Peter Pan Nursery School

Peter Pan Nursery School Inspection report

p.1

109417 Unique Reference Number BEDFORDSHIRE Local Authority 288364 Inspection number 14 March 2007 Inspection date Sheelagh Barnes Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Nursery Type of school Community School category 3 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 113 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Paul Smith Chair Mrs Jane Knapp Headteacher 8 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection Edward Road School address Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 9DR

p.1

01234 350864 Telephone number 01234 300304 Fax number

p.1

3 °5 Age group 14 March 2007 Inspection date 288364 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector in one day.

p.3

Description of the school

Peter Pan Nursery is a smaller than average school. A greater proportion of children speak English as an additional language than nationally. The children come from homes where 16 different languages are spoken overall. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and statements of special educational need is above average, as is the number eligible for free school meals. The school caters for pupils across the full range of ability but overall attainment on entry is well below that expected, particularly in communication, language and literacy in the medium of English. Mobility is high at around 20% due to families experiencing change, such as those affected by the Government asylum seekers resettling programmes and parents who work at the local hospital on short term contracts. The school has recently been accredited with three Basic Skills Awards and has secured Investors in People

p.3

Description of the school

status. It is situated in an Education Action Zone, and last year made the transition to Excellence Cluster. There has been significant reorganisation and expansion of the nursery over the past years, which have presented the management with considerable challenges.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.3

Grade: 2

This is a good school with outstanding features in its curriculum and in its provision for care and children's personal and social development. It provides a good education for the children who attend and good value for money. Inspection agrees with the school's evaluation of its current overall effectiveness. Teaching and learning are good and lead to children from all groups making good overall progress in their learning and achieving well. Standards are on track to be in line with those expected by the end of Reception. Children make particularly good progress in learning personal and social skills, because of the strong emphasis school places on this aspect of learning. Care and welfare are excellent and children are taught very well about the importance of healthy life-styles. Assessment is good and is used well to tailor learning situations accurately to individual children's needs. Analysis of assessment data by

p.4

Grade: 2

the school has identified that while children make good overall progress and achievement is good in most areas of learning, mathematical development is an area in which, whilst at least satisfactory and often good, children's progress is less than in other areas. As a consequence, this has been identified as an area of focus for school development. Monitoring by the headteacher has also identified the need to improve the regularity of formal recording of observations of mathematical development, so that children's progress in this area can be tracked more efficiently. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Behaviour is excellent and children learn to work together effectively. Children enjoy lessons and are keen to come to school. Attendance is good. These all have a positive impact on children's enjoyment and likely future economic well being. The curriculum is outstanding, as

p.4

Grade: 2

it is most effectively enriched by an extremely good range of activities. Parents are supportive of the school and appreciative of its work. Links with parents and the community are excellent. The school is extremely effective in ensuring that children from all groups are fully integrated into all activities. Leadership and management are good overall. The leadership of the head teacher is very good. She has a good understanding of what needs to be improved. The school has correctly identified the need to develop the role of coordinators in monitoring their area of learning. Governors fulfil their roles well and are strong supporters of the school. The school has a good capacity to continue to improve further.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the overall progress that children make in developing early mathematical skills. • Ensure that adults working with children always formally record observations of progress. • Develop the role of the subject leader to include evaluation of teaching and learning and the analysis of data to monitor standards of different groups across the school.

p.4

Grade: 2

Children make overall good progress in the nursery from a very low starting point. This is particularly the case in personal and social development, where achievement is excellent. Standards children attain by the time they leave nursery are broadly in line with those expected in most areas of learning. Children make good progress and achieve well in communication, language and literacy skills, although standards for many are below national expectations in the medium of English. Achievement and progress in the development of mathematical skills is satisfactory and the school has identified this as an area for development. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.4

Grade: 1

Children's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. The school effectively builds opportunities for children to experience awe and wonder, for example when working with the solar fountain. The school encourages children to make choices and to learn to take on responsibility. They greatly enjoy being in school and attendance is good. Children relate well to each other and disputes and bad feelings are rare and are dealt with speedily. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities are integrated fully into all aspects of school life. Children have extremely good opportunities to become involved in the life in the school community by taking responsibility for making decisions and helping to set equipment out, for instance. They develop an excellent understanding of the need to stay safe and of the value of adopting a healthy lifestyle, through such things as regular hand

p.5

Grade: 1

washing, taking care with equipment and choosing healthy food for snacks.

p.5

Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. Boys and girls of all abilities and those with learning difficulties achieve well due to the good teaching they receive. Teachers plan activities well, taking good account of what children already know and can do. They effectively encourage children to make decisions and work independently. Teaching assistants and nursery nurses are deployed efficiently. Children find their activities enjoyable because teachers make good use of the wide range of resources in the indoor and garden areas. Assessment is good and the school has effective systems to monitor pupils' progress. However, the school has identified that more regular formal recording of observations of mathematical development is an area for focus.

p.5

Grade: 1

The curriculum is excellent. Planning ensures that children of all abilities are supported and challenged in all areas of learning. This basic curriculum is supplemented outstandingly well by an extremely wide range of interesting and exciting extra activities. For example, children have the opportunity to work with wood and bricks to build and make things or to sing together a wide range of songs. Provision for children's personal development is outstanding. A particularly good aspect of the curriculum is in the daily use of the garden area throughout the whole year for a wide range of activities including digging, planting and working with construction toys. In this way children learn to work together, contribute to the school community, take physical exercise and learn about growing healthy foods.

p.5

Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are exceptionally good. Children's happiness and safety are promoted very effectively. Provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities and those with English as an additional language is very good. The systems the school has developed to monitor children's academic progress are good and personal and social development is monitored very 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007 efficiently. Teachers very effectively ensure that children from all groups all have equal access to the activities on offer. Health is promoted very well and children learn to make good choices, such as in their diet, as a result. Good care is also taken to ensure that children know to turn to an adult if they need help with a problem and this makes them confident and happy. The school works exceptionally well with parents and with other agencies to ensure that all children

p.5

Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a perceptive and accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. This is effectively translated into the development plan. Leadership and management of subjects are generally good. However, the delegation of responsibilities in this way is new and not all are yet experienced at analysing data and contributing to whole school evaluation and development planning in their area. The governing body are strong supporters of the school and governance is good. The school leadership works effectively to ensure that all learners achieve well academically and that their social integration is exceptionally good. All legal requirements are met and financial management is sound. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007 .

p.6

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: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.7

Inspection judgements

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

p.8

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

p.8

Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 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

p.8

learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 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

p.8

and interests of learners?

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

p.8

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: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.8

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: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

15 March 2007 Dear Children Peter Pan Nursery, Edward Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9DR Thank you for talking so nicely to me when I visited recently. I really enjoyed meeting you all and talking to you as you worked, played and had lunch. The things that particularly impressed me were:- • You like coming to school, you behave excellently and work hard. • You have great fun working at all sorts of things and playing in the garden area. • Your teachers teach you well so that you make good progress overall and standards are good. • You are taught a lot of interesting and exciting things and have excellent opportunities to do practical activities, such as building with bricks and woodwork. • You learn very well about staying safe and know about staying healthy and making healthy choices. • Your headteacher works very hard and knows a lot about your school and how well each one of you is getting on. The things I have asked your school to do next are

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Help you to learn even more about number work. • Make sure that your teachers and other adults always note down how well you are doing. • Teachers in charge of subjects should find out how well you are all doing in each of their subjects. I really enjoyed talking to you and watching you learn inside the school and in the garden area. I wish you all well for the future. Yours sincerely Mrs Barnes Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Peter Pan Nursery School, 14 March 2007

p.10