Netherton Park Nursery School

Netherton Park Nursery School Inspection report - amended

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103766 Unique Reference Number Dudley Local Authority 308413 Inspection number 11 September 2007 Inspection date Barbara Crane 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 °4 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 103 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mary Turner Chair Lesley Rowlands-Roberts Headteacher 12 May 2003 Date of previous school inspection Netherton Park School address Netherton Dudley DY2 9QF 01384 818255 Telephone number 01384 818258 Fax number

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3-4 Age group 11 September 2007 Inspection date 308413 Inspection number

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to factual inaccuracy

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the children’s achievement, the quality of teaching and learning and how well the leadership and management promotes improvement. Evidence was gathered from observations, discussions and assessments. Other aspects of the school’s work were not inspected 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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Description of the school

Netherton Park serves an area in which many families face some challenging circumstances. Since its previous inspection, the school has become part of Netherton Park Children's Centre. The centre offers a wide range of extended services to families, such as health services and family learning programmes. Several ethnic groups are represented amongst the children and about one fifth are learning English as an additional language. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is higher than average. There is enhanced provision that enables it to take a number of children with particular learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Some of these children attend from outside the school's normal area.

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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: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

Netherton Park Nursery provides a good start for children's education and is a vibrant and caring place in which children grow in confidence. It is easy to see why parents are so pleased with what the nursery provides and why children come into each session smiling. Parents' comments such as, 'Everyone is friendly and helpful' and, 'My child is comfortable with the staff and has made good friends', give a flavour of why children blossom. The staff know children and their families very well and use their knowledge to create a supportive atmosphere in which children feel secure. Parents say that they appreciate the lengths to which the staff go to help children settle in and to work with them to overcome any problems. This is evident at the start of each session, when adults greet children warmly and quickly engage them in conversations about things that interest them. The nursery works in close partnership with

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Grade: 2

families, as well as with a wealth of agencies, such as health services. Consequently, there is very effective support for vulnerable groups of children, such as those who are learning English, are looked after or have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Good teaching and excellent relationships underpin children's success. Although starting with skill levels which are lower than expected for their age, children make good progress during their time at Netherton Park. Their good achievement means that, by the time they leave, most children broadly meet the expectations for their age in all areas of learning and are well prepared for the next stage of their education. The consistent approach in promoting children's personal, social and emotional development leads to children's very rapid progress in this area of learning. Their excellent behaviour and relationships mean that they enjoy sharing their learning together

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Grade: 2

and make the nursery a harmonious community. Staff are sensitive to the needs of children who are learning English, and bi-lingual support very effectively promotes their inclusion. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make rapid progress towards their targets because of expert teaching. Adults are good at noticing how different children prefer to learn. They use what they gain from these observations to plan plenty of lively, practical and creative activities in the curriculum that engage children's interest, promote their language, literacy and mathematical skills and encourage them to explore the world around them. Artists and musicians work directly with children to foster their imagination and creative ideas and enrich children's experiences. For example, a group working with a musician were delighted to find that different sounds could be created in the outdoor area with objects that they had found and went on to play these

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Grade: 2

spontaneously together. Children are mindful of what they have learned about keeping safe, personal hygiene and respecting others' space. They enjoy healthy snacks and drink plenty of water. There is a good balance between times when children can choose what they do and when they sit together with an adult to learn as a group. Children make the most of learning actively in the fresh air in outdoor activities. Carefully chosen resources promote excitement and independence in learning, with plenty of natural materials to explore and excite children's curiosity. The provision of protective clothing ensures that they are able to do this no matter what the weather. The quality of the staff's reflection, on a daily basis, shows how well they understand what children have learned during each session. Staff grasp opportunities at these times to pinpoint how they can use what they have observed to help children to develop and learn from each

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Grade: 2

other. This supports children's personal development very well. Observations and assessments of how well children are doing in other areas of learning are equally perceptive. For children 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 2007 with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, the knowledge gained from these assessments is used very well to adapt work and activities to meet their particular needs. For other children, assessments are occasionally not as well used to adapt the planning for activities that children choose for themselves or which adults direct. This means that children who can learn faster do not always get exactly what they need to speed up their progress. There are times when questioning by adults does not encourage children to think more deeply and talk about what they have learned, and this limits their rate of progress in learning. Good leadership and management ensure that there is a clear sense of purpose and that the

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Grade: 2

professional development of staff is well planned. The staff enjoy their work and are united in their desire to do their best for children. The school's success in making use of extended provision, such as courses for parents in cooking healthy food, is reflected in the positive feedback from parents who have attended. These clearly indicate that parents see the difference that the family learning programmes have made to their families' well-being. The headteacher's principled and energetic leadership has provided a steady steer during a time of change. Parents praise the seamless way in which staff have integrated the provision. The school knows where its strengths and weaknesses lie because of good checks on what is happening. Good capacity to improve further is demonstrated through a good track record of achieving the targets set for improvement. Children's slightly slower progress was identified

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Grade: 2

last year as an area for improvement and swift action has meant that this has been remedied. Checks on initiatives to improve the quality of conversations between adults and children and to tighten up the use of assessments to match work to individual children's needs show good progress on most fronts, although more still needs to be done to ensure consistency in these respects.

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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

■ Make more effective use of assessments to adapt activities and teaching for children's different rates of learning, particularly for those who learn faster. ■ Ensure that adults consistently use questions that help children to think and speak about what they are doing. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 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: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 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 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 1 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: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 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: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 September 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Netherton Park Nursery School, Dudley DY2 9QF Thank you for being so welcoming and helping me to find out what makes your nursery such a good place for you. I can see why your parents are glad that you go there. I was pleased to see you smiling when you came into the nursery, and that you really enjoy being with your friends and the grown-ups. You are doing well at working and playing. You all get on so well together and so the nursery is a happy place. I'm glad that you know all about keeping safe and how important it is to eat the healthy snacks and drink plenty of water. The grown-ups enjoy their work and are very kind. They teach you well and look after you. I'm pleased that you get a bit of extra help when you need it. You have lots of exciting things to do every day. I saw you having great fun in the outdoor area. You are very good at building, climbing and making up games together!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The grown-ups are working hard to give you the best start in life and they make sure that the nursery is improving all the time. I've asked them to do two things to help you do even better. Firstly, to make sure that those of you who can learn a bit faster than others get lots of chances to do so. I have also asked them to make sure that you get even more chances to talk about all the exciting things that you do. I'm sure you will enjoy this, because you have a lot to say. Thank you again for helping me with my work. Your nursery is giving you a good start. Keep on enjoying learning and you will have bright futures. Yours sincerely Barbara Crane Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Netherton Park Nursery School, 11 September 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Netherton Park Nursery School, Dudley DY2 9QF

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Annex B

Thank you for being so welcoming and helping me to find out what makes your nursery such a good place for you. I can see why your parents are glad that you go there.

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Annex B

I was pleased to see you smiling when you came into the nursery, and that you really enjoy being with your friends and the grown-ups. You are doing well at working and playing. You all get on so well together and so the nursery is a happy place. I’m glad that you know all about keeping safe and how important it is to eat the healthy snacks and drink plenty of water.

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Annex B

The grown-ups enjoy their work and are very kind. They teach you well and look after you. I’m pleased that you get a bit of extra help when you need it. You have lots of exciting things to do every day. I saw you having great fun in the outdoor area. You are very good at building, climbing and making up games together!

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Annex B

The grown-ups are working hard to give you the best start in life and they make sure that the nursery is improving all the time. I’ve asked them to do two things to help you do even better. Firstly, to make sure that those of you who can learn a bit faster than others get lots of chances to do so. I have also asked them to make sure that you get even more chances to talk about all the exciting things that you do. I’m sure you will enjoy this, because you have a lot to say.

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Annex B

Thank you again for helping me with my work. Your nursery is giving you a good start. Keep on enjoying learning and you will have bright futures.

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