Parklands Infant and Nursery School

Parklands Infant and Nursery School Inspection report

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112583 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE LA Local Authority 310933 Inspection number 10 °11 March 2008 Inspection dates Alison Cogher 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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Infant Type of school Community School category 3 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 228 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Lesley Coates Chair Mrs Judith Meller Headteacher 22 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection Wilsthorpe Campus School address Derby Road Long Eaton Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG10 4BJ 0115 9732667 Telephone number 0115 9732640 Fax number

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3-7 Age group 10 °11 March 2008 Inspection dates 310933 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a slightly smaller than average infant and nursery school. Children come from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. Almost all children are of White British heritage, with a small number from other ethnic groups or of dual heritage. An average number of children are entitled to free school meals and a below average number of children are learning English as an additional language. The proportion of children with learning difficulties, including those with a statement of special educational need, is below average. The school has been awarded the Basic Skills and Inclusion Quality Marks. Before and after school care for children is available on the school site.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. It has the confidence and support of its parents, many of whom wrote to express how pleased they were with the high standard of care and education the school provides for their children. 'The school is like a large family - warm, welcoming and inclusive. It provides children with an excellent foundation - educationally and socially.' Comments such as these typify those expressed by parents in praise of the school. The school is extremely well led and managed by the headteacher. She leads by example and has empowered all staff and governors to carry out their roles very effectively. Very strong teamwork has enabled the school to build very successfully on the good practice identified at the last inspection. Staff and governor expectations are very high and their systems to judge the quality of the school's work are extremely good. Areas for improvement are identified very

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Grade: 1

clearly and subject leaders ensure action is quickly taken to bring about the changes needed. Improved standards in writing in 2007 were a notable success of this very effective approach. The school's capacity to continue to improve is excellent. In Year 2 in 2007, children's achievement was excellent as they reached standards overall that were exceptionally high in writing and well above average in reading and mathematics. These standards are secured because, from the time they enter the Nursery, children make very good progress year on year, building extremely successfully on what they have already learned. Children's attitudes and enthusiasm for learning are outstanding because of the excellent care, guidance and support they receive and extremely effective teaching. Assessment information is used exceptionally well to guide teaching and to ensure that children are not only set challenging targets but are also supported in achieving them. Teachers ensure that the vibrant

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Grade: 1

curriculum is extremely well organised to motivate and enthuse children to learn. The very effective use of visits, visitors and the opportunities provided through after-school clubs broaden children's experiences and extend their learning further. Children in the Reception classes have fewer opportunities to work outside than children in the Nursery. Children's personal development is excellent and they thrive in the warm and caring family atmosphere created by the school. They develop very good levels of self-esteem and the confidence to have a go with their learning, secure in the knowledge that, if they need support, an adult will provide it. Relationships throughout the school are exceptionally constructive and very supportive of children's learning. Children trust the adults in school and feel safe and well cared for. Consequently, they enjoy their time at school a great deal. All members of the school community

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Grade: 1

are valued and treated with great respect. Children respond by behaving extremely well and welcoming the opportunity to take on responsibilities that enable them to contribute effectively to the day-to-day running of the school, and to school improvement over the longer term. They show high levels of interest in each other's welfare and understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage is extremely well led and managed. Outstanding relationships and exceptionally effective teaching ensure children have a very positive start to their education. Meticulous planning ensures that children enjoy a rich variety of learning experiences. Activities 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008 in the Nursery and Reception classes are matched very well to children's ages and interests and so they develop high levels of enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning. Extremely good use is made of the Nursery outside area to extend and enrich children's learning. Children in the Reception classes also enjoy working outside, although their space is less well developed which reduces the learning opportunities available to them.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase the opportunities for children in the Reception classes to work outside.

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Grade: 1

Most children start in the Nursery with skills that are below those typically found for their age. This is particularly evident in their personal, social and emotional development and their communication, language and literacy skills. Children make very good progress, with most reaching and many exceeding the expected goals by the end of Reception. They continue to make very good progress in Years 1 and 2. As a result, children's achievement overall is excellent and they often reach exceptionally high standards by the end of Year 2. The school has maintained this position for some years because it responds very quickly to strengthen aspects of teaching and learning that are judged to be less effective than they could be. Children of all abilities, including those who find learning difficult and those learning English as their second language, work very hard and they are supported extremely well. This enables them all to

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Grade: 1

achieve the challenging targets they are set.

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Grade: 1

Children's personal development, including all aspects of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. They thoroughly enjoy school and their attendance is good overall. Children behave extremely well in lessons and around the school. They are polite, friendly and helpful. They enjoy taking responsibility, for example as school councillors or playtime monitors. Children's very positive attitudes make a very strong contribution to their learning. They listen attentively in lessons and are keen to answer questions and to do their very best. There is a purposeful buzz of activity in lessons, with much cooperation and mutual respect in evidence between children, and between children and adults. This exceptionally good level of personal development together with the standards they reach prepare children extremely well for the next stage in their education. Children are very active in their contribution to the school and

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Grade: 1

wider community. They have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles and are very clear about the strategies they would use to keep themselves safe. Children have a very mature understanding of the value of each individual person and understand how their actions can impact on others.

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Grade: 1

Teachers use assessment information extremely well to tailor their lessons to suit individual children's needs. More able children are challenged through more demanding work, while those who need more help receive excellent support. Those for whom English is a new language 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008 receive equally good support and so all children make the best possible progress. Children are encouraged to talk to one another about their work and explain their thinking to other children and their teacher. This helps them to clarify their understanding and to test out their ideas, which supports their overall learning extremely well. Teachers make excellent use of children's responses to assess their understanding and to challenge and extend their learning further. Motivating activities such as the use of role-play to support children's speaking, listening and

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Grade: 1

writing skills make an excellent contribution to children's learning overall. Exceptionally good use is made of information and communication technology (ICT) to enrich and extend the pupils' learning, both in whole-class lessons and through individual and small group computer-based activities.

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Grade: 1

The wide range of exciting learning opportunities contributes extremely well to children's enjoyment of school, their personal development and academic achievement. Effective use is made of the school grounds and the wider local environment. Visits and visitors enrich children's learning and broaden their experiences. For example, under the supervision of a visitor, children investigated and made footware from a range of world cultures. Very effective links are made between subjects to provide children with the opportunity to practise what they have learned in a variety of situations. This helps children to be flexible in their approach to learning overall and to solving problems in particular. The exceptional range of out of school activities provides further learning opportunities for children. Children speak highly of these activities that include clubs for gardening, French, dance, football and ICT at the Cyber Cafe.

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Grade: 1

Arrangements for keeping children safe are robust and rigorously implemented, ensuring the school provides children with an excellent level of care, guidance and support. Children who need additional support for their learning and those learning English as a new language receive the help they need to enable them to achieve as well as other children. Working very constructively with a wide range of outside agencies, the school provides exceptionally good support for children and their families. Assessment procedures are very thorough and provide teachers with extremely good information about children's personal and educational development. They use this information to guide their teaching so children make the best possible progress in all aspects of their learning. Excellent teamwork ensures that all adults have an extremely good understanding of children's personal and individual learning needs and how best to meet them.

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Grade: 1

The headteacher provides very strong focused leadership and she is supported extremely well by a highly motivated and committed team of teachers and governors. Subject leaders are sharply focused on securing the very best opportunities for children to achieve as well as possible. This determined approach has secured exceptionally productive teamwork and a willingness amongst all staff to share expertise and to learn from each other. Governors are highly involved in the work of the school, contributing well through their time and skills. They 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008 are extremely well informed and able to hold the school to account for its work. How things will improve for children is the question at the centre of the decisions made and actions taken by governors and staff. Self-evaluation is extremely thorough, well organised and completed in a very open and productive manner. As it strives to continually improve, the school is often

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Grade: 1

too modest when judging the high quality of its work. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 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? 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 2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 March 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Parklands Infant and Nursery School, Long Eaton NG10 4BJ Thank you very much for helping us with the inspection of your school. We really enjoyed our visit because you made us feel very welcome. A lot of your parents wrote to us saying that they think Parklands is an outstanding school, and we agree with them. These are some of the best things we found out about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You learn extremely well and the standards you reach are well above those found in most other infant schools. ■ You behave extremely well, really enjoy school and work very hard. You care about each other a lot and work and play together exceptionally well. ■ Teaching is excellent. Your teachers and the other adults who help you know you very well and make sure that you have lots of interesting and fun things to do. ■ All the adults in school take exceptionally good care of you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher is helped by all the other staff and governors to lead and manage your school very successfully. They are always trying to make things better for you at school and appreciate the way you help them through the school council. So that your school can be even better, we have asked the headteacher and governors to make sure that the children in the Reception classes use their outdoor area as well as children in the Nursery. Thank you once again for making our visit such a pleasure. We hope you continue to work hard and enjoy your learning at Parklands. Best wishes Alison Cogher Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Parklands Infant and Nursery School, 10 °11 March 2008

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