Brunswick Nursery School

Inspection Report Brunswick Nursery School

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110596 Unique Reference Number CAMBRIDGESHIRE Local Authority 288715 Inspection number 1 °2 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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Young Street School address Nursery Type of school Cambridge Community School category Cambridgeshire CB1 2LZ 3 °4 Age range of pupils 01223 508790 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01223 508782 Fax number 79 Number on roll (school) Mrs Ysanne Austin Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Fiona Curzon Headteacher 12 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288715 1 °2 February 2007 3°4 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

Brunswick is a smaller than average school. An above average percentage of pupils speak English as an additional language but fewer are eligible for free school meals. A significant minority of the children stay in the country for less than a year while other family members visit the University, for example as part of the visiting scholar scheme. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and statements of special educational need is above average. Attainment on entry to the school varies year-on-year, due to the small size of the school and the fact that children come from a wide area around the town. The school currently caters for pupils across the full range of ability and generally children start school with abilities which are in line with expectations for this age-group. The school has recently been accredited with Health Promoting School status, a nationally accredited award for information and

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Description of the school

communication technology (ICT), Parent Partnership, Partners in learning, a Teacher Development Agency training school and has secured Investors in People status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Grade: 1

Brunswick nursery is an outstanding school. The leadership and management of the school are excellent. The head teacher has a very accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for improvement, based upon a recently developed but rigorous system of monitoring and assessment. Teachers also use this assessment information effectively when planning lessons to meet the needs of all children. The progress made by children throughout the school is outstanding overall, due to the excellent quality of the provision. Standards children attain are above those expected for their ages by the time they leave the school and their achievement is exceptionally good. Teaching is outstanding overall. It is good in nearly all respects and is exemplary in some elements, such as the development of children's independence and the teaching of children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language. However, there is scope to improve the way teachers teach

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Grade: 1

writing skills and position themselves so that they have an appropriate overview of all of the activities in a room or area. These things have been rightly identified by the headteacher as a focus for development. Teachers work hard and have good relationships with children and other staff. This sets a positive tone for the whole nursery. Behaviour and attendance are good and children are able to concentrate for extended periods of time. Parents are extremely pleased with the school. They are full of praise for the calm atmosphere and the stimulating activities, and say their children clamour to come to the nursery at weekends and are reluctant to leave at the end of the day. Information to parents is exceptionally good and the school takes proper note of their opinions. The curriculum is excellent. It covers all of the required areas of learning in suitable depth and is supplemented by an excellent range of interesting and exciting

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Grade: 1

opportunities, such as daily outdoor provision in the garden and trips outside. The care, guidance and welfare the school provides is exceptionally good overall. The provision for pupils to learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and make healthy choices is excellent. There is excellent provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There has been a good level of improvement since the previous inspection and the school has a good capacity to continue to improve, due to the determination of all involved and especially the headteacher. The school provides very good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Enable children to make even more progress in developing early writing skills.

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Grade: 1

Attainment on entry varies year-on-year, but it is broadly in line with the standards expected for children's ages. Children settle well into the nursery and make overall 2 Inspection Report: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007 excellent gains in their learning, due to the extremely good quality of the provision. Achievement is excellent in personal and social development, physical development, creative development, knowledge and understanding of the world and speaking, listening and early reading skills. It is good in mathematical development and early writing skills. Children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language achieve exceptionally well and attain the challenging targets the school sets them. However, whilst school tracking has identified that children make exceptionally good progress in some areas of learning, such as personal development, progress in developing writing skills, although good, is slightly slower. As a result, the

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Grade: 1

school has correctly decided that writing is to be a focus area for development in the forthcoming year.

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Grade: 1

Children's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. The school encourages them to make choices and to learn to take on responsibility. Children generally relate well to each other and disputes and bad feelings are rare and are dealt with speedily. Children with learning difficulties or disabilities are integrated fully in all aspects of school life. Children thoroughly enjoy being in school and attendance is good, especially considering their young age. Children have a voice in the way the school is developed through the Brunswick Think Tank and have good opportunities to become involved in the life of the community through such events as Grandparents' day. They develop a very good understanding of the need to stay safe and an excellent understanding of the value of adopting a healthy lifestyle, through such things as regular hand washing and choosing healthy food. The

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Grade: 1

high level of children's interpersonal skills and basic skills places them in a particularly firm position for the next stage in their educational career.

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching and learning is excellent overall. All adults are hard working and have good relationships with the children and with each other. Children make a good start to their school life because of the good emphasis placed on developing their personal and social skills. Assessment is regular, accurate and forms an integral part of the school day. Teachers use the knowledge gained about all children effectively when planning activities. Evaluations at the end of each day ensure that children from all groups benefit fully from the opportunities available. 3 Inspection Report: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is excellent. It provides a very clear structure for the teaching of each area of learning for young children. Planning ensures that children of all abilities have the opportunity to do 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. For example, children have the opportunity to go on a range of visits and trips, such as the summer boat trip or walks around the neighbourhood and to experience different activities such as handling exotic animals or working alongside a local artist. 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. Consequently, children develop into mature and thoughtful individuals, who enjoy learning and value the contributions of others.

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Grade: 1

Children's happiness and safety are promoted very effectively. Provision for children with learning difficulties or disabilities is extremely good. The new systems the school has developed to monitor children's academic and social progress are rigorous. Teachers set challenging targets for children in the different learning areas and ensure they all have equal access to them. The school was awarded with the local Health Promoting School accreditation. Health is promoted extremely well and children learn to make good choices, such as in relation to their diet. 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.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are excellent. The headteacher has a very clear view of the school based on her regular and astute monitoring. This information is shared openly with staff and governors and used effectively to highlight areas for improvement in the development plan. The governing body are strong supporters of the school and feel confident to question and challenge the leadership. All legal requirements are met and financial management is good. 4 Inspection Report: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 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? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 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

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 2 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 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: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 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: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

2 February 2007 Dear Children, Brunswick Nursery School, Young Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LZ 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. The things that particularly impressed me were: • You like coming to school, you behave well and work hard. • You have great fun working and playing in the garden area. • Your teachers often teach you exceptionally well so that you make extremely good progress and standards are good. • You are taught a lot of interesting and exciting things and have excellent opportunities to go on trips and visits or to learn about interesting things, such as working with an artist to make a screen for the hallway. • You learn about staying safe and are taught outstandingly well about staying healthy and making healthy choices. • Your headteacher works very hard and knows a lot about just how well each one of you is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

getting on. The thing I have asked your school to do next is to: • Help you to learn even more about writing. 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: Brunswick Nursery School, 1 °2 February 2007

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