The Lawns Nursery School

THE LAWNS NURSERY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Revd Malcolm Childs

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THE LAWNS NURSERY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 4 th – 5 th December 2000

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THE LAWNS NURSERY SCHOOL

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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THE LAWNS 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. The Lawns Nursery School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School category: Other (Maintained Nursery)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Imperial Road Windsor Berks

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Local Education Authority

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs A Davies

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 25 th – 27 th November 1996 The Lawns Nursery School - 4

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Team members

WES World-wide Education Service Canada House 272 Field End Road Eastcote Middlesex HA4 9NA

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Team members

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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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE The Lawns 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

The Lawns Nursery School is maintained by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It is above average in size with full-time equivalent places for 78 children aged between three and five. There are currently 134 children on roll, of whom 67 are boys and 67 are girls. Most children attend on a part-time basis, coming to school either in the morning or the afternoon. However, a small number of pupils, seven boys and 15 girls, attend on a full-time basis, either because of some special need or in order to prepare them for transfer to first school. The Nursery is situated to the south-west of Windsor, with children attending from Eton, Eton Wick, Windsor and Old Windsor. They come from a range of social backgrounds and from private and rented accommodation. Many children attend playgroup before admission. Six children come from minority ethnic groups and are at an early stage of English language acquisition. Twenty-two children have special educational needs and two of them require

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

additional support from outside specialists. The school is taking part in the Effective Early Learning Project (EEL) organised by University College, Worcester. Attainment on entry is typical of that for children of this age.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The Lawns Nursery School is a very good school with some excellent features, where strong and visionary leadership and an effective and hardworking staff provide a challenging and stimulating learning environment for children under five. Attainment on entry is typical for children of this age, but the very good teaching results in above average attainment by the age of five. Most of the older children, and those with special educational needs, receive full- time education in the term before they leave and they are very well prepared for their new schools. The school provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Teaching is very good and is supported very well by nursery nurses and a learning support assistant. As a result pupils make very good progress and achieve above average levels of attainment, especially in language and literacy, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in an exciting and stimulating way. • The headteacher provides excellent leadership and the overall leadership and management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and a desire to succeed. • Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets for individual children well. • The attitudes, behaviour and personal development of pupils and relationships within the school are excellent and they make a significant contribution to the school’s outstanding ethos.

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What could be improved

• No significant areas of weakness were identified. 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

The Lawns Nursery School - 7 The school was last inspected in November 1996. At that time it was judged to be a successful school which made good provision for its pupils. Within this context two key issues were identified:

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

1. to improve planning, by ensuring that objectives make clear the purpose of all activities during group and free time; 2. develop strategies for monitoring and evaluating the school’s work, particularly in relation to children’s choices.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has successfully addressed both key issues. Excellent use has been made of the information provided by the Effective Early Learning Project (EEL). The way in which staff use the information provided by EEL has been a key factor in addressing both key issues. The quality of learning and the attainment of the children are the result of improvement across a number of aspects of the school’s work. The school has strong, effective leadership, firmly anchored to a vision of nursery education that believes the Foundation Stage should be both challenging and fun. There have been changes in the organisation of teaching groups which have led to an increased sense of being part of a team and have made the sharing of expertise and joint planning more efficient.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The way in which children are monitored and assessed, and the information gained is used for future planning, is impressive and involves the whole staff. The learning environment has improved, with stimulating classrooms and outstanding displays, and a recently developed outside area, which acts as a natural extension to the indoor classrooms, is a valuable resource.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Levels of resourcing are very good for all areas of learning, and the resources are accessible, used well and valued by both teachers and children. There is now a strong and mutually valued partnership with parents; they feel welcome in school and many help in classrooms on a regular basis or from time to time.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made good progress since the last inspection.

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STANDARDS

The table summarises inspectors’ judgements about the achievements of pupils in relation to the national Early Learning Goals by the time they leave the school.

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Performance in: Key

language and literacy A well above average A

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Performance in: Key

mathematics A above average average B C personal and social development A below average well below average D E

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Performance in: Key

By the time the children transfer to first school most will have achieved all the Early Learning Goals 1 relating to language and literacy, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the

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Performance in: Key

1 The Early Learning Goals are the standards that children are expected to achieve in relation to each area of learning by their fifth birthday. The Lawns Nursery School - 8 world, personal, social and emotional development, creative development and physical development. They make very good progress and attainment is above average in all the areas of learning. 2 It is well above average in language and literacy, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Excellent. The children like school and are eager to start the day’s activities.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Excellent. The children show high levels of self-discipline.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Excellent. Children of all ages work and play well together. They listen to each other and their teachers, and older children are often observed helping younger ones.

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Teaching of pupils:

Lessons seen overall Very 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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Teaching of pupils:

The quality of teaching is very good. In activities observed it was very good in 60 per cent, good in a further 30 per cent, and satisfactory in the remainder. No unsatisfactory teaching was seen. The staff are very experienced at working and planning effectively as a team. The preparation and planning of activities are excellent. Maximum use is made of time and resources to challenge all children, so that they make very good progress. Whatever their level of prior attainment, children respond well to the high expectations of their teachers, because they are enabled to achieve success. Teachers have managed to create a learning environment in which high standards are achieved, especially in language and literacy, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development. At the same time, learning is enjoyable and ensures that the children develop positive attitudes towards school. The very good relationships, and the consistency between staff in the management of the children,

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Teaching of pupils:

result in children who are happy and secure, and who look forward each day to new challenges.

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Teaching of pupils:

The quality of teaching and learning is largely responsible for the high and often very high standards already described.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

2 The areas of learning for children under five are: language and literacy, mathematics, personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development and physical development. The Lawns Nursery School - 9

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant, and meets the needs of the children well. The range of activities is extensive and they stimulate and interest the children.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Children’s needs are identified early and they are given sensitive and productive support.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. The number of children who have English as an additional language is small, but the support that they receive within a learning environment where language is being reinforced and developed continuously, ensures that they progress well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Very good . Careful planning results in very good provision for children’s spiritual development, with many moments when the excitement and wonder of a new discovery is present in the voices, expressions and actions of the children. The moral attitudes developed by the school are evident in the children’s behaviour which is excellent. The way in which the school encourages children to become independent learners and to co- operate with and support each other ensures that the provision for their social development is very good. Teachers make good provision for developing the children’s awareness of their own and other cultures.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school has excellent procedures for monitoring children’s achievements and personal development. Procedures for monitoring attendance and behaviour are very good. There are also very good procedures for assessing children’s work. Child protection and other health and safety procedures are very good.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum includes activities that are chosen by the children and those that are directed by adults. Priority is given to personal, social and emotional development, and to literacy and numeracy skills, which are reinforced continuously. All children, including those with special educational needs, and those for whom English is an additional language, have equal access to the curriculum. Staff know the children very well and respond effectively to their individual needs. The level of responsibility that the children take for their own learning is exceptional.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the Very good overall. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and she is supported by a very effective deputy headteacher and The Lawns Nursery School - 10 headteacher and other key staff a fully committed staff who share her vision and contribute well to the school’s strategies for further improvement.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body carries out its responsibilities effectively and is able to act as a critical friend in order to test out proposals for future development.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. The school has made significant progress in this area through the outstanding use that it has made of the Effective Early Learning Programme.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. Resources have been wisely chosen and they are used to maximum effect across all six areas of learning.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher provides excellent leadership. The headteacher and staff are well qualified and are committed to providing the best education they can for the children. While the local authority manages the main school budget centrally, the school is very effective in raising additional funds. The effectiveness with which the school manages the financial resources available to it is clear to see in the good levels of provision, including the bright colourful internal environment and the imaginatively developed outside area. The school always seeks to achieve the best possible value, with purchases carefully costed against its development plan.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • The progress made by their children and the standards the school achieves. • The good behaviour in the school. • They find the school easy to approach. • Parents feel that the school works closely with them and keeps them informed of what is going on. • The effective way in which the school is led and managed. • The way in which the children are helped to become more responsible. • No significant weaknesses were identified.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents hold the school in high esteem and the inspection team supports their views. The Lawns Nursery School - 11

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

1. The quality of teaching is very good. This is clearly evidenced in the excellent behaviour of the children, the good and very good progress that they make over time and the above and well above average levels of attainment. The whole staff work as a team that shares the same vision of a nursery where learning is both fun and of the highest quality. In activities observed teaching was very good in 60 per cent, good in a further 30 per cent, and satisfactory in the remainder. No unsatisfactory teaching was seen

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

2. Children enter the Nursery as young as three years of age, and their attainment is typical of that seen in children of their age. A small proportion of the children have special educational needs and a few are of above average attainment. Staff know the children very well. This is evident from the detailed long-term and medium-term curriculum planning carried out jointly by the staff, and the weekly revision and preparation of short- term plans for the week ahead. Children with special educational needs, or with special abilities, are quickly identified and given the help they need to make progress at a level that is appropriate for them. Target setting is used effectively for all children and they make good or very good progress towards achieving their objectives. Teachers take great care from the moment of first contact with the child and his/her family to ensure that the activities offered are both appropriate and challenging within a welcoming and stimulating

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

3. Staff consistently have high expectations of the children, and their excellent planning and organisation of the curriculum results in all children, including those with special educational needs, making very good progress. As a result, attainment in language and literacy, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development is well above average by the time children reach the age of five and it is above average in all other areas of learning. The quality of the discussions that staff and other adults have with the children is high. Staff and other adults take every opportunity to extend children’s learning. Their questioning is particularly effective in finding out what the children know and understand; the information is then used well to advance the children’s thinking and speaking. Parent helpers and volunteers are all very well briefed and feel a full part of the team.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

4. Planning is based on the excellent monitoring and assessment procedures provided by the EEL project. It is successful because of the way in which the information provided is used so productively by the staff. They support one another very well, and each nursery nurse and the learning support assistant has the opportunity to work with every teacher. At times when the whole school is engaged in free activities, every space inside and outside erupts in an almost bewildering range of activities, and yet children are working productively together. The level of self-discipline shown by children from the youngest to the oldest is quite remarkable and is the direct result of the high expectations of the staff.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

5. Day-to-day detailed assessments are kept of the children’s progress and the evaluations are then used to plan the work for the following day. In this way the staff ensure that they meet the needs of all of the children. The pace and timing of each section of the day The Lawns Nursery School - 12 mean that children do not become bored. They persevere consistently in all their activities. Because of the quality of the teaching, they listen very attentively when sat on the carpet to hear a story or have a discussion.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

6. Every opportunity is used to develop the children’s language skills and they become very confident in their use of spoken English. Throughout the day children can be observed in activity-related conversations at a level that is generally above average for their age. Opportunities for role-play provide a rich stimulation for language development. During the inspection it was possible to have conversations with kings on their way to Bethlehem, and the next moment to be visiting the post office to discuss the cost of sending a parcel by special delivery. The school philosophy, that activities should be offered to children when they are ready for them and at a level at which they will succeed, is very successful. Children’s writing skills are very good for their age. During their stay in the Nursery they move smoothly from pre-writing to the use of recognisable words and sentences, using properly formed letters with correctly held pencils. Many opportunities

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

are offered for reading activities, and the children listen very well to stories told by their teachers and other adults, taped stories and those told by other children. They show a love of books and treat them with great respect. The children know that words in the book tell the story and that pages are turned from right to left. They enjoy joining in with nursery rhymes and action songs. Their information and communication technology skills are well developed for their age, and this enables them to use a tape recorder confidently when listening to a story tape. Children as young as three use computers successfully to access and play language games. They recognise their own names and most four and five year olds can write their names unaided.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

7. Teachers are very conscious of the need to draw mathematical language and understanding from as many activities as possible. The end result is that although mathematics is not formally taught, progress is very good and standards are well above average. By the age of five, most children are familiar with numbers much larger than ten and teachers naturally expect their classes to use counting back by five from 26 to work out that only 21 children are present in class. Both teachers and children use mathematical language well, for example ‘How much bigger is ten than eight’, or ‘Which square is the biggest?’ Even the youngest children use numbers up to five with confidence and some have good understanding of numbers up to ten. By the time they leave the Nursery most children have good understanding of the processes of addition and subtraction and they are able to multiply and divide using multiple sets of objects, for

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

example, finding that eight animals can be shared between four children. Children as young as four correctly identify two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes such as circles, and squares, cylinders and cubes, and sort them successfully by shape, size and colour. They develop good understanding of the concepts of volume and capacity through practical activities using sand and water.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

8. Underpinning every other aspect of the curriculum is the exceptional quality of the provision for the personal, social and emotional development of the children. From the time the children arrive eagerly at school they become involved in purposeful activity that lasts until they leave. Teachers are particularly successful in helping the children to take responsibility for their own learning at a level that is very good for their age. During the inspection, no unhappy children were observed, no children were observed who were not working productively and no anti-social behaviour was apparent.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

Children take pride in what they are doing and they are used to finishing an activity once it has been started. It is a policy of the school that learning should be fun, and it is. There are many opportunities for children to make their own choices of activity, but their achievements are as closely monitored at these times as they are in the more structured learning sessions, where The Lawns Nursery School - 13 the teacher determines the activities. Children use their initiative well to choose and select activities, and they tidy up as a matter of course when they have finished. Those with special educational needs are supported well by the staff and by other children in their learning, and make very good progress towards their targets, especially in talking to others and making friends. The principles of the National Code for Special Educational Needs are closely followed.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

9. The children make good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the world and in their physical and creative development. For example, they enjoy finding out about the different properties of materials and choosing the most suitable to make a full-sized hobbyhorse that they are able to play with. The opportunities for discussion, co-operation and the consolidations of concepts such as ‘bigger’ and ‘smaller’, makes this a very worthwhile activity. Similarly, visits to the local shop and other trips extend their understanding beyond themselves and their families, out into the wider world. Highlights of the school year include the growing of flowers, vegetables and wheat, and the hatching of chicks in the spring term and of ducks in the summer term. The care with which the classrooms are arranged in order to offer an extensive range of activities means that the children’s creativity can be developed in many different ways, from role-play to painting,

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

from large construction toys to working with play dough, from experimenting with untuned instruments to create rhythmic accompaniments to their favourite songs. As well as supporting language and literacy and mathematics, computers are used to support the children’s creative development through sequencing patterns of shapes and colours, ‘painting’ and answering challenging puzzles. Three-year-olds can be observed using a mouse, keyboard and menu systems correctly and showing other children how to do the same. In their physical development, children are confident at climbing a frame and using the other large apparatus in the outside area. They use wheeled vehicles with confidence and take care not to bump into each other. Their ability to carry out physical tasks that require finer control, such as cutting out, are developed well in the classroom.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

10. The provision for children’s spiritual, moral and social development is very good and that for their cultural development is good. Careful planning results in very good provision for spiritual development, with many moments when the excitement and wonder of a new discovery is present in the voices, expressions and actions of the children. The moral attitudes developed by the school, and evident in the children’s behaviour, are excellent for their age. The way in which the school encourages children to become independent learners and to co-operate with and support each other ensures that the provision for their social development is very good. Teachers make good provision for the cultural awareness of the children’s own and other cultures, for example, by talking about the festivals of other faiths, through art and music, and through stories about their own and other countries.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

11. Because of the care with which children are monitored and the principles of equality of opportunity are applied, there is no discernible difference between the attainment of boys and girls.

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personal, social and emotional development, within a curriculum that is presented in

12. The accommodation, which occupies two floors, was not purpose built as a nursery. However, the quality of decoration, the very high quality of display and the excellent provision of activities within classrooms means that the overall environment within the building is an inviting and stimulating one for young children. The imaginative outside area, used well as a natural extension of the learning activities within the classrooms, provides considerable enrichment to the curriculum. This area has been well designed and is managed very well by the staff. The Lawns Nursery School - 14

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

13. The leadership of the headteacher is excellent and she is supported well by an able deputy headteacher. She has a vision, shared by her staff and governors, of a school that provides learning opportunities of the highest quality within an environment that is fun and where children are given every opportunity to succeed. The school is successful in meeting its aims. The very good ethos is clearly seen in all aspects of the school’s work and reflected by the enthusiasm of the children and the staff. The management and ethos of the school are supported well by the efficient and friendly manner in which the school secretary carries out her responsibilities.

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

14. It is the shared vision of what constitutes high quality nursery provision that is the most striking feature of the school’s leadership and management, which are judged to be very good overall. All those connected with the education of the children are involved in the planning and everyone’s contribution is equally valued. Teachers, nursery nurses and the learning support assistant work hard and effectively with the headteacher successfully to manage the very good educational provision.

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

15. Although the governing body has more limited powers than those in schools with fully delegated budgets, it is well informed and exercises effective critical oversight of the school’s activities. The governing body fully meets its statutory responsibilities.

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

16. The headteacher and staff work closely with other schools and the wider community in order to enrich the learning opportunities available to the children, and prepare them well for the next stage of their education.

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

17. The excellent use made of the information provided through the Effective Early Learning project means that the management of the curriculum, including that for pupils of high ability or for those with special educational needs, is very good. There is very good liaison between parents and external agencies, such as the educational psychologist and social services.

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management of the school are very good, leading to a common sense of purpose and

18. Although the school does not have a fully delegated budget, spending decisions are taken on the basis of the priorities identified within its development plan. In addition, the school raises a significant amount of money through its lunchtime club and fund-raising activities with the parents. The school always seeks to achieve the best value that it can, in order to maximise the range of resources that are provided.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

19. A detailed assessment is made of the attainment of each child when they first enter the nursery that takes into account information provided by parents and the observations made by staff. This enables planning to meet the needs of each child to begin at the earliest opportunity.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

20. One of the challenges for any nursery school is the way in which to manage free and planned activities so that each child is both experiencing the full range of activities and The Lawns Nursery School - 15 being challenged so that he/she makes good progress in all the areas of learning. In order to achieve this as effectively as possible, the school uses the Effective Early Learning Project (EEL). The excellent use of the information that this project provides means that each child’s progress across the six areas of learning is tracked very effectively.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

21. Staff have seen the benefits that the project has brought to their planning and effectiveness as teachers, nursery nurses and as a learning support assistant. Observations are detailed and focused, and the records kept show, in considerable detail, how each child is developing. This in turn means that activities are planned and monitored in a way that maximises the opportunities for further learning to take place.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

22. The use of the EEL materials has enabled the staff to identify areas for further improvement. For example, mathematics was identified as an area of relative weakness, and the changes made in the way this subject was taught and monitored mean that it is now a strength of the school. Similarly, although musical provision meets all the requirements of the relevant Early Learning Goals, it has been identified as an area of relative weakness and curriculum planning is being adapted in order to support this.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

23. The school is able to identify children with special educational needs or with exceptional abilities at the earliest possible opportunity. Challenging extension activities are provided, on the basis of accurate assessments of their needs, for the older children as they prepare to move to the next stage of their education.

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Excellent monitoring and assessment procedures are in use, informing the targets

24. Very good information on the attainment of the children is provided to their next schools, based on the comprehensive information provided by the EEL procedures.

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within the school are excellent and they make a significant contribution to the

25. The school places great importance on developing positive attitudes and behaviour amongst the children within an environment that helps them to grow as individuals. The way in which the whole staff work together to achieve these objectives is a core strength. The mutual respect that the children show for one another is exceptional. It is the norm for children to support each other, whether one has been hurt in some way or some younger child needs help from an older one. Even the youngest three year olds share well with others.

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within the school are excellent and they make a significant contribution to the

26. The way in which children behave when working at different activities is outstanding, as is their behaviour when moving between rooms, floors and the inside and the outside of the building. No aggressive or anti-social behaviour was observed during the inspection.

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within the school are excellent and they make a significant contribution to the

27. Children are eager to come into school and begin working, and pace is well maintained. They take considerable responsibility for their own learning and, as a result, teachers can concentrate on facilitating their learning rather than dealing with disciplinary matters. In their final term before moving to the next stage of their education, those who choose to attend full time really enjoy the extension activities and the lunch club that they are able to attend. This is a very worthwhile social experience. By the time they leave, the children have been prepared very well, both in terms of academic attainment, and of their social, behavioural and personal development, to achieve success in Key Stage 1. Relationships between all members of the school community are excellent.

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within the school are excellent and they make a significant contribution to the

28. Relationships with parents are a strength of the school. The questionnaires returned by the parents, the meeting with parents and discussion with parents during the inspection, The Lawns Nursery School - 16 all confirmed that parents hold the school in high esteem. The partnership that exists between parents and school is very strong and many parents help in school on a regular basis, or from time to time. The information made available to parents is excellent, and they feel confident and at ease when they come into the school. Opportunities for them to discuss concerns, or simply to pass on information, are made available at the start and end of each half-day session, as well as in the more formal parents’ meetings that are provided. Parents are encouraged to help their children at home so that learning becomes a shared activity.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

29. No significance weaknesses were identified during the inspection.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

30. There are no key issues for improvement. However, the school has identified that the provision for music, although satisfactory, is weaker than other aspects of the provision for children’s creative development, and the inspection team agree that this subject should be given priority for further development.

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 10* Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 13

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The Lawns Nursery School - 17 Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfact ory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

0 60 30 10 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

*Considerable additional time was spent in analysing children’s work and considering photographic and other evidence.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 78 Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals N/A FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 22

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils Number of pupils with English as an additional language 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 3

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support staff

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3.8

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support staff

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21 £

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support staff

Total income 205249 Total number of education support staff 4 Total expenditure 192559

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support staff

Total aggregate hours worked per week 104 Expenditure per pupil 2534

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support staff

Balance brought forward from previous year Number of pupils per FTE adult 10 Balance carried forward to next year FTE means full-time equivalent. The Lawns Nursery School - 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongl y agree Tend to agree Tend to disagre e Strongl y disagre e Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 70 23 0 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 68 28 0 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home.* 0 0 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 36 55 7 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 78 22 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 37 54 2 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 41 54 4 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 73 26 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 69 26 0 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons.* 0 0 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

*The school had advised parents that these two headings were not really applicable to a nursery school.

p.19