Wentworth Nursery School and Children's Centre

Wentworth Nursery School Inspection report

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100212 Unique Reference Number Hackney Local Authority 285742 Inspection number 27 April 2007 Inspection date Nick Butt Reporting inspector

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

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Nursery Type of school Community School category 3 °4 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 85 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Francoise Beregovoi Chair Carolyn Maples Headteacher 25 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection Cassland Road School address London E9 5BY

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020 8985 3491 Telephone number 020 8985 3491 Fax number

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3 °4 Age group 27 April 2007 Inspection date 285742 Inspection number .

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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 large school serves a diverse inner city area that has considerable areas of social disadvantage. Two thirds of children attend part-time and one third full-time. They spend four or five terms at the Nursery depending on when they were born. More than half the children are learning English as an additional language, a third at the very early stages of acquisition. A fifth of children are from families that are refugees or asylum seekers. A high proportion of children have statements of special educational need and there are more children with learning difficulties and disabilities than usual. Many children attend the Nursery for only a short time because their families move away from the area. The school has an award for promoting healthy lifestyles and is due to become a Children's Centre in 2008.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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Grade: 1

This excellent school provides an outstanding education for the children. A highly effective staff team has been built up under the visionary and dynamic leadership of its headteacher. Children attain exceptionally high standards and achieve extremely well because of the outstanding teaching they receive. A rich and vibrant curriculum fills their day with a wide range of stimulating and exciting activities both inside and out, which fire their natural enthusiasm and give them a real desire for learning. The personal development and well-being of children are outstanding because they have excellent attitudes to learning formed as a result of the very well organised and managed class bases. Every minute of their day is accounted for in a meaningful and purposeful way and they are encouraged to become independent learners through being able to make choices and select materials. Children are beginning to understand about healthy lifestyles and work in a safe and

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Grade: 1

secure environment. They love coming to school and show a remarkable consideration for others bearing in mind their young age. Already they are starting to take on responsibilities such as asking the adults what they would like to drink for their break. Children cooperate together very well in a whole variety of tasks. They leave the Nursery particularly well equipped for primary school, confident and hungry to learn. Lessons are planned in great detail to take account of the needs of all the children, including those who have learning difficulties. These children are included exceptionally well in the school's work, and diverse programmes of support are in place for them. The many children who are at the early stages of learning English (there are 23 home languages spoken in the Nursery) make outstanding progress in their fluency because support is tailored to suit their individual needs by a highly trained and effective staff. The Nursery is extremely well resourced

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Grade: 1

and equipment is used imaginatively to make the most of the opportunities for learning. It is an old building and space is at a premium. There is insufficient storage. Staff make sure this does not have a detrimental effect on children's learning, but it does mean they have to work in cramped conditions. The leadership and management of the school are outstanding. Excellent systems are in place to monitor the effectiveness of its work and to track children's progress, so that leaders have a very clear idea about its strengths and what they need to do next to make it even better. A concise and authoritative school improvement plan sets out priorities for development very clearly. The governing body is particularly effective and monitors the work of the school regularly and thoroughly. The school is outward-looking and continually seeking to improve. It has an outstanding capacity to build on its exemplary achievements, particularly as it plans to widen

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Grade: 1

its horizons when it becomes a Children's Centre in 2008.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the teaching and storage accommodation so that it meets the needs of a modern Nursery.

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Grade: 1

Children achieve exceptionally well and attain extremely high standards. They enter the Nursery with skills and abilities well below those normally expected, especially in their personal, social 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007 and emotional development and in language and communication. They make outstanding progress because the curriculum is so well tailored to their individual needs and because teaching is of such a high quality. This means they learn quickly and become more independent. By the time they leave the Nursery after four or five terms many of the children are attaining the early learning goals expected at the end of the Reception year. Children who have learning difficulties achieve particularly well because of the excellent support they receive. The progress of children at the early stages of acquiring English is exceptionally rapid as they enter fully into the life of

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Grade: 1

the Nursery and are encouraged by staff to practise using a wide range of vocabulary through work in small groups.

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Grade: 1

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Throughout the day they have many opportunities to wonder at the world around them because of the exciting activities they experience. Through a topic on growth children were planting a wide variety of seeds and watching them come up. They have regular routines and socialise exceptionally well, for example while sharing lunch together and serving one another. Children help with preparing the mid-session snack and tidy up after themselves very well. They make visits to the library and a local bookshop and are getting to know their community. Their behaviour is exemplary, showing care and consideration for one another. They have a growing awareness of their own abilities. One child commented, 'I like playing outside on the pole. I always try to go down it. Now I can do it myself.' They join in enthusiastically in all the activities, and are becoming

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Grade: 1

confident, knowing what is expected of them. When a teacher reminded one child, 'Are you doing good listening?' he responded, 'I'm doing good talking!'' Children's love for school is reflected in their very good attendance, with the school doing all it can to promote this, including sending text messages to parents when their child is away. The children leave the school with exceptionally high standards and are fully ready for their move to primary school.

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding. Staff work together very closely as a team and this means there is a high level of expertise. Learning is extremely well organised, so that teachers know exactly what they want children to gain from a task. The outside area is used as another resource base and planning makes particularly effective use of the different elements to inspire children. This especially promotes their knowledge and understanding of the world and their physical development, although the other areas of learning are also included extremely effectively. For example, children were throwing bean bags into a box, counting how many had gone in and recording the number on a board. Adults use questioning really well to extend children's thinking. When a group were examining different blocks of ice the teacher asked them, 'Why isn't ice squeezy?' and 'Do you think if we left the ice here all day it would still be

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Grade: 1

cold by home time?' Assessment of children's progress is excellent, and is used to plan the next stage of their learning. Special teaching programmes are in place to support children with learning difficulties and disabilities. This helps them to achieve their targets. Children who are learning English as an additional language are taught exceptionally well, and make very rapid progress. As one parent commented, 'My child has come on in leaps and bounds since attending.' 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding and one of the key strengths of the school. The staff are very creative in coming up with imaginative ways of presenting activities. Much use is made of visual aids and singing to move learning forward. One parent said, 'There is always a fantastic array of diverse activities for the children to do.' From the moment they come in children are presented with such a wide range of exciting opportunities that they are spoilt for choice. One child said, 'I like playing hopping and scotch!' They soon become engrossed in a task, which helps to explain why their personal development is so good. There is a good balance between child-initiated activities and adult-focused ones. At different times during the day children are put into small groups that meet particular needs they may have; at others they are free to select activities that appeal to them. The Nursery is a hive of activity. There is also excellent enrichment,

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Grade: 1

with visitors such as a regular gardening teacher, a sculptor in residence and musicians, and visits to places of interest nearby and further a field.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support of children are outstanding. All adults are highly skilled in meeting children's needs, some of which are complex and demanding. They know the children incredibly well, and have regular meetings to discuss their needs and plan ahead. Excellent organisation of a large staff ensures that adults are deployed highly efficiently to target the need where it is greatest. Individual programmes of support are designed to have the most impact and consequently children make remarkable progress. The safeguarding of children is given a high priority, and includes a safer recruitment policy. Children are given particularly effective support and guidance in their development. The school has an innovative scheme that encourages children to talk about their own learning. They each have a folder of photographs of them engaged in an activity or showing something they have made and they

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Grade: 1

then talk about what they are doing. Over time children find more to say about their learning. They also enjoy sharing their folders with parents.

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Grade: 1

The parent who wrote, 'I think they are having the best possible start to their education', spoke for the vast majority who are delighted with all that the school has to offer and the progress that their children are making. This is because the leadership and management of the school are so focused on children's learning and promoting excellence. The headteacher and deputy head have extremely high expectations of staff and children, which results in consistently outstanding practice. This in turn means children achieve particularly well. Governors have an excellent programme of arranged visits to monitor all aspects of the school's work, which are recorded in concise reports. They consequently have a full understanding of the school and are able to support it and also challenge when appropriate. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

8 May 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Wentworth Nursery School, Cassland Road, London, E9 5BY I very much enjoyed visiting your school. It is an outstanding school that gets you off to an excellent start. The adults make learning fun for you by giving you so many exciting things to do. I think it is brilliant the way you can go outside so much. The adults also know you really well and know what you need to do to learn more quickly. The extra help they give you, especially when you are in small groups, makes a real difference. You are extremely well cared for, and I know you really enjoy coming to the Nursery. The staff do a wonderful job and work together as a very strong team. There isn't much space in the school, especially for storing equipment, so I hope it will be possible soon to make it more modern. I particularly liked the folders you have with photographs of yourselves doing things and showing your work. It was good to chat to some of you about

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

these. I can tell that you are very proud of what you are able to do. You are all making extremely good progress. Thank you once again for making me so welcome. Yours sincerely, Mr. N. Butt,Lead Inspector. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Wentworth Nursery School, 27 April 2007

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