Lillian De Lissa Nursery School

Inspection Report Lillian de Lissa Nursery School

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103137 Unique Reference Number Birmingham LEA 276856 Inspection number 6 July 2006 to 6 July 2006 Inspection dates Alison Cartlidge AI Reporting inspector

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

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Bellevue School address Nursery Type of school Edgebaston Maintained School category Birmingham, West Midlands B5 7LX 3 to 4 Age range of pupils

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0121 4403421 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 4404074 Fax number 73 Number on roll Mr John Ritson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jane Froggatt Headteacher 4 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276856 6 July 2006 - 3 to 4 6 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

The Nursery provides full-time places for children in the local area. The number of children entitled to free school meals is high. The proportion of children with learning difficulties is above average. Children come from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds and about one in five has very limited spoken English at the start of the year. Attainment on entry to the Nursery is below the expected levels, and is especially low in social and language skills.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 July 2006

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Grade: 1

This outstanding school meets the children’s diverse needs enabling them to learn very quickly and achieve exceptionally well. Excellent leadership and management ensure that improving provision and standards are the main areas of focus and that these are constantly being developed. Members of staff are very skilled at delivering the very well structured and thoroughly researched curriculum. Teachers build on the children’s specific needs and interests and, as a result, the children’s enjoyment is clearly evident in their enthusiasm for learning. They are very actively involved in all activities and are very keen to show visitors what they are learning. By the time they leave the school children’s standards are broadly in line with the expected levels, with particular strengths in their personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. Teaching is consistently

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Grade: 1

good and often outstanding and children’s differing needs are always considered well. Children receive outstanding care and support so that they are confident and active learners. The school’s evaluation of good overall effectiveness is too modest. Senior managers make very good use of a wealth of information to check that all groups of children achieve well. They have identified correctly that children who frequently arrive at school late or who are often absent make least progress. Members of staff and governors work together well to identify strengths and weaknesses. The school has improved well since the last inspection and has the capacity to develop even further. The school provides outstanding value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Continue to work with parents to improve attendance and punctuality so that all children make consistently good or better progress.

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Grade: 1

Most children, including those with learning difficulties, make outstanding progress from their different starting points and achieve very well. By the end of their time in the nursery, children reach standards that are broadly in line with the levels expected for their ages. Children achieve exceptionally well in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development, where standards are above average in several aspects of their work. For example, children are very confident about trying out new activities and concentrate very well when developing their ideas. They produce imaginative works of art and show great interest and curiosity when exploring the natural world. Children learning to speak English are well supported and progress equally well. However, the school’s data show that children with irregular attendance or those who often arrive late make less progress

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Grade: 1

than other children. Whilst the school does not set formal targets for children to achieve by the end of the year, the progress of all children is monitored rigorously and teachers and teaching assistants share their very high expectations for each child. 2 Inspection Report: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 July 2006

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Grade: 1

Children’s personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are outstanding. Children are very enthusiastic about learning and arrive at school each morning keen to explore the very wide range of activities provided. Their behaviour is consistently good and they are very independent. They are confident and make sensible decisions about what they are going to do and quickly become absorbed in their work. Attendance is satisfactory, although not all children arrive at school on time and this hinders their learning at the start of the day. Relationships with adults are very good and children get on very well together. Children make an outstanding contribution to the community and take responsibility for jobs around the school. For example, they help to set the table at lunchtime and they participate in local art exhibitions and other community events. Children have a good

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Grade: 1

understanding of the importance of staying safe and eating healthy foods. As one child said, ‘eating my fruit will help me to grow strong!’ Activities such as the composting of waste and learning how to buy a ticket on a bus, as well as the secure basic skills that they develop, prepare them well for the next stage of their education and for later life.

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding because teachers and teaching assistants have a very good understanding of the way that young children learn, including those who start school with limited spoken English. Members of staff have the confidence to allow children to try things out for themselves and they know exactly when to intervene in order to extend learning. Questions are pitched at exactly the right level to ensure that all children are involved and able to make good or very good progress. Assessment is very thorough and well recorded. Members of staff meet daily to discuss the next stage of learning for each child, ensuring that differing needs are met very well. Very good use is made of ‘My Year at Nursery’ books to record important landmarks in the children’s learning. These are greatly appreciated by parents. There are no significant weaknesses in teaching, although there are occasionally missed

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Grade: 1

opportunities to extend learning when children are reviewing their work during group time. A particular strength is the consistent way that adults extend children’s personal and social skills. Relationships between children and adults are very secure, so children are happy to work with all adults and are not afraid to try new things. 3 Inspection Report: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 July 2006

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Grade: 1

The outstanding curriculum meets the children’s differing needs very well. Children with limited spoken English are given very effective support so that they have access to the full curriculum. Teachers and teaching assistants plan a very wide range of stimulating activities both indoors and outside and there is a very good focus on teaching children how to stay safe and healthy. The curriculum builds very closely on the children’s own interests so that learning is always purposeful and relevant. For example, at the start of the year, children became engrossed in observing two kittens that were playing outside. Teachers built superbly on this interest by planning activities that developed skills in all areas of learning. Children’s creativity is very imaginatively developed. For example, children have benefited enormously from the support of an artist as part of the ‘Creative Partnerships’ programme. As a result, the quality of art

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Grade: 1

and clay work around the school is outstanding. Children’s learning is significantly enhanced by a very wide range of visits to local places of interest, such as the botanical gardens, country parks and art galleries. These activities help to make school exciting and contribute well to the children’s personal and academic development.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support for all children including those with limited spoken English. Members of staff are very knowledgeable about each child and ensure that they flourish. Very close links with parents and with outside agencies ensure that children’s well-being is safeguarded and child protection procedures are secure. Nurture groups are used very well to support children who may need extra help. Attendance is monitored carefully and parents are encouraged, not always with great success, to bring their children to school on time. Academic support is excellent. Children do so well because of the very effective way that adults assess learning. Frequent observations and photographs of children at work give adults a very clear picture of progress and this information is used very well to plan the next stage of learning for each child. Children with learning difficulties are

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Grade: 1

identified very early in their time in school so that their needs are met fully. Good arrangements when children first start school help them to settle quickly.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management by governors and members of staff are excellent. The headteacher is successful in promoting a very sharp focus on developing the individual child and ensures that all children are provided with activities that meet their specific needs and interests. The close relationships between members of staff, parents and outside agencies are invaluable in supporting children’s academic and pastoral needs. 4 Inspection Report: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 July 2006 The Nursery is exceptionally well organised so that systems for supporting the children’s learning are very rigorous and all resources are used fully. Teachers and teaching assistants work together very well as a team, each taking responsibility for different aspects of the school’s work. For example, one member of staff ensures that those with learning difficulties are identified and supported quickly, another supports those

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Grade: 1

learning to speak English and a third ensures that the more able children are being challenged consistently. School self-evaluation is excellent because whilst the school’s evaluation of overall effectiveness is more modest than the findings of the inspection, this is because of the exceptionally high expectations of senior leaders. Information collected from monitoring the school’s work is analysed thoroughly and action taken to raise standards. Seeking constant improvement is a key feature of the school. All members of staff are involved in frequent training and in thinking carefully about what the school could do to be even more successful. Members of staff and governors work together closely identifying plans for whole school development and the actions needed to bring about necessary changes. However, very high expectations have led to there being too many priorities for a small school to deal with in one year. Governors are very supportive of the school and monitor its

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Grade: 1

work well. Parents and children have very good opportunities to share their views and to contribute to how the school checks up on itself. One parent sums up the views of all parents by saying ‘a fantastic school all round’. The minor issues raised at the time of the last inspection have been rectified in full and the school is exceptionally well placed to continue strengthening provision and to improve even further. 5 Inspection Report: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 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: Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, 6 July 2006 to 6 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 1 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 1 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 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 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 1 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 1 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 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 Yes 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

Thank you for being so friendly and kind to us when we visited your school. We have asked your teachers to read this letter to you. What we liked most about your school You like your teachers and enjoy coming to school. Your teachers are kind and give you very exciting things to do. You are good at talking to grown ups and at playing together. Your teachers are working hard to make the school even better. What we have asked your school to do now •Help you all to come to school more often and to arrive on time. We thoroughly enjoyed answering your questions and watching you at work and we hope you carry on enjoying being at school.

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