Minet Infant and Nursery School

Minet Nursery and Infant School Inspection report

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102392 Unique Reference Number Hillingdon Local Authority 323636 Inspection number 30 June –1 July 2009 Inspection dates Linda McGill HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Infant Type of school Community School category 3–7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 465 School (total) 118 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Ian Moules Chair Mrs Judith Lynch Headteacher 10 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Avondale Drive School address Hayes UB3 3NR 020 8573 5177 Telephone number 020 8561 3207 Fax number

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3–7 Age group 30 June –1 July 2009 Inspection dates 323636 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 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Minet Nursery and Infant School is much larger than a typical infant school. The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises a nursery unit of 120 children who attend on a part-time basis, and four Reception classes. The school's intake reflects the local area, which is one of wide ethnic and linguistic diversity. Some of the pupils' families face considerable challenges in their lives, for example, they have refugee status or are seeking asylum. The proportion of pupils who speak English in addition to another language at home is very high, and many pupils are in the early stages of learning English. Altogether, 48 different languages are spoken by the pupils. A substantial proportion of pupils are entitled to a free school meal, reflecting the challenging economic circumstances of many families. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is also high. In the main, pupils' difficulties relate to

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Description of the school

their behaviour, learning, and speech, language and communication. Mobility is very high; many pupils join the school or leave it throughout the course of the school year. The school has been awarded the Activemark and has Healthy School Status.

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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: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009

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Grade: 2

Minet Nursery and Infant School has taken significant strides forward since its last inspection and its overall effectiveness is good. This has happened because the headteacher, governors and staff know the pupils, their families and the local area very well and have worked together effectively to try to meet the exceptionally wide range of pupils' needs. Some aspects of the school's work stand out as exemplary. The pastoral care and the attention paid to children's welfare are excellent, and the school works extremely well with other providers and organisations to ensure the pupils' well-being. The approach to dealing with absence is meticulous and has led to significant improvements in attendance levels, which are now in line with those of similar schools. Parents are included in many ways in the school's work and in additional activities, and the school does a great deal to support both individual families and

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Grade: 2

groups. The school's promotion of community cohesion is outstanding. Pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures is very strong; they know that respect and acceptance of difference are important. 'If you respect others, then they will respect you', explained one pupil. Celebratory events such as One World Week, which involved every parent and child in both the infant and the junior schools, are powerful ways of bringing the local community together. The school strives to make sure that every child's educational and pastoral needs are met, and in this supportive atmosphere the pupils grow and thrive. When children start school, their skills and knowledge are generally below those of typical three-year-olds, especially in their social development and their language and communication. The standards that they reach by the age of seven are below what is expected nationally but, overall, the pupils have made good progress to get to this point. After a satisfactory start in

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Grade: 2

the Nursery, pupils' progress accelerates as they move through the rest of the school. This is because of some good whole-class teaching, but also because of well-targeted interventions that are very effective in boosting the progress of pupils who have additional needs. Not all teaching is up to this standard, however. In a few lessons, the distinction between what pupils are to do and what they are to learn is not always clear enough. The pupils know their targets for writing and mathematics and can explain broadly what they are aiming for in their work, but are not always sure about the precise next steps they need to take to get there. The staff work hard to make sure the pupils acquire the social skills and self-esteem that they need in order to be successful learners. This helps them to grow in confidence and develop into lively, happy individuals, keen to work and play with one another. Pupils enjoy school and say

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Grade: 2

that they like their friends and their teachers. Their behaviour is good. Their positive attitudes, together with the good progress they make in their learning, prepare them well for the next step in their lives. The good curriculum also contributes to the pupils' enjoyment of school. The positive impact that the school's work is having on the pupils' progress and well-being is testament to good leadership and management, both at senior level and in year-group teams. Teamwork is strong. The staff are rightly pleased with the improvements that have been made since the last inspection and the capacity to continue to improve is good.

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Grade: 3

The positive, welcoming atmosphere in the Nursery helps children to settle well into school life. There have been many improvements to organisation and provision since the last inspection. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009 The Nursery now has a 'key worker' system; teachers and nursery nurses have responsibility for a group of children, with whom they form a close bond and whose development they carefully track. Helping children to develop their social and language skills is rightly given a high priority. Teaching is satisfactory, and ensures that children make satisfactory progress during their time in the Nursery. Progress is not better than this because activities tend to cover the areas of learning at levels appropriate to the children's ages and stages of development, rather than being closely matched to the small steps that they need to take next in their learning. Children's

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Grade: 3

progress accelerates during the Reception Year because of generally good teaching and the provision of a wide range of interesting and carefully planned activities, indoors and out. Across the Early Years Foundation Stage, children have plenty of scope to choose activities for themselves and they also take part willingly in activities led by adults. The proportion of children who reach the goals expected by the end of the Reception Year is increasing, but is still smaller than that found nationally. Across the Nursery and Reception classes, the children are safe and well cared for. The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed. The Foundation Stage leader has a clear understanding of what needs to be done next to improve practice further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that children make good progress in the Nursery by planning activities that are more closely matched to individual learning needs. ■ Achieve greater consistency in the impact of teaching by ensuring that teachers' planning focuses precisely on what groups of pupils need to learn next.

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Grade: 2

By the end of Year 2, the school's results in reading, writing and mathematics are below the national average. However, to get to this point, many children have made good strides forward in their learning from their low starting points and are closing the gap towards what is expected for their age. This year, the school has been working on improving pupils' writing skills and has had some considerable success. About two thirds of the pupils in Year 2 made good or better progress from their starting points, and the proportion reaching the expected Level 2 has increased. Progress in mathematics is not quite so strong but, even so, almost half of the pupils made good or better progress this year. Mathematics is a focus for the school's work in the coming year. The school pays meticulous attention to meeting the wide range of needs of the many pupils who find work difficult, who are still learning to speak English or who need support

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Grade: 2

in developing their social skills or confidence. This work pays dividends because the pupils make good progress towards their individual targets.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Pupils have good social skills and their awareness and understanding of different cultures, faiths and traditions are particular strengths. They behave sensibly and are respectful of their teachers and each other. They need no encouragement to eat healthily; during the inspection peas in their pods were a very popular snack at break-time and pupils understood the need to drink plenty of water and juice during the very hot weather. They were keen to demonstrate the way they have been taught to stand up to bullies, although they said 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009 they do not need to do this very often. The pupils enjoy opportunities to take responsibility as monitors, buddies or members of the school council. They are also aware of their

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Grade: 2

responsibilities in the wider community, for example by recycling. Recently, they petitioned the local council to lobby for measures to deal with the traffic in the road outside the school and await the forthcoming visit of a councillor.

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Grade: 2

There is a calm and hard-working atmosphere in most lessons. Pupils are keen to learn and do their best. This shows in the care that they take in presenting their work and the pride they have when sharing what they have done with others. Teachers analyse the progress pupils make and give extra support where it is needed. Teaching assistants are used well in making this support effective. Teachers' planning shows what they intend their pupils to learn in each lesson. This works best when expressed with precision; for example, in one lesson pupils were describing in writing a route they had drawn on a map of Treasure Island. Because the teacher focused the pupils' thinking on how to use the language of sequence and direction, all pupils succeeded in producing well-written work at various levels. One pupil wrote, 'Next, go up through the scary Black Forest, then you have a choice to go left or right.' However, on other

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Grade: 2

occasions, the learning intention focuses too much on what pupils are to do rather than on what they need to learn next. Teachers' marking is thorough, though it does not always indicate the next step for pupils to take in order to reach a higher level.

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Grade: 2

Over the last two years, the curriculum has been changed to take greater account of pupils' interests and how they prefer to learn. For example, Year 2 pupils wanted to learn about dinosaurs in a topic on London, so the planning was amended to include aspects of prehistory. The teaching takes good account of pupils' differing backgrounds. Much work has been put into designing topics that link different subjects so that National Curriculum requirements are fulfilled and the pupils' interests engaged. Planning for literacy and numeracy is good and meets the needs of pupils of different abilities, although the link between pupils' individual targets and what they need to learn next is not always clear. There is a wide range of well-attended after-school clubs. Topics are enlivened by visits out of school or workshops in school, such as those arranged for the recent One World week, which enriched pupils'

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Grade: 2

understanding of the varied backgrounds of their classmates.

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Grade: 2

The school places a strong emphasis on ensuring the pupils are well cared for. Pastoral care is exemplary. Arrangements for protecting children and keeping them safe are robust and well known. The school has many links with other agencies and providers, including the extended schools partnership, and works very well with them to meet the many and varied needs of individual pupils and their families. Children who join the school during the course of the year settle quickly, helped in no small part by their special 'buddy', one of their classmates who looks after them in the first few weeks at school. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009 Assessment procedures for literacy and numeracy are good. Assessments are checked regularly by senior staff to ensure their accuracy and are used consistently to give pupils targets to move them on to the next level. Pupils know what their targets are and some can explain how they

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Grade: 2

use them to make their work better. 'I have to check my writing to make sure I have used connectives,' said one girl. Assessment in other subjects is less formal and is left to individual teachers.

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Grade: 2

The school is well led and managed. The headteacher was new in post at the time of the last inspection. Since then she has, with the good support of the senior team and governors, brought about improvements in important aspects of the school's work. Regular evaluations ensure that the school's particular strengths and the areas requiring further work are well known and are included in the plan for improvement. The plan includes clear and measurable targets for further improvement. Weaknesses in teaching revealed as a result of monitoring have been tackled robustly. However, the impact of support provided for teachers to improve aspects of their practice is not systematically followed up. Senior and middle leaders are businesslike and professional in their approach to working with their teams and to raising standards. Governors provide good support, which is balanced with an appropriate degree of questioning and

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Grade: 2

challenge. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 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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Achievement and standards

1 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: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 July 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Minet Nursery and Infant School,Hayes,UB3 3NR You might remember those very hot days recently, when it was just too hot to have your sports day. You might also remember that three inspectors came to visit. I was one of those inspectors and I am writing now to say thank you very much for talking to us and sharing your work with us. We had a lovely time. Inspectors check things and then they write a report - it even goes on the internet. The report for your school says that:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ your school is a good school (I am sure you know that already)

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you do well in your learning and make good progress

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ events like One World Week help everybody to get along happily with each other

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspectors also say what needs to be done next. We have asked your teachers to think very carefully about exactly what they want you to learn when they plan each lesson. We saw that there have been changes in the Nursery class and we want things to continue to get even better there, so that the youngest children get a flying start. I know you always try hard in lessons and I know that you will keep this up. Yours faithfully Linda McGill Her Majesty's Inspector PS I hope you did get to have a lovely sports day and family picnic. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Minet Nursery and Infant School, 30 June –1 July 2009

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