Bedworth Heath Nursery School

Inspection Report Bedworth Heath Nursery School

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125486 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire LEA 281945 Inspection number 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Inspection dates Hazel Callaghan AI Reporting inspector

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

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Glebe Avenue School address Nursery Type of school Bedworth Maintained School category Warwickshire CV12 0DP 3 to 4 Age range of pupils 024 76364188 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 024 76364188 Fax number 78 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs H Ruffles Headteacher 17 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281945 16 May 2006 - 3 to 4 16 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Bedworth Heath Nursery is an average-sized school with 80 children on roll who attend the morning or afternoon sessions. Most children start at the Nursery in the term after their third birthday and attend for three terms before transferring to local primary schools. Some children have the opportunity to start at an earlier age if there are spaces available and attend for five terms. Most children are of White British heritage, with a small number of children from minority ethnic groups. This year, a few children started at the Nursery in the early stages of speaking English as an additional language. Children’s attainment when they start school is wide-ranging but overall similar to that found nationally. Approximately a quarter of children have been identified as having learning difficulties or disabilities. The school has been given the status of a Children’s Centre, which is to open formally later in the year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Bedworth Heath Nursery is a good school that provides an effective education for its children. Children of all abilities achieve well because of good teaching and effective support. Leadership and management are good overall and the leadership provided by the headteacher is very good. She provides a strong sense of purpose and she has built an enthusiastic team that puts great emphasis on valuing all children and their parents. This united approach is responsible for the exceptional quality of care given to all children and the introduction of many successful strategies that promote children’s good learning. Evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is accurate and is the result of comprehensive monitoring systems. The tracking of children’s work and progress are good but analysis of the data does not easily give information about different groups of children in order that progress can be compared and possible

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Grade: 2

difficulties identified. The school has improved significantly since the previous inspection and has the secure capacity to improve even further. The demands on the headteacher as the Children’s Centre develops will be greater. She recognises that decisions on staffing and management responsibilities need to be made to ensure its continuing success. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Continue to develop ways in which information on children’s attainment and progress can be compared and evaluated so that possible weaknesses are identified and all groups of children make continuing good progress. •Develop the roles and responsibilities of staff to ensure the continuing good management of the Nursery as an integral part of the Children’s Centre.

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Grade: 2

Children of all abilities achieve well. They make very good progress in personal emotional and social development and this prepares them well for other learning. Standards when children start in the Nursery are broadly average but the range of abilities is wide. A significant number have below average speaking and listening skills, and aspects of their personal development are below those expected for their age. Good teaching and a variety of support groups enable these children to progress well. Similarly, the needs of potentially high-attaining children are appropriately identified and activities extend their ideas, knowledge and skills. By the time children transfer to the primary school, standards are often above those expected for their age, especially in personal and social development. Strategies to promote children’s language development are effective and are raising standards in all areas of communication,

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Grade: 2

language and literacy. However, some children still find difficulty in the early stages of reading and writing. Standards in mathematical development are good although problem solving and the use of simple mathematical language cause difficulties for some children. These weaknesses have been identified by staff and positive strategies 2 Inspection Report: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 are being used to strengthen children’s understanding and skills. All staff set challenging targets for the children, which are met in most areas, with the result that standards and achievement are rising. The very few children who are in the early stages of learning English make satisfactory progress. They are developing an increasing understanding of what is said to them but their ability to express ideas is still limited.

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Grade: 2

Children’s personal development and well-being are good. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good although the school recognises that it could do more to support children in developing their awareness of other cultures and beliefs. Children behave well because of the high expectations shown by all adults and the very good relationships through the school. Children enjoy school and attend regularly. Children show care and consideration for each other and usually share toys and resources happily. They understand how to be fair, and what is not fair. Children are developing good levels of independence and their attitudes to their work is good. They listen to instructions and work by themselves confidently or with other children, showing good levels of attention. Children make a satisfactory contribution to the life of the school. They happily follow school routines, taking responsibility for tidying up after

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Grade: 2

themselves. When given the opportunity, children confidently make suggestions about how to make things better. They recently also made suggestions about how to improve the activities in a local park. Children recognise the importance of eating fruit and drinking water to keep healthy. They understand how to keep safe and are careful when using a range of equipment. They are developing an important range of skills, such as initiative, cooperation and perseverance that will help them in their future education and the world of work.

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Grade: 2

Good teaching throughout the Nursery has a very positive influence on the children’s development as learners. Adult-led activities are well planned and matched to children’s needs, so extending their understanding and skills. Good levels of support and skilful questioning consolidate children’s learning and promote new ideas. Because activities are fun, children try hard and behave well. Children’s efforts are praised and they are encouraged to talk about what they have enjoyed doing and to suggest activities they would like to have available the following week. Good levels of support are given to pupils of all abilities. Comprehensive systems have been developed to assess children’s progress so that achievement is monitored. This information is used to set individual targets for children’s learning and so they achieve well. 3 Inspection Report: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and there is a good number of additional activities, such as visits from storytellers, performers and other artists, that enrich children’s learning. The learning environment is attractive, with good quality resources that stimulate children’s interest and curiosity. The outdoor environment is equally well used, providing a good range of opportunities to develop children’s skills. The curriculum is carefully planned and much improved since the previous inspection. It is regularly evaluated and adapted to meet children’s personal and learning needs. Additional group teaching for children who have been identified as having specific learning needs has had a significant effect on their good progress. Children in the early stages of learning English are fairly new to the school and staff are developing satisfactory strategies for their support. The importance of healthy lifestyles and how

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Grade: 2

to keep safe are promoted well. The school’s programme for personal, social and health education contributes well to pupils’ personal development.

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Grade: 2

The nursery provides outstanding care for its children, together with good levels of guidance and support. This has a significant influence on children’s good achievement. The sensitive induction of children into the school enables them to settle quickly and as a result, children get off to a good start. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and are confident that their children are safe and well cared for. One parent commented that the school ‘not only cares deeply for the children, but staff care for the children’s families and the community’. The partnership with parents is excellent. The school provides a wide range of support groups for parents, seeing them as fundamental to children’s well-being and progress. Child protection arrangements are good and heath and safety procedures are effective. There are comprehensive systems for assessing children’s attainment and the data is used to set children’s individual targets for future learning. These targets are shared

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Grade: 2

with parents but children are not as yet involved routinely in evaluating their own progress. Good support is given to children with learning difficulties or disabilities and, as a result, they make as good progress as their classmates. The school has made progress in providing greater challenge for more able children since the last inspection and they now also make good progress. Children for whom English is an additional language receive satisfactory support from within the school’s own resources.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides very good leadership. Her strong sense of purpose and vision for the school are shared by all the staff. This united approach is responsible for the exceptional quality of care given to all children 4 Inspection Report: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 and the excellent partnership with parents which, together, underpin children’s good progress. There are thorough systems for monitoring the work of the school and children’s progress. Data is used well to identify children’s learning needs so that effective support is provided for pupils of all abilities. This comprehensive information is also used well to identify areas of learning that are not as successful as others, so that positive strategies are developed. However, information on the attainment of different groups of children is not always easily accessible and comparative progress is not always clear.

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Grade: 2

For example, it is hard to differentiate between the progress of higher-attaining children as distinct from those who have been longer at the nursery. Governors provide good levels of support for the school in many areas of its work. The school has been successful in its bid to become a Children’s Centre. The headteacher and governors have worked closely to achieve this ambition and obtain funding to ensure its success. The headteacher is ably supported by the senior teacher in the management of the Nursery, but consideration is now being given to how best the management load can be spread across the staff as the Children’s Centre is developed. Many good improvements have been made since the headteacher took up post, because of her effective leadership. The partnership with parents, for example, has been significantly improved and the curriculum clearly planned to meet children’s needs. The school’s accurate evaluation of its effectiveness is confirmed by the inspection

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Grade: 2

and shows there is secure capacity to improve even further. 5 Inspection Report: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 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: Bedworth Heath Nursery School, 16 May 2006 to 16 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 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 2 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 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 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 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 am writing to say thank you for making us feel welcome in your school and for helping us with our questions. We really enjoyed chatting to you and found everything you said very interesting. I thought you would like to know what we found out about your school. What we liked about the school: •It is a good school where you are happy and enjoy your activities because the staff help you and make your work interesting. •Your very clever headteacher wants to do all she can to make the school even better. •You get on well with each other and with the adults in the school and most of you behave sensibly and are kind to each other. •We think you try hard to do well in your work. •You understand how important it is to keep safe and to eat things that are good for you. •You are given jobs to do and you try to do them well. •All the grown ups look after you very well and help you feel safe. •The school works very closely with your families and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

helps them in lots of ways. What we have asked the school to do: •We have asked your teachers to make sure that information about how you are getting on is easy to understand so any weaknesses can be seen. •We have asked your headteacher to give some different jobs to the adults in your school so everyone is ready for the new Children’s Centre to open.

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