Arnold Nursery School

106826 Unique Reference Number Rotherham LEA 277638 Inspection number 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr Robert Robinson 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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Goldsmith Road School address Nursery Type of school Rotherham Community School category South Yorkshire S65 2LY 3 to 5 Age range of pupils 01709 828983 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01709 828983 Fax number 130 Number on roll Jayne Fitzgerald Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs H Powell Headteacher 18 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277638 10 May 2006 - 3 to 5 11 May 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This nursery is part of The Arnold Centre, which provides education and care for children from birth to five years. It gained Early Excellence status in 2002 and was recognised as a Children's Centre in March 2006. The nursery serves a socially and economically deprived area. On entry, children's standards are well below average, particularly in language and communication. Most children come from white British backgrounds, with an increasing proportion of children of Asian backgrounds. A few children are asylum seekers. A high proportion of children have identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities including eight children with particular learning difficulties and/or disabilities from within the local authority.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 1

'From the moment you enter the door you know that the centre is the right place for your child.' 'I cannot fault the centre. It is brilliant and offers fantastic facilities for working parents.' These parental comments are justified because the overall effectiveness of this nursery is outstanding. Its view that it is good is far too modest. Partnership with other areas of provision at the children's centre benefits children's learning extremely well. The headteacher and deputy headteacher of the centre lead and manage the Nursery exceptionally well. They are assisted extremely well by other middle managers and all other members of staff. Governance is good. Children make very rapid progress and, by the time they move to their next school, most are working close to the level expected of their age. This is because of high quality teaching, very effective support for learning, an extremely well planned curriculum and excellent monitoring of children's progress.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support and children's personal development are outstanding. The children enjoy coming to the Nursery and their behaviour is exemplary. Improvement since the last inspection has been very good. The centre does not rest on its laurels and rigorously seeks ways to improve provision. It has accurately identified the need to continue striving to improve standards further; for example, by considering if interactive whiteboards would benefit teaching and learning. The centre is extremely well placed to continue to improve even further and provides outstanding value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make available interactive whiteboards to further improve teaching and learning.

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Grade: 1

Achievement is outstanding. From a well below average starting point, children make very rapid progress because of high quality provision. By the time they leave, most are close to the standards expected of their age in all areas of learning. Strengths in children's attainment are in personal, social and emotional development. They make very good progress in basic skills in communication, language and literacy. Excellent support is given to those children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to help them make similarly outstanding progress to others. Children who are learning English as an additional language make very rapid progress because their needs are catered for extremely well by staff and by the bi-lingual family worker. As a result, they quickly learn to speak and understand English. Higher attaining children are well challenged, resulting in them achieving very well and reaching above average standards.

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Grade: 1

2 Inspection Report: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 The nursery provides a very successful and inclusive learning environment for all children. It prepares them extremely well for the next stage of education.

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Grade: 1

Children's personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are outstanding. The centre's very effective induction procedures, including visits to families, help children to settle very quickly into school life. Relationships between staff and children are excellent. At the start of sessions children enter their classrooms confidently and they quickly become engrossed in the wide range of interesting activities. Children are highly motivated and have excellent attitudes to learning. Because of this, they make outstanding progress in their personal, social and emotional development. This supports their future attitude to learning very well. Most children attend well, though a few families do not ensure that their children attend regularly despite the nursery's best efforts. As a result, these children do not benefit fully from the excellent education provided. Children are very supportive of

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Grade: 1

one another, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They have a clear understanding of right and wrong and this is demonstrated in their excellent behaviour. Children enjoy finding out about the traditions of different cultures. They have made very good progress in the safe use of equipment and healthy lifestyles. For example, they use cutlery very well and are beginning to understand the benefits of healthy food at snack times and lunch.

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding and leads to children making very rapid progress. All staff work extremely well together and this is of great benefit to children's learning. Because all staff have high levels of skills, the quality of teaching is consistently of a high standard. The planning of lessons is matched very well to children's needs. The organisation of teaching and learning is exemplary, resulting in exciting learning both indoors and outdoors. Lessons move at a brisk pace and resources are used exceptionally well to stimulate children's learning. Staff have very high expectations of children's work and behaviour, resulting in children working productively throughout the day. They respond very well to challenges set by the teaching. Staff work hard and knowledgably with children, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those at an early stage

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Grade: 1

of learning English, and push on their learning at a fast pace. Staff know the children extremely well and make thorough assessments of their individual progress in lessons. This information is used very effectively to plan future learning and to identify whether additional help for individuals is needed, such as in the nurture and the social groups. 3 Inspection Report: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 These groups provide exceptional opportunities for small groups of children with social and emotional difficulties to work with staff to assist them to gain confidence.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding because it meets all children's needs in full. It is extremely well planned and thought out. The planning of activities in the stimulating outdoor area is exemplary and complements the learning opportunities indoors. Children access a wide range of exciting activities that allows them to follow their own interests. Excellent accommodation and resources are used extremely well, to motivate and interest children. Generous staffing levels mean that children have plenty of opportunities to work alongside adults and this benefits the development of their basic skills in all areas of learning. There are no interactive whiteboards at the centre to provide opportunities to enhance the quality of teaching and learning further. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified quickly and strategies are put in place to enable them to make the best possible progress. Special events and

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Grade: 1

visitors, such as a cultural week involving parents representing the different ethnic groups in the school, enrich learning opportunities. Regular visits around the local areas enliven and add purpose to learning.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support given to children are outstanding. Robust child protection procedures are in place. Thorough risk assessments ensure that health and safety matters are very well organised. Those children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported by carefully thought out individual education plans which are shared with parents. Support for other groups of children, such as those learning English as an additional language, vulnerable children and asylum seekers, is equally effective. Very effective systems are in place to track academic and personal development of all groups of children. Lunchtimes are supervised exceptionally well and children eat the healthy meal options as well as developing good social skills and eating habits. Parents are full of praise for the way the school cares for their children. For example, one commented, 'my child's medical needs have always been dealt with in a considerate and caring manner'.

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Grade: 1

The leadership and management of the nursery are outstanding. The centre's vision statement, 'to provide the highest quality care and education for the very young and support for families', is met exceptionally well. The headteacher leads and manages the nursery extremely well and is highly regarded by children, governors, parents and staff. She is assisted extremely well by the deputy headteacher and managers of the 4 Inspection Report: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 administration, day-care, family support, inclusion and premises teams. The organisation of the nursery is highly effective. All staff work very well together and have an exceptional passion to provide the best possible education for the children. Team work is outstanding and job satisfaction is high. Professional development of all staff is a major strength. A high proportion of staff have developed their expertise and taken on greater responsibilities because of the

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Grade: 1

training opportunities they have had. Some staff have visited schools abroad and others are accessing further education at a local university. This has benefited children's learning immensely because it has led to high levels of staff expertise to match the high level of their commitment. The centre is acknowledged within the local authority for its excellent provision. Workshops are held for other private and local authority settings so that the outstanding practice can be disseminated. Governance is good. Governors take their roles and responsibilities very seriously and work extremely well with the staff. They are highly committed to extending their roles. Governors are determined to meet the needs of families in the local community as well as those of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities who attend the centre from further afield. A governor encapsulated the feelings of others by stating, 'I am

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Grade: 1

proud to be a governor of The Arnold Centre'. 5 Inspection Report: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 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: The Arnold Centre, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 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 1 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

Thank you for welcoming me to your nursery. You all go to an excellent nursery and I enjoyed very much the two days I spent with you. What I particularly liked about your nursery. - The head and deputy head lead and manage the nursery extremely well. - You are taught very well and make extremely good progress in your learning. - You behave extremely well and work hard in lessons and all of you get on so well together. - The staff look after you exceptionally well. - You really enjoy school. - Your parents and carers are very pleased that you come to this nursery. What I have asked your school to do now. - To consider if a white board linked to a computer will help improve your learning. I appreciated talking to you about your work and watching you learn, I wish you well for the future.

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