Stockingford Maintained Nursery School

Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library Inspection report

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125491 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 315248 Inspection number 19 June 2008 Inspection date Melvyn Hemmings 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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Children's centre Type of school Maintained School category 3 °5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 76 School The governing body Appropriate authority Kathleen McGale Chair Ann Clay Headteacher 28 June 2004 Date of previous school inspection St Paul's Road School address Stockingford Nuneaton CV10 8HW 02476 383708 Telephone number 02476 345676 Fax number

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3-5 Age group 19 June 2008 Inspection date 315248 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

The part of the centre inspected is the nursery, which provides full and part-time education for children aged three and four. The centre provides a range of integrated services for young children and their families that will be inspected separately. The majority of children are White British. An increasing number of children are starting school with poor communication and language skills. The head of centre is also the headteacher of the nursery.

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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: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good nursery. It has outstanding features. It provides children with a wonderful start to their education within a very caring and stimulating learning environment. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the nursery and are very pleased with the many exciting experiences it gives their children. The following parental comment is typical of many, 'I feel the nursery has offered so much to my children and I strongly recommend it to anyone.' Good leadership and management are at the heart of the success of the nursery. The headteacher is an astute leader who has a clear vision for its current and future development. Other senior staff ably support her. A strong sense of teamwork is evident amongst all involved in the life of the nursery. Leaders regularly consult parents and children about how provision could be improved and take their views on board. For example, when the children were asked about the

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Grade: 2

development of the garden area they suggested 'something to climb on' and this resulted in the installation of agility equipment. However, not all senior staff are involved fully in monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and learning. This restricts their input in bringing about improvement in this aspect of provision. The attainment of children on entry is broadly in line with that expected. They make good progress and, by the time they leave nursery, are working at levels beyond those expected in all areas of learning. This represents good achievement from their starting points. They make particularly good progress in their personal, social and emotional development because of the strong emphasis placed on this aspect. Occasionally, the progress of more able children in problem solving and reasoning in mathematics is hindered because the work given to them is not challenging enough. Children's personal development is outstanding. They behave in an exemplary manner and form

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Grade: 2

very strong relationships with adults and other children. As a result, the nursery is a very friendly and happy place in which to learn and play. Good teaching and learning are the main reasons that children make good progress. The balance between child initiated and adult directed activities is good and develops effectively children's skills in becoming independent learners. Most children show positive attitudes across all areas of learning. However, a few boys show little interest in writing and leaders are exploring ways of engaging them more effectively in this aspect of their learning. The good curriculum engages most children, both indoors and outdoors, in activities that really capture their imagination and enable them to work with sustained interest. The quality of the outdoor area is exceptional and staff use it very effectively throughout the day to develop children's skills across all areas of learning.

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Grade: 2

Outstanding care, guidance and support have a very strong impact on children's personal development. Staff's role as key workers overseeing assigned groups means that they know the children exceptionally well. Excellent links with outside agencies provide very high levels of extra support for individual children and their parents, when required.

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Grade: 2

As the nursery only has children aged three to four, there is no need to complete this section. The report covers, in full, the Foundation Stage. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 2008

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that children who are more able are always challenged sufficiently in their problem solving and reasoning activities in mathematics. ■ Engage more effectively the few boys who show little interest in learning to write.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ More actively involve senior staff in monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

The strong emphasis on children's personal, social and emotional development makes a very strong contribution to their outstanding personal development. They make good progress in communication, language and literacy because of the many opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills and to gain early skills as readers and writers. However, a few boys show little interest in learning how to write and this limits their progress. Children have good calculation skills in mathematics and enjoy solving number problems through play. Occasionally, those children who are more able are not sufficiently stretched in their problem solving and reasoning activities. Children effectively develop their knowledge and understanding of the world and their physical skills in the role play and the outdoor areas. Creative development is fostered well through a wide range of practical and imaginative activities. Children with learning

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Grade: 2

difficulties make good progress because of the well targeted extra support they receive.

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Grade: 1

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They respond with great enjoyment to their learning and are very kind and considerate to others. They work together very well in pairs and small groups, happily sharing resources and toys. This is especially so in the stimulating role play areas in which they develop confidence, such as when dressing up and becoming bees and spiders in the outdoor minibeast den. Children are adopting healthy lifestyles very well. They eat and drink healthily every day in the snack bar and have many opportunities to prepare healthy foods. Children understand how to keep themselves safe and know that enjoying themselves in the fresh air and being active are good for their health. They play a full part in nursery life as they confidently choose and organise their own activities indoors and outdoors and tidy up at the end of a session. They also contribute very well to the

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Grade: 1

local community by raising funds for charity and planting daffodil bulbs in the local park to help improve the environment. Children develop extremely positive attitudes to their learning and this prepares them well for the future.

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Grade: 2

Staff provide a wide range of well planned, stimulating activities that capture and maintain children's interest. They make learning fun and so children enjoy coming to the nursery. The activities in the role play areas effectively develop children's speaking and listening skills, which is important as a significant proportion have poor communication and language skills. Key workers use the daily small group sessions well to fire children's imaginations and foster their skills across all areas of learning. Staff use detailed assessments of children's progress effectively 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 2008 in adapting daily planning to tailor activities to individual needs. These assessments are also used well to identify, at an early stage, children with learning difficulties, so that extra help can be provided. Occasionally, opportunities are missed to provide extension activities for more

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Grade: 2

able children to promote further their problem solving and reasoning skills in mathematics. Staff make good use of praise and encouragement to help children persevere when they come across problems. Children respond well and are eager to succeed in their tasks. Parents say the staff help them feel very involved in their children's learning and keep them well informed of the progress they make.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is planned well to provide children with a wide range of stimulating and practical experiences. As a result, children are actively involved in their learning both indoors and outdoors. A good range of resources is available for children to use to pursue their interests. For example, in the 'clothes shop' they can buy and sell a variety of items and, in so doing, develop their calculation skills in mathematics. The nursery makes good use of the onsite library to develop children's literacy skills. Children have many opportunities to learn about how to stay healthy and safe, such as by handling food and tools safely. Staff are exploring ways of developing further children's creative talents, such as by working with a professional artist to widen their experience of three dimensional artwork. Regular walks and trips to places of interest effectively extend children's knowledge and understanding of the wider world.

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Grade: 1

All staff are deeply committed to the health and well-being of all children. Safeguarding procedures are very robust. The nursery works very well with other providers, such as Family Services, to ensure the well-being of all children. Induction procedures are excellent and enable children to settle into everyday routines quickly, and feel safe and secure in doing so. Parents say how much their children look forward to the start of each day, with one of them commenting, 'My son likes the nursery very much and he even wants to go when he is poorly.' The arrangements for tracking the progress of individual children are very thorough. Staff use the information gathered very well to guide children on improving their work.

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Grade: 2

Leaders have worked successfully to move the nursery forward since the last inspection. Improved planning means learning objectives for children are sharper, which has helped them make better progress. Assessment procedures now give staff an accurate picture of children's progress so work can be planned accordingly. Performance management has been reviewed and modified so it effectively links staff's own professional development with overall priorities for improvements in provision. Self-evaluation is accurate and enables the nursery to identify and prioritise areas for development. These include developing the role of key staff to give them a clearer view of teaching and learning and how these might be improved. Governors are very supportive of the nursery and willing to ask relevant questions of leaders about its performance. Leaders are not complacent and the improvements made since the last inspection show the

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Grade: 2

capacity to make any necessary changes is good. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 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: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 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? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners 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 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 June 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Stockingford Early Years Centre and Library, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 8HW I really liked coming to your nursery. I enjoyed watching the exciting things you do, especially in the wonderful outdoor area. I am writing this letter to tell you what I found out when I spent the day with you. The nursery is good in many ways and some things about it are super.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ It is a very friendly and happy place in which to work and play.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You behave very well and are very kind to others.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy coming to the nursery very much and are keen to learn.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The adults give you lots of exciting things to do and make learning fun.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Parents are very pleased with the way adults look after you and care for you every day.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Anyone who needs extra help with their work is always given it.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You choose what you want to do and stick at it until the job is done.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The nursery makes sure you are really ready to go to your next school. To make your nursery even better I have asked the adults who run it to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that those of you who are really good at solving problems and thinking things out in mathematics are always given work that makes you think hard. ■ Help those few boys who do not write very often to become more interested in writing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Involve more adults in checking how well you learn and how you could improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can all help the nursery by always trying your hardest in all your work. All my best wishes for the future Yours sincerely Melvyn Hemmings Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Stockingford Early Years Centre & Library, 19 June 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of Stockingford Early Years Centre and Library, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 8HW

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Annex B

I really liked coming to your nursery. I enjoyed watching the exciting things you do, especially in the wonderful outdoor area. I am writing this letter to tell you what I found out when I spent the day with you. The nursery is good in many ways and some things about it are super.

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Annex B

• It is a very friendly and happy place in which to work and play. • You behave very well and are very kind to others. • You enjoy coming to the nursery very much and are keen to learn. • The adults give you lots of exciting things to do and make learning fun. • Parents are very pleased with the way adults look after you and care for you every day. • Anyone who needs extra help with their work is always given it. • You choose what you want to do and stick at it until the job is done. • The nursery makes sure you are really ready to go to your next school.

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Annex B

To make your nursery even better I have asked the adults who run it to:

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Annex B

• Make sure that those of you who are really good at solving problems and thinking things out in mathematics are always given work that makes you think hard. • Help those few boys who do not write very often to become more interested in writing. • Involve more adults in checking how well you learn and how you could improve.

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Annex B

You can all help the nursery by always trying your hardest in all your work.

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