Fawood Nursery School & Family Wellbeing Centre

Inspection of Fawood Children’s Centre 35 Fawood Avenue, London NW10 8RF

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 24–25 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children thoroughly enjoy coming to school. Older children act as excellent role models to children who are new to the school. Children make friends quickly and play together happily. The school’s nurturing atmosphere is central to this. Staff expect children to be kind to one another. Staff deal with any unkind behaviour effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are experts in developing children’s self-confidence. We saw this at the start of the school day. Staff greeted children warmly and helped them to settle in without a fuss. Parents and carers praise the school’s ‘caring’ ethos. They particularly value how leaders and staff make sure ‘everyone feels welcome’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff encourage children to explore, discover and ask questions here. Children do so eagerly. For instance, children took great delight in pretending to cook dinner in the ‘mud kitchen’. Other children concentrated to make clay sculptures. They moulded clay and experimented with different marks and patterns. Children learn to use all equipment, such as the climbing frame, safely.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. All children, including those who attend the ‘Rainbows’ class, join in the rich range of experiences that the school provides.

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better?

Leaders, governors and staff put children’s needs and interests first. Their commitment to children’s well-being and development is clear. Staff provide excellent care and guidance to children and their families.

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better?

Leaders’ plans for children’s learning are ambitious. They want all children to be well prepared for primary school. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who attend the ‘Rainbows’ class. Leaders make sure that staff introduce children to the right experiences and knowledge at the right time. For example, when children start school, staff help them to explore how the classrooms are similar and different to their home. Staff know that this activity will help children to notice other similarities and differences later in the academic year. For instance, when children go on ‘nature walks’ in a nearby park.

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better?

Leaders want all children to be able to communicate well. Daily phonics activities help children to recognise and describe the sounds that they hear around them. As children play and explore, staff introduce new words and concepts. For example, as children used wooden bricks to build a tower, staff talked about whether the tower was ‘bigger’ or ‘smaller’ than the children. Children also listen to plenty of stories, rhymes and songs during their time at school. Leaders and staff know that this helps children to understand new words and concepts. For example, children learn about number by singing songs such as ‘Five Speckled Frogs’. 24–25 September 2019

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Children make strong gains in their communication and early literacy skills. However, children could do even better. Leaders’ plans do not provide enough opportunities for children to listen to the same stories and rhymes on multiple occasions. This means that children are not familiar with the words and concepts these stories contain. Classrooms contain guidance on the words staff should use and repeat when they talk to children. However, staff do not follow this guidance consistently. This too reduces opportunities for children to understand and remember new words.

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Staff work hard to develop children’s personal and social skills. They take children to museums and the theatre and teach them how to brush their teeth. Leaders give parents helpful advice on how they might continue the school’s work at home. Parents told us how much they value this support.

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Children behave exceptionally well. All children, including those with SEND, develop the attitudes they need to get the most out of their time at school. Children follow adults’ instructions, take turns and listen to each other’s ideas. Staff understand children’s needs, including those children who are in the ‘Rainbows’ class. Children who find it difficult to follow the school’s routines receive extra help as soon as they need it. Leaders help parents to ensure that all children attend regularly. When families experience difficulties, leaders find solutions that work well for individual children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Keeping children safe is at the forefront of the school’s work. Classrooms are well organised and free from hazards. Throughout the school day, staff keep a close eye on children’s well-being and supervise children effectively. Parents agree that their children are kept safe here.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff get to know children and their families well. Leaders signpost parents to extra help that is available from external agencies. Leaders and staff take prompt and effective action if they think a child’s welfare may be at risk.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have thought about the books and stories they want children to know. Plans provide for a broad range of authors and topics. However, leaders should make sure that these plans provide carefully sequenced opportunities for children to revisit books and stories and, in turn, deepen their understanding of important words and concepts.  Developing children’s speaking skills is a priority for the school. Leaders know that children typically find this hard, particularly when they first join the school. 24–25 September 2019

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Leaders are clear about which words and concepts they expect children to know and by when. Leaders should make sure that staff plan and deliver activities which match these aims and ambitions.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 24–25 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110400 Type of school Nursery

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 September 2018

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in September 2019. She is also the headteacher of nearby Curzon Crescent Nursery School. Fawood and Curzon Crescent federated in 2012. Both schools share one governing body.  The school provides full-time and part-time nursery places for children from age two to five. Children with part-time places usually attend school for two full days and a further half day.  The school provides resourced provision for up to 16 children with SEND. This provision is called ‘Rainbows’. It caters primarily for children with autism spectrum disorder.  The school has a higher than typical proportion of children with SEND.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection considered children’s learning and development in all areas of the early years curriculum. We focused deeply on communication and language, physical development, expressive arts and design, as well as personal, social and 24–25 September 2019

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emotional development.  We met with leaders to discuss their plans for children’s learning and development. We visited classrooms and spoke to children and staff. We also looked at examples of children’s learning.  We held discussions with the senior leadership team and members of the governing body. We also held discussions with improvement advisers from the local authority.  We reviewed arrangements to safeguard children’s welfare. This included checking that leaders make sure all staff undergo the necessary pre-employment checks. We also held discussions with leaders regarding children’s behaviour, attendance and personal development.  We spoke to parents informally to gather their views. There were too few responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, to draw meaningful conclusions. No responses were received for Ofsted’s survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Sarah Murphy-Dutton, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kanwaljit Singh Ofsted Inspector 24–25 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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