Lanterns Nursery School and Extended Services

Lanterns Children's Centre Inspection report

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134844 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 294181 Inspection number 20 °21 June 2007 Inspection dates Bernice Magson 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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Nursery Type of school Maintained School category 2 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 96 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Mollie White Chair Mrs Olivia Peak Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Bereweeke Road School address Winchester SO22 6AJ

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01962 860393 Telephone number 01962 863510 Fax number

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2 °5 Age group 20 °21 June 2007 Inspection dates 294181 Inspection number .

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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

This nursery school opened in October 2005. It admits most children to full or part-time education each September. Most children are from White British backgrounds. A third of children have learning difficulties and disabilities and specialist provision is provided for those with profound and multiple difficulties. Extended services are also available on the same site.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007

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Grade: 2

The Nursery is a good school, which has some outstanding features. Led by an excellent headteacher, the Nursery is successfully meeting its aim to provide a complete and continuous education for each child. A cohesive staff team ensure that children of different backgrounds and with different needs are fully included in all school activities. The provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities is excellent. The very strong links with other agencies in the Children's Centre enable children and their parents to benefit from early support, which extends very well into their nursery education. Parents are very happy with all the school has to offer. As one parent commented, 'Lanterns is a wonderfully, encouraging place, where the staff teach, guide and support children exceptionally well.' Other parents strongly agreed. Children achieve well, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities. Although there

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Grade: 2

is a very wide spread of abilities on entry, many children reach expected goals for their age by the time they leave the Nursery. For those with complex learning needs, good progress is achieved in small, meaningful steps. The learning is good, because teachers plan well, based on careful tracking of children's daily progress. However, teachers' expectations vary and some inconsistencies exist. Key workers make a valuable contribution to the teaching, interacting well with individuals and role-modelling learning experiences skilfully. By the time children leave the Nursery, they have good language skills and express their needs and ideas confidently. Children's mathematical development is less rapid, because learning tasks are not challenging enough. The personal development of children is excellent, because of the outstanding levels of care, guidance and support provided by all staff. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

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Grade: 2

is good. Children enjoy all the school has to offer and attend well. The good curriculum is enhanced by excellent resources, both indoors and out. Children access equipment safely and make choices wisely. Although links are planned across the curriculum, opportunities are sometimes missed, such as in the development of number concepts in other subjects. Leadership and management are excellent. The headteacher, her deputy and senior managers have managed the amalgamation and opening of the school extremely well. In conjunction with a new governing body, the school's vision and aims have been agreed and systems introduced to meet challenging targets. However, monitoring of standards and the quality of teaching and learning is just beginning and does not have enough rigour. The school has an excellent capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide a wider range of play experiences to help children have a better understanding of number. • Establish a rigorous approach to the monitoring and evaluation of standards and the quality of teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Boys and girls of all abilities achieve well and standards are average. From a very wide range of starting points on entry, most children reach their expected targets. Particularly pleasing is children's progress in language and communication skills and in their knowledge and 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007 understanding of the world. This is because of the high priority given to these areas of learning. Less rapid is children's mathematical development and, a third of children are not reaching expected goals for their age. The school is beginning to track children's progress over time and they have identified this weakness. They recognise that there are too few opportunities for children to apply their understanding of number. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve as well as their peers, because of additional support, which is excellent in

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Grade: 2

meeting their needs. More able children are identified and supported in group activities which challenge them in greater depth.

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Grade: 1

The personal development and well-being of children is excellent. Children greatly enjoy school and their attendance is good. Their behaviour is outstanding, because they understand school rules and are eager to please. Their moral and social understanding is excellent. Children enjoy receiving praise and have excellent relationships with all adults. Most children play independently or in very small groups. However, they show very good empathy towards others and share toys willingly. Children have an excellent understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They choose nutritious snacks and enjoy exercise in the soft play area and outdoors. Children are inquisitive about the world around them and are beginning to understand the world beyond their immediate surroundings. They have supported local and national charities. Through role-play and in practical situations they are developing excellent basic skills, which are

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Grade: 1

appropriate to their future education and in the development of their economic awareness.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall, and in some lessons is outstanding. Some monitoring of teaching and learning has taken place, although no planned programme is yet established. As a result, some inconsistencies in teacher expectations are recently identified and, in some satisfactory lessons, a few children are not challenged enough. All teachers have good knowledge of how young children learn, including those with complex learning needs. In the best lessons, activities are exciting, and skilful questioning extends learning very well. Key workers give valuable support in all activities and track the daily progress of individuals thoroughly. Their cooperative play with children is extremely good. In these activities adults teach social skills effectively and help children learn appropriate actions in practical situations. For example, children learnt how to run a race and how to respond if another child was the

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Grade: 2

winner. All children are encouraged to be independent. Their needs are assessed very carefully and additional support introduced unobtrusively, as required.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. A vibrant and very well-resourced learning environment engages and excites the children. The curriculum is planned thoroughly to cover all areas of learning, both for provision indoors and out. It includes a good balance between independent play and directed teaching. In some activities children are grouped according to their ability and are challenged more robustly, such as in story-time. Some links are made across the curriculum, although there 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007 are limited opportunities for children to practise number skills. In one good story session about 'The Billy Goat's Gruff' a good link was made to science. Children learnt how to build a bridge with supports, so that the goats had access to the other side of the river. For children with complex learning difficulties and disabilities, the curriculum is planned very carefully to meet

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Grade: 2

the targets of their individual education plans. Activities, such as the 'Hello group,' encourage these children to work with others and take turns.

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Grade: 1

Care, support and guidance are excellent. Parents are happy that their children enjoy the Nursery and feel safe and secure. They appreciate the 'caring, nurturing environment, which surrounds each child,' especially the parents of children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Provision for these children is excellent. Extended services and outreach support is outstanding in helping children and their families, both in the community and in other schools. Close links with other agencies ensure specialist help is available, when required. Procedures are in place to ensure effective risk assessment, health and safety, first aid and child protection. Assessment systems are developing satisfactorily and senior managers are beginning to identify strengths and weaknesses in the school's performance. However, as comparative data is not yet available, they are unable to identify trends in performance. Regular meetings take place with parents.

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Grade: 1

However, the school is to address the concerns of a small number of parents who would like more information about their child's progress.

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Grade: 1

The leadership of the headteacher, senior managers and governors is excellent. As a newly established team, they have created a caring and nurturing ethos, which is promoted very well by all staff. Management systems are securely in place and roles and responsibilities clearly understood. Financial management is excellent. Already the school is reviewing what it has achieved and has introduced challenging targets to improve its provision. The 'Change Team,' for example, have reviewed outdoor facilities and introduced measures to make better use of space. Some monitoring has taken place, but lacks sufficient rigour, especially in monitoring standards and the quality of teaching and learning. Governors have close links with the school, give excellent support and are closely involved in school developments. They fulfil all statutory responsibilities. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 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 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA 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 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 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 July 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Lanterns Children's Centre,Winchester,SO22 6AJ Thank you for making me so welcome when I visited your school recently. I enjoyed finding out about all the interesting things you are doing. I think that the garden is superb and I can see that you have lots of exciting play activities. I think that your school is good. What I really liked about your school is: • you enjoy school very much and work hard in all activities • the grown-ups give you lots of exciting and interesting things to do • you are very good at all times • the grown-ups take very good care of you • your parents and carers are very pleased that you come to this nursery. I have now asked the headteacher and governors to find more ways for you to practise counting and playing number games. Also, they need to make sure that their records show how well the teachers and children are all doing. I wish you well for the future.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Bernice Magson Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Lanterns Children's Centre, 20 °21 June 2007

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