The Sue Hedley Nursery School

Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre Inspection report

p.1

132799 Unique Reference Number South Tyneside Local Authority 316020 Inspection number 3 July 2008 Inspection date John Heap Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Nursery Type of school Maintained School category 3 °4 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 68 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Serena Johnson Chair Mrs Sue Hedley Headteacher 1 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Campbell Park Road School address Hebburn Tyne and Wear NE31 1QY 0191 4287650 Telephone number 0191 4287651 Fax number

p.1

3-4 Age group 3 July 2008 Inspection date 316020 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

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 data relating to children’s entry to and progress through nursery, with particular reference to the groups in the school; how practitioners lower the barriers to children’s learning and how well children are prepared for future learning; how well leadership and management promote improvement in the nursery. The inspector gathered evidence from school documentation and data; interviews with children, staff, governors and parents; observing lessons and other activities; and analysing parents’ questionnaires and comments. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this

p.3

Description of the school

This small nursery school is part of the South Tyneside Early Excellence Centre. It serves an area that has very high levels of economic and social disadvantage. Although the majority of children are White British, there are very small numbers of children from minority ethnic families and refugee families; some are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language and a small proportion are in the care of the local authority. The proportion of children identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is high, mainly for speech, language and behavioural difficulties. The centre provides care and education for children from 0 to 5 years and is involved in a number of national and international initiatives, including the provision in the nursery.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008

p.3

Grade: 1

Inspection findings confirm the school’s accurate self-evaluation that it is outstanding. It is absolutely clear that the children are at the core of the school’s work. They thrive physically, academically, socially and emotionally and their confidence develops extremely well. Parents are highly positive about the setting and typical comments from them are: ‘My daughter loves nursery … she has come on in leaps and bounds,’ ‘My son has made great progress in his skills’. Children’s personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is excellent. The expectant buzz of happy learners is present at the start of the day and continues unabated until the children go home. This is due to the excellent curriculum and support that provide challenge and guidance when appropriate. Children concentrate exceptionally well and for long periods. They love showing their work to adults and happily talk about what they have

p.4

Grade: 1

done. Behaviour is outstanding in all parts of this excellently resourced nursery. Children’s knowledge of healthy and safe living is exceptionally good for ones so young. They know that selecting healthy snacks is good for them. They make a very telling contribution to the nursery by considering the feelings of others, listening exceptionally well and sharing in the shouldering of responsibility. For example, they breezily and effectively help with the essential routines, such as tidying up. The high quality relationships and the safe and secure routines foster extremely well children’s exemplary moral and social development. Children’s achievement is excellent, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, those with little or no English and others from minority groups. Many children arrive with weak skills and abilities, well below those typical for their age. This is particularly so in personal,

p.4

Grade: 1

social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, as well as mathematical development. Excellent and cleverly structured teaching promotes exceptional learning. As a result, children are well on course to meet, and often exceed, the expected targets for their age. Some of the more able children are well on the way towards what is expected at the end of the Reception year. Staff make sure that these children are given sufficient challenge, often through searching and challenging questioning. The school’s active and robust self-evaluation identifies issues for improvement, such as improving the quality of boys’ early writing skills. This, in turn, provides a focus for daily work in several of the areas of learning and is successfully improving skill levels. A major contribution to this is the Creative Development work done with the resident artist, such as providing more interesting and alluring resources

p.4

Grade: 1

(stones and slates) for the children to make their marks on and with. Given the excellent academic progress and attitudes to work and school, the children have an outstanding foundation for future learning. A consistent and often heard thread through the teaching and learning is, ‘Come on, let’s get busy.’ This forms the basis for children to learn through structured play, investigating their environment and negotiating with adults and peers. The highly structured approach, which can be summed up in the following way ° ‘Plan, Do, Review’ ° makes this enormously effective. Children play a full part in planning their activities, such as designing the allotment for growing vegetables. They then implement their plan under the watchful eye of adults who guide and question during the activity period. The review is done in key worker groups where the children explain their motives and actions, and the others listen exceptionally well, ask pertinent questions

p.4

Grade: 1

and advise. In a very short time, the children are learning exceptionally well because the excellent relationships motivate children and adults alike; the outstanding organisation ensures children know what they are doing, why they are doing it and what their own outcomes are. At other 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008 times, the whole group of children are taught together, often for the telling of a story. One of these sessions was remarkable not only for the quality and length of listening and concentration, but also for the sheer expectation and delight on the children’s faces when the puppet knocked to come in. The adult telling the story did so in such an interesting and motivating way that the children were spellbound and wanted to listen, talk about it and know more. Children thrive on the very rich variety of activities offered, both indoors and outdoors. The

p.4

Grade: 1

curriculum is enriched by a packed range of activities, including visits and visitors. Independence and inquisitiveness are fostered by the highly effective use of a very wide range of resources and dedicated areas for learning. The children know how to use the resources and the areas to the fullest extent. Individual plans to support those with learning difficulties are of a high quality and all staff use them effectively. The school’s approach to building very strong partnerships with parents and the development of family learning makes a very significant contribution to children’s learning, adults’ learning and the contribution parents make to their children’s education. Outstanding and inspirational leadership and management by the headteacher are key factors in the way the school provides a high quality education and increasingly meets the very complex needs of the community. The focus is on lowering barriers to learning and this is supported

p.5

Grade: 1

fully by the highly dedicated and hard working staff. In addition to maintaining and improving the many strengths identified at previous inspections, the nursery has gone through a period of rapid change as it has moved to becoming a children’s centre for the local community. Excellent partnerships with a range of agencies mean that children and their families are exceptionally well supported. In these changing times, the good governing body has been an asset in supporting management to maintain provision and look to the future. The governing body is heavily reliant on the headteacher for the information it receives. There are opportunities for it to be more independent, for instance, in monitoring health and safety and the achievements of minority groups. Nevertheless, the school meets national requirements in the safeguarding and protection of children. Thorough and accurate self-evaluation is very securely

p.5

Grade: 1

rooted in the careful analysis of performance data and knowledge of individual children. Consequently, there is a tradition and excellent track record of improvement that points to the school being exceptionally well placed to improve further.

p.5

Grade: 1

As this is a nursery school, the Overall Effectiveness section completely covers all the judgements.

p.5

What the school should do to improve further

■ There are no areas for development that have not already been identified by the nursery nor acted upon. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008 .

p.5

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: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008

p.6

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.7

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

p.7

Achievement and standards

1 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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.7

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

p.7

and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.7

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: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008

p.7

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: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008

p.8

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 July 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, South Tyneside, NE31 1QY I had a great time when I came to see you and I am really pleased that you were having such a lovely time. I enjoyed talking to you and some of your mums. It was good to see you working hard and I think that your designs for the allotment and the work you are doing in there are absolutely fantastic. You know, I doubt that I will ever forget the delighted look on your faces when the puppet arrived in the afternoon. When I spoke to some of your parents and read what they had written, it was obvious how much they liked the school. There are lots of wonderful things going on in your outstanding school, but I can only mention a few of them in this short letter. Here are some of the things I particularly liked:

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ your excellent behaviour and the way you help each other when you are working

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ how well you listen to each other and the adults before going off to work and play sensibly

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ all the things you have learned about making good choices of food and being safe

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the excellent help that you get from all the adults in the school and I also know that you like them very much because you told me so ■ all the wonderful activities that are waiting for you each day and the way you help by planning what you are going to do and then tidying up when you finish ■ the way the adults keep you really safe and talk with your mums and dads if there are worries of any kind ■ the super job that staff and governors are doing in making sure that your nursery keeps on getting better. I know that you love your school and I want you to promise me that you will continue to enjoy it. Best wishes and good luck for the future. John Heap Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Bedewell Early Years Excellence Centre, 3 July 2008

p.9