Pinewood Infant and Nursery School

Inspection Report Pinewood Infant and Nursery School

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122520 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEA LEA 281288 Inspection number 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 Inspection dates Mrs. Susan Hall LI Reporting inspector

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

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Pinewood Avenue School address Infant Type of school NG5 8BU Community School category 3 to 7 Age range of pupils 0115 9521717 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0115 9521717 Fax number 159 Number on roll Mr.Alan Shepherd Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Christine McAdam Headteacher 3 July 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281288 15 February 2006 - 3 to 7 16 February 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 is a small infant school serving an urban area of Nottingham. The majority of pupils are White British with a very small proportion of different backgrounds who are at the early stages of English. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is slightly above average. The proportion of pupils starting at the school other than at the beginning of the school year is low. An average number of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. When pupils start school many do not have the knowledge and skills expected for their age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Pinewood Infant and Nursery School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006

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Grade: 2

Pinewood Infant School is a good school, where pupils thrive and are happy. There are some outstanding areas and a very few that need to be improved. The care and support of pupils is excellent. The pupils thoroughly enjoy their time in school, get on really well together and develop very positive attitudes to their learning. The leadership of the headteacher has been an important influence on continuing development. The school provides good value for money, has improved well since the last inspection and has the capacity to continue to improve further. The inspection findings support the school's view of its effectiveness. Overall, standards are in line with those expected for the age of the pupils. Across the school they make good progress. The facilities for pupils in the Foundation Stage have recently been considerably improved. Teaching and learning are good and many pupils have achieved the expected goals when they

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Grade: 2

enter Year 1. In Years 1 and 2, pupils continue to make good progress. Teaching and learning are good overall. There are strengths in the way in which staff collect information about the progress pupils make and use this to ensure all activities challenge those of different abilities. The school is very well led by the headteacher. She is well thought of by parents who are very satisfied with the quality of education provided. The head is well supported by senior staff who work well together and share a pride in their school and commitment to the pupils. The monitoring of the work of the school is satisfactory but is sometimes informally recorded and lacks evaluative rigour in evaluating and identifying further areas for improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Develop more opportunities for senior staff, subject leaders and, where relevant, governors to rigorously monitor and evaluate the work of the school to help identify the steps necessary for further improvement.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enter the Foundation Stage with skills that are below average for their age particularly in their ability to communicate. Initially many have limited speaking, reading and writing skills and staff have to work hard to make up ground in these areas. Pupils make good progress and many have attained the targets expected for their age when they enter Year 1 particularly in their personal and social development. In Years 1 and 2 pupils continue to make good progress so that standards in national tests in recent years have been above average. They dipped to average in 2005 because of the high number of pupils with learning difficulties, and several changes in staffing. In some lessons pupils achieve very well, for instance, when those in Year 1 learn how to write good sentences. The school sets challenging targets which are well matched to pupils' needs and these are mainly achieved. Overall, all pupils including the very small number

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Grade: 2

at the early stages of English and those identified as gifted and talented, make good progress. 2 Inspection Report: Pinewood Infant and Nursery School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Behaviour is usually exemplary and relationships are excellent. Attendance is average and the school works hard with families to try to improve this. Pupils say there is no bullying and behaviour is good. They thoroughly enjoy their lessons and work hard. They play energetically at break times but with a care for the needs of others around them so playground bumps are rare. Opportunities for physical development are well prioritised and pupils make good choices from the healthy options at lunchtimes. The good progress they make in literacy and numeracy, along with their excellent social skills, prepares them well for the next stage of education and adult life. Pupils are justly proud of the way the school council has made their views known and written to governors seeking their support for school

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Grade: 1

improvements they have suggested. They enjoy reflecting on issues important to them in assembly and in class discussions. They have ample opportunities to learn about a range of cultures through art, assembly, religious education, geography and links with an overseas school.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. In some lessons teaching is outstanding and pupils make excellent progress, as in a Year 1/2 class when they learned how to join short sentences together to make longer, more interesting ones. Very occasionally teaching is satisfactory because pupils are not actively enough involved in their learning. Teachers usually give pupils practical tasks that reinforce their learning and add to their enjoyment. Teachers check regularly how well pupils are doing and use the information effectively to set targets closely matched to their needs. Pupils of various ability levels have different tasks to do so that all of them, including those who find learning hard, achieve well. Teaching assistants work very closely with teachers to support groups of pupils ensuring all have the help they need to do well. Teachers are very good at using interactive white boards to grab and hold pupils' attention and in

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Grade: 2

the best lessons teachers make good use of computers to aid the learning.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a very good range of activities to help pupils to learn. This aspect of the school was criticised in the last inspection and the school has made excellent progress in improving the curriculum. Work is planned for pupils of different abilities and they enjoy the practical activities the teachers set them. Consequently, pupils enjoy their lessons and have challenging work. Pupils with learning difficulties get plenty of support so that they make good progress. Staff organise interesting visits 3 Inspection Report: Pinewood Infant and Nursery School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 to bring learning to life. For example, pupils enjoy visits to a local church and the synagogue. They say there are plenty of extra activities to get involved in and the school has introduced before and after school care for those who need it. At times teachers do not plan the use of computers effectively enough to support learning in

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Grade: 1

The quality of care is outstanding. Staff know the pupils, their backgrounds and their needs exceptionally well. This ensures that all, including those who find learning hard or have disabilities, are very well supported in their personal development and learning. The very effective use of teaching assistants ensures that all pupils, whatever their ability, gender, social or ethnic background, are fully involved in the range of activities. The required procedures for protecting children and ensuring their health and welfare are in place. Pupils are confident that they can go to any adult if they are worried. They say the midday staff look after them well at lunchtimes. Teachers check how well pupils are doing in their learning and tell them what they need to do to improve. Parents and pupils have overwhelmingly positive views of the school. Staff seek the views of parents regularly and work hard to involve them in their children's learning.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of the school are good with some clear strengths and few areas that need improvement. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership in many aspects of the work of the school and has been an important influence on the way the school has blossomed in recent years. Together with senior teachers she has created an ethos where all work together well to find ways to continually improve, with a determination to raise standards further. The head has worked purposefully to develop the facilities including those in the Foundation Stage and outdoors. The parents' views are very positive and almost all think well of the school. They are widely consulted and effectively involved in evaluating the quality of education offered. The school has a reasonably accurate view of how well it is doing and what it needs to do to improve. However, some of the ways the school checks how well it is doing are

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Grade: 2

informal and not rigorous enough with the findings not recorded effectively for future reference. The work of the governors is satisfactory. Whilst they are very supportive of the school many are too dependent on the head for information and not sufficiently confident and involved at first hand in checking the areas for which they hold responsibility. 4 Inspection Report: Pinewood Infant and Nursery School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 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. 5 Inspection Report: Pinewood Infant and Nursery School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 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 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 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 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 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 2 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 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 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 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

Following our visit to your school we would like to let you know what we found out. But first can we say a big 'thank you' for making both of us feel welcome and for talking to us about all the different things that you enjoy doing at school. It was good to hear how you feel that all the staff listen to you and take good care of you. You probably saw us when we came into classrooms, the dining hall, assembly and the playground. We have told the teachers that you behave very well and that they can be proud of you. We know how many of you, and your families, like your school so we have talked with your headteacher about how the school can look at ways of being even better. The staff, and sometimes the governors, will look at how well you learn in different classes and at your books or will talk to you to see if you are doing the best you can. All the staff at school want you to do really well and your headteacher has

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

got some good ideas to make the school an even better place. All of you can play an important part in this by working as hard as you can and always being kind and helpful to everyone. We are sure you will do your best. It was a pleasure to meet you all.

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