Jakeman Nursery School

Inspection Report Jakeman Nursery School

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103136 Unique Reference Number Birmingham LEA 276855 Inspection number 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 Inspection dates Mike Capper AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Jakeman Road School address Nursery Type of school Balsall Heath Community School category Birmingham, West Midlands B12 9NX 3 to 4 Age range of pupils

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0121 4403066 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 4408310 Fax number 77 Number on roll Ms Louise Haycock Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Bajit Chaudhri Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276855 4 July 2006 - 3 to 4 4 July 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This nursery takes most of its children from the local community. All children attend the school full time for one year. The number of children claiming free school meals is high. Most children are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with the majority being Pakistani. Attainment on starting school is below the expected levels for children of this age and the number of children with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average. Many children start school with relatively weak spoken English. The school is part of an ‘Early Years Centre’, and provides integrated care with on-site pre-school and community provision.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school, with some good features. The school is at the heart of the local community and all children are well cared for. They behave well and are happy at school. They particularly enjoy the way that learning is made fun through an outstanding number of visits and visitors. Children’s achievement is satisfactory. Standards are lower than those found nationally in most areas of learning but children make satisfactory progress from their starting points. In personal, social and emotional development, where standards are in line with those found nationally, children make good progress. Children who start school with relatively weak spoken English are supported well and make good progress in their ability to understand and use English. Teaching is satisfactory. All adults have high expectations of children’s social development but there are some inconsistencies in teaching across the school. Some

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Grade: 3

adults are very good at making links between different subjects, helping to make learning purposeful. Though there is often a good pace to learning, this is not always the case, and there are missed opportunities throughout the day to extend children’s learning by making more effective use of questioning and discussion. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The well respected headteacher has worked hard over the last two years to improve on-site community and pre-school provision significantly. She has established outstanding links with parents and outside agencies. However, the school’s systems for finding out how well it is doing lack rigour and this means that the view of senior managers that this is a good school is too generous. Senior managers make too little use of assessment information to check that all children are doing well enough and this makes it difficult to respond to weaknesses quickly. Nevertheless, the school has successfully dealt with the issues

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Grade: 3

from the last inspection and has the capacity to improve further. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop more rigorous systems for monitoring the school’s effectiveness so that strengths and weaknesses can be identified and dealt with quickly. • Make better use of assessment information to ensure that all children are making good progress. • Address inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and learning by sharing good practice and ensuring that opportunities to extend children’s learning are not missed.

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Grade: 3

Children’s achievement is satisfactory, although standards are below average by the end of the year. Children make good progress in personal, social and emotional development and, by the end of the year, standards are in line with those found nationally. This good progress is due to the consistently high expectations of teachers 2 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 and teaching assistants. Children make satisfactory progress from their below average starting points in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development but standards remain lower than those found nationally by the time they leave the Nursery. The school is especially successful at supporting children who start school with relatively weak spoken English. These children make good progress in their ability to understand and use English. Children with learning difficulties or disabilities are guided carefully

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Grade: 3

by their key workers and make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Children’s personal development and well-being are good. Parents confirm this, saying that their children are often very shy and reticent at first but that they leave confident and self-assured. Throughout the school, children behave very well and enjoy taking part in the wide range of interesting activities planned by adults. They show particular enthusiasm and delight when developing their ideas about the ‘secret garden’. Despite several children arriving at school late in the morning, attendance is good. Children are happy at school and are keen to learn. They share resources sensibly and persevere for a long time on one activity, though some lose concentration when not fully involved in whole-class discussions. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. A wide range of opportunities is provided for children to appreciate the wonders of nature, for example, by growing fruit and vegetables in the school grounds. Children develop good

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Grade: 2

independence and make a good contribution to the community by taking part in the local carnival and other events. Children learn how to stay safe. They develop a good understanding of the importance of using suntan lotion and wearing a hat when working outside in the summer and know how to cross a road safely. Children know that it is important to eat healthy food and to take exercise. They develop good social skills that prepare them well for the next stage of their education and later life. For example, they learn how to use a credit card by ‘shopping’ in the ‘garden centre’.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers’ planning is thorough and adults work together well in teams in each classroom, though there is too little sharing of good practice. There are many adults working with the children and, whilst all are good at supporting the children’s personal development, not all members of staff ensure that children learn quickly in other areas. Teaching is less effective when adults direct learning rather than using questioning to encourage children to develop their thinking. There are also occasions where children work for a long time without being challenged to extend their learning. Teaching is most successful where the children’s own ideas 3 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 are developed and extended. For example, one teaching assistant has been very successfully developing children’s creativity by creating a story and art work around

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Grade: 3

the ‘secret garden’ in the classroom. Good quality bilingual support has a good effect on the progress of children in the early stages of learning spoken English. This enables these children to gain access quickly to the other areas of the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum is well planned to provide a wide range of interesting and meaningful activities. It is especially effective in supporting the children’s personal development and helping them to understand the importance of staying safe and healthy. There are good opportunities for children to work indoors and outside and children have a good balance of activities that they have chosen for themselves as well as those supported by teachers and teaching assistants. However, there are times during the long session in the morning when some children remain on one task for too long without developing their learning sufficiently. There are outstanding opportunities for children’s learning to be extended by well chosen visits and visitors. For example, a recent visit to the local fire station prompted children to ask for a role play area based on the station. Creativity is promoted very well, especially in the way that areas of learning are linked by some adults. For example,

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Grade: 2

very good use is made of light boxes to encourage children to create their own images from glass pebbles and other interesting objects.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good and are especially effective in supporting the children’s personal development. The school is calm and friendly, enabling children to grow in confidence and take part in new activities. The school works very closely with outside agencies to safeguard the well-being of all children and consistently strives to extend these links. For example, the school has recently developed links with a local health centre to provide additional support for children with poorly developed speech. Children settle quickly when they first start school due to the school’s close relationships with parents and with members of staff at the new ‘neighbourhood nursery’ which shares the school site. Academic support is satisfactory. Children’s learning is carefully assessed, though there are no systems to check that assessments made by the many different adults complement each other. Children who join the nursery with limited spoken English are

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Grade: 2

supported effectively, especially by bilingual assistants. 4 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Over the last two years, the nursery has undergone a rapid period of change with the building of on-site community and pre-school facilities. The drive and commitment of the headteacher to guarantee that the children and the community benefit from these developments have ensured that they have been seen through, even though this has been very time-consuming. Procedures for evaluating the school’s effectiveness are satisfactory. However, there is an over reliance on informal observations of children and discussions between staff rather than systematic and rigorous monitoring. This makes it difficult for senior managers to obtain a clear picture of the school’s main strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, they have an over generous picture of how well the school is doing, though the headteacher is aware of the need to address inconsistencies in teaching. Whilst children’s learning is regularly assessed, senior managers do not make enough

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Grade: 3

use of this information to identify and deal with any lapses in progress as soon as they arise. The school has outstanding links with parents and the local community. Their views are sought and acted upon to support school development. Parents rightly regard the school as a haven of tranquility for them and their children. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive and they have a good grasp of the school's strengths. However, they do not have enough information about children's achievement to play a full part discussing how the Nursery can improve. Nonetheless, senior managers and governors have dealt well with the weaknesses from the last inspection and the school has the capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Jakeman Nursery School, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse NA Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I have asked the teachers to read this to you. I expect you saw us in your school recently. We really enjoyed visiting you. Thank you for talking to us and showing us what you were doing. We would like to tell you what we liked best. We thought you were all very well behaved and you played very nicely together. We liked the way that you helped each other and shared things. All the grown-ups look after you very well. If you find something hard to do, there are lots of grown-ups who will help you. The teachers and all the other grown-ups make sure that your school is a happy place to be in and they are good at teaching you how to stay safe and healthy. There are lots of lovely things in the school and we especially enjoyed visiting your secret garden. We have asked Mrs Chaudhri and the teachers to make sure that teaching is always good and that information about how well you are getting on is used to check that you are learning

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

quickly enough. We have also asked Mrs Chaudhri and all of the grown-ups to spend more time finding out how well the school is doing so that they know what they need to do to make it even better. We hope you carry on enjoying your time in the school and do well in your next school.

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