Edith Cadbury Nursery School

Inspection of Edith Cadbury Nursery School Somerford Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham, West Midlands B29 5LB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 4–5 February 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Edith Cadbury Nursery is a happy, welcoming school. Children play very well together. Adults and visitors are greeted with a smile and a ‘hello’. School leaders, staff and governors have a heartfelt commitment to helping their children get the best start possible.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children do not worry about bullying. They know their teachers will listen to them if they have a problem.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave well, both in the school and at free times. At playtime, they are kind and considerate, even when playing lively games. A sizeable number of children have specific needs that mean they sometimes struggle to behave. Staff meet these children’s needs well, helping them to know what to do and to understand their emotions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel well informed and know who to go to if they have any problems. They say concerns are dealt with swiftly. Parents say that they could not have a picked a better nursery.

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better?

Staff have focused on developing an effective early years curriculum. They have carried out research and have developed a clear sequence of learning. The curriculum sets out the knowledge and experiences that children need in a logical order so that they are ready for primary school.

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better?

Since the last inspection, there have been many changes in the school. Leaders have introduced new ideas. They have recently introduced a new way of checking the progress that children make. This is leading to more accurate assessment of what children can do but is not yet embedded. The information recorded in children’s learning journals helps staff plan next learning steps.

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better?

Throughout the inspection, children showed an obvious love of books. Adults read to them at every opportunity, bringing books to life with actions and questions. The book areas are well resourced, with a good range of books. A new phonics programme has been introduced for children that are ready for it. It is well taught, and children find the phonics sessions exciting.

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better?

Mathematics has improved since the last inspection. The skills and knowledge that leaders want children to learn have been carefully mapped out. Lots of number and shape resources are available to support children’s learning. Staff introduce new concepts clearly. They help children to use appropriate mathematical terms such as number names and words to describe height, time and shape. 4–5 February 2020

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Staff have a good understanding of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They ensure that children’s social and emotional needs as well as their academic needs are met. The inclusive nature of the school ensures that pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Staff are united in their desire to make sure that children develop into considerate and well-rounded people. Children’s personal development is carefully nurtured. Squabbles are quickly sorted out before they get too big. In class, children listen carefully to teachers and do their best to finish their tasks. Children learn to respect and celebrate differences. This helps to prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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Staff, in general, feel very well supported by the headteacher and are proud to work at the school. Leaders, including governors, are very attentive to the well-being and workload of staff. They have introduced regular well-being activities such as counselling to support staff. Some staff indicated that there had been a lot of change in a short period of time. They felt that they were not included in all the changes. As a result, staff said they struggled with implementing some of the new initiatives.

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Leaders use the pupil premium funding carefully to focus on supporting disadvantaged pupils’ academic and personal development. They check whether interventions are making a difference for the individual children. Governors are involved in agreeing how the funding is spent; however, leaders do not keep them well enough informed about the impact of the funding.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff know what they should do to keep children safe. The headteacher has ensured that all staff have received regular safeguarding training. The school has effective systems in place for monitoring and tracking any incident or concern.

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Safeguarding

Staff are very knowledgeable about the community they serve. This helps them to be aware of any potential risks and provide appropriate support for vulnerable families. The school works effectively with external agencies to provide suitable care for children.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The new approach to assessing children’s development is having a positive impact on staff knowledge about their children. This has not yet been fully implemented. Leaders should continue to develop staff expertise in understanding the developmental milestones, so that they can more accurately check children’s progress.  The school has undergone rapid change, with multiple initiatives being introduced. Staff have not always felt part of these changes, and this has led to 4–5 February 2020

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an increase in staff anxiety. Leaders should ensure that future changes are managed effectively, taking into account staff well-being.  Although leaders check if the support they provide for disadvantaged pupils is making a difference, they do not keep governors fully informed. Leaders should ensure that a detailed evaluation of the impact of this support is shared with governors and published on the school’s website.

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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 are the school and you are 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. 4–5 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122487 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 20 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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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

 We held a variety of meetings with senior leaders and staff. We observed five sessions and activities in the Nursery. We considered a range of evidence, including the school improvement plan and leaders’ self-evaluation. We met with two members of the governing body. We considered the 30 responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View, and we spoke with 11 parents. We also met with eight staff.  We focused particularly on communication and language, early reading, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development during this inspection, as part of our evaluation of the quality of education.  We scrutinised a range of documentation, including school policies, learning journals, safeguarding information including the checks that leaders make on staff prior to employment, and minutes of governors’ meetings. The school’s website was also scrutinised. 4–5 February 2020

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Inspection team

Max Vlahakis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jayne Thorpe Ofsted Inspector 4–5 February 2020

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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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