Broomhall Nursery School

Broomhall Nursery School Inspection report

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106973 Unique Reference Number Sheffield Local Authority 324499 Inspection number 9–10 December 2008 Inspection dates Joe Peacock 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 132 School (total) The governing body Appropriate authority S Carmen Chair Mrs Gill Peacock Headteacher 26 April 2006 Date of previous school inspection 4 Broomhall Road School address Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2DN 0114 2721453 Telephone number 0114 2738994 Fax number

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3–5 Age group 9–10 December 2008 Inspection dates 324499 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 10 Inspection Report: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Broomhall Nursery is a Children's Centre, combining the resources of a nursery school and early years centre to meet the needs of children 0 Ä 5 years and their families. This inspection reports on the nursery school provision for children over 3 years old. The Nursery is an Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provider with children attending for either three-hour part-time sessions or for some full days. The school serves a very diverse inner city area ranging from disadvantaged to more affluent communities; half of the children are from minority ethnic backgrounds and many speak English as an additional language. In total, 22 different languages are spoken by children. The proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average but those attending often have very complex needs.

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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: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008

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Grade: 2

Broomhall is a good school with some outstanding features and is providing good value for money. The exceptional leadership of the headteacher, reported at the previous inspection, continues to ensure that all children have a good start to their education. The inspector's judgement confirms the school's mostly accurate self-evaluation. Parents are very satisfied with the quality of what is going on and a typical view is that Broomhall is a 'fantastic school with lots of happy children'. The school has continued to improve provision, particularly in its support for children in the early stages of learning English. Overall, when they join the Nursery, children's skills across all the areas of learning are typical for their age. However, many children begin the Nursery with skills that are below expected levels in communication, language and literacy because they are at the earliest stages of learning

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Grade: 2

English as an additional language. Nevertheless, all children make good progress and leave the Nursery with skills that are generally above those expected. This means that they are well prepared for their future education. There is a good balance between the adult-led activities and the ones that children choose for themselves. The excellent partnership with a range of outside agencies directly supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Provision for these children is a significant strength and, as a result, most make excellent progress. Children's personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. This is because the good curriculum and outstanding welfare provision promote personal development very effectively. Children in the Nursery thoroughly enjoy coming to school. Children know and understand that eating healthily is very important.

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Grade: 2

The effective provision for learning includes interesting activities such as examining a block of ice and solving problems. Practical and play activities allow children to develop their unique interests and abilities well. However, access to computers for children is limited as the school only has one computer in each classroom. The school has recently started to match its various programmes for teaching and learning to the new EYFS guidelines, but there remains some work to do to ensure that the quality and range of learning outdoors is as well planned as it is for learning indoors. Plans are in place to improve the very spacious outdoor learning area further by developing zones for the different areas of learning and ensuring that teachers' planning covers these. Overall, leadership and management are good. A significant factor here has been the strong vision of the experienced headteacher and the good support of senior colleagues, particularly

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Grade: 2

in resolving issues identified in the previous inspection. Governors are deeply committed and very supportive of the school. The school has an excellent capacity to go on improving given the hard work and dedication shown by all staff and the exceptional leadership provided by the headteacher.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers' planning provides the same wide range of learning experiences outdoors as it does indoors. ■ Improve resources for information and communication technology and ensure that children have better access to computers to support their learning in all areas of the curriculum. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008

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Grade: 2

Children who are learning English as an additional language come on in leaps and bounds because of the good opportunities provided to promote speaking skills. Records show that the children's skills are especially good in their social development, physical development and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Their overall performance is lower in communication, language and literacy and in their mathematical development. This is linked to some extent to the less well developed skills of some boys in writing and calculation. The school has identified these two aspects for improvement and has successfully introduced a raft of measures aimed at raising standards. As a result, the gap in skills between boys and girls is closing. Children's creative development is supported by the many opportunities to cut, glue and create. For example, they enjoyed making Christmas cards and weaving colourful paper

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Grade: 2

indoors and outside. The extensive grounds support children's physical development effectively. All tried really hard to pass their driving test by negotiating obstacles, reading road signs and parking their tricycles.

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Grade: 2

Children thoroughly enjoy coming to school. They show good self-esteem, confidence and independence and immerse themselves in the activities on offer as soon as they arrive. Children talk about themselves and what they are doing with some confidence because staff engage them well in sustained conversation. Children's behaviour is generally good and they learn to share with one another. Most are keen to learn and the many exciting things provided for them ensure that they often concentrate for long periods of time. However, occasionally if the activities are not sufficiently challenging, some lose interest and wander from one activity to another. All have an excellent understanding about healthy food and the importance of exercise. Most children are prepared well for the next stage of their education, with speaking and listening skills being particularly strong. There are, however, limited opportunities for children to extend

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Grade: 2

their learning in all areas of the curriculum by using modern technology. Overall, attendance is satisfactory for the majority of children.

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Grade: 2

Children's good progress is successfully promoted by effective teaching, particularly in developing language and communication skills for the many who speak English as an additional language. Thorough and accurate observations of children's language and other needs lead to effective and direct teaching in groups and for individual children. The excellent relationships between children and staff ensure that children are confident and happy. As a result, most make good gains in their learning. 'I've got a dilemma,' was the opening to one outstanding short session where children's thinking was challenged to get two joined magnets out of a narrow necked bottle. The silence was deafening as all thought long and hard for the solution after taking it in turns to give the plastic bottle a good shake! One boy wanted to saw the bottle in half. After much discussion a solution was found. The curriculum promotes academic

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Grade: 2

and personal development well. It is enriched by visitors and visits. Following a detailed 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008 assessment of children's progress, programmes of learning are well matched and helpfully modified to meet children's needs, especially for those who have some difficulties in learning. Teachers' planning is detailed for indoor learning and effectively covers all areas of the curriculum. However, planning for the outdoor curriculum does not have the same breadth or range of learning experiences at present.

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Grade: 1

'Growing and learning together for a brighter future' is the school's motto so the particular needs of individual children are of paramount importance to all staff. Parents state how much they value what staff do for their children. 'School is like a huge caring family,' and, 'deeply committed, experienced and well loved teachers' are typical comments. The caring and dedicated staff help make this a very special place for children. Promoting children's welfare as a result is outstanding. All staff are sensitive to young children's needs and there is a strong focus on helping them to enjoy school and to attend regularly. The close contact with caring adults ensures that all children make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. There are robust policies relating to all welfare matters, such as how to administer medicines and give first aid. Policies to safeguard children meet current government requirements. The

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Grade: 1

school has served the community for 78 years and is an integral part of it, holding its own carnival each year. Other links with outside agencies have been developed over time and are outstanding. These provide invaluable support for children, their parents and staff. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are particularly well provided for and this enables them to make excellent progress.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher leads and manages the school exceptionally well and there is a strong sense of teamwork among staff. All have a clear view of the school's strengths and self-evaluation is mostly accurate. Staff work effectively to ensure equality of opportunity for all. The enthusiasm, experience and commitment of the special needs coordinator ensures that all children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have the support they need to do well. The school's contribution to promoting community cohesion is good. The Nursery provides a base for the community to seek and find assistance and guidance, in a range of matters, often beyond education. Many parents regard the mix of different cultures as enriching and praise the school for the way it helps all children to enjoy their time at Broomhall. Governance is good. Most governors are parents and so are keen to become much more involved in helping to

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Grade: 2

monitor and evaluate all aspects of its work with a view to improving its effectiveness further. The school does not have many computers for children to use and the only interactive whiteboard has not yet been moved back into the classroom following building repairs. This limits children's opportunities to use modern technology. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 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: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 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? 1 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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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children?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 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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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: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 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: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Broomhall Nursery School, Sheffield, S10 2DN Thank you so much for helping me during my inspection of your school. I thought your school was good. I could see how much you enjoyed the activities that were planned for you. It was fun exploring ice, taking your driving test outside and helping your teacher to solve her dilemma over the magnets that were stuck in the plastic bottle. The visit to the farm was very interesting and gave you lots to talk about. It was good to see how sensible and grown up you were as you got ready for your visit. I can see why you and your parents and carers are proud of your school. Your wonderful headteacher and staff are doing a great job. To make things even better, it would be good if you had more computers to use and I think you could do many more exciting and interesting things outdoors. Thank you for the CD of your songs. Whenever I am stuck in traffic on the motorway I will play

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

it to cheer myself up and remind me of my two lovely days with you. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Broomhall Nursery School, 9–10 December 2008

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