to learning. The children were fully engaged in the activity and the staff skilfully enhanced their learning experience. All children are provided with opportunities to enable them to be successful learners. Children with SEND are well supported by highly skilled, knowledgeable adults. As a result, leaders at all levels ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of all children.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they:

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Next steps for the school

 continue to share the best practice seen across the provision to enable children’s language skills to be further developed by all staff.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Brent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

At the start of the inspection, I discussed the school’s work with you, the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. I carried out learning walks and observations with leaders in classrooms and the outdoor learning environment. I looked at children’s profiles. I met with the senior nursery officer to look at the single central record. I met with you and the deputy headteacher to discuss safeguarding. I met with a group of parents to consider their views of the school. I met with middle leaders and a group of staff. I met with a representative from the local authority and two governors, including the chair of governors. I considered the responses from staff and children, and from parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I scrutinised a range of documentation and information published on the school’s website.

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