Greenfield Nursery School

GREENFIELD NURSERY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Kath Beck OIN: 10090

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GREENFIELD NURSERY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 25 th – 26 th February 2002

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GREENFIELD 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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GREENFIELD 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. Greenfield Nursery School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Hurst Drive Waltham Cross Hertfordshire Postcode: EN8 8DH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Caroline Skipper

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 4 th November 1996 Greenfield Nursery School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 10090 Kath Beck Registered inspector 9619 Bob Miller Lay inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

‘Draycott’ Chappel Road Great Tey Colchester Essex. CO6 1JP

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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 Greenfield 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

Greenfield is a small nursery school for boys and girls aged three and four years of age. Most children spend three terms in the school. Some may spend four before transferring to local primary schools in the academic year in which they become five. There are 80 part-time places. This is the equivalent to a full-time roll of 40. Children attend for five mornings or five afternoons each week. 71 children have a place at the present time. There are 16 more boys than girls. Ten children come from ethnic minority backgrounds and 13 from white European heritage. Seven children speak English as an additional language and three are at an early stage of learning English. These children speak either Turkish, Somali or French. Nine children have been identified as having special educational needs mostly for speech and language difficulties or behaviour; one has a statement of particular need. Children’s

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

attainment on entry to the nursery is below that expected for children of this age. Most children come from the rented and private homes close to the school, although some come from nearby Enfield. The school is housed in a large single story building that it shares with three other groups, namely the community project ‘Positive Beginnings’, an opportunities class for children with social and physical difficulties and a private pre-school playgroup. There is no provision for meals at lunchtime. Currently the school is in a period of transition. The headteacher left at the end of the autumn term and the newly appointed headteacher is not due to take up her appointment until April 2002. The management of the school is overseen by an acting headteacher.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Greenfield Nursery is a good school. Teaching is very good and children achieve really well in personal, social and emotional development, literacy and numeracy. These high standards and children’s very good attitudes to learning have been sustained during a period of transition and uncertainty within the leadership. In relation to children’s attainment on entry to the nursery, their achievement and attitudes to teaching and learning, the school provides good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Enables children to learn and achieve very well in their personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. • Very good teaching. • Children’s very good attitudes. • A very effective partnership with parents. • Assessment procedures to track children’s progress and match work to precise needs.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Agreement about the long-term development of the school. • Provision for information and communication technology, including training for staff. • The outside play area. • Children’s cultural development. 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

Since the last inspection in 1996 the school has made satisfactory progress with regard to the key issues identified in the report. The school now has a comprehensive series of policies for teaching each of the areas of learning and the school development plan has been strengthened to include more detailed costing of planned developments. All members of the governing body are new since the previous inspection. Their involvement in monitoring the curriculum and ongoing development of the school has increased. The quality of teaching has improved and very good standards have been sustained, although the value for money is less than at the time of the last inspection. This is because the leadership is in a period of transition. The school has been included in a number of bids for money, but these have not come to fruition. This has held back developments, especially with the provision for the outside play

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

area. At present, the school is part of a Sure Start initiative for funds that may bring the other services using the building under the auspices of the school. Other changes have impacted the school positively, such as most staff are new. The number of children from families with English as an additional language is increasing and children are admitted to the school at a younger age than in 1996. Greenfield Nursery School - 7

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STANDARDS

Children’s attainments in the national areas of learning by the time they leave the school, in relation to the early learning goals 1 are very good in personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development and creative development. They are good in knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development. Children achieve very well in relation to their prior attainment because teaching enables them to make very good progress. Children quickly become confident and make important decisions about their work. They play and work together well and are keen to try out their developing communication, literacy and numeracy skills. The higher attaining children can read simple sentences and write their name. Many know the sounds that letters make. In mathematics, many children recognise and count numbers up to 10. Children’s paintings, drawings and three-dimensional models are of good quality and show how well children express their

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STANDARDS

own ideas. Children know much about their locality. However, there are not enough computers to help them develop their skills in information and communication technology. There is a need to improve the outside area to promote higher standards in climbing and balancing, as well as support and enrich activities going on in the classroom. Children with special educational needs and English as an additional language make very good progress in relation to their individual learning programmes.

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CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Very good. Children are very happy to come to the nursery. They enjoy all their activities and often become totally absorbed in what they are doing.

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CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour Children behave very well, responding positively to the adults’ requests to Remember to have your walking shoes on today . They know the routines and enjoy playing happily with their friends. There have been no exclusions.

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CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Excellent. Children show high levels of confidence and move between activities with a clear sense of purpose.

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CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The children are very young. Their attitudes to learning and behaviour are of a very high standard for their age. This is because they respond very well to the high expectations of all staff. This has a significant impact on their learning. Relationships between the staff and children are excellent so that there is always a calm and harmonious atmosphere in which children can learn at a rapid rate.

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CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES

1 Expected levels of achievement at the age of five in the areas of experience. Personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy, mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical and creative development. Greenfield Nursery School - 8

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils: Nursery Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, poor, very poor. Satisfactory means that teaching is adequate and that strengths outweigh the weaknesses .

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of teaching in personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy and mathematical development is very good. In particular, staff allow children to develop their own personalities. Staff have high expectations of what children know and can do and plan work that meets their particular needs. All staff plan and work together so that children make the most of all their learning opportunities. Children with special educational needs and English as an additional language receive very good support so that they are fully involved in all learning activities. Staff use imaginative and exciting activities to capture children’s interest so that they want to learn. They provide very good role models to enhance children’s personal, social and emotional development. In addition, they plan carefully the issues they wish children to understand. For example, that it is right to respect the

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

property of others, to play well together, to take turns and understand routines. Staff know well the computer programs they have available to them currently to help children learn, but need to extend their knowledge and expertise in information and communication technology. Teaching methods and activities make substantial demands on children’s intellectual, creative and physical effort. In short group teaching sessions, children quickly gain knowledge and skills in literacy or numeracy which they apply in their play activities. For example, they soon learn to write their name or Mum or Nan when playing in the office. Children cover a lot of work in each of the sessions, often working independently.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum A rich and broad curriculum promotes high standards especially in children’s personal, social and emotional development, literacy and numeracy. There is still work to be done with information and communication technology. Provision for children with special educational needs Very good provision for children with special educational needs enables them to make very good progress in their learning.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for children with English as an additional language Very good. Specialist help supports children with English as an additional language effectively during one session a week. This is built on well by staff in other sessions

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for children’s personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Excellent provision for personal development enables children to become confident and independent. Provision for moral and social development is also very good. There is less provision for children’s cultural development.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its children The school cares for its children very well, especially tracking their progress in learning.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Staff work very closely with parents and the school is held in high regard. The curriculum promotes high standards through a rich and wide range of experiences that make learning real for the children. Very good use is made of visits to the locality and role-play areas . Recent work relating to growing things significantly enhanced children’s awe and wonder of the natural world as they observed the rapid growth of runner beans and grass. The school cares very well for its children. It tracks their progress effectively so that work meets their needs and children are challenged to do their best. Greenfield Nursery School - 9

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Overall, leadership and management are satisfactory during this period of transition. However, there is no clear plan for the long-term development of the school.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors fulfil their responsibilities appropriately. They are gaining experience and using it to benefit the children.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. Governors are undergoing training to evaluate the school’s performance. They value the schools strengths and recognise areas for development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Good. Resources are directed effectively to meet the school’s priorities.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The management of the acting headteacher has been very good, maintaining the morale of staff and enabling them to sustain the high standards. Management on a day-to-day basis has mostly been overseen by the full-time teacher who carries responsibility for all elements of the curriculum. She has managed this very well so that the parents’ high level of confidence in the school has been maintained. Staff have been supported very well by the school secretary. Governors have undergone training so that they appreciate their role. There is genuine excitement among all the staff and governors about the future of the school. However, its long-term development to improve provision and raise standards further is unclear. This is due, in part, to the interim period before the new headteacher takes up her post as well as the lack of information about the Sure Start initiative. The school applies the principles of best

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Children’s achievements and progress. • Very good teaching. • The calm, purposeful atmosphere. • Children really enjoy coming to the nursery. • Very good attitudes and behaviour. • The partnership with the parents. • High standards of care and welfare for the children. • Leadership and management. • The lobby area.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team fully support the parents’ views. Greenfield Nursery School - 10

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development

1. Children’s attainment on entry to the nursery is below that normally expected for children aged three. Children make very good progress, especially in personal, social and emotional development, communications, literacy and language and mathematical development. This rapid rate of progress has much to do with the very good teaching, a rich range of curriculum experiences in these areas of learning and children’s very good attitudes to learning. Children make very good progress along the stepping stones towards the early learning goals 2 and this provides a really good foundation for learning on transfer to primary school.

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Personal, social and emotional development

2. Staff place a very strong emphasis on teaching this aspect of the curriculum so that children make very good progress. They provide exciting activities that motivate children to want to learn, develop their confidence and independence and concentrate well as their interest is engaged. A particular strength is the way that adults working in the nursery enable children to express their ideas and develop their personalities. They do this by listening carefully to the children and showing an interested response. This helps the children become confident, try out new ideas and explain their feelings.

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Personal, social and emotional development

3. Staff provide very good opportunities for children to experience the awe and wonder of natural things. In a project about growing things, children were amazed to notice how fast their runner beans had grown during the half-term holidays. Observations of beans growing ‘on blotting paper’ in jars, provoked much discussion and excited discovery about the appearance of roots, stems and leaves. Many children enjoyed comparing the height of their bean with others and finding out whose bean had grown faster and taller. Another activity that captured children’s wonderment was when children placed white carnations in bottles and jars filled with red, green or blue food colouring. They could hardly believe their eyes when the carnations changed colour and they could see the veins in the petals of the flowers. The children were very clear in their understanding that the flowers had drunk the coloured water and were

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Personal, social and emotional development

2 Expected levels of achievement at the age of five in the areas of experience. Personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge, understanding of the world; physical and creative development. The stepping stones provide guidance for staff about the levels of challenge for children’s work. Greenfield Nursery School - 11 4. Children have a keen sense of right and wrong. Sometimes they are able to deal with issues themselves and at other times, they ask an adult to help. For example, when a child wanted to wear a particular pair of dressing-up shoes, she asked an adult to help her as she felt one of the other children had played with them for a long time. The adult modelled a question very well. She said, ………..how long do you think you will need those shoes for in your game? This promoted a good discussion and the issue was resolved, that the dressing up shoes would be changed as part of the role-

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Personal, social and emotional development

play, giving both children the chance to wear them. In addition, staff use circle time very effectively to help children explore difficult issues. For example, when all children are seated in the circle, staff use puppets to help them consider difficult questions such as: A child has found some chocolate in the cloakroom. It is not his but he eats it. What should he have done?

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Personal, social and emotional development

5. Staff have high expectations that children will play together very well and they do, taking it in turns, making up stories to play together in role-play and sharing materials. Children with special educational needs and English as an additional language are fully involved in all the activities and routines. They too take part in teacher initiated activities but are also enabled to choose their own activities.

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Personal, social and emotional development

6. Children are taught good manners very effectively. At snack time children say please, and thank you. This is carried over into other areas of the classrooms when children can be heard speaking politely to their friends when they are playing together. Staff are very good role models in this and always speak to the children quietly and calmly demonstrating very good social skills.

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Personal, social and emotional development

7. Relationships between all staff, children and parents are excellent. This means children have a very good sense of themselves and so they are confident in their learning. Parents report and inspection evidence confirms that high quality relationships ensure a calm, harmonious atmosphere in which children can learn quickly and without fear of making a mistake.

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Communication, language and literacy

8. Skilful teaching enables children to communicate effectively. Snack time is used really effectively to engage children in social conversations with adults and other children, as well as to take learning in other areas of experience forward. Children enjoy talking about their news, discussing what they have been doing during the morning, or asking each other questions about their likes and dislikes. In role-play situations such as the Pizza Parlour, corner shop, doctor’s surgery or office, children learn to communicate clearly for specific purposes. They invite visitors, confidently, to join them in their games. Most speak clearly and audibly. Stories, poems, rhymes and puppets enhance children’s pleasure at playing with words as well as developing their confidence to talk in small or large groups.

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Communication, language and literacy

9. Many children know that print conveys meaning. Staff share their enthusiasm for books and stories that inspire the children. This may be in small group sessions or with individual children who have asked for a story to be read to them. Children like to look at and ‘read’ the books they have made about the fire fighters or Jack and the Beanstalk as well as published books, sharing them eagerly with adults and each other. They take books home to share with their parents too and the most able make a very positive start with reading. Greenfield Nursery School - 12 10. Children are encouraged to read and write their names and write for different purposes. Staff encourage them by saying, You try and write what you want to say in your own special way . The role-play situations also encourage children to write for different reasons, to send letters, write prescriptions and to put dates in a diary. A

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Communication, language and literacy

noticeboard enables children to post their pictures or messages to one another or their group leader. This values the children’s efforts as they receive praise for what they have done from everyone one in the class. More able children enjoy dictating what they want to say and asking an adult to write it down so that they can copy it. Those who can write, form their letters well.

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Mathematical development

11. Very good teaching enables children to make considerable progress. Staff use a wide range of strategies, including direct teaching, where children learn to recognise and count numbers in sequence up to 10 and beyond if they are able to. Children play games, match numbers, make them in soft dough and write them down correctly after following an adult’s instructions. In small groups, children play games with an adult involving a dice so that they are carrying out simple addition or subtraction sums. Outside they use number mats to play hopscotch . Staff encourage children to jump from number to number counting forwards and backwards. Such methods, that involve children in learning through using all their senses, are very effective.

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Mathematical development

12. Children know about the names and properties of two-dimensional shapes, such as circle, square, rectangle and triangle. They use these to make shape people and houses and recognise shapes in vehicles, such as lorries and cars. Work relating to Jack and the Beanstalk enabled children to think hard about mathematical vocabulary such as taller, shorter, longer, smaller and bigger. Children built towers of small bricks. They counted the bricks, compared the heights of the towers and then stuck the towers together to measure against the height of other children and adults in the room. In this way, children’s speaking and listening, as well as mathematical skills, were developed very well.

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Very good teaching

Greenfield Nursery School - 13 13. The overall quality of teaching is very good. Of the eleven sessions observed, nine were very good and two were good. The two good sessions were related to children’s physical development using the outside area and to information and communication technology. The school’s lack of resources in these areas hindered children’s achievement and progress and the quality of activities staff could ask the children to undertake. Tasks that can be provided in the outside area do not extend sufficiently the learning that goes on in the classroom. Overall, the quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. This is because all staff: • have a very good understanding of the needs of the children of this age; • work very well together, planning imaginative tasks to promote high standards. Staff are very clear about what they want children to learn and achieve; • assess children frequently through observation to ensure work is matched to

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Very good teaching

particular needs, especially for children with English as an additional language or with special educational needs; • have high expectations of what children know and can do and challenge them to achieve very well; • manage children very well so that there is a calm purposeful atmosphere in which children can learn effectively, whatever their abilities; • enjoy being with the children, often praising and encouraging them to do their best or try things for themselves; • help children to develop very good social skills and work on their own; • know the children well; • provide excellent role-models, for example, saying please and thank you when appropriate; • use time very effectively so that children learn a lot in each session.

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Very good teaching

14. These factors enable children to learn new things at a very good rate. Small group sessions at the beginning of the morning or afternoon are very effective in promoting children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. Initially children are excited to exchange their news and well-directed questioning helps children to express their ideas clearly. Games, such as Kim’s Game , where children have to say which object has been removed from a tray and hidden from them, helps them to learn the sounds letters make in a fun way. At other times, staff concentrate on encouraging children to write their names or develop mathematical vocabulary such as, taller, shorter, longer, higher than or lower than.

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Very good teaching

15. Staff ensure that there is a good balance of challenging activities that they help the children with and others where the children can work on their own or with their peers. This allows children to make important decisions about their work as well as follow their own interests. Many of the activities stimulate children’s curiosity. For example, children with a tray of sunflower seeds discovered that the temperature under the seeds was lower than in the classroom. They discovered that they could fill different containers with the seeds, although some were more difficult to fill than others. Such activities capture the children’s interest and encourage them to concentrate for long periods of time.

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Very good teaching

16. All staff have a very good understanding of how children of this age learn best. There is a very wide range of activities for children to enjoy and these are changed each day. The activities challenge children’s intellectual, physical and creative effort. For Greenfield Nursery School - 14 example, children observed the way runner beans grew and changed. This provoked them to ask sensible questions about the process. Other children were challenged to build a beanstalk from large bricks for Jack to climb to find the giant. Resources have been placed where children can find them easily so they can be truly creative when making models or pictures from recycled materials. The role-play area encourages children to explore a range of activities, such as the role of ‘hairdresser’, that of a conversationalist sharing news about a holiday on the telephone, a travel agent or to play at being a parent or carer at home.

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Very good teaching

17. Staff are very sensitive to children’s needs. When children are engrossed, they leave them alone. At other times, they intervene to share a book or help children apply their developing literacy skills. They model writing very well for children to copy, extend their role-play, question them effectively to extend learning and support work on the computers. In all cases, children with special educational needs or English as an additional language are supported very well. Children know they receive good attention from staff and so often work individually or with their friends, behaving very well for long periods of time.

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Very good teaching

18. Very good routines have been established and children understand these well. Children are managed very positively so that there is always a calm, positive atmosphere. Staff remind children gently how to behave. In one example, when a child snatched a toy from another, the member of staff said, I saw …with that toy first. Do you think you could ask him how long he needs it and then you can have a go? This clear teaching of social skills is very successful in helping children to behave well and be kind to each other. It is also an example of the high expectations staff have for children of this age. Staff frequently praise children for all their efforts and this makes them very proud and does much to raise their self esteem.

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Children’s very good attitudes

19. Children’s very good attitudes stem from the very good teaching and the school’s close partnership with parents. Children are trusted to work and play without the constant supervision of an adult. They are asked what they would like to do and they choose sensibly. They quickly become confident and keen to learn. They try out their ideas in painting, cutting and sticking as they know that an adult will help them if they get stuck. Children know that they must wear aprons when they are painting, sticking or playing with water. They help each other to put them on and know how to hang them up. They know too that they must tidy up when they have finished working in a particular area and they do so with pride.

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Children’s very good attitudes

20. At snack time, children help to prepare the food and serve the milk. In discussions, children know how to take their turn and wait patiently listening to their friends. In story time, they are keen to ask questions and respond well to those of the teacher. For example, children were prepared to guess what might happen in a story and explained what a pumpkin was. In writing activities, children are enthusiastic when asked to try and write in your own special way and they are not afraid to ask for help . All children, including those with special educational needs or English as an additional language, contribute fully which promotes their confidence and self esteem. 21. The behaviour of the children is consistently very good. Staff are rightly proud of their aim to enable children to deal with conflict and sort things out. This they do very well, sometimes dealing with the problem themselves and on other occasions asking an

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Children’s very good attitudes

adult to help them. Sensible routines have been established by staff and have much to do with children’s high standard of behaviour. Children know the routines well and abide by them carefully. Greenfield Nursery School - 15 22. Parents report that their children are very keen to attend the nursery, even if they are unwell. Attendance is generally satisfactory and appropriate for children of this age. However, some children do not arrive on time and others are collected later than they should be. This means they miss some important times for learning.

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Children’s very good attitudes

23. Overall, children’s very good attitudes to learning and behaviour have a significant impact on their progress and the atmosphere for learning.

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A very effective partnership with parents

24. Parents hold the school in high regard. Those who returned the questionnaire or attended the parents’ meeting spoke highly of the staff and the activities children undertake. Almost all the parents strongly agreed that they would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. Staff take considerable care to work very closely with parents to benefit the children. At the beginning and end of each session there is always a brief conversation about the health and welfare of the child, parent or family. In addition, there is an exchange of news about something the child has done well or is looking forward to doing. This close relationship helps children to leave their parent or carer confidently and enjoy their time in the nursery without anxiety and so learn well.

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A very effective partnership with parents

25. The partnership with parents has been strengthened since the last inspection. Parents are particularly pleased with the way children are welcomed into the nursery. The induction procedures help the children to become familiar with the nursery and routines very quickly. Parents can stay to settle their children if necessary. Their offers of help in class are much valued, especially when the children make visits to the local shops. Parents help to run the library and with the school secretary, raise substantial funds to enhance resources and benefit children in less fortunate circumstances. Many parents attend assemblies and productions at Christmas and Easter. They also contribute their skills in assisting children with English as an additional language and often provide items for displays.

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A very effective partnership with parents

26. Staff keep parents and carers well informed about each child’s progress, not only at the beginning and end of each session, but through a record of samples of children’s work and regular written reports. Children delight in sharing their work with parents, showing them pictures, photographs and writing that have been displayed on the classroom wall. Parents report that children talk a lot at home about the exciting things they have been doing in the nursery. For example, one child described how he had tried different kinds and textures of baby foods as part of a project on growing up. Others talked non-stop about the visit of the fire fighters. Parents appreciate that the Greenfield Nursery School - 16 quality of education is very good all the time. They know what the children are learning about each week from the plans on the parents’ noticeboard. These factors and the attention the staff give to children’s safety ensure parents’ full confidence in

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A very effective partnership with parents

the nursery and this plays a significant part in helping to improve children’s attainment and progress.

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needs

27. All staff observe the children’s progress each day. They note down important observations such as ……wrote his name today or ……….recognised the initial sounds of jar and jelly. On other occasions staff will note down whether children speak in full sentences, played well with another child or dealt with a problem in a sensible way. These positive features are mentioned to parents or carers at the end of a session to explain what the child has achieved and this boosts the child’s confidence and pleasure at being in the nursery.

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needs

28. The information gained over time is recorded in considerable detail. These records show the rapid progress children make. Staff use their observations and notes to share with other nursery staff to ensure that tasks, questions and conversations match the needs of the children precisely and build on what they already understand and can do. This ensures that staff know the children very well and enable them to make the most of all the activities and time that children spend in the nursery.

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needs

29. Staff also make meticulous notes about children’s health and safety. All events or health matters are noted to ensure they are reported to parents and carers at the end of the sessions. In this way, the staff show considerable care for the children and parents and carers have much confidence that their children are in safe hands.

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

30. The overall leadership of the school is currently in a period of transition. The previous headteacher has left and the newly appointed headteacher is due to take up her post in April 2002. In the interim, a part-time acting headteacher balances her responsibilities as headteacher of a nursery school in a nearby town with that of Greenfield Nursery. She continues successfully to take the school forward, ensuring that the policy for performance management is implemented appropriately and Greenfield Nursery School - 17 training in information and communication technology is arranged in accordance with a national initiative. The morale of staff is maintained and parental confidence in the school remains at a high level. However, this means that at the present time, overall leadership and management are satisfactory and not excellent as they were in 1996.

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

31. As children are at the school for a short period of time, it is difficult to recruit governors who stay for the full four years. In the past year, the school has been successful in attracting enough governors who have increased their skills and knowledge about their roles through training. Much of their time recently has been taken up with the recruitment of a new headteacher. Together with the staff, governors are very excited about the future of the school. They are keen to work with the new headteacher to ensure the school becomes a centre of excellence in all aspects of nursery education. However, they remain concerned and somewhat frustrated that some features to do with the future of the school are not within their control, such as the development of the outside play area.

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

32. The governors are fully aware of the strengths of the school and its areas for development. They are very proud of the really good achievements of the children, the very good teaching and the way staff care for the children so that they leave their parents and carers with confidence. In addition, governors value the commitment of all staff to the school, settling the children in and planning exciting things for the children to do. Governors have shown commitment to undergo training to appreciate fully the nature of their role. The school secretary, who has been at the school for some years, has very good skills in public relations, knows a great deal about the school and the community and raises substantial funds for additional resources. This has given the school a sense of continuity and security in a time of uncertainty.

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

33. In recent years, the school has been included in a number of bids to improve the outside play area to improve provision for children’s physical development and reflect the requirements of the curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage. These have not been successful. The school has now saved enough money to improve this area. However, it is currently the subject of a local and government initiative called Sure Start that is concerned with combining all the services using the building. It is rightly reluctant to spend money until the outcome of the initiative is known .

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

34. It is proposed to bring some of the services using the building, such as, ‘Positive Beginnings’, under the auspices of the school. Increased car parking spaces will impact on the current outside play area and reorganisation may impact the number of rooms available for the nursery to use. The bid for ‘Early Excellence’ status was submitted to the Department for Education and Skills through the local authority in Summer 2001. A bid for Sure Start funding was submitted in January 2002. The outcome of both these initiatives is still not known. The delay in these decisions has held up planning for the school’s long-term development and proved a distraction to other elements of the governing body’s work. For example, the annual parents’ report and meeting, usually held in the autumn term, were delayed to include the outcome of the bids for new funding but the results are still not known. Governors are keen to

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Agree the long-term future development of the school;

improve the outside area. However, until there are clear decisions about the organisation of the accommodation they are reluctant to spend money and then find that even more has to be spent to reorganise provision yet again. Greenfield Nursery School - 18 35. It would be helpful if there was a decision about the Sure Start initiative as soon as possible so that the various agencies and groups connected with the school can agree its long-term development and pursue its aim to be a centre of excellence.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

b) outdoor play and its links with the overall curriculum.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

36. The school has only two computers and this limits opportunities for children to develop skills in information and communication technology and to raise attainment in their knowledge and understanding of the world. This lack of resources also limits opportunities for staff to use information technology to: • enhance children’s skills in other areas of the curriculum, such as literacy and numeracy; • enable children with English as an additional language to learn English more quickly; • use as part of their day to day work, such as planning; • increase their communications with other schools; • present ideas in displays imaginatively.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

37. The school’s two computers are used effectively to enhance children’s skills in using the keyboard and mouse. Programs help them to learn the names of initial sounds of letters, count up to 10 and learn directions such as up and down, left and right. Children take turns or work together helping each other. They know that the time they have to work on the computer is limited according to the sand timer. When they start work at the computer they turn the sand timer over and know that when all the sand has fallen to the bottom, it is time for someone else to have a turn. This helps prevent arguments between the children and they wait patiently for their turn. It does mean that sometimes children interested in what they are doing are reluctant to move away as they want to finish their work or try out their new skills for longer. The lack of resources prevents this happening.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

38. Children have experience of other resources in information and communication technology. They know well how to use the tape recorder to listen to stories. They know that a photocopier will make a copy of one of their pictures so that they can take it home to share with their parents or carers. However, staff are fully aware that a number of children have computers at home and that the school does not have the resources to extend the skills the children bring with them. Staff are also aware that their own skills are not as good as they ought to be and are anxious to extend them through training. It is important that the school reviews its current provision for information and communication technology, which should include making better use of computers, a digital camera and programmable toys.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

39. The outside play area is used effectively each day to extend children’s physical development. Children ride tricycles with confidence, fully aware of other children playing around them. They dribble a football, keeping it under control and some children throw a ball into a small basketball hoop with accuracy. The children use their imagination very well when they are playing, sometimes imagining that they are Greenfield Nursery School - 19 travelling on a bus, train or aeroplane. However, the area has a slope, very little soft safety surface, insufficient resources to challenge children’s efforts at climbing and balancing and few markings or areas that could be used for more imaginative play. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage indicates that the outside area should also mirror and extend work that is going on in the classroom. This is not possible with the current provision. Much depends on the outcome of the Sure Start initiative. The

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

school has appropriate plans to develop the area. These may need to be reviewed as there are now proposals to extend the outside area to include provision and links with the reception class in the primary school close by.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

40. The outside area has a small covered space, but it is not possible to use it in bad weather. At the present time, the school makes good use of the general purposes area called The lemon room. This room is used almost all of the time for small group work, dance, drama, indoor climbing activities, music and meetings with parents. Access to the lemon room means staff can always make provision for children’s physical development, whatever the weather. Without this space provision in other areas of the curriculum would be significantly restricted.

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a) information and communication technology, including training for staff;

41. When considering the long-term development of the school, the provision for information and communication technology and the provision for outside play should be taken into account.

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Provision for children’s cultural development

42. Children’s cultural development is taken into account in the curriculum. Pictures of children and families reflect the different backgrounds of the children. In the role-play areas, there are newspapers in different languages, such as Chinese. In the library there are dual language books representing the first languages of the children. In music and movement lessons, children listen to music by composers such as Grieg. However, the stories and rhymes staff use are based mostly on traditional stories from Western Culture. Broadening their range of experiences of famous pictures, art, stories and rhymes from other cultures and periods of history would enhance the curriculum and children’s cultural development. This would help them to begin to appreciate the richness and diversity of cultures other than their own.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

43. In order to sustain children’s very good achievements, the governors, headteacher and staff should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Agree the long-term future development of the school;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve the provision for a) information and communication technology, including staff expertise; b) outdoor play and its links with the overall curriculum; Paragraphs: 36-41

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Provision for cultural development. Paragraph: 42 Greenfield Nursery School - 20

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 8

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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 sessions observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. [When the total number is substantially less than 100, add] Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each session represents more than one [two, three, etc] percentage point[s]. [Where the total is close to or greater than 100, use only the first sentence.]

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 37

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 9

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

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Attendance

% % Greenfield Nursery School - 21 School data 90 School data 0

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Greenfield Nursery School - 22

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff Financial year 2000-2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20 £

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8 Total expenditure 160,243

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 134 Expenditure per pupil 4,007

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 15,297

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 7.7 Balance carried forward to next year 17,627

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Greenfield Nursery School - 23

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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. 76 20 0 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 68 24 0 0 8

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 16 32 12 0 40

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 64 24 8 0 4

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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. 92 8 0 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. 52 40 4 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 56 36 0 0 8

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 72 20 0 0 8

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 60 40 0 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 48 20 0 0 32

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