Kay Rowe Nursery School

Kay Rowe Nursery School Inspection report

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102701 Unique Reference Number Newham Local Authority 308090 Inspection number 8 May 2008 Inspection date Margaret Goodchild 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 118 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Simon Williams (Acting) Chair Ms Anne Kibuuka Headteacher 22 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection Osborne Road School address Forest Gate London E7 0PH 020 8534 4403 Telephone number 020 8519 9177 Fax number

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3-5 Age group 8 May 2008 Inspection date 308090 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. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: how well children achieve, teaching and the curriculum, the use of assessment information, the role of the children's centre in supporting children and their families, and leadership and management. Evidence was gathered from children's records, teachers' planning, observations of teaching, learning and activities within the children's centre, and school documentation. 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 assessment, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

The school provides full-time places with extended provision for ten children; the rest attend part time. It serves an area that is culturally and ethnically very diverse and about half the children come from homes where English is not the first language. Many of these speak little or no English when they start school. A number of children join or leave other than at the usual times because their families are new to the country, often seeking refuge or asylum, and do not always settle in the area. There is considerable variation in what children can do when they start school but, overall, attainment is below that expected for their age. A very small number of children have been identified as having speech, communication and language difficulties or emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. Since the last inspection, the school has been designated as a children's centre and has been subject to an extensive rebuilding programme.

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Description of the school

A new headteacher took up post at the beginning of this academic year.

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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: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008

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Grade: 2

The senior leaders are accurate in judging that this is a good school. Almost all parents are highly satisfied with its work and say, for instance, that their children are happy, blossoming and relaxed. They particularly praise the 'highly stimulating, caring and well organised learning environment'. Through its designation as a children's centre, the school works very closely with a range of other agencies to provide outstanding support to local families. The wide range of valuable activities on offer, which are very popular with parents, include drop-in and toddler groups, baby massage, a toy library, family and adult learning classes, parenting sessions, health surgeries, and training for childminders. The school makes optimum use of the somewhat limited space available for this aspect of its work; expanding activities into the nearby church hall is an imaginative way of partly overcoming this restriction.

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Grade: 2

The work with families contributes to children's outstanding personal development and strengthens the exceptionally high quality pastoral care and support provided. The staff are extremely sensitive to children's personal needs and make sure that they feel valued and secure. As a result, children are enthusiastic learners who show a high level of concentration for their age. They readily become absorbed in activities, are confident and enjoy harmonious relationships with one another and with the adults who work with them. Most children behave exceptionally well and sessions are both orderly and purposeful. Children are very responsive to the emphasis placed on healthy eating and gain great enjoyment from all the physical activities in the outdoor area. Staff are skilled in encouraging children to become independent and make sure that learning builds on their emerging interests. Children cooperate well with the daily routines, yet

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Grade: 2

clearly feel very free to make choices for themselves and move between activities with ease. Children achieve well in response to good teaching and a range of interesting activities matched well to their learning needs. The spacious outdoor area offers a wide variety of practical experiences. Displays throughout the school celebrate children's learning and reflect the school's culturally diverse intake. An extensive range of outings and special events enriches children's learning. The school provides parents with helpful information about what their children will be learning and offers clear guidance about how they might contribute to their learning at home. Most parents feel that they are kept well informed, and they have regular opportunities to contribute to their children's targets. Children make good progress and, by the time they leave, standards are broadly in line with expectations for this age group. Children make outstanding progress in personal, social and

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Grade: 2

emotional development and good progress in other areas of learning. Particular emphasis is placed on speaking and listening, which benefits all children and ensures that those for whom English is an additional language make very good progress in acquiring the language. The school makes outstanding provision for children with learning difficulties, carefully identifying their needs and working very closely with other agencies to support them. Children with speaking, communication and language difficulties and emotional and behavioural difficulties therefore make exceptionally good progress. The school plans the curriculum thoroughly around a range of topics that cover the six areas of learning very well and it has begun to match learning opportunities to the needs of different groups of children. Although the most able children make good progress overall, not all sessions provide a high level of challenge for these children

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008 through adult-led activities that extend their skills in literacy, mathematical development and problem solving. The academic guidance and support provided to children is good. The progress of individual children is tracked effectively through their assessment records and regular staff discussion about their progress. This contributes to the setting of individual targets. Since the last inspection, the school has made some improvement in the way it analyses assessment information to find out how well children have achieved. Senior leaders now check annually on the progress of all the children, as well as that of girls and boys, and they have identified the need to undertake further analysis of assessment information. They do not yet check children's achievement in all areas of learning or have a system for checking the ongoing progress of all

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Grade: 2

the children or particular groups, for instance, to identify emerging gaps in learning or areas where some or all children are doing particularly well. The school is led and managed well. It is very well resourced and the headteacher ensures that there is a strong shared vision and commitment to improvement. Self-evaluation is accurate and senior leaders are clear about what is working well and what needs to be developed further. Parents' views are taken into account, and action planning is thorough and systematic. Responsibilities are clearly delegated, staff have very good opportunities to extend their skills through training and the headteacher is supported effectively by other staff with management roles. The school has recently spent time considering what constitutes outstanding teaching. The headteacher regularly monitors teaching and learning informally and there has been some recent detailed observation but there is not enough formal monitoring to ensure that teaching

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Grade: 2

and record keeping are of consistently high quality. Governors ensure that statutory requirements are met and are they are becoming increasingly involved in evaluating the school's work. Since the last inspection, the school has made good improvement overall, particularly as a result of the increase in services provided to parents through the school's designation as a children's centre, and it is well placed to improve further.

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Grade: 2

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

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Extend the analysis of assessment information to all areas of learning and ensure that teachers check regularly how well all children and different groups are progressing to inform planning. ■ Develop leaders' skills in monitoring and evaluating teaching to ensure consistency throughout the school, especially in the challenge provided for the most able children. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008 .

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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: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008

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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 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 3 The attendance of learners 1 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: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008

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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: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 May 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Kay Rowe Nursery School,London,E7 0PH Thank you for making me feel welcome when I visited your school. I really enjoyed my visit, seeing you learning and having fun in the outdoor area and playing so well together. Now I am writing to tell you what I found out about your school. I can understand why so many of your parents wrote to say that they are pleased with the school's work because Kay Rowe is a good school. These are some of the best things about it:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ all the activities in the children's centre provide fantastic support to your families and to other parents who live in the area and have young children and babies ■ the staff care for you extremely well and make sure that you are happy and have help whenever you need it ■ they support those of you with communication or behavioural difficulties really well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ they make sure you have a plenty of chances to speak and listen, which helps all of you and especially those of you who are learning English ■ you really enjoy all the activities and behave very well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you are making good progress in learning to do new things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school is led and managed well and the headteacher and other staff want to make it even better. I have asked them to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ check very carefully now much progress you are making in all the areas of learning

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ look really closely at teaching and make sure that those of you who learn quickly always have things to do in literacy and mathematical development that build on what you already know. Keep enjoying your time at the school and having fun. Yours Sincerely Ms M J Goodchild Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Kay Rowe Nursery School, 8 May 2008

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