Sunny Brow Nursery School

Inspection Report Sunny Brow Nursery School

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105760 Unique Reference Number Rochdale LEA 277400 Inspection number 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005 Inspection dates Mr Mike Hewlett CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Sunny Brow Road School address Nursery Type of school Archer Park Community School category Middleton, Manchester M24 2AH 3 to 5 Age range of pupils

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0161 643 3306 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 643 3306 Fax number 43 Number on roll Mr H West Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss J White Headteacher 13 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277400 19 October 2005 - 3 to 5 19 October 2005 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 one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Sunny Brow Nursery School provides part time nursery education for children between the ages of 3 and 5. In addition, it offers a small number of paid places for pre-school, lunchtime and after school care. It serves a mixed community in social and economic terms and the vast majority of children come from white, British backgrounds. On entering nursery, most children have average skills. There are currently no children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and all have English as their first language. Admission numbers have reduced significantly since the last inspection because of nursery reorganisation in Rochdale. However, the school remains popular with parents.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 1

Sunny Brow is an outstanding school that provides children with a wonderful start to their education. The school underestimates its effectiveness, judging it to be good. This is because the school is seeking constant improvement and strives for the very best. All groups of children make outstanding progress. This is due to the exceptional learning environment, an exciting and relevant curriculum and very high quality teaching that caters for each child's needs. Children's personal development is outstanding. They enjoy school, have very positive attitudes and behave exceptionally well. Children from different backgrounds and with different needs are very well integrated. They receive excellent care, guidance and support. Leadership and management of the school are of a similarly high standard. The headteacher leads by example and is constantly seeking to improve the provision for the children. Self-evaluation and

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Grade: 1

monitoring are rigorous and she is very well supported by governors and other staff. The school has made excellent progress since the last inspection by building on what was a very positive report. Despite the high quality of what goes on there is no complacency. As a result, there is an excellent capacity to build still further, echoing the school's own view of itself in this area. It provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

There are no major issues the school needs to address. However, to raise standards and to improve still further, it should deliver the key priorities set out in the school improvement plan. In particular, extend the use of teaching observations to share good practice.

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Grade: 1

The school judges achievement and standards as good, but the inspection confirms that the school is too modest in its assessment. The achievement and standards are outstanding. Parents hold similarly positive views on the performance of the school and children are very happy with the experiences they receive. Children's achievement is outstanding in their language and communication skills, mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development, physical development and in their personal, social and emotional development. A real feature of this achievement is children's excellent levels of independence shown in so many activities as they take charge of their own learning. Children are on course to exceed the early learning goals (the standards they are expected to achieve at the end of the Foundation Stage). All groups of children achieve consistently well as a result of the excellent

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Grade: 1

support they receive. The majority of children arrive at nursery with average skills for their age. The school's emphasis on encouraging children to think for themselves and to become confident, assured learners underpins everything they do. 2 Inspection Report: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 1

The school has judged this aspect as good whilst the inspection found it to be outstanding. Parents confirm this and comment on how pleased they are that their children feel safe and are happy to come to school. Some children stay longer in nursery than the usual one year because they can be admitted midway through the year as soon as they are 3 years old. This gives them the confidence to help newcomers settle into the routines. In turn, this contributes to the very smooth induction procedures. Adults form very good relationships with children. They know their needs very well and plan tasks accordingly. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding with all the elements strongly represented. They work and play together very well, sharing equipment and taking turns readily. Children behave exceptionally well and this is an essential requirement because of the freedom they are given to choose and make

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Grade: 1

decisions for themselves. A feature of the 'Sunny Brow experience' is the way in which children are enabled to take on new challenges within a safe and secure environment. They understand the need to look after themselves and to take responsibility. Similarly, they explain why their snacks need to contain certain foods if they are to remain healthy. The school has a strong commitment to providing a healthy environment and working with the local community. Attendance levels are good and the school does all it can to promote regular attendance and punctuality.

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Grade: 1

The school was cautious in its assessment of teaching and learning, describing them as good. In fact they are outstanding, resulting in the excellent progress made by children from different groups. Parents share the views of the inspector. Teachers plan lessons thoroughly, are very well organised and keen to improve their practice. Whether children attend in the mornings or afternoons, being taught by different teachers, they receive the same high quality experiences. Children enjoy the experiences that are offered because staff carefully match activities to meet their individual needs. This is because adults record accurate assessments of the progress that children make and then use this information to plan what comes next. They are interested and motivated by the high quality teaching, often working at a task much longer than might be expected with children of this age. All adults are skilled at intervening to prompt or question, where necessary, so that children's learning

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Grade: 1

can be extended. 'You said that leaf was really rough, do you think you could find some smooth ones for me now' said one adult working in the outside classroom. 3 Inspection Report: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding curriculum that fully meets requirements and the needs of all its children. The school's commitment to meeting individual needs is central to its success and the way the curriculum is organised is a major contributory factor. Excellent use is made of the accommodation. Areas of interest are set up in the classrooms representing the areas of learning. They are well organised, attractively presented and well equipped. As a result, they hold children's attention and keep them engaged. It is complemented by the outdoor environment of the school which is exceptional. The grounds have been imaginatively transformed with woodland trails, grassed areas, climbing equipment and a covered classroom. Children have access to all of this and know that some of the trees should be avoided. The work of the school is also enriched by a wide range of visits, visitors and involvement with the local community. Parents are very complimentary about the

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Grade: 1

curriculum opportunities made available. 'An unbelievable range', said one. The school judged the curriculum to be good but the inspection found it to be outstanding.

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Grade: 1

Excellent care, guidance and support make the nursery a wonderful place for children to begin their education. The inspection judged the provision to be outstanding whilst the school cautiously graded it good. Every child does matter here and the school is painstaking in the support it offers whether the child is new to school or finds difficulty with some aspect of nursery life. Once again, parents are very positive in their evaluation of this aspect of the school. Throughout the inspection, it was apparent that children enjoyed what they were doing, felt secure and trusted the school to look after them. For example, they were happy to play in the extensive grounds content in the knowledge, as one girl expressed it, 'No one comes in here when we are playing that fence is very big'. There is the highest level of commitment to health and safety but that does not prevent children from taking on challenges within a secure

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Grade: 1

environment. Staff ensure the children's safety by reminding them of their responsibilities. Staff keep detailed records of children's progress and liaise very effectively with parents and outside agencies. Child protection procedures are well established and regularly reviewed. Transfer arrangements to other schools are very well organised and the school is offering a range of good quality extended care facilities. The school teaches children to make the right choices about looking after themselves and the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle such as the need for exercise and a well balanced diet. 4 Inspection Report: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 1

The school judges leadership and management to be good but evidence gathered during the inspection confirms that they are outstanding. The school has successfully created an environment in which achievement, teaching and learning are of the highest quality but it is still seeking to improve. The headteacher has displayed excellent leadership skills as she has led the school through a difficult period. Nothing has been allowed to get in the way of providing high quality education and care. All areas of leadership and management are regularly checked to see they are working effectively. Inclusion and meeting individual needs are at the heart of the school's work and equality of opportunity is promoted rigorously. Parents are valued as partners and their views are regularly sought and acted upon. All adults working in the school monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning, making changes if any weaknesses

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Grade: 1

are spotted. For example, the school plan has highlighted the need to increase the amount of teaching observations made so that good practice can be shared still further. The school makes excellent use of data to support any changes planned and the evaluation of its own performance is searching and honest. For example, when data suggested that during one year boys' progress might have been slower than expected, decisive action was taken. As a result, boys became more involved in activities. Governors support the school well and are actively involved in making decisions. Their contribution has improved in recent years and they are now developing the role of 'critical friend', challenging the headteacher in a constructive way when important decisions have to be made. The governors are well led by the chair and fulfil all their statutory responsibilities. 5 Inspection Report: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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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: Sunny Brow Nursery School, 19 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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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 1 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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 2 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

I have asked Miss White to read this letter out to you so that you can find out what I thought about your nursery when I visited recently. Thank you very much for making me so welcome. I really enjoyed talking to you and finding out about what you enjoyed doing. What I really liked about your school - It is a happy place where everybody gets a chance to show how well they can do things. - You are very kind and polite to each other wherever you are in the nursery. - You enjoy learning about new things and your teachers give you lots of exciting and interesting things to do. - You are trusted to make your own mind up about what you choose to do. - You look after your school very well and it is a lovely place to be. - Your headteacher and teachers run the school very well. They listen to what you have to say and work hard to make things better for you. - Your parents and carers think that you go to a very good school and I agree with them.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What I have asked your school to do now - I was so impressed with what I saw that I have decided that there are no big things that have to be changed. - I have asked your teachers to carry on trying to make your school even better than it is already.

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