Walbrook Nursery School

Walbrook Nursery School Inspection report

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112475 Unique Reference Number City of Derby LA Local Authority 310898 Inspection number 27 March 2008 Inspection date Sue Hall 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 82 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Paul Turnbull Chair Mrs Pauline Bradbury Headteacher 27 June 2005 Date of previous school inspection Middleton Street School address Normanton Derby Derbyshire DE23 8QJ 01332 772434 Telephone number Fax number

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3-4 Age group 27 March 2008 Inspection date 310898 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 inspection evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ the achievement of children from different ethnic backgrounds

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Introduction

■ if children have enough opportunities to develop independence

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Introduction

■ whether teaching meets the needs of those new to English

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Introduction

■ if the monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school is rigorous enough to identify areas for further improvement. Evidence was gathered from discussions with staff, governors and children, brief lesson observations, a scrutiny of documentation and samples of children's work. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in as much detail, but the inspection found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average sized nursery school in an area of Derby with considerable social and economic disadvantages. As children mainly attend for morning or afternoon sessions, relatively few stay for school lunches; of those who do, a high proportion is eligible for free school meals. There are currently 14 languages spoken in the school and the large majority of children are at the early stages of learning English. The majority of children are of Pakistani background. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average, particularly for those with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. The nursery is recognised as a Health Promoting School and holds a Healthy Schools award. The staff are involved in numerous local and national initiatives regarding nursery provision.

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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: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding nursery. The school has maintained a high level of effectiveness over a number of years and made a significant difference to the lives of the countless families it has worked with. Key to the success of the school is the outstanding leadership of the headteacher who has maintained an ongoing determination to provide the best possible education for the children of the area. This, coupled with the enthusiasm and dedication of the strong staff team, ensures there is a continuous focus on the needs of the children. Without exception, parents are delighted with the quality of education provided and speak with great warmth about the care shown to their children. Assessments of children's skills and knowledge when they enter the nursery show that most are at very low levels in all areas. Initially, most have limited social skills, many are very timid, while others are boisterous and do not always understand how to behave appropriately. Several

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Grade: 1

children are at the very earliest stages of learning English and have very restricted experiences beyond their family environment. To meet the needs of the wide range of abilities teachers produce an Individual Personalised Learning Plan for every child, which enables staff to ensure that work is matched to meet the needs of each learner. These plans are shared with parents and every encouragement is given to involve them in the education of their children. Because the staff have exceptionally high expectations of the children and provide a very lively and stimulating curriculum, children settle quickly, enjoy learning and start to make rapid progress in every area of their development. Some children make startling progress and, by the time they leave the school, many are working at the levels expected for their age. Overall, progress is outstanding and the achievement of children from all backgrounds is excellent.

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Grade: 1

Children turn from being quiet and shy little individuals to confident learners who love school. Behaviour is excellent and relationships between children and with adults are warm and caring. Because children develop both personal and academic skills and grow in confidence, they are very well prepared for the next stage of education. There is a wide range of opportunities for them to take on responsibilities. These include responsibility for themselves and their own actions and also to work with an extensive range of community groups and organisations. While attendance is not a statutory requirement, the school does much to encourage regular attendance. Nevertheless, it is affected adversely by religious festivals and extended holidays in term time. The personal development of the children is outstanding. At the heart of the school is the central philosophy that every child really does matter. The school does a huge amount to

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Grade: 1

overcome the effects of low income and poor nutrition and continually emphasises the importance of healthy eating and of exercise. Children soon start to enjoy a very good range of healthy snacks and drinks and those who stay for lunch are taught good table manners. Children claim that their greatest love in the nursery is playing outdoors. The school provides an excellent range of structured and free-choice activities that help them develop good physical skills. Provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. The school makes a particular feature of working with the many local places of worship and celebrating all the main religious festivals and cultures of local families. Teaching and learning are outstanding. The staff work very well together and are a committed and enthusiastic team with an excellent understanding of the learning needs of young children. Curriculum planning is excellent with a very clear focus on the enhancement of social skills and

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 2008 language development. The planning of activities is excellent, as is the wide range of resources. A very good emphasis on visits to places of educational interest at the start of topics ensures that children are keen to find out more. For instance, many learn how to draw simple maps and routes following walks around the local area as part of the current topic on homes. This has also made children aware of the problems of parking outside the school and of the action that they and the staff can take to make this safe for them. The school takes very seriously its responsibility to safeguard the children and teach them how to keep themselves and their friends safe. The care, guidance and support of children is outstanding and a key strength of the school. Policies and procedures are very thorough and checks are made of everyone who works in

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Grade: 1

school. Parents are particularly impressed with the Personalised Individual Learning Plans for each child. This is an excellent tool to check and track the progress made. Staff use this information very effectively and identify if there are differences in the rates of progress of groups and individuals. They then tailor the work to provide the best level of challenge. Academic and personal guidance is excellent. Staff are respectful of the children and treat them with warmth and kindness coupled with clear boundaries identifying what is and what is not appropriate behaviour. The support for those with learning difficulties, including the several children with behavioural difficulties, is outstanding and results in so much improvement that these children are fully absorbed and included in every activity. The school has excellent links with an extremely wide range of organisations and agencies that supports the all round

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Grade: 1

development of the children very well. Leadership and management of the school is excellent. Central to the school's success has been the extremely effective manner in which the headteacher leads and manages the staff team. She is rightly very well respected by parents, staff and governors and the school is continually over subscribed. Key to the success of the school has been the determination to continually move forward and embrace change with enthusiasm. The school has made excellent progress since the previous very successful inspection. The staff team possesses a strong and skilled blend of talent and experience which ensures there is an excellent capacity to continue to improve. Governance of the school is good. While some governors have an excellent understanding of their role and make focussed visits to observe different areas of the schools work, this is not consistent practice and some governors are not as well informed as they could

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Extend the opportunities for governors to be involved at first hand in evaluating the work of the school. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 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: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 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? 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: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 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: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 March 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Walbrook Nursery School, Derby DE23 8QJ Thank you very much for looking after me when I visited your nursery recently. I really enjoyed meeting you in lessons, when we had lunch and when I chatted with some of you. I think the school provides an outstanding quality of education for you. Well done everyone! These are some of the best things I found about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Mrs Bradbury is a great headteacher and she works really hard to make sure things are always improving ■ all the staff work very well together and try hard to help you and your parents so you can learn even more ■ you really like school, behave very well and try hard

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ there are some exciting and interesting things for you to find out about

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you make excellent progress in lots of ways

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you learn a lot because teachers plan work that is just right for you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ staff care for you very well so you are safe and happy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

This is what that I think could be improved:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ some governors could do a bit more to make sure they know what is happening in school so that they can help to make important decisions. To help your school, please try to make sure you attend regularly. Remember to keep yourselves safe and watch out for the cars outside school! Yours sincerely Sue Hall Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Walbrook Nursery School, 27 March 2008

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