Warwick Nursery School

Inspection Report Warwick Nursery School

p.1

125490 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire LEA 293280 Inspection number 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 Inspection dates Jacqueline Ikin AI Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Coventry Road School address Nursery Type of school Warwick Maintained School category Warwickshire CV34 4LJ 3 to 4 Age range of pupils 01926 492701 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01926 402264 Fax number 69 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Headteacher 26 March 2001 Date of previous inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293280 17 May 2006 - 3 to 4 17 May 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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 two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

Warwick Nursery School provides nursery education for three to four year olds. Most attend on a part-time basis and spend between three and five terms at the nursery. A small number have a full-time place. Most children come from White British backgrounds. A small number are from minority ethnic groups and five speak English as an additional language. An above average number have learning difficulties and disabilities. The nursery has extended its provision over the last two years to provide family support and parent education. This is part of its plans for transition into a Children’s Centre in 2008.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

p.3

Grade: 3

This is a sound nursery which gives satisfactory value for money. The school is a caring community and pupils’ personal development and well-being are strengths. Teaching, learning and assessment are satisfactory but not enough use is made of assessment to plan precisely for children’s different needs, and this restricts some children’s progress. The curriculum is satisfactory and good use is made of visits to places of interest to help children learn. There is good provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities and they achieve well in relation to their starting points. There is satisfactory provision to help children who speak English as an additional language to make progress. The quality of care and guidance is good. The school works well with outside agencies to promote children’s well-being and the work of the new family service unit makes a significant contribution to this.

p.4

Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory and the headteacher has done well to extend the school’s provision and support for families. However, her role as a full-time class teacher limits the time that she has for management. As a result, monitoring and evaluation are not as rigorous as they should be. Although the school’s view of its effectiveness is more favourable than the findings of the inspection, it is not complacent and has a realistic view of where it needs to improve. The school made sound progress since the last inspection and its capacity for further improvement is satisfactory.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

•Improve the rigour of procedures for monitoring and evaluating the school’s work to improve standards and achievement. •Improve the effectiveness of teaching by developing greater rigour in assessment and its use to plan for the different needs of the children.

p.4

Grade: 3

Attainment on entry to the nursery is broadly average. The children make satisfactory progress from these starting points and their achievement is satisfactory overall. Boys and girls do equally well and most reach the standards expected for their age in communication, language and literacy, mathematics, creative development, knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development. The personal and social skills of many children are below average when they first start school. Achievement in this aspect of learning is good. Standards are average by the time they leave the nursery. Parents confirm this, saying that their children are often very shy and reticent at first, but that they leave confident and self-assured. The children with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve well. The achievement of children who speak English as an additional language is satisfactory. 2 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

p.4

Grade: 2

Children’s personal development is good. The children grow in confidence, enjoy school and happily engage in the activities provided. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. A wide range of opportunities is provided for children to appreciate the wonders of nature, for example, by growing vegetables in the school’s allotment. The good relationships that the children have with all the adults who work with them make a significant contribution to their good standards of behaviour and developing understanding of right and wrong. The children learn to work well together as a result of the good encouragement they receive to share equipment, take turns and help each other. Visits to the local community and celebrations of a wide range of festivals, including Christmas and the Chinese New Year, make an effective contribution to children’s good understanding of a range of cultural traditions. The

p.5

Grade: 2

contribution that the children make to the school community and their understanding of how to live healthily and keep themselves safe are good for their age. Children’s satisfactory achievement, together with their positive attitudes to learning, soundly prepares them for their future lives. Attendance rates are satisfactory, most absences being due to childhood ailments.

p.5

Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The children are well managed and the nursery’s high expectations of behaviour are sensitively and consistently reinforced. All the adults who work with the children participate in activities alongside the children. This makes an effective contribution to children’s enjoyment of activities and their positive approach to new learning experiences. However, the quality of the practitioners’ interaction with the children varies. It is effective when practitioners pick up on the children’s different interests, build on what they already know and extend their understanding through skilful questioning. A good example, seen in the sensory area during the inspection, resulted in the children learning the names of different colours and about how shadows could be made. Weaknesses occur when the same questions are used for all children and tasks are not challenging enough. Planning is satisfactory

p.5

Grade: 3

but the description of what children are expected to learn is not always as precise as it should be and insufficient use is made of assessment information to plan for children’s different learning needs. Assessment is satisfactory but the programme for collecting the information about what children are learning through ongoing observations is not systematic enough. The children with learning difficulties and disabilities are given good individual support as a result of the good assessment and tracking arrangements that are in place for them. There are satisfactory arrangements to ensure that the children who speak English as an additional language can make progress. 3 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

p.5

Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and covers all the required areas of learning. It adequately meets the needs of all children, including those for whom English is an additional language. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are provided for well. Local visits are used well to make learning interesting and relevant. For example, children built upon their visit to Warwick Castle by constructing castles from many different materials, and their visit to a wood by making their own maps. Provision for personal and social development, including helping the children to understand the importance of safe and healthy lifestyles, is good. There is a well-judged balance of opportunities for children to learn through direct teaching and tasks that they choose for themselves. There is an adequate range of learning resources but they are of variable quality and the effectiveness of their use varies. Where they are set up imaginatively, for example,

p.6

Grade: 3

in the sensory area, they appeal to all children, whatever their capability, and enable them to make progress from their different starting points. However, resources are not always set up in such a way as to attract the children’s attention and to develop learning in depth. A good example, seen during the inspection, was a table set out with puzzles. It was ignored by the children for an extended period of time because the puzzles were too easy for many of the children and they were presented in an uninteresting way.

p.6

Grade: 2

The quality of care, support and guidance is good. Good procedures ensure children’s health and safety, and good attention is paid to security. Child protection procedures are thorough. There are good procedures for monitoring children’s well-being and this ensures that personal support and guidance are clearly targeted. Regular contact with parents ensures that any day-to-day issues are communicated to staff so that they can offer the appropriate support. The needs of vulnerable children and those with learning difficulties and disabilities are identified early and then carefully monitored. This results in effective support, which includes successful partnerships with outside agencies. The arrangements for target setting and monitoring children’s academic progress are satisfactory. Induction procedures into the nursery are well organised and sensitive to the children’s needs and the needs of their families. The nursery has

p.6

Grade: 2

worked hard to extend the support that it can offer to parents and its contribution to the local community through adult training. The appointment of the family service manager and the provision of a new building have made a significant contribution to this. Parents are increasingly appreciative of the nursery’s work and the good opportunities to learn about, and become involved in, their children’s education. 4 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

p.6

Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. There is a significant strength in the commitment of the headteacher to the personal development and care of children and in her good leadership of provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. The strong sense of teamwork she has developed amongst all the nursery staff has ensured satisfactory improvements since the last inspection and provides a sound basis for further improvements. The headteacher has successfully pursued her vision of extending the work of the nursery to include family support and education with great tenacity. The acquisition of funding from local charities for the recent building of a family service unit is a good example of this. She has successfully sustained standards at the school since the last inspection. The headteacher carries an increasingly heavy workload in addition to a full-time teaching commitment, and this limits the time that

p.7

Grade: 3

she has for influencing the nursery’s work. The school’s capacity for further improvement is judged satisfactory rather than good because of this. Monitoring and evaluation is adequate, although it overestimates the school’s strengths and effectiveness because systems for recording and analysing the information that is gathered are not sufficiently robust. Nevertheless, the school has a realistic view of what it needs to do to improve. The views of parents, staff and governors are regularly sought prior to finalising plans for development. Governors fulfil all statutory duties, have a strong commitment to the school and recognise that they need to improve monitoring and evaluation. The budget is soundly managed and the nursery gives satisfactory value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 .

p.7

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Warwick Nursery School, 17 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

p.8

Overall

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

p.9

learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

p.9

needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

p.9

and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

p.10

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

p.10

The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

p.10

The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

p.10

The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and watching you learn and play. We can see why you like your nursery and think that it gives you a sound start in life. What we liked about your school: •We think that your school looks after you well. •Your teachers help you to be confident and to enjoy the activities. •You behave well and learn and play well together. •You are taken on lots of interesting visits which help you to learn. •The way your parents are welcomed and involved in the school. What we think needs to be improved: •The ways in which your school checks how well it is working. •The way your teachers plan to help you do even better than you are doing now.

p.11