Redcliffe Childrens Centre and Maintained Nursery School

Redcliffe Early Years Centre Inspection report

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108904 Unique Reference Number Bristol, City of Local Authority 309832 Inspection number 30 January 2008 Inspection date David Curtis 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 Community School category 3 °4 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 78 School The governing body Appropriate authority Marion Britton Chair Elizabeth Carruthers Headteacher 10 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection Spencer House School address Ship Lane Redcliffe Bristol BS1 6RR 01179 030334 Telephone number 01173 773323 Fax number

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3-4 Age group 30 January 2008 Inspection date 309832 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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: • The impact of strategies to raise the achievement of boys • How effectively all children are challenged • The effectiveness of the play-based learning environment • The quality of children’s transition to primary education. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, analysis of school tracking and assessment data, scrutiny of planning and children’s work and discussions with the headteacher, the vice chair of the governing body, key staff, parents and children. The views of parents were gathered from the returns of the Ofsted questionnaire. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the findings in the school’s self-assessment are not justified, and these have been included where appropriate

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Description of the school

The part of the Centre inspected is maintained by the local authority and provides for children aged 3 to 4. The non-maintained areas of the Centre's provision for 0 to 5- year-olds, including out-of-school care, were inspected by an Ofsted Child Care Inspector in December 2007 and were judged as outstanding. Children come from a wide range of backgrounds, with 40% from minority ethnic families. Twenty-two children are at the early stage of learning English, but the Centre receives no specialist funding. The majority of children live in flats or housing with little or no garden space. Children enter the Centre with poor language skills. The headteacher was appointed in May 2006.

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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: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding Centre. At the heart of its success are excellent leadership and management. The headteacher, together with a highly qualified and experienced team, is dedicated to celebrating and developing the uniqueness of each individual. The Centre has maintained and built upon the significant strengths of its last inspection. The successful transition to a play-based, child-initiated curriculum has been the most significant step forward. The Centre is very accurate in its self-evaluation. There is no complacency. It knows it can never be perfect and there are always elements of practice to be improved. Its capacity for future improvement is outstanding. Parents are fulsome in their praise. Typical of many positive comments is, 'I am extremely happy with the level of care and teaching at the Early Years Centre'. Excellent teaching and learning, together with a stimulating and vibrant curriculum, underpin

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Grade: 1

children's outstanding achievement. Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning, including those who learn English as an additional language. By the time they leave the Centre, the majority are working well within the blue 'stepping stones' of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Children are prepared exceptionally well both socially and academically for the next stage of their education. As the result of detailed analysis and research into their achievement, boys have made significant progress in the last year and now achieve as well as girls. The Centre has found that boys' interest in mark making as the first stage of writing is greatly enhanced if they can make marks in the outdoor area. Similarly, the Centre found that providing boys with tools that motivate and engage them impacts positively on raising their achievement. An outstanding feature of excellent teaching is the very high quality questioning of the children.

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Grade: 1

This is a key factor in the Centre being successful in genuinely challenging all children. Children are asked questions to make them think and explore ideas, such as 'Why do we have speed bumps on roads?' Similarly, activities, including creative cookery, really challenge children's imagination. In these sessions, children have the ingredients provided but are then expected to come up with their own recipes. Unfortunately, during the inspection, the children were eating the healthy raw vegetables with such relish that the only ingredient left for their pumpkin soup was water! Excellent care, guidance and support have a very strong impact on children's outstanding personal development, including their personal, social and emotional development. Staff know their children exceptionally well in their roles as key persons. They keep detailed records of children's progress in all areas of learning, which are shared with and valued by parents. Excellent

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Grade: 1

links with a wide range of outside agencies provide very high levels of support for children and their parents, including counselling. Children are totally happy, secure and confident in the Centre. Parents say how much their children look forward to the start of each new day there. Children are safe and secure. They know how to handle tools, including kitchen utensils, safely and confidently. They enjoy healthy snacks and ready access to water as and when they need it. Behaviour is exemplary because at no point during their sessions at the Centre is there time to be bored or uninterested because of the exciting activities they engage in. A visit to the 'Forest School' with a group of children captured concisely the essence of this highly successful Centre. Children knew that in the minibus they must wear their seatbelts to 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 2008 keep them safe. On the journey, they joined in with great gusto, 'The wheels on the bus go

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Grade: 1

round and round' and showed their love of familiar rhymes and songs. Adults engaged them in conversation about sights and sounds. At the 'Forest School', which each group visits every three weeks, children thrive. These visits make a significant contribution to children's outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Through watching the seasons unfold, children's awe and wonder at the natural world is inspirational to watch. At the 'Forest School' under excellent supervision, children are encouraged to run and jump, to make patterns in the mud, play hide and seek, and match 'treasure' they find to coloured stones provided by the teacher. Governors provide excellent support for children, parents and staff. They are passionate in supporting the many opportunities for children to go on visits out of the Centre, including to the 'Forest School' and swimming. Parents say how important such visits are in helping their

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Grade: 1

children to make the most of their time at the Centre. Governors are anxious to improve the provision for parents to access the Centre more readily by improving the currently very cramped reception area. Additionally, they wish to eliminate the need to use the Centre as a thoroughfare for parents, for example, to reach the headteacher's office. Although staff are vigilant, there are times when people passing through disrupt children's learning. The success of the Centre is recognised by the local authority, which uses members of staff as advisory teachers to support the development of high quality Foundation Stage practice in other settings and schools. The school's own success in using the 'Forest School' means it is the leading light in this provision and other schools now use it, following training and support from staff at the Centre. Similarly, it is used as a base for supporting teachers in Reception

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Grade: 1

As all of the children are under five, this section is covered by the 'Overall effectiveness of the school'.

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What the school should do to improve further

Work with all the relevant agencies to secure the next phase of the planned building programme to improve facilities for parents and eliminate the need for the present thoroughfare through the Centre. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 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: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 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? 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? 1 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 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: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 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 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: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

31 January 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Redcliffe Early Years Centre, Bristol BS1 6RR Thank you for the great day I spent with you. I really enjoyed going to the 'Forest School' with you and watching you do all those exciting things. Your singing of 'The wheels on the bus go round and round' was brilliant. I loved watching those of you who were cooking eating all those raw vegetables. Did you ever make the soup? I am so pleased to tell you that your Centre is fantastic, but you and your parents know that already! These are some of the things that I thought were excellent:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy all the things you are given to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get on really well with each other and behave very well indeed.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The teachers and adults give you lots of exciting things to do both indoors and outdoors.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All of the adults look after you and care for you each day.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You really love the 'Forest School' and going swimming.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All of the people who run your Centre want to give the very best time they can so that learning and play are great fun for you all. ■ The Centre helps you to be really ready to go to your next school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To make your Centre even better, especially for your parents, but also for you too, I have asked all the adults who run the Centre to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Try their hardest to get the next part of the plans to improve your building done as soon as possible. I know that you will continue to enjoy your time in the Centre. I hope that I will get an invitation to go to the 'Forest School' again! Yours sincerely David Curtis Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Redcliffe Early Years Centre, 30 January 2008

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