Chapel Street Nursery School

Inspection Report Chapel Street Nursery School

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109421 Unique Reference Number LUTON Local Authority 288365 Inspection number 8 °9 February 2007 Inspection dates Sheelagh Barnes 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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Russell Street School address Nursery Type of school Luton Maintained School category Bedfordshire LU1 5EA 3 °5 Age range of pupils 01582 413552 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01582 540428 Fax number 94 Number on roll (school) Mr Richard Rowley Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Julia Miller Headteacher 8 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288365 8 °9 February 2007 3°5 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Chapel Street is smaller than average. More pupils than nationally speak English as an additional language and fewer are eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and statements of special educational need is well above average. While some children leave the nursery after two terms to take up Reception places in other schools, other children, including those with special educational needs, tend to stay until they reach statutory school age. Attainment on entry to the school covers the full range but is overall below the expectations for children's ages. The school has recently been accredited with Early Excellence, Investors in Children and Children's Centre status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides good value for money. Inspectors agree with the school's own evaluation of its overall effectiveness. Teaching, learning and the curriculum are good and as a result children from all backgrounds make good overall progress in their learning and achieve well. Children make particularly good progress in learning personal and social skills, because of the strong emphasis the school places on this aspect of learning. Assessment is good and is used effectively to tailor learning situations accurately to individual children's needs. Children's progress in the different areas of learning is good overall, although the school's own analysis of assessment data has shown that their progress in creative development is less marked than in other areas. As a consequence this has been identified as an area of focus for school development. The curriculum is effectively enriched by a good range of trips and visits. Staff are adept at maximising opportunities

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Grade: 2

for learning. During a snowfall, for example, children were enabled to find out whether snow brought inside the nursery in a sand tray would 'melt into ice cream' as one child predicted. Excellent care and welfare of the children leads to outstanding personal development. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely good. Behaviour is good and children learn to take turns and share. They enjoy lessons very much and are keen to come to school. They are taught very well about the importance of healthy life-style and diet. Attendance is satisfactory. Parents are supportive of the school and appreciative of its work. They are kept exceptionally well informed about the work their children do and the progress they are making. Leadership and management are good overall. The leadership of the headteacher is clear sighted. She has a good understanding of what needs to be improved. Governors

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Grade: 2

fulfil their roles well and are strong supporters of the school. They have identified the need for even further training to enable them to develop their role as a critical friend of the school. The school has a good capacity to continue to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop staff awareness of how to develop children's creative skills still further. • Refine and develop the skills of governors to build their confidence in their role as a critical friend to the school.

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Grade: 2

Attainment on entry is below the standards expected for children's ages. Children settle well into the nursery and make good gains in their learning, due to the good quality of the provision. Achievement is particularly good in personal and social development. It is good in mathematical development, physical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, speaking and listening and early reading 2 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007 and writing skills. The school has identified creative development as an area in which, whilst achievement is at least satisfactory overall and frequently good, pupils made least gains in their learning last year. Children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language achieve well and attain the challenging targets the school sets them.

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Grade: 1

Children's personal development is excellent. The school encourages them to make choices and to learn to take on responsibility, for example in spreading their own bread with a choice of toppings. Children generally relate well to each other and play together or alongside each other amicably. Disputes and bad feelings are rare and are dealt with speedily. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are integrated fully in all aspects of school life. Spiritual, moral social and cultural development is outstanding. Children thoroughly enjoy being in school and attendance is satisfactory, especially considering their young age and the tendency to pick up infections easily. 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 washing and choosing healthy food.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. All adults have good relationships with the children and with each other. They are consistent in their expectations of the children. There is a particularly good emphasis placed on developing children's personal and social skills. Assessment is regular, accurate and forms an integral part of the school day. Staff use their knowledge of individual children effectively when planning learning sessions. Evaluations at the end of each day ensure that children from all groups benefit fully from the opportunities available. The school has correctly highlighted staff awareness of opportunities for creative development as an area for improvement.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It provides a clear structure for the teaching of each area of learning. Planning ensures that children of all abilities are given work that is at the right level for them. This basic curriculum is supplemented effectively by an extremely wide range of interesting and exciting extra activities. There are regular trips to places of local interest, such as parks, museums and the library. In addition staff are quick to maximise opportunities. For example, during the inspection staff took good 3 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007 advantage of a heavy snowfall to provide a wide range of creative and physical activities that gripped children's imaginations. These experiences all effectively prepare children well for later life.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' happiness and safety are promoted very effectively. Provision for pupils with special educational needs, including their social integration and the way they are fully involved in all school activities, is extremely good. The systems the school has developed to monitor pupils' academic progress are rigorous and used extremely well. Staff use the information from assessment well to ensure that children's needs are met fully. Health is promoted exceptionally well and pupils learn to make good choices, such as in their diet, as a result. Good care is also taken to ensure that pupils know who to turn to if they need help with a problem and this makes them confident and happy. The school has outstanding links with parents. It provides excellent information for them about the work their children are doing and the progress they are making.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a good, clear view of the school, based on regular and accurate monitoring. Information gained is shared openly with staff and governors and used effectively to highlight areas for improvement in the development plan. The governors are strong supporters of the school and feel confident to question the leadership. They have identified in the development plan building their confidence to become even more of a critical friend. All legal requirements are met and financial management is good. 4 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 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? 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

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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 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?

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. 6 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 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? 7 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 February 2007 Dear Children, Chapel Street Nursery School, Russell Street, Luton, LU1 5EA Thank you for welcoming me to your school when I visited recently and for being so polite and friendly. I really enjoyed meeting you all and talking to you. These are the things that particularly impressed me. • You like coming to school and you have great fun working and playing together, so that you learn a great deal about how to get on with each other. • The staff make sure that your mums and dads really know a lot about how well you are getting on and what work you are doing. • The staff teach you well so that you make good progress and standards are good. • You are taught a lot of interesting and exciting things and the staff take good advantage of things such as snowy days to give you new experiences. • You learn a lot about staying safe and staying healthy and how to make healthy choices in what you eat.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your headteacher works hard and knows what to do to make your school even better. These are the things I have asked your school to do next. • The staff should help you learn even more about making things such as pictures, dances and songs. • The governors need to find out even more about the school and how to use this to make the school even better. I really enjoyed talking to you and watching you learn inside the school and in the garden. I wish you all well for the future. Yours sincerely Mrs Barnes Lead inspector 8 Inspection Report: Chapel Street Nursery School, 8 °9 February 2007

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