Plym Bridge Nursery School and Day Care

Inspection Report Plymbridge Nursery School

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113052 Unique Reference Number Plymouth Local Authority 289493 Inspection number 9 November 2006 Inspection date Shirley Billington 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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Miller Way School address Nursery Type of school Estover Community School category Plymouth PL6 8UN 3 °4 Age range of pupils 01752 786444 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01752 793495 Fax number 64 Number on roll (school) Bernice Ambrose Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Lynda Chapman Headteacher 25 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 289493 9 November 2006 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The Nursery moved to new accommodation in January 2006. It is now part of a Children's Centre that provides day care for children aged 0 to 8 years. The headteacher of the Nursery is now head of the Children's Centre. A deputy centre leader was due to be appointed shortly after this inspection. Twenty eight children attend the Nursery on a full-time basis and a further 38 attend for a morning or afternoon session only. The Nursery includes a very high proportion of children with learning difficulties and disabilities, who often come from a wide area in and around the city.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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Grade: 2

'I would recommend Plymbridge Nursery for anyone', sums up the overwhelmingly positive views of parents. They are right to be confident about the experiences that their children are having. This is a good Nursery in which children thrive and achieve well. This is the result of good attention to their care and welfare, effective teaching and a well planned range of learning experiences. A particular strength of the Nursery is its strong emphasis on catering for the needs of all children. Every child is given support and encouragement so that all benefit from what is on offer. The majority of children join the Nursery with limited skills. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities are nurtured and make good progress because of very well targeted support and careful attention to their needs. Other children also achieve well, particularly in their personal and social development, aspects of their

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Grade: 2

creative development and in their physical skills. By the time children leave, attainment in these areas is broadly in line with expectations. In other areas, while progress is good, limitations in children's language skills inhibit their learning and standards overall are below expectations. Staff are aware of this and there is a focus on improving children's language in a range of activities. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to extend their speaking skills, particularly when children are working with an adult at small group time. Good leadership and management have ensured the successful establishment of the Nursery as part of a Children's Centre. Very good use is made of the new accommodation and children derive huge enjoyment as they get involved in imaginative and exciting activities. Excellent links with a range of support services who often work with individual children and their families enhance the Nursery provision. There has

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Grade: 2

been good improvement since the Nursery was last inspected. The headteacher, staff and governors are keen to improve still further. For example the staff have been enterprising in extending the use of the outdoor area to improve learning opportunities. Much of the planning for improvement tends to be informal and the Nursery does not yet systematically check on its strengths and weaknesses. For example, assessment information is not summarised to compare how well children are doing overall in different areas of learning or to check whether all groups of learners are doing equally well. This means that there is no solid information to help staff to identify which activities are particularly helpful and which need some adjustment.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Boost children's language skills by ensuring that every opportunity is used to extend their vocabulary. • Establish a systematic approach to evaluating and improving the quality of provision and checking on children's achievements. 2 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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Grade: 2

Children achieve well. They make good progress in all areas of learning and do particularly well in their personal and social development and their physical development. In creative development, many have good skills in drawing and painting and in music making. Their skills in these areas are broadly in line with expectations when they leave the Nursery. Language skills improve in line with other areas but are generally still limited for most children. As a result, they do not do as well in aspects of knowledge and understanding of the world and some areas of mathematics as they do in practical areas of learning. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities benefit from well targeted support and make good progress, albeit often in very small steps. More able children also do well and acquire a good base of skills in aspects of early literacy and numeracy.

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Grade: 2

This is a strong feature of the Nursery's work. Children thrive in the caring environment and develop a good range of skills that equip them well for the next stage in their learning. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Small group sessions encourage them to work together and to appreciate the needs of others and to learn more about the wider world. Behaviour is excellent. Many children show very good awareness of others as they manoeuvre vehicles round the outside area and are willing to take turns and share equipment. They are confident in organising activities for themselves and play their part in helping the Nursery to run smoothly by getting equipment out and tidying up at the end of a session. Many children show a remarkable capacity to maintain concentration for a lengthy period when they get involved in activities such as making models or drawing pictures. Children are developing a good

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Grade: 2

understanding of the need to keep healthy through regular physical activities and sharing fruit and milk at snack times.

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Grade: 2

Children's learning is good because they experience a good balance of activities, some of which are led by adults and some that they choose for themselves. Good use is made of resources to engage the children's interest and to support the teaching of key skills. Staff are well deployed to support a range of activities and to extend children's ideas. Adults are skilled at drawing children into activities by showing them what they might do and by giving them good ideas about how activities might be extended. Just occasionally, opportunities are missed to extend children's language 3 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006 skills, for example, by explaining the meanings of words in a story or extending a short contribution to a discussion into a longer sentence.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well planned to provide an exciting range of activities covering all areas of learning. Particularly good use is made of the outside area which is well resourced to stimulate active and imaginative play. Good attention is paid also to promoting children's creativity through role-play, art activities and specialist music sessions, all very much enjoyed! Visitors to school, including police and fire officers, extend children's understanding of the world of work and also stimulate role-play, as was apparent as a 'fireman' waved a small brush and climbed the stairs to the 'house' calling 'to the rescue!' Attention is paid to promoting early literacy and numeracy skills through good use of stories, discussion and focused activities but at times these are not extended as much as they might be, particularly for the older children.

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Grade: 2

All children are known well and attention to their individual needs is exceptionally thorough. Their safety and welfare is effectively promoted by a very good level of supervision and good routines to make them feel secure. Children are encouraged in a positive and constructive way to understand when their behaviour may not be appropriate and gently encouraged to co-operate in all activities and to learn to work and share with others. A very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to children's well-being. Parents get good information on their children's progress and are encouraged to support their child's learning through a well thought out programme of activities to do at home. Every effort is made to encourage parents to bring their children to Nursery regularly. The progress of individual children is tracked carefully so that their needs can be addressed. However, this information is not summarised or analysed to give an overview

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Grade: 2

of achievement over time for different groups of children or in different areas of learning. As staff have recognised, the Nursery lacks an efficient system to collate this information. Detailed individual plans are in place for children with learning difficulties and disabilities drawing on the expertise of outside agencies and involving parents in deciding on the support that will be provided.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher has a clear sense of direction and has been instrumental in the successful establishment of the Children's Centre. A wide range of services have been successfully drawn together to provide support for children and their parents and carers. Educational provision in the Nursery is effectively enhanced by the opportunity 4 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006 for children to attend a breakfast and/or a lunch club and to be cared for after the Nursery sessions finish and during holidays. The headteacher is supported well by staff and governors who are focused sharply on ensuring the best possible learning opportunities for the children. Moving to new accommodation has not stopped staff continually seeking to improve what is on offer for the children. For example, good work has gone on to improve the outside area so that it supports learning across all areas. Much of what is done is decided informally and, while improvement areas are

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Grade: 2

highlighted in the school development plan, this is still very much focused on issues related to staffing and accommodation in the Children's Centre, with limited focus on curriculum development. There is no established system for checking on the strengths and weaknesses of the Nursery's work and therefore planning for improvement cannot be based on rigorous evaluation, and checks on the impact of what has been achieved are not systematic. However, weaknesses found in the last inspection have been successfully addressed and, given what has been achieved since its establishment in new accommodation, the Nursery is well placed to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006 .

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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. 6 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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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 3 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 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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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? 8 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What a lovely Nursery you have and how lucky you are to be there! When we visited last week we could see how much you all enjoy the lovely things you can do in your beautiful new building. The outside area is wonderful and you learn lots when you play together out there. All the grown-ups who work with you do a good job. They help you to learn new things and take very good care of you. Some of you who are moving on to big school next term are very excited and you have learned lots that will help you when you go to your Reception classes. Your mums and dads are very pleased with everything that goes on and we can see why. There are two things that we think your Nursery needs to do now. These are: • Makes sure that you all learn lots of new and interesting words that you can use when you work and play. • Keep checking on what needs to be done to make the Nursery an even better place to be. Thank you for a lovely day. We hope you keep on enjoying your learning!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: Plymbridge Nursery School, 9 November 2006

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