Rowley View Nursery School

Rowley View Nursery School Inspection report

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104136 Unique Reference Number Walsall Local Authority 308522 Inspection number 18 October 2007 Inspection date Bogusia Matusiak-Varley 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 33 School The governing body Appropriate authority Vacant Position Chair Jeanette Smith Headteacher 8 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection 149 Dangerfield Lane School address Wednesbury WS10 7RU 01215 688168 Telephone number 01215 688168 Fax number

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3-4 Age group 18 October 2007 Inspection date 308522 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 lead inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the Nursery and investigated the following issues: progress made since the previous inspection in developing children’s language skills, the standards attained and children’s achievement in relation to their starting points. The children’s personal development and the impact of the quality of the Nursery’s provision on preparing children for the next stages of their education were also evaluated. As the Nursery is an integral part of the Darlaston’s Children Centre, the lead inspector evaluated the links with parents and other agencies. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations and discussion with the headteacher, staff, chair of governors, extended school coordinator and family workers. A range of documentation such as teachers’ planning, assessment folders used to track children’s progress and children’s work

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Introduction

was also analysed. Other aspects of the Nursery’s work were not investigated in detail. The lead inspector found no evidence to suggest that the Nursery’s own assessments, 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 Nursery caters for the full-time equivalent of 80 children. It offers many extra services to the families of Darlaston as it is closely affiliated to the local Sure Start Centre. The Nursery serves an area of socio-economic hardship. On entry, many children struggle with communication, language and literacy and their skills are well below those of children of a similar age. A very small percentage of children have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The vast majority of children are of White British heritage and about a quarter of children are of Indian and Pakistani origin. These children are supported through specific funding as they are at the early stages of learning English. During the inspection, there was an acting headteacher in place due to the secondment of the headteacher to the local authority.

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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: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 October 2007

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Grade: 1

The Nursery is a very valuable asset to the community of Darlaston as it provides an outstanding quality of education. One parent speaking for many said, 'The only thing that is wrong with this Nursery is that it is not open 24 hours a day.' Its exemplary work with parents provides them with good opportunities to enter the world of work. Under the outstanding leadership and management of the headteacher, senior staff and governors, children achieve exceptionally well in all areas of learning and attain the levels expected in all areas other than communication, language and literacy and mathematical development, where standards are below those expected of children of a similar age. Whilst all groups of children, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language, make very rapid progress, there are, nevertheless, the rare occasions when more capable children could be doing more in developing their writing

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Grade: 1

and counting skills. So what is it that contributes to the many successes of this Nursery? There is no one single factor. It is a combination of excellent leadership and management, outstanding teaching and learning, and very well planned learning opportunities, incorporating outstanding provision for children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Furthermore, a strong focus on healthy eating, feeling safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution to the community and being very well prepared for the next stage of education all make the Nursery a centre of excellence. Above all, children are extremely well cared for and happy, partly attributable to rigorous safeguarding procedures, regular child protection training for staff and a good emphasis on health and safety. Children are very well known to staff as individuals because of the very good assessments that are undertaken. Staff plan exceptionally exciting learning opportunities that encourage children

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Grade: 1

to talk at great lengths about their learning. 'Why do leaves fall to the ground?' or 'Why do smooth conkers come out of spiky green shells?' are just some of the questions that fuel children's interest levels. Plenty of highly creative opportunities are provided for children to participate in the role play. Children pretend that they are rock stars, botanists, artists, fire-fighters, doctors, dancers and teachers, to name but a few. There is a buzz of excitement in undertaking new challenges. Children finding pebbles, pretending that they are dinosaurs' eggs and then looking in books to check where dinosaurs came from, is a good example of the creative features of the learning opportunities provided. When parents were asked by staff as to what they expected from the Nursery, one parent wrote 'We want our children to grow up in healthy and happy surroundings in an environment that gives them love, care and support to help them develop the confidence and courage to be the

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Grade: 1

people they want to be.' The Nursery exceeds parental wishes. Children feel secure, they are very well cared for and make rapid gains in learning because staff do everything they can to see the world through the eyes of a child. The excellent teaching at Rowley View is characterised by exceptional knowledge of child development, zero tolerance of failure and outstanding relationships. Staff are very patient, encourage the children all of the time and give good guidance on how to answer questions properly. As a result, children show very high levels of independence, behave exceptionally well and are developing very secure lifelong learning skills. Unfortunately, the attendance of some children is not as good as it could be. The very good 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 October 2007 links with a range of agencies, including health and social services and Sure Start, ensure that

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Grade: 1

parents are made aware of the importance of sending their children to the Nursery on a regular basis. Children are fully aware of what constitutes healthy eating; even parents say that they get told off when they cook chips. Children follow secure routines, they wash their hands before handling food and know not to speak to strangers. They work and play together, solving problems and taking turns. This prepares them very well for 'big school'. A very strong sense of community permeates the Nursery, no one is left out and everyone is made to feel special. Children celebrate many festivals such as harvest, Eid, Easter and Christmas. They sample and cook many different types of food and listen to a range of multicultural stories. This contributes significantly to community cohesion. The Nursery has a very good capacity for improvement, as shown in the maintaining of high quality provision since the previous inspection report. Successful changes have been made to

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Grade: 1

daily routines which now have a significant impact on the children's language development. The school development plan has insufficient focus on academic outcomes and how the proposed areas for improvement and monies spent will impact on academic and personal standards for children. This area for improvement has already been identified by the governing body.

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Grade: 1

As the school only has children aged 3 to 4 there is no requirement to complete this section. The report covers, in full, the Foundation Stage

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide the minority of more capable children with more opportunities to record their work to develop their writing and counting skills. ■ Work with parents at improving children's attendance.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the school development plan so that it clearly identifies how development priorities will improve the children's education. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 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: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 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 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: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 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: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I enjoyed myself very much and I think that your Nursery is fantastic. I am particularly delighted with they way in which you remind your parents about healthy eating and how you all make healthy choices during snack time. It was lovely to see so many of your parents learning with you. I am sure that you tell them what to do because you know the Nursery routines so well. I think that your teachers guide you exceptionally well which is why you make such very good progress. Your headteacher and governing body do an outstanding job in providing you with so many exciting learning opportunities. Your behaviour is very good and you really enjoy your time at Nursery. You have outstanding attitudes to learning and you are so kind to one another. I watched the way in which you took turns to be pop singers; what good musicians you are! I have asked your headteacher to offer some more opportunities to those of you who find

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

learning easy to practise your writing and counting skills. I have also asked the headteacher and the governing body to look closely at what you are learning when they buy you new toys and equipment. You can help make this Nursery an even better place by asking your parents to bring you more regularly. This will help you with your learning. I hope that the rest of your learning experiences are as wonderful as the ones you have at Rowley View Nursery. Continue to love learning! 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Rowley View Nursery School, 18 October 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Rowley View Nursery School, Wednesbury WS10 7RU

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Annex B

Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I enjoyed myself very much and I think that your Nursery is fantastic. I am particularly delighted with they way in which you remind your parents about healthy eating and how you all make healthy choices during snack time.

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Annex B

It was lovely to see so many of your parents learning with you. I am sure that you tell them what to do because you know the Nursery routines so well. I think that your teachers guide you exceptionally well which is why you make such very good progress. Your headteacher and governing body do an outstanding job in providing you with so many exciting learning opportunities. Your behaviour is very good and you really enjoy your time at Nursery. You have outstanding attitudes to learning and you are so kind to one another. I watched the way in which you took turns to be pop singers; what good musicians you are!

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Annex B

I have asked your headteacher to offer some more opportunities to those of you who find learning easy to practise your writing and counting skills. I have also asked the headteacher and the governing body to look closely at what you are learning when they buy you new toys and equipment. You can help make this Nursery an even better place by asking your parents to bring you more regularly. This will help you with your learning.

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Annex B

I hope that the rest of your learning experiences are as wonderful as the ones you have at Rowley View Nursery. Continue to love learning!

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