Childhaven Community Nursery School

Childhaven Nursery School Inspection report - amended

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121267 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 313928 Inspection number 5–6 November 2008 Inspection dates Roger Gill 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 3–5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 84 School (total) The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs T Sykes Chair Ms Jane Pepper Headteacher 20 June 2005 Date of previous school inspection 13 Belgrave Crescent School address Scarborough North Yorkshire YO11 1UB 01723 373231 Telephone number 01723 373231 Fax number

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3–5 Age group 5–6 November 2008 Inspection dates 313928 Inspection number

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Amended Report Addendum

This is because orchestration of work to capitalise on their skills in solving problems and finding things out is not finely enough tuned.

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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. 2 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This school provides nursery education for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It serves a wide geographical area with a broad social mix. The school is situated on three of the four floors in a large Victorian terraced house, with a basement and spacious garden. One floor is used by a childcare service run by a voluntary management committee, which was not part of this inspection. The total facilities in the house have been designated as a children's centre, but this project is in the early stages of a two-year development process. The vast majority of children are from a White British heritage, but a few are from minority ethnic backgrounds (mainly from Poland) and are learning English as an additional language. The proportion of children with learning difficulties/and or disabilities is broadly typical for a school of this size. There have been several changes since the last inspection. The governing

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Description of the school

body, originally established in 2002, has been totally re-formed since 2005 and now administers its own budget; and a new headteacher was appointed in September 2005. The school has the National Healthy Schools Status and an Inclusion Quality Mark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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Grade: 2

Childhaven is a good school with some outstanding features. Children love stepping inside the huge red front door into what many parents and carers understandably describe as a, 'brilliantly exciting place of play and learning'. Skilful leadership and management have created a homely atmosphere. Potential disadvantages, such as the steep stairs, are used as assets to promote safe behaviour. The care with which children move around the building and use the stairs, and the equipment in the garden, demonstrates a sense of independence. Regard for children's welfare is outstanding in all aspects. Everyone in the school is extremely safety conscious but not at the expense of promoting confidence and a sense of adventure among children. They eat healthily in school, know a great deal about keeping safe and join in energetically in thinking about their learning. This keenness is reflected in children's good levels of attendance and the knowledge they are

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Grade: 2

gaining about the world in which they live. Children's skills are above the expected level for their age when they leave. This represents good achievement from their starting points, which are broadly typical in relation to national expectations. Adventurous learning, set within a good curriculum, is the chief cause behind children's progress. Visits to the local art gallery, discussions with the council's gardeners and children's own comments about their learning all provide powerful avenues for exploration. Teaching, which is good, is planned thoroughly but allows plenty of opportunities to be flexible and spontaneous. For example, a caf Á was being established for play purposes, but the final result was largely influenced by children with comments like, 'I've got an idea. If we moved it over here, this would be a good space for it.' Parents, who are unanimous in their praise, agree that, 'creative and innovative management'

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Grade: 2

is the key to the quality of learning that takes place and the school's success in general. Leadership is rooted very firmly in the principles of the EYFS. This, combined with the tremendous collaboration among the entire staff team and excellent partnerships, with parents for example, makes children's personal development first-rate and their academic achievement good. The headteacher has a passion for children's learning and this enthusiasm is infectious. As a result, everyone in the school fires children's imaginations with stimulating tasks, apt materials, purposeful conversations and searching questions that stimulate further thinking. There are some reasons why this is not yet an outstanding school. These are well documented in the school's accurate evaluation of its own practice. The headteacher and governors, who lead and manage well, have exciting plans for the development of the school but there has not

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Grade: 2

been time for all their projects to bear fruit. Extended learning opportunities for high attaining pupils or those with an emerging gift or talent are in the initial stages of implementation. Similarly, the monitoring of teaching is managed soundly but is not aligned with the new EYFS guidance, so feedback to staff is not as useful as it could be in pointing out strengths and areas for development. Nevertheless, in view of the many advances made in the last three years, including the preparations for the children's centre, the school has demonstrated a good capacity to progress even further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Make sure that all high attaining children and those with emerging gifts or talents have the opportunities to broaden and extend their learning. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008 ■ Devise and implement an effective system for monitoring the quality of teaching and children's learning.

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Grade: 2

Children's good achievement is due to good leadership and teamwork, which are fuelled by a strong understanding of how young children learn best. Starting points are broadly typical of levels expected nationally for the children's age. However, a significant minority of children enter the school with skills and knowledge below these expectations, particularly in their personal development; problem solving, reasoning and number; and creative development. The progress made by children in their personal development is outstanding. This in part, is due to the encouragement they get in acting responsibly and taking decisions for themselves. Pupils' skills attained by the end of Reception are above those expected for their age across all areas of learning except in knowledge and understanding of the world. This is because orchestration of work to capitalise on their skills in solving problems and finding things out is not finely

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Grade: 2

enough tuned. The more able children do not always make the progress of which they are capable.

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Grade: 1

Children enjoy everything that they do. For example, they make decisions about how many plates of beans are needed around the camp fire. They also participated with glee when they put on a tiger's voice to ask other children, over the telephone, what there is to eat when acting out the story The tiger who came to tea. Children's excellent spiritual, moral and social development is clearly apparent. Outstanding behaviour is the norm because children have absorbed the school's culture of respect, cooperation and safe play. Children feel confident to make judgements about their learning. For example, one said, about colours being mixed to represent a poppy, 'No. That's not right. It is too dark. I needed to mix it again.' Cultural development is good, particularly since children have become interested in what life is like in Poland. Children are aware of which foods are really good for them because they take an

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Grade: 1

enthusiastic interest in the snacks they eat, which is one of the reasons why the school has a national award for promoting healthy lifestyles.

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Grade: 2

Teaching has a good impact on children's learning. This is because teaching and assessment are so closely related. Children's comments are used as a trigger for staff to establish tasks with a greater challenge. Children's thinking is developed through effective questioning. Some children who were making rockets in the Messy room were made to think by answering questions like, 'How would you fasten this on?' ¨ 'How would you decide?' Moreover, there was a purposeful conversation about the rights and wrongs of the wolf blowing in the door of a house after reading the story about three little pigs. The school has started to be more organised in its provision of extended activities for high attaining children, but this is at an early stage of implementation and is not yet consistent. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008 The curriculum has a good impact on children's learning and development. Plans for teaching

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Grade: 2

are flexible depending on children's interests. The curriculum is enriched and extended very well. Children have regular opportunities to work with a professional musician and visits to the local library, art gallery and the geology museum are very beneficial. Furthermore, children's conversations with gardeners from the local council help them enormously in their horticultural efforts. Recent improvements to information and communication technology (ICT) are beginning to yield results.

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Grade: 1

The care and support provided are highly influential in creating children's outstanding personal development. The Victorian building presents several challenges for young children but risk assessments are most effective in ensuring that staff set an agenda for safe movement around the school. Child protection arrangements and other health and safety procedures are in place as required. Parents have regular updates about their child's learning and can attend excellent workshops, the purpose of which is to study how children learn in school. For example, some parents observed their children using a machine for making bubbles and then discussed the learning that took place after watching a video of the event. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are particularly well included in learning and the life of the school. Parents are most complimentary about this aspect of provision. The cornerstone of the outstanding

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Grade: 1

arrangements for welfare is the school's commitment to creating a climate of calm, consideration and purposeful learning.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, staff and governors have created a good school. The development of a children's centre on site is planned to combine the childcare and educational facilities. Moreover, governors have produced ambitious plans to establish disabled access, new toilets and a gathering place for parents. The skilful balancing of the school's future with the day-to-day provision for children is most effective, mainly because the vision is clear and the principles that lie behind the EYFS are held so strongly. Detailed examination of children's progress makes sure that the headteacher and governors know exactly what the school is like. However, the monitoring of teaching and learning is not fully effective. The school also plans to extend the challenge provided for children capable of taking their learning further but the outcomes from this initiative are not yet consistent or sufficiently widespread. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 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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EYFS?

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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? 2 The standards[1] reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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children?

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 The extent to which 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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The quality of provision

2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of the children in the EYFS promoted? 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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Leadership and management

2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed? 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 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Childhaven Nursery School, Scarborough, YO11 1UB Thank you very much for making my job so enjoyable. You all made my two days at Childhaven a lovely time. I want to tell you that Childhaven Nursery is a really good place in which to learn. You get on and play well together and have learned many good things by the time you are ready to go onto a Reception class. I especially enjoyed watching you play outside. Your flower beds, camp fire area and traffic zone made me want to join in. All the adults who teach you provide very interesting things for you to do. I loved talking to some of your parents because they like what goes on so much. They told me about the outings, like the one to the local geology museum. Your headteacher and staff make every child in your school feel special, which is why you all behave so well and take such care when you are moving up and down the stairs. I am suggesting two things that I think will help you all do even better. Adults need to make

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

sure that those of you who find these especially interesting can go on and do even more interesting tasks. I am also asking your headteacher to make sure that all adults who work in school get a chance to see your learning so that the staff get new ideas to make Childhaven even better. You can all help as well Ä please keep coming up with interesting comments and bright ideas when you are playing so that adults can listen to what you are saying and plan your next activities. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Childhaven Nursery School, 5–6 November 2008

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