Maytree Nursery School

Maytree Nursery School Inspection report

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100553 Unique Reference Number Lambeth Local Authority 323294 Inspection number 28 January 2009 Inspection date Madeleine Gerard 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 Community School category 3–5 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 89 School (total) The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Darren Sanders Chair Ms Rachel Hedley Headteacher 16 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection 155 Clarence Crescent School address London SW4 8LN 020 8671 3298 Telephone number 020 8674 0791 Fax number

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3–5 Age group 28 January 2009 Inspection date 323294 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the achievement of the children and the standards that they reach, the extent to which all children are set work well matched to their needs, and the school's work to promote community cohesion. Evidence was gathered from a range of documents, children's progress data, school records, discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff, children and parents, observations around the school and replies to the parents' questionnaire. Some aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified.

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Description of the school

This is an average sized nursery school offering full- and part-time provision in the first phase of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of children who are learning English as an additional language is much higher than the national average and the large majority are at an early stage of learning English. The number of children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The majority have speaking and communication difficulties or specific learning needs. The school is developing its role as a Children's Centre and offers additional services for toddler groups, childminders and parents. The school has achieved the Healthy School Award.

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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: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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Grade: 1

Maytree Nursery is an outstanding school. From the outset, a very close partnership with parents enables staff to ensure that children make an extremely good start to their education. Opportunities for children to spend time at the school before they begin, as well as home visits made by staff, mean that children's individual needs are recognised and routinely met from the time they enter the school. This, together with well-established routines including self-registration, helps children to settle very quickly. A parent typically wrote, 'My child has settled better than I expected. This is due to the planned start and the kindness and warmth of the staff.' Children join the school with a range of skills and capabilities generally well below those expected for their age, particularly in their speech and language, mathematical, personal and social skills. By the time children leave, their skills are broadly in line with those expected for their age in

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Grade: 1

all areas of their learning. From their well-below-average starting points this represents outstanding progress. School data shows that boys and girls do equally well. Children learning English as an additional language are very successfully supported and they make extremely good gains in speaking English. Arrangements to support children who need extra help with their speech and language or who have specific learning needs are highly effective, very well managed and inclusive. As a result, they make outstanding progress. Links with a very wide range of outside agencies provide extremely good support for children and their parents, including those who are most vulnerable. Children achieve so well because they are extremely well taught. Children benefit hugely from very many interesting activities inside and outside of the classroom. Children's experiences are enlivened by visits to local places of interest. For example, children explore the sights and

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Grade: 1

sounds of a local wood. The beautiful Maytree artwork on display is the result of collaboration with a local artist and the children's investigation of woodland life. Story-telling is another highlight. Work with computers appropriately challenges their thinking. Children also have many very good opportunities to develop their independence and apply and extend their learning, and they show responsibility in activities they initiate. For example, when the weather is wet, children select the correct size rubber boots and change into weatherproof clothing before they continue their learning in the outside areas. They develop their problem-solving and social skills extensively during enthusiastic cooperative play. For example, children used syringes to spray water at photographs of staff and kept tallies of how many times they had hit each picture. Older children helped others who found using the equipment difficult at first,

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Grade: 1

so that all children were included in the activity. All the staff are expert in asking open-ended questions that extend children's thinking and raise their achievement, whatever their abilities. Children who find learning easy are challenged to increase their skills in small target groups. Those who need extra help with their learning are given extremely good individualised support. Guidance for parents in booklets and regular workshops, such as an outing for dads to a local Christmas market, help parents support their children's learning at home. Relationships between adults and children and among the children themselves are excellent. Staff know the children extremely well. Very detailed records of continuous progress are kept. For example, 'special books' record the steps in children's development. Although good, systems to record children's progress in problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy development are less

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Grade: 1

detailed than for other areas of learning. Consequently teachers are not always able to track progress sufficiently. Daily evaluation meetings enable the staff to review the progress that 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009 individual children are making. All children are set suitably challenging tasks because information is used successfully to plan the next steps in their learning. Children's spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is outstanding. They have very good opportunities for reflection, for example, when they marvel at chicks hatching from incubated eggs or when they use their senses to discover new aspects of the world in which they live. They enjoy celebrating a wide range of cultures. Each week children learn to greet one another in a language spoken in the school, helping children to have a very good awareness of the whole school community. Themed weeks, such as Chinese New Year, help children to develop

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Grade: 1

a very good understanding of those who live in communities other than their own. For example, children thoroughly enjoyed opportunities to make their own Chinese stir-fry and to eat it with chop sticks. The large majority of parents confirmed that their child enjoys being at school. This is reflected in the children's above average attendance and their very good behaviour. They learn to stay safe and to care for themselves and for others. Children have a very good understanding of healthy living, taking delight in the outside activities, whatever the weather. For instance, children practise counting by running races with bean bags. All this prepares them exceptionally well for the next stage of their education. The quality of children's welfare is outstanding. Arrangements to safeguard children's safety, health and well-being are very strong and supervision is at a very high level at all times. The headteacher and senior leaders and managers work together as a very coherent and effective

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Grade: 1

team. Leaders, staff and governors have a shared vision that puts the children at the centre of all the school's work. Self-evaluation ensures the school has an accurate view of its strengths and where provision can be improved even further. For example, training for all staff to develop records of children's numeracy has already taken place and more is planned. The governing body are highly committed and take an active part in helping the school to develop further. Parents praise the school. One commented, summing up the views of many, 'Maytree is a loving and caring Nursery school which has just the right approach to developing young minds.'

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that systems to record children's progress in problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy are as detailed as in other areas. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009 .

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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: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do children in the EYFS 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/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

1 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? 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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Leadership and management

1 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

10 February 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Maytree Nursery School,London,SW4 8LN Maytree is an outstanding nursery school. Thank you for your warm welcome when we visited your school recently. We really enjoyed our visit and seeing all the interesting things you do there. We particularly liked the Chinese dragon you were making and to see you cooking a vegetable stir-fry and eating it with chop sticks. I would like to tell you what we found. We know you enjoy coming to school very much because you attend regularly. Your parents told us they like the school very much too. All the adults in your school work so very hard and look after you really carefully. They make sure you have many exciting activities to do every day. Because of this, you are all doing very well in your learning and getting on with each other really well. We could see how much you love learning both inside and outside, even when it is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

raining. We liked how sensibly you put on your boots and raincoats before you used the syringes to squirt water at photographs of the adults. The headteacher, the staff and the governors are always looking for ways to make your school even better. We have asked them to make even more detailed notes about how well you are learning to use numbers. Continue to enjoy all the exciting things you are learning at Maytree Nursery. Yours faithfully, Madeleine Gerard Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Maytree Nursery School, 28 January 2009

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