Balham Nursery School

BALHAM NURSERY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Mr. Robert Greatrex

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BALHAM NURSERY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 12-13 February, 2002.

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BALHAM NURSERY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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BALHAM NURSERY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. Balham Nursery School- 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: 72 Endlesham Road Balham London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Wandsworth Education Authority

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr. Tim Donovan

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: March 1997 Balham Nursery School- 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 19924 Robert Greatrex Registered inspector 9275 Candy Kalms Lay inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

2 Haselwood Drive Enfield Middlesex EN2 7BU

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Balham Nursery School- 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Balham Nursery is a small nursery with 30 full-time and 40 part-time boys and girls on roll. Children enter Balham Nursery with a wide range of attainment levels that vary enormously from one year to the next. Some children can write their names before they start but others cannot. Some are just three, some nearly four. Their experiences and backgrounds are similarly varied. Overall, attainment levels are generally a little above average. A relatively high proportion have higher levels of special educational need, including children with statements of need, whilst a relatively small proportion have lower levels of need. The main area of need is in speech or communication. A small proportion are eligible for free school meals. A relatively high proportion speak English as an additional language and most of these are at the early stage of English language acquisition.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Balham Nursery is a very effective school. It is fully inclusive, and all pupils are well- cared for and nurtured so that they achieve well. Attainment levels are good when children leave. The school is particularly successful at developing children’s self- esteem, self-confidence and curiosity to learn. The children have very positive attitudes towards learning and a thirst for knowledge. Children start to learn how to learn and are very well prepared for the next stage in their schooling. Teaching is consistently good. The staff form an effective and well-trained team. The school is very well led and managed, so that there is a strong sense of purpose to what is done. The school continues to provide very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards of work are good. Children receive an excellent grounding and preparation for the next stage in their learning. • The children develop well and gain independence. • Teaching is consistently good. • Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used very effectively to plan rich and stimulating learning activities. • Teamwork is excellent and the driving force behind the school’s success. • The school cares for its children very well. • The school is very well led and managed. • The parents have a high regard for the school. Parents and the school work very closely together with great benefit to their children’s learning. Balham Nursery School- 7

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What could be improved

• There are no key issues for action. To improve further, the governors and staff should continue to implement their own current plans for the school’s improvement. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

When the school was last inspected in 1997 it was judged to have no key issues for improvement. This continues to be the case. This is particularly note-worthy and of great credit to the school and staff.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

There is no complacency in the school. Being satisfactory at anything is unacceptable. It strives to be better than that. At the last inspection, the children’s spiritual development was judged satisfactory. Outside expertise was used both to evaluate what was offered and give guidance for improvement. The curriculum was rewritten, additional resources purchased and staff given further training. The children’s spiritual development is much improved and is now good. Children are given a very rich curriculum and use, for example, a good range of instruments from around the world.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The keys to the school’s progress have been the accuracy with which areas for improvement have been identified and analysed, and the methodical and thorough approach taken to their development. A very clear plan ensures everyone knows what is happening, when and who is responsible.

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STANDARDS

By the time they leave the school, the vast majority of children are in line to achieve the Early Learning Goals by the end of the Foundation Stage. A good proportion, about one in four, should exceed these expected levels and be working within the National Curriculum. At the time of the last inspection, progress was judged to be good or very good. This has been maintained and all children achieve very well. All parents who responded to the questionnaire feel that their children do well at the school.

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STANDARDS

The children make particularly good progress in their personal, social and emotional development and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. They quickly become independent learners. Their awareness of the world around them is good; for example, some can describe simple difference between Chinese and Christian New Year celebrations. Children, through the wide range of activities offered, develop a very good general knowledge. The school effectively builds upon the knowledge that the children bring from home.

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STANDARDS

The good progress made by children with special educational needs reported at the last inspection has been maintained. Children for whom English is an additional language, too, are doing well now as they were then.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Excellent. Children are very positive about the activities that they are offered. Most show high levels of involvement in what they do, and will persist and persevere for quite long periods. They are very confident and almost all are happy to work independently. They are keen to learn and want to find out.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Children behave very well, whether in the classrooms, the garden or moving between them. They generally take turns and help one another. Most show good and growing awareness of right and wrong. These children know what is acceptable and what is expected of them.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good. Relationships between children, and between children and adults, are very positive. Children work well together, for example to build using the large blocks. Most are learning to take turns in a discussion. Many spot when another child is struggling and will offer to help.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Given the children’s age and their greater susceptibility to illness, attendance is satisfactory. Most absence is for legitimate reasons. The vast majority of children are keen to come to school. Most are punctual and this helps to ensure the day’s activities begin on time.

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Aspect Comment

The children’s attitudes and values, judged highly at the last inspection, continue to be a strength of the school. These make a positive contribution to the good climate for learning in the school. The children try hard and show much interest and curiosity in the activities with which they are presented. They are keen to please.

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Nursery

Quality of teaching Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Nursery

As at the time of the last inspection, teachers and nursery nurses work well together to ensure that teaching is of a consistently good quality. All parents who responded to the questionnaire agreed that teaching is good.

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Nursery

Materials and equipment are carefully chosen to enable the child to succeed at a task. Children who do not yet know the different uses of a range of paint brushes, for example, are not expected to choose the brush to paint a picture of a hyacinth. The Balham Nursery School- 9 range of colours that they are given, whilst allowing them to explore shades, is controlled. Staff are very careful to give very good quality experiences, with choices very clearly linked to what it is that they want children to learn from the activity.

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Nursery

Language is carefully taught, practised and extended through good teaching. Many opportunities are provided and all staff are constantly looking for opportunities to encourage discussion and talk. Learning is of high quality. The outcomes of one activity are carefully considered in planning the next, so that tasks are appropriate- neither too easy nor too difficult. Activities are planned that are relevant to children’s backgrounds and experiences, so that children can relate to them. The staff recognise each child’s particular interests and aptitudes and cater for them very well. They plan tasks that challenge children to apply their learning in a very wide variety of contexts, so that they fully understand. The headteachers of schools to which the children move confirm the effectiveness of this approach. Balham Nursery children are described by headteachers as curious and eager to learn when they enter the next stage of schooling.

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Nursery

The staff expect much from their children, who generally respond very well and do their best. The staff make activities fun and interesting. They recognise when children’s concentration is waning and respond successfully, for example using a short rhyme or song to reinforce the learning but in a different format.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. Planning is excellent, clearly starting from where each child is. Activities are stimulating, interesting and relevant to children’s previous experiences. Very good links are made between areas of learning.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Provision is tailor-made to suit each child’s particular needs with clear targets for learning. Good levels of adult support ensure each child has the support needed. Progress is very closely checked so that all pupils do well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. Children’s needs are quickly assessed when they join the school and tracked closely through their time at Balham Nursery. Children’s home languages are valued and cultures celebrated.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Staff work very hard to offer children the framework for them to grow and learn about their rights and responsibilities in the school community. They are taught to share and consider one another’s needs when working and playing together. Since the last inspection, spiritual development has improved and is now good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. The school knows its children very well. Reluctant and immature children are carefully supported so that they can quickly settle into school life. All aspects of children’s development are nurtured and fostered by the school. Assessment, in its broadest sense, is used to ensure that each individual receives the support, Balham Nursery School- 10 guidance and curriculum to meet his or her needs.

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Aspect Comment

Linking assessment to planning is one key to the school’s success. Planning of the next activity follows an assessment of the last. Consequently, tasks are closely matched to the children’s starting point. The curriculum is rich and stimulating. The school knows its children very well. It forms a strong partnership with parents and the two work very closely to the benefit of the children.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Very good. There is a very clear educational direction and a strong sense of purpose to the school. Teachers and nursery nurses form a very effective team so that children receive good quality support and guidance. The staff’s individual strengths are recognised and fully used. Staff new to the school are quickly enabled to settle in and form an effective part of the team.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very good. Governors are highly committed. They want to do the best for the school. They visit regularly and use this information to inform their judgements. They fully participate in the life of the school and its development.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good. The school has a very clear understanding of its strengths and the areas that it might improve. This information is used to plan developments.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. All resources available to the school are carefully and appropriately used. Nothing is wasted. Everything is done for a purpose.

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Aspect Comment

Fundamental to the school’s continued success is the strength of leadership and management, and the strong ethos of teamwork amongst staff. Nursery nurses are given every support and encouragement by teachers. Coupled with their very strong commitment, this ensures that they are effective educators. All staff are given training opportunities to enable them continually to improve. Within the context of a non- delegated budget, the school applies the principles of best value well.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The school is well led and managed. • They feel the school works closely with • Some parents feel the school’s expectations of their children could be Balham Nursery School- 11 them. • Parents are comfortable raising questions or problems with the school staff. • Their children like Balham Nursery. • They feel that teaching is good. • The school keeps them well informed about how their children are progressing at school. higher.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents have very positive views of the school. More than nine in every ten parents who responded to the question agreed with the points of approval above. Inspectors endorse those views. A few parents feel that expectations could be higher. Inspectors judge that the school’s approach, to offer each child a very broad curriculum so that they have fully grasped and can apply basic skills and concepts, is the right one. Balham Nursery School- 12

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

and preparation for the next stage in their learning.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

1. Children receive an excellent grounding. Once children make a gain in their learning they are given a very broad curriculum so that they can fully apply their new knowledge in different situations. They consequently move from ‘knowing’ to thorough ‘understanding’.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

2. Standards in communication, language and literacy are good. Most children quickly learn to speak confidently in the caring and supportive atmosphere. A few have difficulty pronouncing words and offer single word answers unless encouraged. Some children are articulate and link several sentences to explain their viewpoint coherently. The vast majority of children listen with good attention and recall. Every opportunity is taken to encourage children to develop a love of books. Stories are regularly read to children by staff who encourage them to discuss what is happening in the story or what they can see in the pictures. Children are surrounded by information books, too, and quickly learn that words and pictures can inform as well as entertain. Reading is taught well and most children understand the conventions of a book. A good number know and recognise their names and a growing list of common words that they regularly use, such as ‘can’. They generally understand the

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

importance of initial letter sounds. One or two are beginning to recognise a few letter blends. Some more able children know the place and importance of a full stop in a sentence, to ‘stop the words running away’.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

3. The children develop their mathematical skills well. Many can count confidently to ten, some to twenty. Some are beginning to combine two groups in their counting, most understand 1:1 correspondence, for example when giving each astronaut oxygen. A few of the more able children are estimating the distance between the programmable toy and where they want it to go, before they programme it. When making shapes from dough, most children can recognise and make shapes such as circle and square. Whilst they understand important concepts such as ‘biggest’ and smallest’, most do not yet understand ‘before’ and ‘in front’.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

4. Children come from a very wide range of attainment and personal experiences. In their knowledge and understanding of the world, the school quickly assesses what children know and then offers them the experiences to build upon this. Particularly good use is made of the garden, the ‘third classroom’, to reinforce and extend classroom learning in a new range of situations and activities. When planting bulbs, a few know that plants need water to grow.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

5. Most children are realising that programmable toys have important controls, and they respond to the instructions that they are given. Most know that there are particularly important command keys, such as ‘cancel memory’ that affect their success. Children are so encouraged to take responsibility for their learning. Balham Nursery School- 13 During the inspection, one child drew a map of an island for the toy to travel from one place to another, successfully extending the taught activity.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

6. The children develop well creatively. Most can follow a beat. Nearly all know how to play the drums and triangles successfully.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

7. The children develop well physically. They roll and hop well. They work well as a team, for example to make a bridge tunnel for others to crawl or walk under. Good teaching develops their abilities to follow two or three instructions successfully.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

The children’s personal development is very good.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

8. Each child’s personal development is nurtured. No matter how confident or hesitant when they join the school, the vast majority of children leave Balham Nursery self- confident and with high self-esteem, ready to take full advantage of the next stage in their schooling. Headteachers of the schools to which they move speak of confident and independent children who want to learn and know how to do so. The children work equally well with nursery nurses as with teachers.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

9. The staff develop very well the children’s ability to work together. Regular sessions of high quality adult-led discussion develop the children’s abilities effectively. By very good modelling of appropriate behaviour and sensitive training, adults teach children the conventions of discussion. The children generally listen to one another and staff. In a good music activity, children were very willing to take turns with the instruments. The vast majority began and ended their music-making in unison with their peers and at the direction of the nursery nurse. Children freely and naturally help one another. A child seeing another struggle, for example to count the letters in a word, will willingly offer to help.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

10. Great store is set on developing the whole child. The school does not fall into the trap of pushing the more academic children through the curriculum steps quickly. Rather, staff offer a very broad range of activities to enable the child to develop and extend their general knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

11. Teaching is of a good standard. This is an important factor in the good progress that the children make. The teachers and nursery nurses know when to step in and offer support, advice or guidance, and when to step back and give children opportunities for self learning on their own, for example to think through problems for themselves.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

12. A strong feature of all teaching is language development. Every opportunity is taken to extend and reinforce the children’s knowledge and use of language. In assessment activities, teachers and nursery nurses constantly strive to extend the children’s knowledge and use of vocabulary. In a physical development activity, children are asked to lay ropes out in lines that are ‘wavy’, ‘straight’ or ‘zigzag’. Balham Nursery School- 14 13. The children’s independence and ability to make choices are fostered, but staff make very clear decisions of how and when this is done. Most importantly, staff do not expect children to make choices without first teaching them the alternatives. Whilst children are free to choose activities, the materials that they use are carefully chosen for them. For example, for a close observational painting of a hyacinth children are given thin brushes and a narrow range of colours. This enables them

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

and staff to focus on the learning intention without the distraction of other choices.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

14. Activities are made relevant and interesting to the children, who are therefore immediately interested. Through this careful match, the children learn very effectively. For example, a group practising reading and writing of action words is immediately interested because the activity starts with action pictures of themselves. Even the quietest and least confident are enthused by the pictures of themselves taken earlier, and are keen to explain what they were doing. All make good progress as they practise some well known words and add new ones.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

15. The teachers make learning fun. Learning to count, for example, becomes a fun activity as children cover their eyes while their teacher takes a numeral away, and then count to discover what is missing. When concentration begins to wane, teachers and nursery nurses quickly recognise this and change the activity, for example by introducing a nursery rhyme. This is generally very effective and concentration is restored.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

16. Teachers have high expectations of effort and behaviour. In a very good reading activity, children were expected to concentrate fully on the tasks that they were given. At the end of the session, they were expected to clear away and put their chairs under the table.

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Standards of work seen are good and children receive an excellent grounding

17. Nursery nurses play a full and effective part. They are skilled and experienced. Their work with the children is of good quality and the children achieve well. A music-making activity, for example, proceeded at a good rate of learning. Children used instruments from around the world with interest, enthusiasm and skill. They were carefully taught how to handle and play each instrument. Through good demonstration and clear guidance, they began to be aware of how to play in a group. Most began and finished at the same time, and kept a beat.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

very effectively to plan rich and stimulating learning activities.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

18. Very thorough and accurate assessments are made of the children before and during their time at Balham Nursery. Parents at the meeting held before the inspection expressed their surprise at how well and quickly the school understood their children and their different needs. From the beginning, staff work hard to obtain all the information they need to understand each child’s needs and abilities, and to check that the child settles well and flourishes. Balham Nursery School- 15 19. A key to the school’s success is how well they know their children. Staff monitor all children very closely, so that wherever children choose to work their steps in learning are noted. Each week there is a focus on particular children. This gives very useful benchmarks to staff in assessing the children’s progress.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

20. Because assessment is so accurate, tasks are planned starting from the child’s level. As tasks are so closely matched to children’s abilities and relevant to their previous experiences, children are very interested and demonstrate excellent attitudes to learning.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

21. The curriculum is very carefully planned to offer children activities to arouse their curiosity and interest. Whether carrying a dragon around the garden to celebrate Chinese New Year or playing instruments to perform together, children are keen to take part. The children are enthused because activities are so interesting and pitched at the right level. The high quality of the curriculum is one reason why children are so positive in their attitudes to learning.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

22. Excellent links are made between assessment and planning. For example, an activity is taught one day, and children’s understanding assessed in a subsequent linked activity the next. This information is used to plan further activities, track the child’s progress and assess the effectiveness of the teaching.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

Teamwork is excellent and the driving force behind the school’s success.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

23. The staff work as a cohesive and very effective team. The school’s aims are known and shared by all. Changes in teaching staff have not been allowed to impact adversely upon the high quality provision or the children’s good progress. All staff are valued members of the team. Administration and premises staff are very effective and enable the headteacher to focus on teaching and learning.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

24. Teachers and nursery nurses work very closely together. During any session, one or the other will lead a group. Teaching continues uninterrupted because staff not leading the group ensure that the remainder of the class are productively occupied and their needs are met.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

25. Daily evaluations of activities give both teachers and nursery nurses good opportunities to share successes and concerns. Subsequent planning enables teachers to offer guidance on the organisation of activities. The quality of the teaching of nursery nurses is an important factor in the children’s good progress. Their effectiveness is largely because of this good preparation, their own commitment and the opportunities that they are given to participate in training carefully chosen for relevance to their needs. Each is responsible for an area of interest and contributes fully to the life of the school.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

26. Teachers new to the school are well supported. Their strengths are recognised and used to the benefit of children and staff. They are given good support to enable them to develop further. Management is very methodical in its support. A newly Balham Nursery School- 16 qualified teacher, for example, has a clear induction based upon her university experiences and perceived needs.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

27. Further developments are planned to improve teamwork even more. For example, it is planned that staff and governors will work together on a training day to consider school development.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

The school cares for its children very well.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

28. Right from the start of the day, there is a calm and supportive ethos. School starts punctually and children are greeted with a range of activities. Teaching begins immediately. No time is wasted. Other staff, including the headteacher, are available to meet and greet other children and help those reluctant to settle.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

29. Children with special educational needs are given good support. Each need is noted and a clear plan formed to meet it. Outside agencies are used effectively; to support individual children, offer advice to plan the week’s activities, and model teaching strategies for staff. Children for whom English is an additional language benefit from the language-rich environment. These children, too, are given good carefully-targeted support tailor-made to meet their needs. Some boys and girls tend to favour certain activities. Staff are aware of this and subtly ensure they receive a broad and balance curriculum. The most able are recognised. These children are given a good range of activities, matched to their abilities, that effectively consolidate and reinforce their learning.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

30. On the very rare occasions when children struggle to settle at their next school, Balham Nursery staff are on hand to visit the school, observe and support the child, and offer advice to the new school. This is much appreciated by the receiving school and the child’s parents.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

The school is very well led and managed.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

31. There is a very clear educational direction to the school. Everything is done for a very clear purpose. There is no sense of complacency. The school management continues to strive for educational excellence. For example, although spiritual development was judged to be satisfactory at the last inspection, this was not good enough. The curriculum was revised and extended through a wider range of resources from world faiths. The resultant activities were publicly celebrated as good practice.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

32. Governors are very committed to supporting the school’s continued development. They are knowledgeable, with a good grasp of the school’s strengths and a clear view of where the school needs to develop. They visit the school regularly and this is helpful to their decision-making. Balham Nursery School- 17 33. Plans for the future should build upon the school’s successes. They are well thought out and appropriate. For example, improvements to information and communication technology provision and the front of the building are planned.

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Accurate assessment is at the centre of the school’s effectiveness. It is used

34. The accommodation’s strengths and weaknesses are understood. Strengths are used, such as the children’s perceptions that the school is like home because it is in a house. No space is wasted and attractive environments are created in the smallest of areas, for example for the listening corner. Weaknesses are recognised. Current plans include improvements to the front, so that it is more attractive and useful to parents and children alike.

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Parents’ regard the school highly. Their partnership with the school is very

close. This is of great benefit to their children’s learning.

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Parents’ regard the school highly. Their partnership with the school is very

35. The school works very closely with parents, and this is an important factor in the children’s successes. Although a number of parents have had more than one child at the school, nevertheless the school only has children for one year and to build such close and trusting relationships within this time is exceptional.

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Parents’ regard the school highly. Their partnership with the school is very

36. Parents are given good support to help them to be effective partners. The school regularly runs good parenting courses. These are of great benefit to parents. Whatever the parents’ needs, the training course seeks to meet them. Some courses guide parents in the general skills of parenting. Other courses explain and demonstrate the school’s curriculum, so that parents understand what is happening at school and are better informed to support it at home.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

37. Balham Nursery School is judged to have no key issues for action. To continue with its improvement, the governors and staff should continue to implement their own current plans. Balham Nursery School- 18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 12

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents about 11 per cent. A number of observations were too short in duration for an overall teaching grade to be given.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 50

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of children

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 16

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of children

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 6 Balham Nursery School- 19

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 3 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 2 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 4 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3 Financial year 2000-2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 16.7

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 £

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 181 Total income 243 490

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 7.1 Total expenditure 243 269

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year 3 760

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 3 981

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balham Nursery School- 20

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 64 33 0 0 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 71 25 0 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 55 21 0 0 24

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 71 23 4 0 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 91 7 2 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 47 43 4 4 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 82 16 0 0 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 97 3 0 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 83 13 0 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 78 12 0 0 10

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Summary of parents’ and carers’ responses

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

A number of parents were relatively new to the school and consequently felt unable to answer some questions. Other parents felt that certain questions were inappropriate to a nursery school.

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