Flatts Nursery School

FLATTS NURSERY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: July 4 th – 7 th 2005

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FLATTS NURSERY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Flatts Nursery - 2 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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FLATTS 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. Flatts Nursery - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Nursery School category: Maintained Age range of pupils: 3 - 5 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 117

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Ashworth Green Dewsbury West Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 01924 325290 Fax number: 01924 325290

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Mrs S. Collins

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This is a large nursery school, with 117 boys and girls aged between three and five who each attend for morning or afternoon half-day sessions. The school is designated as a Children’s Centre as part of a Neighbourhood Nursery initiative with government funding. An additional facility provides day care for 22 extra very young children. This facility is not part of the inspection however, as it has been inspected separately. In addition, the school has resourced provision for 12 children with special educational needs who attend for half-day sessions. Most of these children have a statement of special educational needs for moderate learning difficulties. They are integrated into the main school as much as possible and also work in their own room for individual sessions. Most children live in the surrounding area but a few travel from further afield. The school is situated close to the centre of Dewsbury, serving a mixed community where there is considerable social and

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

economic disadvantage. About a quarter of the children are of White British origin, while the remainder are mainly Asian, predominantly Pakistani or Indian. There are 83 children for whom English is an additional language and who are at an early stage of learning English. Most of these children speak Punjabi, Urdu or Gujarati.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The children have a wide spread of attainments when they join the nursery but in general they are below expectations for their age because a significant number have special educational needs and a large proportion are in the very early stages of learning English. This is a community school and as such is involved in a number of local initiatives and community projects providing facilities such as a parent and toddler group, toy library and the Fastlane initiative (Family And Schools Together, Flatts Nursery - 4 Literacy And Numeracy for Everyone), which promotes language and helps with translation. The school has won a number of awards including a Healthy Schools Award in 2004 and Investors in People in 2005. Flatts Nursery - 5

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

21045 Susan Walker Lead inspector Personal, social and emotional development, Knowledge and understanding of the world. 9333 Keith Schofield Lay inspector 18101 Anne Sharpe Team inspector Communication, language and literacy, Creative development, English as an additional language. 8798 Dennis Maxwell Team inspector Mathematical development, Physical development, Special educational needs.

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Serco QAA Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Flatts Nursery - 6

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 10

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 13

Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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OVERALL EVALUATION

This is an effective school giving good value for money. It is well respected and valued in the community it serves. The good leadership of the headteacher, together with good teaching, the very positive ethos for learning and an exciting curriculum enable children to relish being at nursery and to achieve well. Despite the fact that many children start nursery speaking very little English, most go on to achieve the goals expected for their age by the time they leave in all areas of learning except communication, language and literacy. Children who are at a very early stage of learning to speak English make good progress but are unlikely to acquire enough language to enable them to achieve the expected goals during their short time in the nursery.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• Overall achievement is good. Most children settle well and develop very good attitudes to learning. • Teaching is good. The very positive ethos and a rich and varied curriculum ensure that children grow in confidence and independence and are keen to explore and learn. • The school promotes an excellent level of racial harmony. • Children with special educational needs and those in the early stages of learning English do well because of the good provision that is made for them. The provision for more able children is not as good. • Inconsistencies in the quality in the interactions with children and the use of assessment to plan suitable tasks that fully challenge all children weaken the otherwise good teaching. • The school is well led and managed overall but co-ordinators do not all have a clear enough picture of standards in their areas of learning.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school has made good improvement since the last inspection. The small number of minor issues for development mentioned in the last report have been remedied well and the school has broadened its involvement in community and local initiatives for the benefit of all children and their parents. The school has made great strides in improving the quality of outdoor play. The good achievements of the children have been sustained and the school has adapted well to all the statutory changes to the Foundation Stage curriculum.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Children achieve well in all the areas of learning . The attainments of the majority of children when they first start nursery are below average. This is mainly because a large proportion of the children are in the very early stages of learning to speak English, many have had little experience of socialising with other children and most have limited knowledge of the world around them. As a result of the good teaching and the broad curriculum children make good progress and most achieve the goals expected for their age by the end of their time in the nursery in all the areas of learning with the exception of communication, language and literacy. In this area of learning standards are lower than expected. The school provides good support for the large number of children for whom English is an additional language and so these children achieve well despite their linguistic limitations when they first start nursery. Children with special educational needs,

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OVERALL EVALUATION

particularly those in the Resourced Provision, also achieve well because of the good teaching that enables them to take part in all activities and learn well. The provision for higher attaining children is Flatts Nursery - 8 not always consistent enough because staff do not always make full use of information from assessments to plan next steps in leaning.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Children’s personal qualities are very good, as is their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is promoted very well. Throughout the school there is a good emphasis on developing the social skills of the children and this is having a very positive effect on their attitudes to learning and their behaviour in school, which are both very good. Attendance is satisfactory. QUALITY OF EDUCATION

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The quality of education is good . There is good teaching and learning with a very good emphasis on social development and the fostering of independence that enables the children to achieve well. The school has a thorough and potentially effective system for monitoring the progress of children. The impact of this has yet to be felt fully because teachers do not always make enough use of the information to help with their planning for the individual needs of all the children, especially the more able. Consequently teaching is not always as focused as it might be. Speaking and listening are an important feature of the teaching and at best there is a very good emphasis on the development of vocabulary. But there is some variation in the quality of conversation between staff and children because staff are not equally good at interacting with the children. The curriculum is varied and exciting, benefiting from considerable enrichment from visits, visitors and community

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OVERALL EVALUATION

activities. The curriculum and school organisation support well those children who are at an early stage of learning to speak English and prepare all children well for their future work in reception classes. Planning and organisation take good account of the needs of children with special educational needs. Children within the Resourced Provision are fully included in activities and benefit greatly from the teacher’s specialist expertise. The very recent designation of the nursery as a Children’s Centre has great potential for improving learning opportunities for all children when it is fully operational. It is currently at an early stage of development and it is too early to judge its impact. The school takes very good care of all the children.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are good . Governance is satisfactory and developing well; all statutory requirements area met. The headteacher provides a good steer to school and curriculum development and has involved the school in a number of beneficial local and national initiatives. The leadership of other key staff is satisfactory overall though co- ordinators do not all have a clear overview of standards in their areas of learning. The management of the newly designated Children’s Centre is evolving well. Leadership and management of the provision for children with special educational needs are very good.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are very satisfied with all that the school offers. Children benefit greatly from the very good links with their parents and the local community as more parents become involved in their child’s education and take advantage of the very good support offered by the school. Children love coming to nursery and joining in with the activities with their friends.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are: Flatts Nursery - 9 • Make better use of the information from assessments to target teaching more closely to individual needs. • Improve the consistency of interactions with children. • Strengthen the role of co-ordinators so they are more influential. Flatts Nursery - 10

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

Children achieve well overall. In personal and social development, knowledge and understanding of the world, mathematical, creative and physical development children are on course to reach the goals expected for their age by the end of nursery. In communication, language and literacy many children are unlikely to do so because such a high proportion start nursery with very limited knowledge of the English language. They cannot catch up fully with other children in the short time they are in nursery, although these children do make very good progress in their language development.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

• Most children make good progress in their learning and achieve well in relation to their abilities. • There is very good support for children with special educational needs and the large number of children for whom English is an additional language, which enables these children to take part in all activities and learn well. • Throughout the school there is a very good emphasis on developing the social skills of the children and this is having a positive effect on their attitudes to learning and their behaviour in school. • The provision for higher attaining children is not consistent enough.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

1. Although there is a spread of attainments when children first start nursery, the standards of the majority are lower than expected for their age. This is because a significant number have special educational needs and a high proportion are still at the very early stages of learning English. The below average skills are especially noticeable in communication, language and literacy. Furthermore, most have little experience of the world around them when they join the nursery and few have had previous opportunities for socialising with other children. As a result of the good teaching and broad curriculum most children make good progress and achieve well during their time in the nursery, gradually gaining confidence in speaking, learning to listen to others, broadening their vocabulary and learning to mix with other children.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

2. With the exception of communication, language and literacy, standards are at the expected level in all areas of learning and children are on course to reach the goals set for them by the end of nursery. In communication, language and literacy standards are below expectation for their age because the limited linguistic skills of many children initially impede their progress. Few children speak in meaningful sentences and many answer questions with a minimum of words and not all adults seize on opportunities to draw more dialogue from the children. Nevertheless, due to the good emphasis that is placed on language development most children make good progress in acquiring skills in spoken English during their time in the nursery. Children with special educational needs achieve well and in line with their peers because provision is good. Teaching sessions are effective in concentrating on their learning

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

needs. The special needs of children in the Resourced Provision are catered for very well because of the specialist expertise of the staff.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

3. As a result of the good leadership, children who are in the early stage of learning English are supported well and make good progress. Of particular note is the way in which the school has tackled the achievements of Pakistani boys, who tend to have very low attainments when they first start nursery. As a result of analysis of assessments, well-targeted teaching and the involvement of parents through the Fastlane initiative, these children achieve well and make particularly good progress. Children who are in need of extra help are identified quickly at the Flatts Nursery - 11 home visits that form part of the school’s very successful induction procedures. Through daily opportunities to communicate with other children and adults, most of these children build confidence and start to use new words and phrases. The use of Makaton sign language, learned by all the children in the school, helps them to communicate and make sense of

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

spoken language. It also helps them to learn the words of songs, for instance, and to begin to recognise the initial letters of their names. A bi-lingual member of staff provides invaluable support by providing children with appropriate translation so they are able to access the full curriculum, understand what it is being taught and communicate in the language spoken at home. Consequently children make very good gains in learning and develop confidence to speak in English.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

4. Throughout the school there is a very good emphasis on developing the social skills of the children and this is having a positive effect on their attitudes to learning and their behaviour in school. As a result of the positive ethos for learning and the well-established routines most children gain considerably in their confidence, self-esteem and independence. They soon become familiar with the layout of the building and happily move from one room to another to choose which activities they will pursue. Most children are willing to persevere with tasks for considerable lengths of time, though a few tend to ‘flit’ between activities because their movements are not always closely monitored. Most children manage to establish friendly relationships with other children and with adults in the school, though a few remain shy and sometimes need coaxing to join in.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

5. The provision for higher attaining children is not always as consistent as it should be and this helps to weaken the otherwise good teaching because these children do not always make the best possible progress. The best interventions by staff take learning forward by asking children open questions that encourage them to think hard or by setting them further challenges. By contrast, there are times when the small minority of more able children are marking time because tasks are well within their capabilities and do not build well enough on what they have previously learned or because the tasks are repetitive and make little demand on them. In this respect staff make too little use of the information gleaned from observations and assessments to plan more demanding work for these children or to improve the quality of their play.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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Standards achieved in areas of learning

Children have very good attitudes to learning and most behave very well. Personal and social development is very good, resulting from the very positive relationships throughout the school. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. Attendance is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The good provision for children’s personal and social development helps them to gain independence and confidence. • Children develop very good attitudes to learning and most behave very well. • The school is very successful in ensuring that children are free from bullying and harassment. • Children enjoy coming to school and relationships between all members of the school community are very good. • The school achieves an excellent level of racial harmony.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

6. Children work and play together harmoniously without any signs of bullying or harassment, regardless of gender or ethnic origin. As at the time of the last inspection their attitudes and behaviour are very good and most are on course to reach the expected goals for their age in their personal and social development. For example, children learn to apologise for any Flatts Nursery - 12 inappropriate behaviour and they readily follow the school’s ‘Golden Rules’ for promoting good behaviour. A small number of children find difficulty with self-discipline and do sometimes resort to inappropriate behaviour, but adults in school remind them gently of the rules and expectations and show, through their own demeanour, how they expect children to behave. The school has introduced very effective systems to settle children into nursery routines when they first start and these are reinforced as children learn to be more independent. The new

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Main strengths and weaknesses

behaviour policy is working well in encouraging children to work and play together co- operatively. Children with special educational needs have very good attitudes and behaviour. They usually take part in planned activities very well with the encouragement and sensitive support of adults.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

7. Children are clearly excited at coming to nursery. They enjoy the many activities, which help them to become increasingly mature and self-sufficient. They settle in quickly and are happy to attend. A family atmosphere pervades and both parents and children say they like being part of the school community. The school has several simple but effective systems in place that are successfully promoting independence, such as the self-registration system where, at the start of each session, children go to their ‘key worker’ who gives them a name badge and a gold sticker. The sticker is attached to a chart by their name. Following a sequence of five attendances, children are rewarded with a governors’ golden award sticker. This system is helping to improve attendance rates by reinforcing the need for regular attendance with both parents and children. During the meeting with parents held prior to the inspection, parents

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Main strengths and weaknesses

frequently referred to the value of the school’s system.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

8. The very good provision for cultural development takes account of and celebrates the ethnic background of all children. Children are introduced to many visitors from a range of different cultures who demonstrate such arts as Indian dance, African drumming techniques and Caribbean cooking. A recent visit to Dewsbury library reinforced their work on an African theme. Children learn about the British heritage when they meet storytellers and authors and make visits to the theatre and local museums. Relationships in the school are very good and help children to develop friendships.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

9. Spiritual development is good and is nurtured through the rich and stimulating learning experiences. Staff and specialist helpers engender a sense of awe and wonder through their own enthusiasm and by introducing new artefacts and activities, which stimulate the children’s imagination and employ all their senses. For example, children all spend time in the ‘Flatts Forest’ learning about the wonders of nature. They also have some very special pets, such as Brian, the African snail. Moral, social and cultural development are all very good. Children are developing an early understanding of right and wrong and are beginning to demonstrate this in their relationships with others. The children’s Records of Achievement show good evidence of their personal and social development and are greatly valued by parents.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

10. Attendance was a key issue in the last report. Since that time the school has forged closer contact with parents and new systems have been introduced that are successfully promoting better attendance. Nevertheless, attendance is still lower than in other nurseries, being adversely affected for a variety of reasons, such as families who take extended holidays to visit their home countries. The school is proactive in encouraging good attendance and punctuality but, despite this, a small number of families still have difficulty in getting children to nursery on time.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Main strengths and weaknesses

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 11 School data 5 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Flatts Nursery - 13

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education provided by the school is good. Teaching is good, leading to the good achievement of the children. The curriculum is well planned to incorporate the areas of learning for children of this age and to lead children smoothly into the National Curriculum when they start in full time education. Children are very well cared for and benefit considerably from the close partnership with parents and the community.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of teaching is good. Children learn well because of the encouraging and purposeful atmosphere in the nursery and the very good relationships. Assessment is satisfactory.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

• There is a very good emphasis on social development and the fostering of independence. • There is a good level of teamwork between all the adults in the school. • Children at an early stage of learning English and those with special educational needs are supported very well but the needs of higher attainers are not always fully met. • Speaking and listening are an important feature of the teaching though there is some variation in the quality of interaction with the children. • The school has devised thorough and potentially effective systems for assessing what children have learned. The very good information from assessments is not always used to best advantage although informal assessments are used well.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

11. One of the main strengths of the teaching is the way in which the organisation and layout of the nursery encourages children to become independent learners and to make choices about the activities they will pursue. This organisation goes a long way in developing the social skills of the children as well as their confidence, curiosity and sense of exploration. However, on a few occasions there is an imbalance between tasks set by teachers and those chosen by the children, with insufficient formal monitoring of what each child has accomplished within a session to ensure that each child experiences all that is on offer over time. There is a very wide range of options and children rapidly become familiar with the whereabouts of their toys and apparatus and gain the confidence to move between activities and to play amicably with other children. The very good relationships between adults and children pervade all the

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

activities. Staff are good role models to the children, demonstrating the correct way to handle tools and equipment and encouraging children to be courteous to one another.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

12. Teachers plan each session efficiently and thoroughly so that materials are all to hand and staff all know the ’key questions’ that are the main focus of teaching in each area of learning. The good sense of teamwork makes learning exciting for children. Planning takes good account of all the aspects of each area of learning and new vocabulary to be introduced, and makes good use of the wide range of resources in the school. Tasks are often contextualised to make them meaningful to young children. At the time of the inspection, for instance, all activities were linked to the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Flatts Nursery - 14 13. The school generally provides well for the individual needs of the children. Lesson planning and group organisation take good account of the children with special educational needs. One-to-one support is sensitive and takes good account of the daily assessments of their progress. Those who are within the Resourced Provision are fully

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

included in activities and benefit from the teachers’ good subject knowledge. Provision for more capable children is less consistent. There are times when these children are not occupied as purposefully as they might be because planning does not always focus specifically enough on what they need to learn next and there is not always enough engagement with staff to guide them towards new learning.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

14. Children at an early stage of learning English are supported well in a number of effective ways. The introduction of Makaton signing is very beneficial in helping these children to communicate in English and begin to recognise letter sounds. The bi-lingual support assistant helps these children to achieve learning objectives with individual translation and encouragement that foster confidence. Interpreting into their home language ensures they have good access to all the activities. Because the assistant has detailed knowledge of the needs of individual children she is able to tailor the support and introduce new vocabulary at exactly the right level so the children make good gains in learning. The very recent designation of the nursery as a Children’s Centre has potential for improving teaching and learning. A member of staff, for example, provides a sense of continuity for children by working in both the nursery and

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

the day care provision. It is too early, however, to judge the impact of the initiative.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

15. Speaking and listening are key components of each session and staff are mindful of the need to reinforce and introduce new vocabulary at every opportunity. There is often a good emphasis on the use of specific vocabulary, as when children explored wildlife in the forest area and learned to use correctly terms such as ‘petals’ and ‘antennae’. Teaching at its best engages children in conversation in an enjoyable and relaxed context, such as preparing fruit for snack time. In such sessions children are introduced to new words and encouraged to repeat them in the course of the conversation in order to reinforce understanding. Such teaching capitalises on the children’s interests by asking them well-focused questions so they become increasingly confident in sharing their own ideas and thoughts. Adults are not all equally good, however, at interacting effectively with the children to promote language,

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

challenge and prompt learning. In the best teaching staff are skilled at promoting new vocabulary. They pose open-ended questions that encourage children to respond in whole sentences, thus developing their confidence in speaking aloud. At times interactions, though friendly, are too cursory and do little to promote spoken language because questions require children to respond with just one word, often just ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In some group activities adults adopt a supervisory role, servicing an activity and helping children with tools and equipment but engaging children in limited conversation. Not all adults are equally proactive in intervening in activities and there are times when children are left to their own devices for lengthy periods with little adult support to guide learning. These inconsistencies weaken the otherwise good teaching and have not been identified in the monitoring.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

16. The school has developed a good range of methods to assess what children have learned. Children are initially assessed very soon after joining the nursery and then again before they leave. In between, the key workers record their daily progress and achievements in ongoing note form. This approach provides plenty of first hand information about each child, which is transferred to the informative Records of Achievement that give a clear picture of what each child has learned over time. These Flatts Nursery - 15 are very popular with parents and provide a delightful souvenir and record of each child’s progress. However, the information gleaned from both assessments and observations is not used to best effect to aid daily planning and to help teachers determine what children need to learn next, and this weakens the impact of the process.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

17. The management has recently introduced a more sophisticated system for tracking and monitoring the progress of each child through the Foundation Stage curriculum or ‘stepping stones’. This system has the potential to be a very useful means of monitoring whether children have achieved a particular target and for identifying any strengths or weaknesses in the provision. The full impact has yet to be felt however, because teachers do not make enough use of the information to help with their planning for the individual needs of the children.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 26 lessons

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor 0 4 19 3 0 0 0 The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The nursery provides a good quality curriculum that helps children to achieve well across all areas of learning. Good opportunities for enrichment assist children’s learning. The accommodation and resources are good, especially the forest area.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

• Staff plan a good range of interesting activities both indoors and outdoors that take good account of the curriculum for children in nursery schools. • Children’s learning is enriched very well by visitors to the nursery and by visits out of the nursery. • Curriculum provision for children who are at an early stage of learning to speak English is very good. • The curriculum for the most capable children is not always planned to take enough account of what they can already do.

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Commentary

18. Improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory. Staff plan a broad range of activities in all areas of learning well, and these lead smoothly into the subjects of the National Curriculum. The extensive school grounds are used particularly well to promote learning outdoors. Here children can learn from a wide range of activities in all the areas of learning as they develop their muscles and co-ordination with wheeled toys, grow vegetables in the garden and explore the forest area. Teachers plan children’s work around themes derived from specific books, ensuring that children’s experiences help them to make meaningful connections between all six areas of their learning. One example arose when children found out about insects as part of knowledge and understanding of the world, and they practised literacy skills by Flatts Nursery - 16 discussing a well-known children’s book about a caterpillar. Teachers take good

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Commentary

account of the national guidance about the curriculum when they plan the themes of work for the year in advance. The work gives children a helpful start to their future learning when they transfer to reception classes in primary schools.

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Commentary

19. Staff make very good provision for children’s personal, social and health education, as an integral part of the thematic work, such as when children learn about dental hygiene, healthy food and keeping themselves safe. The nursery has achieved a national award, designating it as a healthy school. Staff give very good attention to planning the outdoor curriculum, and children have many regular opportunities to make a choice between working indoors or outdoors. This increases children’s confidence to explore space, work with different adults and children, and select from an increasingly wide range of activities. There are many visitors to the nursery and visits out of the nursery that add interest and excitement to the curriculum. Staff plan these carefully to ensure that they give a clear focus to children’s learning. When an Indian dancer and an African drummer visited, for example, children’s interest in a story about an

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Commentary

elephant was heightened. The good resources enhance teaching and learning well, providing imaginative and varied tasks for the children to pursue. The forest area offers a wealth of curricular opportunities in all the areas of learning.

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Commentary

20. Children who are at an early stage of learning to speak English play as full a part as possible in nursery activities. A bi-lingual nursery nurse is skilled at spotting when explanations in children’s heritage language are likely to assist their understanding, and deciding when to introduce children to new words in English. Specialist staff ensure that children who have special educational needs are very well supported and where necessary, work is often very well matched to their individual needs. There is a good balance for children with special educational needs between planned activities, such as identifying big and little ducks, and access to free choice or group activities. Children from the Resourced Provision are fully included in all these activities and benefit also from the swimming lessons that help to develop their co-ordination, confidence and social skills. The curriculum for the most capable children, however,

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Commentary

does not always provide enough opportunities for them build on what they can already do. This is because a clear plan for their future learning is not built sufficiently well into lesson plans stemming from the longer-term theme plans for the whole curriculum. As a result, these children sometimes mark time.

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Commentary

21. Staff, rightly, want children to have regular choices to work either indoors or outdoors. The current planning and organisation of this practice, however, has meant that on a small number of occasions curriculum time is not used to very best effect in raising achievement. On these occasions many children are outdoors with too few adults to interact with them in a planned and in-depth way, while a very small number of children are indoors with several adults. This limits the progress they can make in extending their skills and experiences.

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Commentary

22. The nursery is a very newly designated Children’s Centre, with good potential for extending children’s learning beyond the normal school day. There are still many issues to resolve, however, before children can benefit fully from this new and exciting facility. Planned provision for children who attend both the day care unit and the nursery on the same day, for example, has not yet been agreed.

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Commentary

Care, guidance and support Flatts Nursery - 17 The school looks after the children very well. Procedures for the care, welfare, health and safety of the children are very good. The quality of support and guidance given to children is good. Children have very good and trusting relationships with adults in the nursery, and take their views into account well.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• All aspects of health and safety are taken very seriously. • Pastoral care is very good. • The school is proactive in seeking the views of the children. • Procedures for settling children into the nursery are very good. • There is good support for children who are at an early stage of learning English and those with special educational needs. • Assessment information is not always used well enough to help children improve.

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Commentary

23. The very good arrangements for the support and guidance of the children have been maintained since the last inspection. Staff are accessible and responsive to children’s needs. There are very good procedures in place for all aspects of health and safety, including risk assessments for visits outside the school. Children are fully briefed about possible dangers from, for example, eating poisonous berries or brushing past thorns before venturing into the forest area. There is a good emphasis on the benefits of healthy eating, the school having won a ‘Healthy School’ award in 2005. Care is particularly good for children with physical impairments or severe learning difficulties. For example, Makaton sign language is used to enhance communication with children with speech and language difficulties as well as those at an early stage of learning English. The headteacher very quickly addressed the health and care key issues

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Commentary

arising from the recent inspection of the day care centre. The school site is attractive and is kept clean and safe. 24. The school takes very good steps to seek the views of the children about their school. It has sought their views for several years by means of questionnaire conducted with parents. This process provides valuable feedback from the children and their parents and provides an opportunity for the school to respond if any concerns are raised. Responses are in the main very positive.

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Commentary

25. The very good relationships between the children and adults help to create a secure, happy environment, which leads to effective learning. The personal development of each child is routinely monitored and staff know each child and their families well. Teachers undertake a high level of individual monitoring of the achievements and development of children based on direct observation. These feed into the school’s assessment system, though the information is not always fully utilised to aid teachers’ planning. The school has developed an innovative way for children to record their work in the attractive ‘Records of Achievement’. These document the skills that children have acquired and record the progress they have made with samples of work and a range of additional information. A sense of pride is generated with the children and parents value the level of information they provide. The records are regarded as the

p.17

Commentary

child’s own property and so children handle them with care and enjoy looking at them with their parents.

p.17

Commentary

26. The school provides a good level of inclusive care for the individual needs of most children, although there are times when higher attaining children would benefit from Flatts Nursery - 18 more challenging tasks and more structure to their learning. The leadership has been particularly successful in meeting the needs of the children at an early stage of learning English and those with special educational needs. For example, the school has employed a bi-lingual teaching assistant who helps both children and their parents by providing translation into their home languages. This ensures that these children have full access to all that the school has to offer and their parents are well informed about what is going on in the nursery. Another member of staff provides valuable special care, including home visits as part of the local Fastlane scheme. Those children who have special educational needs benefit from a good level of additional support that

p.17

Commentary

enables them to complete activities and encourages them to make some choices and gain in independence.

p.18

Commentary

27. Induction arrangements for children are very good. During the term before children start at the nursery, families are visited in their homes and initial assessments are made to determine the level of support required for each child. Parents and children are invited to attend nursery so that they can become familiar with the surroundings and procedures. Usually, the visitors come for short ‘taster’ sessions of one hour per week for seven weeks. For parents needing help with the English language, the school ensures that its interpreter is available to help. After induction, the school continues to consult parents and children by frequently circulating very comprehensive questionnaires.

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Commentary

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

p.18

Commentary

The school’s partnership with parents is very good. Links with the community are very good. The school has a good association with other schools and colleges.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school provides very good information for parents. • Very good links have been established with the local community. • The Day Care centre provides a valued additional facility for the community. • There is a very good partnership with parents of children with special educational needs.

p.18

Commentary

28. The school has become very successful at providing parents with a very good level of information about their child’s progress and what is going on in the nursery. Parents readily confirmed that staff are approachable and quickly resolve any concerns. Outside each classroom, parents can see a summary of learning activities planned for each half term, which is regularly updated. Children proudly show their parents the samples of the work they have retained in their own ‘Record of Achievement’ folder. The school has provided workshops for parents on a range of topics that help them to understand what their children are learning. Parents also receive dual language newsletters every half term, which include a copy of the stories used in class.

p.18

Commentary

29. Many parents and volunteer helpers come into school to support the staff and are especially good in helping to look after the children when they make visits outside the school. The school has very good provision for both parents and children whose first language is not English, largely through the contribution of four Asian members of staff, one of whom translates Punjabi, Urdu and Gujarati for both children and their Flatts Nursery - 19 parents. Many documents for parents appear in Asian languages and the school’s community link provides lessons in the English language for parents who do not speak English.

p.18

Commentary

30. The school has very strong links with the local community, as at the time of the last inspection. A wide range of visits and visitors contribute to the educational experience of the children. Recent events include visits from the mayor, a harpist and a brass band. Children regularly visit places of interest such as local pet shop. A group of children make a weekly visit to a neighbouring home for the elderly, an experience that benefits both young and old and contributes strongly to the social and cultural development of the children. Children record their experiences on a digital camera for posterity. There are productive links with the local primary schools to which most children transfer and students on work experience placements provide useful additional adult support as they learn.

p.19

Commentary

31. Working parents greatly value the Day Care arrangements and the children benefit from the care that extends beyond school hours. Positive links with parents and the community are expanding significantly as a result of the nursery’s very recent designation as a Children’s Centre. Many other very good links with the local community are also in place, such as Joblink, which links local unemployed residents to new jobs created in the area. The school makes good provision for family needs and supports families very well by providing classes in the English language classes, sewing and computers as well as the parent and toddlers group.

p.19

Commentary

32. The school has established a very good partnership with parents of children with special educational needs, especially those who attend the Resourced Provision, even though daily contact is difficult since most children come to school by bus. Parents are provided with detailed information on their child’s progress and are always invited to contribute to review meetings. The transfer arrangements to receiving primary or special schools are handled sensitively.

p.19

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides good leadership and that of other key staff is satisfactory overall. Governance is satisfactory. The effectiveness of management is good.

p.19

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

• The headteacher gives good direction for planned improvements and has involved the school in several worthwhile initiatives. • Leadership and management of special needs and the Resourced Provision are very good. • The provision for children with English as an additional language is well managed. • Governors are setting up good procedures related to their responsibilities following their recent establishment as a formal governing body. • Effective routines and performance management ensure that the work of the school is focused on children’s learning.

p.19

Commentary

Flatts Nursery - 20 33. The school is participating in several valuable initiatives and developments which are having a significant impact on the quality of provision and children’s experiences. The school has been designated as a Children’s Centre recently to make extended provision for children from the age of 3 months, which entailed substantial remodelling to the building and the appointment of staff. This has resulted in good improvement and reflects the headteacher’s good leadership. There are still many uncertainties and issues to resolve, however, before the full impact of this initiative can be seen in children’s achievements. The headteacher has also overseen good improvement to the outside areas and the forest garden offers an exciting learning environment. Amongst other initiatives the school has made a video of good practice in mathematical experience to share with parents and the community. The headteacher’s workload has

p.20

Commentary

been increased by supporting the newly formed governing body and in meeting the demands of managing a delegated budget from April 2004.

p.20

Commentary

34. The school runs as an orderly community with a very positive climate for learning as a result of effective management. The very good links with parents make a significant contribution to this. Senior staff monitor the effectiveness of provision satisfactorily and staff performance management is well established in giving suitable targets for improvement. Senior management have established a good whole-school assessment system whereby each child is assessed against the goals expected for their age each term. This enables both individual children and general progress to be tracked effectively, although further analysis is required to make best use of the information.

p.20

Commentary

35. The co-ordinator for special educational needs and the Resourced Provision gives very good direction. She is highly committed for the benefit of the children and has established very good arrangements for her and the capable assistant to give daily focused time to each child. Assessment and evaluation procedures are very good and enable activities to be matched closely to each child’s needs. The approach and practice to the inclusion of children with special educational needs is very good. These children receive sensitive and well-informed support from the assistants and are integrated fully into a group to access the planned activities. The co-ordinator and support assistant provide very focused activities which match the children’s targets on their individual learning plans. As a result the children achieve well. Assessment and other procedures are very thorough since, for example, members of staff make daily

p.20

Commentary

evaluations against the children’s targets.

p.20

Commentary

36. The school is committed to meeting the needs of children who are at an early stage of learning English and has made good provision for them to learn well. The bi-lingual support helps both children and their parents with translations into their heritage language. The progress of children is monitored well. As a result of this the school has been especially successful in raising the attainment of Pakistani boys through well- targeted support for both the children and their parents.

p.20

Commentary

37. Curriculum co-ordinators for the various subjects have put in considerable work to have policies and schemes of work in place. They are effective in providing support and advice to colleagues and in monitoring the curriculum to ensure that all aspects have been taught. They are also instrumental in introducing new topics and ideas to the curriculum. However they are not yet fully involved in monitoring standards in each are of learning, as this is mainly undertaken at senior management level. As a result, co-ordinators do not always have a clear enough understanding of the strengths and weakness in each area of learning or of what needs to be done to bring about further improvement. For example, opportunities for quality interactions between adults and Flatts Nursery - 21 children are sometimes missed because the adults are not given clear guidance on how to extend the children’s learning.

p.20

Commentary

38. Governors have made a good start in setting up committees so that business is managed efficiently. There are good developing procedures to visit the school so that they may contribute to making decisions. Governors are increasing their knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and ensure that statutory requirements are met, for example by receiving reports from the headteacher and, increasingly, from their own visits and observations.

p.21

Commentary

39. The school took responsibility for its own budget, delegated from the local education authority, only from April 2004 and financial management is satisfactory at this stage. The governors set a prudent budget based on their educational priorities, particularly to maintain or improve staffing levels and to improve overall provision. They monitor any variance from the agreed spending plan closely and have adjusted the current budget accordingly. The carry forward figure from the last financial year was higher than usual but most of this is now allocated to planned improvements and release time for members of staff. Governors take satisfactory account of the principles of obtaining best value. Daily administration and financial business are managed well by the efficient office staff.

p.21

Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

p.21

Commentary

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 383 486 Balance from previous year 0 Total expenditure 348 429 Balance carried forward to the next 35 057 Expenditure per pupil 5 402

p.21

Commentary

This is the first year the school has had a delegated budget. Flatts Nursery - 22

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

• Children are familiar with school routines and expectations and most are learning to behave well. • The school promotes independence and social development very well. • Children are willing to help and many are beginning to accept responsibility. • The headteacher provides good leadership.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

40. Children achieve well from a below average starting point and most attain the goals expected for their age by the time they leave the nursery. Rules and routines are well established from the outset so children quickly learn to listen, to play together and to make choices from the extensive, well-organised range of activities provided in each area of learning. Most children settle rapidly when they first start nursery as a result of the very good arrangements in place to introduce them and their parents to the resources, staff and routines gradually. There is a good emphasis on the development of good manners because staff are good at modelling courtesy, as when children were gently encouraged to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ as they shared a range of different types of fruit. Towards the end of each session a good number of children volunteer to help tidy up equipment and return items to their correct places. Some children

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

prefer to sit and look at a book during these tidying sessions, but they know that it is a quiet time and they must remain seated quietly. This helps to create a calming period before children go home and helps with the efficiency of organisation as equipment is tidied away swiftly and unobtrusively.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

41. The learning environment is very well organised to promote independence and confidence. The children happily hang up their coats in the designated places, wash their hands and go to the toilet with minimum adult help. Resources are easily accessible and children are developing the confidence to make decisions not only about activities they pursue, but also the amount of time they spend on each and with whom they want to play. Most children show sensible attitudes as they help themselves to resources and replace them correctly when they have finished. Right from the start children are free to move around the school as they select activities from the wide range on offer. The majority rise to this challenge with relish, although just occasionally a few children resort to inappropriate behaviour when unsupervised. The relationships with adults are very good, promoting confidence and encouraging positive

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

42. Teaching is good overall. Good opportunities for social development are woven into most tasks so that children learn to take turns, listen and share. A number of children are immature for their age and shy to participate in activities and to play with others, while some of the more boisterous children are still learning how to behave acceptably. The gentle guidance they receive from staff teaches them to follow the rules of the school and how to play together harmoniously. Children learn to listen to the adults, though a few make very little contribution because they have not yet developed the confidence or linguistic skills to join in. The best teaching draws these children into the discussion and sensitively prompts then to contribute, Flatts Nursery - 23 though sometimes this does not happen and reticent children are allowed to sit passively throughout group sessions.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

43. The headteacher provides good leadership in this area of learning. There are clear policies and expectations that set the tone for the very positive ethos that pervades the school. New strategies to make behaviour better have been recently introduced and are working well.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

• Girls and boys achieve well from a very low starting point because most of the teaching is good. • Children who are a very early stage of learning to speak English make very good progress in acquiring basic skills in English. • The school’s keen involvement in many local and national initiatives is helping to raise children’s achievement. • There are occasions when children, especially the most capable children, could achieve even more than they do. • The role of the co-ordinator in raising achievement is not yet developed fully.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

44. When children start nursery, their attainment is often well below what is typical for their age in their ability to talk in English and in their knowledge of the early stages of reading and writing. Although they make good progress as a result of good teaching and learning, they transfer to primary schools with below average skills, particularly in speaking and in listening. Nevertheless, this represents good achievement overall in a relatively short time, including the progress of children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs. The progress is exemplified in the good proportion of children who are beginning to recognise letter sounds, especially those in their own name and who form recognisable letters in their mark making.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

45. Staff respond well to children’s needs by quickly finding out which children need most help to improve their spoken language. A skilled bi-lingual nursery nurse is often on hand to ensure that the children who are at a very early stage of learning to speak English have opportunities to communicate in their heritage language (the language spoken at home). This helps children’s understanding of what is being taught, and they make very good progress with learning to talk about their work in all areas of learning. Staff often also use sign language in order to help all children make sense of what they are hearing. Many staff attend training sessions to help them to become more competent in helping children in this way. Children who speak English as an additional language and also have special educational needs benefit greatly from this approach. They achieved very well when working with the teacher with

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

specialist responsibility for their learning and a visiting speech therapist.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

46. The nursery demonstrates a strong determination to raise children’s achievement in communication, language and literacy by its involvement in several national and local initiatives and projects. As a result of bidding for funding and taking advantage of grants, children benefit from having extra adults to work with and increased resources to help them to learn. A visiting literacy project worker, for example, supports children and encourages parents to help their children at home by playing with toys. Similarly, sacks of resources enable staff to help children to become more interested in books Flatts Nursery - 24 and stories. The significant amount of time and hard work invested in such initiatives results in improved achievement for all the children.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

47. Relationships between staff and children are always positive and supportive. Staff work well together in teams to ensure that plans for each day are smoothly carried out, despite the necessary complexities of meeting the diverse range of needs of the children. This ensures that children are happy, relaxed and willing to try out the many activities available to them. Children’s rate of learning, therefore, is often good.

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

48. Staff gather and have access to good recorded information on what children can already do. All staff aim to help individual children to reach their ‘next steps targets’, usually as part of normal everyday interactions with them. The identified targets are rarely specific enough to move children forward, however, for example – ‘to continue to encourage conversation with adults and peers’. As a result, there is sometimes a lack of clarity about what children need to learn next, how and when, and some valuable opportunities to raise achievement are missed. Staff put emphasis on talking with children, and regularly emphasise new vocabulary across all the areas of learning. Not all are equally skilled, however, in seizing the many opportunities to take play and learning forward by questioning children and challenging their thinking. As a consequence, children could sometimes learn even more than they do, especially the

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

most capable children and those boys who choose to spend a large proportion of their time outdoors riding bikes or engaging in less purposeful play.

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

49. Leadership and management of this area of learning are satisfactory. The very positive co-ordinator supports colleagues well in many different ways. The nursery has recently started to collate information about children’s progress, and this has potential for increasing the co-ordinator’s knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses in provision and standards. As yet, however, the school has not made full use of this information.

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in mathematical development is good.

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

• Children achieve well because teaching is good overall, although opportunities to promote learning are sometimes missed. • There is good planning for a wide range of focused and incidental activities. • Children with special educational needs or English as an additional language receive good support.

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

50. Children achieve well in their mathematical development, helped by their interest in the activities on offer and their very good behaviour. The majority of children are on course to reach the standard expected for their age by the end of nursery, sustaining the standards seen at the last inspection. Children gain confidence in early number and counting skills, for example by matching pictures to numerals or in sequencing a pattern in a computer program. The higher attaining children count confidently to ten and beyond, and a large proportion of the children recognise simple shapes such as rectangles and triangles and know some of their properties. Flatts Nursery - 25 51. Teachers plan for a good selection of worthwhile activities that develop mathematical understanding of counting and mathematical language and concepts. For example, children in the forest garden were well prepared to recognise and look for a variety of

p.24

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

minibeasts in different places. Teachers and other adults gave good emphasis to the language of place so that children looked ‘under’ the wood logs and ‘next to’ or ‘beside’ the wall. The children learning English as an additional language were given very effective support by the bi-lingual teaching assistant so that they recognised the animals and knew where to look. Children with special educational needs and those at the early stages of learning English are given good, thoughtful support and so they learn well form the wide range of activities that provide a wide range of experiences. Adults are on hand to reinforce ideas and emphasise mathematical language.

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

52. The quality of teaching and learning is generally good, especially in the ‘focused’ activities supervised by adults. Here teachers and assistants are clear about what they want the children to learn and experience. The children are encouraged to be involved in a good variety of counting and shape activities, as well as activities in sand and water that reinforce mathematical concepts. Not all adults are so effective in extending children’s language and understanding in the many incidental activities provided. For example there is generally little interaction between adults and children during their play on wheeled toys, playdough or with bats and balls. Adults are not all sufficiently inventive in creating simple imaginative games that challenge the children and sometimes supervise their activities rather than engage with them.

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

53. The leadership and management of mathematical development are satisfactory overall and there are some good features. For example, the school has taken a good initiative in preparing a video of children engaged in mathematical activity, which may be shared with parents or new members of staff to illustrate good practice. Assessment procedures are good, based on regular observations of children as they are learning, and these enable the co-ordinator to track the progress made by the children over time. The headteacher, as the current subject co-ordinator, makes regular lesson observations but the role of formal monitoring is still developing because there is not a clear overview of standards and achievement in mathematical development.

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good .

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

• The curriculum is broad and varied, offering a good range of first hand experiences. • Resources are used imaginatively. • Children get a good grounding in using information and communication technology as a tool for learning. • Most of the teaching is good but not all staff are equally skilled at extending learning through conversation.

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

54. Teaching is good and children achieve well. They lay down secure foundations of scientific, geographical and historical understanding and develop curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world around through an interesting range of stimulating first hand experiences and observations. Despite the fact that a large proportion of the children have limited knowledge of the English language and a narrow experience of Flatts Nursery - 26 the world when they start nursery, most make good progress and are likely to reach the goals expected for their age by the end of nursery. Children are already developing an elementary understanding of scientific skills such as devising a fair test, forming hypotheses and making close observations. A group of children for example, experimented with an African snail to find out which food it liked best from cucumber, cabbage, or lettuce. By placing the food equidistant from the snail and lubricating the

p.25

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

surface between the snail and the food with water they watched the snail’s movements towards the food samples and, with adult help, drew conclusions from their observations. Children were fascinated as they watched the crickets, tarantula and caterpillars in their classroom. They learnt to use correct terms such as ‘chrysalis’ and ‘cocoon’ and remembered the things they had learned - ‘There’s the tarantula. Remember it has eight legs’.

p.26

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

55. The school is well equipped to provide many worthwhile activities that broaden the children’s understanding of their world. There is a good range of construction kits, which are used to plan and build models, and children develop simple computer skills through regular access to the plentiful equipment. Here they learn to use the mouse to move images on the screen and to click and drag icons, for example to place the clothes on a bear. Most children enjoy working on the computers, though the methods for monitoring the choices made by children are informal so staff lack clear information about how frequently children choose to use computers. The opportunities for learning are greatly enhanced by a wide range of events and visitors, such as a puppet show to promote dental health and a journey on a train to reinforce work about bridges. These experiences contribute greatly to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

p.26

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

56. The forest area is a particularly rich resource providing imaginative opportunities for children to explore the environment through activities that cover all areas of learning. Children learn well in the forest because activities are very well supported by adults. This is particularly beneficial to children at an early stage of learning English, who are helped by translation into their own language. Tasks are mostly very well planned with a clear focus for learning. This resource has been carefully developed over time in conjunction with the local education authority and is now used regularly by all children to bring together creative skills as well as an early awareness of science, geography and the natural environment. Children improve their social skills very effectively through the very good opportunities that occur in the forest activities. For example they learn to keep safe, listen to instructions and follow them up as they search for

p.26

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

minibeasts or learn how to seek help as they play a game of hiding among the trees and bushes.

p.26

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

57. A strength of the teaching is the way in which the stimulating displays are a focus for observation and discussion, as was seen when a group of children gathered round a display of minibeasts to talk about them and look at them closely through magnifiers. The best teaching features a good level of interaction with children to prompt discussion with challenging, open ended questions that get children to think and to speak in sentences. In these sessions new vocabulary is introduced and familiar words reinforced through repetition. The quality of such sessions is weakened, however, when the staff dominate the discussion or when questions are rhetorical, requiring little more than one word for a response.

p.26

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

58. This area of learning is satisfactorily led and managed by an enthusiastic and committed co-ordinator. She positively influences curriculum planning, supports colleagues and had been particularly instrumental in developing the forest area as a Flatts Nursery - 27 valuable resource. Her influence has yet to extend to maintaining a clear overview of standards in the school.

p.26

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is good .

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

• Children delight in playing and running freely in the extensive school grounds. • Teaching and planning for physical development are good so children achieve well. • Children display very good attitudes and behaviour during physical activities.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

59. The school makes good provision for children’s physical development and they achieve well as a result. Standards are in line with expectations for children of this age, maintaining the position at the time of the last inspection. The school has made good improvements to the outside area since the last inspection by extending the circuit for wheeled toys, increasing the selection of facilities and developing the ‘forest’ classroom.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

60. Children have generally good opportunities to develop their physical skills, balance and control through a wide selection of resources and activities. They make good progress in developing manipulative skills through experiencing the properties of malleable materials such as playdough and moist sand and through using scissors and glue; they learn to pour water; they build towers and imaginative designs with construction equipment. Mark making and painting are given prominence through the planning so that children learn to hold a pencil correctly and to form recognisable letter shapes.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

61. The outside area offers a good variety of both planned and free-choice activities. Children’s skills at throwing a ball, hitting a ball with a bat and bowling a ball to knock down skittles improve through daily opportunities to play independently or with an adult. Most children, though particularly the boys, enjoy the wheeled toys and are often to be seen pedalling hard with a friend as passenger or just enjoying the ‘figure of eight’ circuit. The younger or lower attaining children have not yet developed the pedalling skills to maintain movement and they some find balance and steering difficult. Higher attaining children have good balance and control. They anticipate how to avoid collisions and to steer through small spaces. Most children run with increasing confidence and enjoy ball games. Children have very good attitudes to their physical activities, usually playing co-operatively with others.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

62. The quality of teaching is good overall and encourages children to make good gains in skill. Teachers and other adults often give close attention, for example in helping children to fit parts of a model together, control how they bat a ball or use scissors to cut a snowflake doily. The quality of adult intervention is not always consistent, however, since on too many occasions skills are not demonstrated directly or tasks does not have sufficient challenge. Adults are not always sufficiently well engaged in making up simple yet motivating activities for the children to broaden and extend their skills.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

63. The co-ordinator for physical development provides good leadership and management overall. Curriculum planning is designed well to offer a good range of activities, both Flatts Nursery - 28 indoors and outside. Assessment procedures based on observations are good and the subject co-ordinator takes a lead in overseeing indoor and outdoor activities. All children are included well in planned activities. Children with special needs or who are at an early stage of learning English receive good, sensitive and informed support.

p.27

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is good .

p.28

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

• Girls and boys achieve well, overall, because much of the teaching is good. • Children have good opportunities to enjoy exploring sounds, colours, textures, shapes and patterns. • Children show a keen interest in what they see, hear, smell and touch in the outdoor forest area. • Sometimes opportunities are missed to extend children’s creative ideas, through well- timed and considered questions and comments that take their learning forward. • The most capable children could sometimes do even better than they do. • Co-ordinators work well together to support other staff, but their role is under- developed in some aspects.

p.28

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

64. Children achieve well, overall, from a low starting point and, by the time they leave nursery, their attainment is typical for their ages. Teaching and learning are good, because teachers provide a good range of interesting, and often exciting opportunities for children to respond to selected stories. Children speaking English as an additional language and children with special educational needs have good quality support to achieve as well as other children. Children at an early stage of learning to speak English achieve especially well when they work with a bi-lingual nursery nurse and with a specialist teacher. The most capable children could sometimes achieve even more than they do. This happens when adults are unaware that boredom is creeping in because these children lack new challenges to sustain and deepen their learning.

p.28

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

65. During the inspection, there were lengthy periods when very few children chose to work indoors. This meant that the indoor activities with potential for raising creative achievement, such as the clay, were rarely taken advantage of. Photographic evidence, however, along with a few examples of creative development outdoors, indicates that, throughout the year, children have good opportunities to express their own ideas by drawing, painting, making models, experimenting with sounds, making patterns, enjoying stories and rhymes and much more. Many children showed great interest in the live spiders and snails, and enjoyed talking about them with an adult.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

66. Visiting the forest area in the school grounds provides an exciting opportunity for children to learn by using their senses. They enjoy the feel of natural materials around them, and show interest in the colours, smells and textures of the plants. The nursery’s very good link with a local business has helped to develop this part of the school’s premises as a very good resource for learning, and staff use it very well. They are particularly careful to take advantage of the opportunity to help children to learn how to keep themselves safe as they explore the new environment. Flatts Nursery - 29 67. Staff have collected and recorded good information about children’s attainment. They have identified the next step targets for individual children. The targets, however, are often insufficiently clear to indicate precisely what children need to learn next and to guide planning for their future learning. This means that when staff talk with children, their interactions,

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

although supportive and encouraging, are sometimes too infrequent and insufficiently directed towards taking learning forwards. During the inspection, a few children played indoors in the pretend house or dressed up outdoors, but there was little involvement with adults, and interactions were sometimes inadequate to improve the quality of children’s role-play. As a result, children’s ability to express their ideas creatively through imaginative play and talking was not teased out as well as it could have been.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

68. Good leadership and management have ensured that the nursery has sustained the good provision found at the time of the previous inspection. The headteacher has delegated responsibility for overseeing creative development to three teachers who, unusually, link their work to National Curriculum subjects. The co-ordinators support colleagues well, particularly by keeping them informed about local developments and new equipment and learning materials. Responsibility for analysing the school’s data to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in provision has not yet been delegated to the co-ordinators and this is an aspect of their work that could usefully be developed to give a better insight into standards in the school. Flatts Nursery - 30

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 3 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 3 Value for money provided by the school 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 3 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities (ethos) 2 Attendance 4 Attitudes 2 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 2 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 3 The quality of teaching 3 How well pupils learn 3 The quality of assessment 4 How well the curriculum meets pupils needs 3 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 3 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 2 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 2 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 2 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 2 The quality of the school’s links with the community 2 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 3 The governance of the school 4 The leadership of the headteacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7).

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