Greenfields Nursery School and Children's Centre

Greenfields Children's Centre Inspection report

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101862 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 307830 Inspection number 1 October 2007 Inspection date Sue Vale 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 0 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 61 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Rita Biddulph Chair Mrs June McHugh Headteacher 15 October 2003 Date of previous school inspection Recreation Road School address Southall UB2 5PF 020 8813 8079 Telephone number 020 8571 5944 Fax number

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0-5 Age group 1 October 2007 Inspection date 307830 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

Greenfields is situated in Southall, an area of social deprivation in West London. It caters for children aged 3 months to 5 years, but for this inspection, only the children aged 3 and above were seen. Almost all of the children come from minority ethnic backgrounds and the majority are learning to speak English as an additional language. Around a quarter of children are identified as vulnerable children, with a wide range of social and emotional needs. Travellers and refugees are also increasingly attending the Nursery. There are greater than expected numbers of children identified with learning difficulties or disabilities. A new build is under way in order to merge Greenfields Nursery and children's centre with another local Nursery. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: how the school is trying to raise standards and achievement in children's communication,

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Description of the school

language and literacy skills and their mathematical development; the impact the creatively based curriculum has on the achievement and progress of the children; how well the apparently strong care, guidance and support for children helps their personal, social and emotional development. Evidence was gathered from the school's records, planning and policies, from observing teaching and learning and from discussion with staff. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included in this report.

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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: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 2007

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Grade: 1

Greenfields Nursery school and children's centre provides the children with an outstanding start to their education. Parents have high praise for the Nursery, typically commenting that it really helps their children to progress in their learning. 'Our daughter has made phenomenal progress since attending... she has become independent and has learnt to interact with the other children well.' Although significant building work is underway and the Nursery is temporarily housed in huts, the children's education is not being adversely affected. This is because all staff and governors are working successfully and with dedication to maintain continuity for the children, whilst also bringing about improvement. This ensures that the children continue to make excellent progress in their learning and achieve very well. The majority of children at Greenfields start Nursery with skills, particularly in language, communication and thinking and in personal social and

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Grade: 1

emotional development, well below what is expected for their age. Settling quickly into their new surroundings, they make rapid progress and reach the expected standards. This is due to the outstanding commitment of the headteacher and her team to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their abilities. Excellent team teaching, combined with an outstanding creative curriculum, contributes significantly both to the children's obvious enjoyment of Nursery and to their very good achievement. The temporary facilities are used very well by the staff to provide an extremely rich and creative variety of interesting activities. This innovative and creative approach to the curriculum makes learning a constant source of pleasure, excitement and adventure. The interest that is generated encourages the children to concentrate on their activities and to persevere, and this aids their learning. The frequent observation and recording of each child's progress

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Grade: 1

provides a comprehensive record of their development. Daily evaluations by the staff of how well the children have learnt contribute to very effective planning and the progress children make, particularly in communication, language and literacy skills and mathematical development. The needs of children with learning difficulties and disabilities are carefully considered, and the support provided enables them to make very good progress from their starting points. As one mother said, 'The Nursery has really helped my child to learn'. And another commented, 'My child did not speak at home; by coming to Nursery he has learnt a lot and now speaks at home'. Children who are learning English as an additional language make excellent progress because they are supported very well. Several examples of very good role modelling of spoken English by adults, such as when playing golf or in the home corner and clinic, help children to make

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Grade: 1

rapid progress in developing their spoken language. Links with outside agencies and the community are excellent and successfully promote the children's well-being. Outstanding care, guidance and support contribute significantly to the children's excellent personal development. Many children start Nursery with well below expectations in their personal development. A number are not toilet trained, lack confidence and are immature for their age. There are increasing numbers of vulnerable children attending who need extra support and care. They make rapid progress in their personal, social and emotional development because the staff understand the needs of young children and give high priority to helping them to develop confidence, independence and self-esteem. This process begins even before the children start at Nursery. A caring induction process, including home visits, enables them to settle quickly

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 2007 and happily. This strong care and support continues throughout the children's time in the Nursery. Relationships between the staff and children and parents are excellent. The Nursery encourages parents to be involved in their children's learning, and is working on extending this involvement further. Bilingual adults help children to understand and to settle quickly by explaining what is expected of them in their first languages. Children trust the adults at Nursery and this gives them the confidence to try new things and to ask questions and share ideas. Many visits and special events contribute to the children's excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. A recent visit to the museum of childhood encouraged the children's developing sense of creativity and allowed them to experience working collaboratively together

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Grade: 1

on a large scale project. This has inspired parents, children and teachers. The children take responsibility well for registering their attendance as they arrive at school and for tidying away equipment at the end of sessions. These skills, combined with their increasing skills in spoken English and information and communication technology, prepare them well for the next stage of their education. Most children have good attendance at Nursery. The majority of children behave well and the staff are skilled in managing the few children whose behaviour is sometimes challenging. Through daily opportunities to eat healthily and learn about healthy foods, the children gain good knowledge of healthy lifestyles. Leadership by the headteacher is outstanding. It is her vision and belief in putting the children at the centre of all that the nursery does that enables the children to make such rapid progress. She is ably supported by an excellent team of staff.Governors fulfil their roles well and are

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Grade: 1

proactive in working with the head teacher and staff to evaluate the Nursery's strengths and to plan the merger of the two nurseries and the new build. The Nursery has an outstanding capacity to continue to improve as it moves towards this new period of its development.

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Grade: 1

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

■ Build on the firm start already made as a children's centre, particularly by encouraging the full involvement of all children's families and the community, as the new building and merger are completed. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 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: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 1 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 October 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Greenfields Children's Centre,Southall,UB2 5PF I really enjoyed my visit to your Nursery. I think that you go to an outstanding Nursery and your mums, dads and carers think so too. The grown-ups in Nursery give you many interesting things to do. I could see how much you were enjoying sticking things and playing golf! These are the things I like most about Greenfields Nursery School:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you do well in your learning, and especially in things that help you to grow up, like sharing, taking turns and tidying away what you have been playing with ■ you really enjoy coming to your Nursery because the grown-ups teach you well and make sure that there are lots of exciting things to do and learn ■ all the creative activities which you do really support your learning and help you to become independent ■ everybody takes great care of you and this helps you to feel safe and to learn well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you eat fruit at Nursery and get lots of exercise when you play outside, and this helps to keep you healthy ■ all of the grown-ups in school work very well together to keep making your Nursery even better. What I have asked your head teacher to think about:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ how to involve your families and the community even more when your new Nursery building is built and you are able to move in. I hope you carry on enjoying Nursery and trying out new activities. Best wishes Sue ValeLead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Greenfields Children's Centre, 1 October 2007

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