Brougham Street Nursery School

Brougham Street Nursery School Inspection report

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121268 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 327441 Inspection number 3–4 December 2008 Inspection dates Diane Auton 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 Maintained School category 3–5 Age range of pupils Girls Gender of pupils Number on roll 49 School (total) The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Judy Probst Chair Mrs Angela Harrison Headteacher 8 November 2005 Date of previous school inspection Brougham Street School address Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 2ES 01756 793441 Telephone number 01756 709986 Fax number

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3–5 Age group 3–4 December 2008 Inspection dates 327441 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: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school serves an area of mixed housing, with some pockets of social and economic disadvantage. It provides Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) education for children aged 3 to 4 years. Most children join the school immediately after their third birthday and, therefore, admissions are ongoing throughout the year. Children attend on a part-time basis and with a variety of patterns of provision matched to the needs of individual families. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including speech and language, is high at around 50%. A small number of children have home languages other than English. The school's long-serving headteacher retired at the end of the last school year and was succeeded at the start of this term by an acting headteacher, who has been temporarily seconded from another school in the local authority. The school is designated to become a Children's Centre and to move out of its current 1950's

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Description of the school

pre-fabricated building to newly built accommodation on the same site in September 2009.

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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: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008

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Grade: 2

Brougham Street Nursery provides a good education for its children. The main reason for the Nursery's success is the motivation and dedication of its staff. They regard every child as an individual and ensure their unique needs are met. Parents overwhelmingly agree and typical views are, 'My child loves going to Nursery', 'Staff make time to talk with me and have given me good advice and reassurance', and, 'We can see an improvement in all areas of our child's development'. Achievement is good. Many of the children, when they begin Nursery, have few of the skills that are expected at this age. Their social, self-help and communication skills, in particular, are often underdeveloped and many have immature speech. As a result of the whole-school focus on these areas, most children move on to Reception with skills that are at expected levels in all areas of learning. The high proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

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Grade: 2

makes good progress in relation to their starting points as a result of the school's effective response to their needs. Children who are at an early stage of learning English when they enter Nursery progress well and gain confidence and skills as communicators. Children's personal development and well-being is good because it is nurtured well. They are happy and very eager to be at Nursery and this is reflected in their good attendance and excellent behaviour. Their spiritual, moral and cultural development is outstanding. In the secure environment of the Nursery, children become independent and confident learners, well prepared for the next stage in their education. They have a good understanding of healthy and safe lifestyles and put this into practice at snack times when they enjoy helping to prepare and serve the fruit. The indoor and outside areas give them many opportunities to develop their

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Grade: 2

interests and skills in activities that are absorbing and stimulating for them. Children's welfare is given high priority and supervision is extremely good at all times. The Nursery has excellent links with a range of outside agencies that contribute to the children's welfare and progress. The quality of children's learning and development is good. Staff know their children well. They make careful and detailed observations which enable them to plan activities which the children enjoy. They have a good knowledge of the new EYFS curriculum and plans have been adapted well to meet the changes. A good range of resources and relevant themes means that children can relate to what they are being taught. Well-designed programmes give very effective support to children who have speech and language difficulties and help them to improve their skills. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) to extend children's knowledge

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Grade: 2

and understanding in their learning is underdeveloped, however. This is mainly because of issues around restricted accommodation in the current building, but is, nonetheless, a gap in the school's provision to support the children's learning. Leadership and management are good. Strong leadership from the acting headteacher ensures that the current period of change and transition is being managed well. The smooth day-to-day running of the Nursery has been maintained and high standards of provision sustained. All staff are fully involved and support each other, discussing concerns, celebrating achievements and planning for improvement. Regular checks are made on children's progress and the school uses these well to help it plan actions to support their learning. The school relies on informal evaluations of the quality and impact of teaching and mechanisms are not yet in place to enable leaders, including the supportive governing body, to monitor this aspect of its performance.

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Grade: 2

The school, therefore, has a satisfactory understanding of how well it is doing. However, the 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008 strong team ethos, with staff and governors united in their clear vision and resolve to take the school forward successfully towards its new designation, and the way children clearly flourish in their learning and development mean the school has good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Devise and implement an effective system for monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and its impact on children's learning. ■ Extend opportunities for children to use ICT in all areas of their learning.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress in all areas of their learning from starting points which are below age-related expectations, particularly in their social and speaking and listening skills. Children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities as well as those with social or emotional problems or who are at an early stage of learning English make equally good progress. This is because of good quality teaching by extremely caring, supportive staff who give children a good range of learning opportunities, both indoors and out, which excite, interest and challenge the children. Staff work effectively in close partnership with parents and outside agencies to ensure children's unique needs are met. Consequently, by the time they are ready to move on to Reception, most children are working at the expected levels for their age. Good attention is given to extending and challenging more able children and this helps to ensure that they

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Grade: 2

Children thoroughly enjoy coming to Nursery and take part in all the activities with great enthusiasm. Their excellent spiritual, moral and social development is clearly apparent. Outstanding behaviour is the norm because children have absorbed the school's culture of respect and cooperation. Children develop a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe and comply with the simple rules that relate to this, for example, out of doors on 'mini-beast hill', where they actively pursue their observations and collections of insects and bugs but keep the safety rule on how far to climb. Children from a wide range of backgrounds play together very harmoniously and show care and kindness towards each other. The children show a growing awareness of which foods are really good for them; they enjoy the healthy snacks provided for them and the sociable nature of snack time. They can talk about their learning activities with

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Grade: 2

growing confidence and clarity of expression. They develop good self-help and skills for independence, for example, knowing they must wash their hands before eating, putting on their own wellingtons and wrapping up warmly to play out of doors. They are prepared well for the next stage in their learning by focused teaching of early literacy and numeracy skills.

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Grade: 2

Children get off to a good start and develop positive attitudes to learning. This is because staff know each child well and address their individual learning needs effectively. There are good opportunities for children to investigate and explore their environment, both indoors and 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008 outside. Activities are planned and organised well. They are tailored to match the wide range of the children's needs, enabling all, regardless of ability, to experience and enjoy success. Assessment is thorough and achievements are recorded and celebrated. Children enjoy looking at and talking about the photos and examples of their work in their personal folders. They work well with adults and independently. They collaborate well with each other, for example, in exciting activities such as listing, preparing and mixing the ingredients for Christmas cakes.

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Grade: 2

Regular trips to local shops and the recycling centre enrich children's awareness of the world of work and ecological issues. Good home/school relations support parents in helping their children to succeed as learners. Parents appreciate initiatives such as the 'story sacks' that provide books, toys and ideas for learning at home. The provision to help children to learn early literacy and numeracy skills is systematic and effective. Very effective individual support is given to children who have speech and language difficulties, with well-trained staff working in partnership with the speech therapy service. Children who are learning to speak English also benefit significantly from these programmes. Resources for ICT are insufficient and this reduces opportunities for children to learn through using ICT.

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Grade: 2

Children are well cared for in the Nursery. They thrive in a safe and secure environment which enables them to feel comfortable and ready to learn. Key workers have been allocated to ensure that each child has their own special adult to oversee their care and development. This is a new initiative and it is too early to evaluate its impact, but parents appreciate the good communications the school provides and say they feel that the key workers contribute well to this. These good links with parents reassure the children and so they quickly develop trusting relationships with staff and with each other. Child protection and safeguarding procedures are in place and meet requirements. Behaviour is managed extremely well. Arrangements to ensure children's physical safety and well-being are robust. Staff make good use of information relating to children's achievements to identify quickly any child in need of additional support. The

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Grade: 2

Nursery gives particularly effective support to enriching children's speech and language experiences and developing their confidence and skills as communicators. This is a major factor in children's good progress.

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Grade: 2

There is a strong sense of teamwork throughout the Nursery. The acting headteacher leads well and understands the school's strengths and areas for development. Staff and governors share her sense of purpose. Equality of opportunity for all children is given high priority. This is seen, particularly, in the school's proactive response to the needs of the high proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and in the good support given to ensure that all children participate fully in every available activity. There are good procedures for day-to-day management to ensure that things run smoothly. Community cohesion is good and there are effective links with children's parents. Plans are in place to develop more effective and systematic monitoring of the quality of teaching, but they have not yet reached the implementation stage. This is why self-evaluation is not as strong as it should be. Governors

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Grade: 2

are supportive and are developing their ability to act as critical friends to the school, although they are not yet involved in checking on the quality of teaching. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 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: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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 2 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 2 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 2 The attendance of learners 1 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? 2 How effectively is the welfare of the children in the EYFS promoted? 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me so welcome when I visited your Nursery. I came to see how the Nursery is doing and how you are all getting along with your learning. I had a lovely time and really enjoyed meeting you all. This is what I found out.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are being given a good education at the Nursery.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The grown-ups in the Nursery look after you well and so you are very happy children who enjoy learning. ■ Your behaviour is extremely good and you are very kind to each other.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ There are lots of exciting and interesting activities for you to take part in and this is helping you to do well and learn new skills. ■ The staff in the Nursery work well with your parents to make sure they know how you are getting on and to help them to help you to learn at home. ■ The Nursery is well led and managed by the headteacher and the staff.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I have asked the headteacher and the staff to find more opportunities for you to use ICT in the Nursery. I have also asked them to improve the ways they check on the quality of teaching. You can help by continuing to be happy learners and good, kind children! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. With my best wishes for the future 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Brougham Street Nursery School, 3–4 December 2008

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