Edith Kerrison Nursery School

Edith Kerrison Nursery School Inspection report

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102700 Unique Reference Number Newham Local Authority 286462 Inspection number 23 °24 April 2007 Inspection dates Sue Vale 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 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 101 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr B. Collier Chair Mrs A. Childs Headteacher 11 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection Sophia Road School address London E16 3PB

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020 7476 1735 Telephone number 020 7511 4971 Fax number

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3 °5 Age group 23 °24 April 2007 Inspection dates 286462 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

Edith Kerrison Nursery school is situated in the Custom House area of Docklands in East London. The school admits children from a very wide range of backgrounds, a few are refugees or asylum seekers. Around a fifth of the school are learning English as an additional language. The number of children identified with learning difficulties and disabilities is below average. The school is not full but can provide 120 part time and 30 full time places. Four-year-olds attend full time and three-year-olds attend part time.

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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: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007

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Grade: 2

Edith Kerrison Nursery School provides a good standard of education. The headteacher and deputy work well together as a team and have a clear understanding of the strengths of the Nursery and what it needs to do to develop further. Children begin school with a wide range of abilities and varying life experiences. When starting at the school their personal social and emotional development is below that of children of this age and many have low self esteem, and weak skills in communication language and literacy. Staff work very hard at developing children's confidence and in raising their self esteem. This is effective and children really enjoy their time at Nursery and are very happy. Parents are also very happy and pleased with the education their children receive. As one grandparent commented, 'I cannot give this school enough praise.' Teaching is good and this along with an interesting, varied curriculum also supports children's

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Grade: 2

learning and development. This means that by the time they leave Nursery, they have made good progress and achieve well. Overall children reach expected standards for their age by the time they leave Nursery. They have a secure foundation for the next stage of their education. Children's personal development and well-being are good. They are very happy and keen to be at Nursery, although attendance amongst some families does not always reflect this. Children are encouraged to become confident learners and they work and play together well. Their behaviour is excellent. The curriculum is good. A particularly positive aspect of the curriculum is the way all children are taught sign language. The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are good. Children receive a positive start to their school life because the staff have a high commitment to meeting the needs of all. They are cared for well. Health and safety is a high priority. The provision for children with special

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Grade: 2

educational needs is praiseworthy and enables these children to achieve well. Observations and assessments of what children know and can do are undertaken regularly. The Nursery is trialling a new way of collecting evidence about children's achievements. This involves children becoming involved in their own self assessment. Currently it is only being tried with a small number of children but it is proving successful in showing the progress which children make and is under review to roll out to the rest of the Nursery. The Nursery provides good value for money. The Nursery has good capacity to continue to improve and maintain its standards because it is led and managed well and staff are keen to develop new ways of helping children to learn. The staff have successfully enabled the children to overcome any barriers to learning and to boost their confidence.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Review the use of assessment in the Nursery so that all children are involved in assessing their own successes and achievements.

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Grade: 2

Children, including the growing numbers learning English as an additional language, and those identified with learning difficulties achieve well. There are increasing numbers of children who start Nursery with below expected skills in personal, social and emotional development, in 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007 particular low self esteem and in communication language and literacy skills. The Nursery is very aware of this and staff plan a good range of activities which encourage children to settle quickly and help them to develop their confidence. Consequently, children make good progress and achieve standards appropriate for their age in mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, and creative development and personal and social emotional development. They achieve above what is expected for their age in physical development, and make good progress towards what is expected in communication language and literacy. This is

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Grade: 2

because of good quality teaching, and adult interaction which encourages children and helps to raise children's own self esteem. Children with learning difficulties achieve well because the staff focus effectively on meeting their specific learning needs.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development and well-being are good and they make good progress in this area of their development. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children are happy to come to Nursery. This is helped by the interesting learning environment, both indoors and outside. As one governor said, 'They are well prepared for the next step in their education.' Children make a positive contribution to the Nursery. They work safely, and are encouraged to adopt a healthy life style. Most children start Nursery with low self esteem. The Nursery has introduced a variety of strategies to support these children so that they become confident in their learning. Their approach includes lots of praise, music, drama and sport activities that allow children to explore and investigate within a safe and stimulating environment. Extra activities such as learning how to play football have been successfully introduced to help raise children's self esteem and

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Grade: 2

awareness of living healthily. Individual and small group work makes a real difference confidence of those with learning difficulties. Children's behaviour is excellent. Despite the school's best efforts attendance overall is just satisfactory as there are some families who are poor attenders.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers know the children very well and this helps them to plan activities which support individual children's learning. This is why the progress which children make in their learning is good. Children who are in their last term at Nursery complete three activities each day before they can choose what they would like to do themselves. This encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning and helps them to make decisions for themselves by ticking their own sheets to show that these activities have been achieved. This is not used with all children, and different ways of assessing what children know are being trialled throughout the Nursery. The support for children with learning difficulties and disabilities is good and allows these children to make good progress. Children enjoy learning not only because teachers make learning fun but also because they feel valued for the contribution

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Grade: 2

which they make. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good with some outstanding features. It captivates children's interest. Basic skills are taught well through encouragement and practical hands-on activities. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities and those who are new to learning English are fully catered for. There is a strong focus on early speaking skills. An outstanding feature of the Nursery curriculum is the way that all children are taught sign language. This not only helps those with learning difficulties and disabilities but also helps other children to develop their own understanding of the needs of others. The varied curriculum promotes interesting and practical activities both inside and outdoors. Circle times, when children share their ideas and feelings, are used well to support the children's belief and confidence and also contribute to their communication skills. The use of information and communication technology by children is

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Grade: 2

good overall. The children are fortunate to have the large outside garden in which to play and enhance their learning which helps them to appreciate the importance of exercise and extend their physical skills.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided for children are good. Pastoral care and support for the children are particularly effective. Adults conscientiously spend time talking and praising the children so that they feel valued and cared for. Child protection procedures are fully in place and are understood and followed by staff. Risk assessments for monitoring the health and safety of the children are in place and regularly reviewed by the Governing Body and caretaker. Teachers observe what children are interested in and how they make progress in learning new skills, these observations along with their achievements are recorded in individual profiles. These profiles are also shared with parents so that they can see what their children achieve. New self-assessment folders are being trialled for some children. These are proving helpful in involving children in their own success, by showing the progress made as well as providing a

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. There is a strong sense of team work throughout the Nursery. The headteacher, who has been at the Nursery for 25 years, clearly understands its strengths and areas for development. Self evaluation is very good. Equality of opportunity for all children is important and opportunities are managed which ensure that all participate fully. There is good leadership of support staff and good procedures for the day-to-day management are administered effectively to ensure that things run smoothly. There are good procedures for monitoring and this has a positive impact on the progress which children make by helping staff to identify strengths and weaknesses in their own practice. The governors are supportive and are clear about the strengths and areas for development for the Nursery. They along with the headteacher are actively involved with projects within the wider community and are keen

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Grade: 2

to put the needs of the children first. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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?

2 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: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 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: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

2 May 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Edith Kerrison Nursery School, Sophia Road, London, E16 3PB It was lovely to meet you and to spend time with some of you when I came to visit your Nursery. I enjoyed working with some of you and joining you outside. Edith Kerrison is a good Nursery.There are lots of things which you do well. • You are very happy at your Nursery. • You like learning lots of interesting things, and you are happy to try out new activities. • Your teachers plan lots of different activities for you and help you to make good progress in your learning. • You are looked after well and all the staff are very good at helping you to have more confidence in what you do. • You are fortunate to be able to learn to play football. • There are lots of exciting and interesting things for you to do like playing in the garden and using the diggers in your new sand pit. In order to make your Nursery even better, I have asked the teachers to give you more

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

opportunities to check your own work and show what you are proud of. Best wishes Sue Vale Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Edith Kerrison Nursery School, 23 °24 April 2007

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