Abbey Wood Nursery School

Abbey Wood Nursery School Inspection report

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100099 Unique Reference Number Greenwich Local Authority 307293 Inspection number 12 November 2007 Inspection date Gulshanbir Kayembe 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 3 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 110 School The local authority Appropriate authority Mrs Jenny Ramsook Headteacher 14 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection Dahlia Road School address London SE2 0SX 020 8311 0619 Telephone number 020 8312 0319 Fax number

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3-5 Age group 12 November 2007 Inspection date 307293 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. This inspection evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the extent to which the school has improved the children's progress and standards in writing; how well the school checks the quality of teaching and uses these checks to improve teaching and its impact on different groups of children; how well the school uses assessment to help guide and support children's learning. Evidence was gathered from observing lessons and children during lunch; talking to children and staff; checking the school's record of lesson observations and assessment and pupil progress records, and analysing the results of questionnaires returned by parents. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspection found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were

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Introduction

not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This school is now a Children's Centre and is situated in an area of considerable deprivation. It offers part-time and full-time places. Attainment on entry is below average and is especially low in aspects of literacy and numeracy. A relatively high proportion of children have learning difficulties or disabilities including three who have a statement of special educational need. The ethnic diversity of the children has been increasing since the last inspection and nearly half now come from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds. About a third speak English as an additional language.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 2007

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Grade: 2

Abbey Wood Nursery is a good school. Children get a good start to their education becoming confident learners. They enjoy school and participate with enthusiasm and pleasure in the wide range of activities available as illustrated by this comment from a parent 'My daughter always looks forward to going to school.' Good teaching and a good curriculum enable children to achieve well and to attain skills and understanding that are in line with national expectations by the time they leave. High expectations and thorough preparation of resources are key features of teaching that contribute to good progress. Staff use language with care, providing good examples of speaking and listening for children to copy. Interesting questions encourage children to talk. However, follow up questions are not always asked, especially of more able children, hence missing opportunities for stimulating greater thought. Planning is thorough

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Grade: 2

although the desired outcomes for learners are not always precise enough. Hence, opportunities are occasionally missed to focus sharply enough on a particular learning point. Children's work is well assessed and assessment used to identify their next steps in learning. Progress is particularly good in mathematical development. Skills such as counting are well developed because mathematical work is effectively integrated into daily activities. Children also make good progress in aspects of literacy because there are good opportunities for speaking and listening and developing early writing skills. However, because many children begin with standards that are very low in aspects related to early reading, attainment in this remains lower. Lack of sufficient focused opportunities to develop knowledge of letters and letter sounds has also not helped. The school has recently adjusted its curriculum to include more work in this

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Grade: 2

area. However, this has yet to be fully incorporated into daily activities. Good provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities means they make good progress. The school has responded well to the increasing numbers of children learning English as an additional language. Staff make good use of visual materials to support communication. The practical nature of the curriculum goes a long way towards providing learning opportunities for children with little or no English. As a result, they rapidly learn English. There are not enough opportunities for challenging and extending able children through daily activities and interactions with adults. The school is developing ways of supporting and extending these children and knows it has more to do. The curriculum is rich in opportunities for supporting children's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness, which is good overall. Children's social and

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Grade: 2

moral development is particularly strong and there are moments when children are awed by what they experience. Children happily work and play with those different from themselves showing growing awareness of different languages. However, their learning about other cultures is not as secure. The school has yet to take full advantage of the cultural diversity amongst its parents and children to promote more hands-on learning about one another's traditions. Staff take every opportunity to promote social skills. As a result, children quickly learn to take turns and are polite and kind to one another. Lunch for the full time children affords a good opportunity to practise social skills at the dinner table and learning about healthy eating. Overall, children adopt healthy lifestyles outstandingly well. They are now used to bringing fruit to share with other's on their birthdays instead of sweets. They love being outside and

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Grade: 2

revel in the physical activities available. The school has just become a Forest School enabling children to explore the natural world through a range of activities in a forest environment. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 2007 Children have a good understanding of their own and other's safety and use equipment, small or large, with care. They make a good contribution to the school community by helping to tidy up and serve lunch. Attendance is regular and behaviour good. Given the good progress children make in their learning and personal development, they are well prepared for the next stage in education. The school provides strong pastoral care and support so that children are well looked after and cared for, and feel safe. Excellent links with external agencies ensures good support for vulnerable children. Good links with local schools means smooth transition from nursery to

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Grade: 2

primary. A good partnership with parents ensures they are very positive about the school. Support for academic development is good. Staff work with individual children to review their personal profile, a folder of work including photographs, discussing with them the next steps they need to take to improve. The success of the school is the result of good leadership and management. The headteacher provides a clear direction for development. The school is focusing on the right priorities for improvement reflecting its thorough approach to self-evaluation. This coupled with good improvement since the last inspection point to good capacity for further improvement. Regular checking of teaching and planning provides the school with useful information to feed into school improvement plans. The headteacher is well supported by her deputy. Other members of the senior management team are relatively new. Their roles are developing well though they

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Grade: 2

are not yet sufficiently involved in checking the quality of teaching in their areas. Governors provide good oversight of the school's work and have a positive impact on its work.

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Grade: 2

As a nursery school, the Foundation Stage is completely covered by the Overall Effectiveness section.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise attainment in literacy by enabling children to develop a more secure grasp of letters and letter sounds. ■ Develop the provision for able children so that they are extended and challenged through their everyday activities and interactions with adults. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

22 November 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Abbey Wood Nursery School,London,SE2 0SX I enjoyed my time at your nursery, especially talking to you and watching you work. Like you, I found the outside area very interesting. I would like to thank you for making me feel so welcome, especially when I had lunch with some of you. The nursery provides you with a good start to your education. Some of the best things about the nursery include the following:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are given lots of interesting activities to do which help you to learn and get better at doing things by yourselves. ■ You enjoy your time at the nursery and get on well with one another.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The nursery provides you with a good start to your education and, by the time you leave, you have learned a lot. ■ You are exceptionally good about eating food that is good for you and taking lots of exercise.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Staff take good care of you and help you with your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher is good at her job and makes sure that staff work together as a team to help you learn. There are very few things that need to be improved. These are:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Having more opportunities to learn letters and letter sounds.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Making sure that those of you who are quicker learners get work that is a bit harder.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

It was very nice to meet you and talk with you. I wish you well for the future. Gulshan Kayembe Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Abbey Wood Nursery School, 12 November 2007

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