Peter Pan Nursery School

PROTECT – INSPECTION

Age group 0-5 Inspection date(s) 28-29 September 2009 Inspection number 337282 Peter Pan Nursery School Inspection report

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

Unique Reference Number 109417 Local Authority Bedford Borough Inspection number 337282 Inspection dates 28–29 September 2009 Reporting inspector John Carnaghan

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

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

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

Type of school Nursery School category Community Age range of pupils 0-5 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 139 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr P Smith Headteacher Mrs J Knapp Date of previous school inspection 14 March 2007 School address Edward Road Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 9DR Telephone number 01234 350864 Fax number 01234 300304 Email address peterpan@deal.bedfordshire.gov.uk

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PROTECT – INSPECTION

Registered childcare provision Peter Pan Neighbourhood Nursery

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childcare provision

21 July 2005 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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childcare provision

telephone 08456 404045, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St. Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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childcare provision

T: 08456 404045 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors. The inspectors made eight observations of varying lengths of children’s learning, and held meetings with partners, governors and staff. They observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s planning, monitoring, assessment and safeguarding records plus minutes of governors’ meetings and 38 parental questionnaires.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at the following:

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Introduction

 how well different groups of pupils achieve  how effectively the school uses assessment to provide activities that are relevant and helpful to all children  the effect the school’s monitoring has on improving the school.

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Information about the school

Peter Pan Nursery is smaller than the average nursery school and is located in a Sure Start area. It has very high proportion of children who do not speak English as their first language. The most common first languages of these children are Polish, Punjabi and Urdu. Fourteen languages are spoken at the school. About a quarter of children are White British and the largest minority ethnic groups are of Indian and White Other background. The school has a higher than usual turnover of children and a high proportion take free school lunches. Children leave the school at the end of their first or second term in the Reception year, depending on their ages. The school runs a breakfast and after school club. It also manages the nearby neighbourhood nursery for children who are under four years old. This was inspected at the same time as the school and is evaluated in this report.

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Main findings

Peter Pan Nursery School gives children a good preparation for the future. It provides a good education. Some of its best features, such as the curriculum and the way it engages with parents, are outstanding. Children come to the school from a wide variety of backgrounds and many have significant barriers to their development, such as an inability to understand English and specific learning difficulties. The school’s regards each child as an individual, quickly identifies her or his needs and consistently acts to promote good progress. Children’s attainment rises quickly and all groups achieve well during their time at the school. Children leave school with the expected aptitudes, albeit a little lower in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development.

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Main findings

The exciting curriculum is central to what the school does. The great range of activities offered every day, constantly surprises and delights children. Good teaching, alert and supportive, is very well organised and adapted to address every child’s personal needs. The whole school is a cheerful hive of purposeful activity, where all adults work as a cohesive, efficient team. There are splendid opportunities for children to develop independence as they freely select their activities. Encouraged by adults, they get the most out of what they are doing. Staff assess children’s personal progress regularly, but they do not track all areas of progress or provide enough opportunities for target setting in important areas like literacy. The quality of small group teaching sometimes does not stretch the older, more able children sufficiently.

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Main findings

Children are very well nurtured throughout their time at the school. Arrangements for their welfare and safety are thorough. Children and their needs are well known to staff. Outstanding links with parents and the free flow of information from school to home, and vice versa, make a most positive contribution to children’s personal and academic development. Behaviour is good and children get along with one another very well. They are happy and know they are safe at school.

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Main findings

Good leadership and management promote close teamwork between all staff. Perceptive self-evaluation provides leaders and governors with a clear picture of the school and ensures that planning for the future is both relevant and practical. The school has a good record of acting decisively to address weaknesses, such as variations in achievement by different groups of children. Leaders and managers promote ongoing checks on children to be sure their needs are being met, although this does not currently include all areas of learning. They then target the correct type of support to most individuals or groups, especially younger ones and those with low levels of English, to help them overcome any obstacles. These strengths mean that the school has a good capacity for sustained improvement. The school focuses well on local community cohesion, but does not look further afield sufficiently.

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Main findings

The childcare provision in the Peter Pan Neighbourhood Nursery is excellent. The centre is extremely well equipped and has very pleasant, safe accommodation. The Neighbourhood Nursery is exceptionally well managed and organised to ensure both children’s development and the highest standards of welfare. The very close links with the main nursery ensure a consistently supportive approach to children and parents. The nursery leader provides an outstanding role model for her staff, who work very well as a team. The emphasis on their welfare is firmly supported by comprehensive record keeping and generally effective assessment. Staff know parents very well and are always ready to listen to any of their concerns. This effective liaison is a significant factor in the way children settle happily into the nursery’s daily routines. The excellent provision complies fully with the requirements for registration. The nursery school reports that children moving from the

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Main findings

Neighbourhood Nursery tend to achieve better than others.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 by July 2010, raise children’s attainment, particularly in communication, language and literacy and numeracy development by:  refining and adapting group teaching, so it is more challenging, especially for older children  developing assessment to provide better evidence of children’s progress, to track them more closely and, working with parents, to set targets for academic improvement  improve community cohesion by April 2010, by developing links with partners in a contrasting UK area and abroad

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children’s skills and aptitudes as they start at both nurseries are well below those expected for their ages. At three years old, about a quarter of the children cannot speak English and, for almost two-thirds, English is their second language. The school works very hard to overcome barriers to learning. It is particularly successful in preparing children for future study, nurturing such attributes as self-motivation, enthusiasm to learn, good behaviour, collaboration and independence. All children, enthused by the excellent curriculum, keenly join in activities and make at least good progress. The school’s fully inclusive nature ensures that no groups of children lag behind for long. By the time they leave school, children meet or exceed national expectations in a number of areas, such as creative development and aspects of personal, social and emotional development. However, their skills in communication,

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

language and literacy and mathematical development are a little below what is expected. Their attainment on leaving school is broadly as expected for their age. These outcomes mean that children’s achievement is good.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

Children are happy at school; they behave well and treat one another considerately. They show a good understanding of the basics of safe behaviour and are careful not to endanger others. Their attendance benefits from the school’s constructive relationships with parents and exceeds expectations. Children know the benefits of being active and eating healthy food. They enjoy the fruit snacks provided by the school. They are keen to help around school and contribute to charitable work in the community by, for example, donating harvest festival produce that is distributed to local needy people.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

The school works well to develop the skills children need in the future. It places great emphasis on their moral and social development and promotes multi-cultural understanding very well. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of children 2

These are the grades for children’s outcomes

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Children’s achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Taking into account: Children’s attainment 1 The quality of children’s learning and their progress The quality of learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress 2

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economic well-being

Taking into account: Children’s attendance 1

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How effective is the provision?

The school carefully designs its curriculum to meet fully the needs of all children. Plans are constantly under review and teachers modify and develop them to address children’s developing requirements. The wide range of stimulating experiences and activities offered sustains children’s interest and promotes a love of learning. Children also have excellent opportunities to select learning activities and to work freely, both indoors and outside. The school uses its high quality resources very well. In the whole school activity sessions, many different activities are set up and an adult oversees each. This helps children to select and enjoy their learning.

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How effective is the provision?

Teachers and other adults have high expectations of children and keep a close eye on them to make sure they are happy and succeeding. All adults collaborate closely to promote learning. The staff monitor children’s understanding regularly through precise questioning and this information is used to modify activities.

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How effective is the provision?

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low The quality of the more formal teaching of small groups can be inconsistent. These brief sessions provide good preparation to help children transfer to their lower school but some activities are not challenging enough and this slows the progress of the older children.

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How effective is the provision?

The school is improving the way children are assessed. Currently, all adults are closely involved in noting how children are doing, observing them carefully and recording their new skills. These pieces of information are transferred to a permanent record and help to build a comprehensive file for each child. This is very well used to promote children’s personal development. The school recognises that it should track progress in all areas of learning to enable it to work with parents to set more precise learning targets, to accompany those for children’s personal development.

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How effective is the provision?

The school is very well organised to provide excellent care and welfare. It works exceptionally well with a range of outside agencies and with families to support children with their development. For example, the mother of a Polish child was regularly welcomed into the classroom to support her son’s transition into the school and was aware that, when he is ready to be left, a Polish speaking support assistant will be on hand to help him. Adult helpers are very quick to identify individuals and groups of children who may need specific support and to provide it. Close links with the adjacent lower school ensure very good transition arrangements for the oldest children. The breakfast and after school clubs are well run and provide a safe, positive start to the day for many children.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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2 The quality of teaching

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning 3

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How effective are leadership and management?

The head teacher and deputy help focus the school’s efforts on the most important priorities. They provide very positive role models .They lead the close-knit staff well and are always to be found working closely with children. Leaders have a very good understanding of the children, their parents and their staff. Monitoring information feeds into the school’s relevant and practical plans for the future. The school works assiduously to eliminate gaps between groups of children, powerfully promoting equality of opportunity. It reacts very quickly to new information, so there are no significant variations in the development of any group of children. Governors are most supportive of the school and fulfil their safeguarding role well. They visit regularly, follow specific briefs and check up on aspects of the school development plan. The knowledge they gain is well utilised to challenge the school, when

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How effective are leadership and management?

All staff go out of their way to engage with parents, particularly those who may be initially reluctant to work with the school. They are always available to chat with parents at the start and end of sessions and parents appreciate this. Many parents receive very positive support to help them develop skills relevant to helping their children, such as improving their English. The school also works very closely with partner schools, like the adjacent first school and the local secondary school. Leaders are skilled at engaging with agencies to support the health and safety of all children. Good work with partners, such as speech therapy specialists, secures effective interventions for particular groups of children.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The safeguarding of children is good. The school has clear strategies, policies and procedures and the safety of both sites is very effective. It provides good value for money; resources are well deployed and accommodation is very effectively used to promote good outcomes for children. The school actively promotes community cohesion within its confines, as well as in the local community. It is a very harmonious place, where children from widely differing backgrounds get along very well. However, it has few links further afield, either in this country or abroad.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management

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driving improvement

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Views of parents and carers

Approximately a third of parents returned questionnaires. Those who did were almost universally happy with the school and neighbourhood nursery. A typical comment was, ‘I’m so pleased with the nursery, staff are friendly and professional and provide a safe and happy environment for my child.’ A small number of parents were not entirely satisfied with the information the school provides about their child’s progress, but inspectors found that there are numerous opportunities for parents to discuss progress with teachers and other staff.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of children registered at the Peter Pan Nursery School and Peter Pan Neighbourhood Nursery to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, 126 parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 12 statements about the school. The inspection team received 38 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 139 children registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 25 66 13 34 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 18 47 18 47 2 5 0 0 The school informs me about my child’s progress 15 39 19 50 4 11 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 15 39 22 58 1 3 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 19 50 19 50 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child’s learning 15 39 18 51 2 6 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 15 39 20 57 1 3 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 13 34 22 63 1 3 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child’s particular needs 15 39 20 57 0 0 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 13 39 21 60 1 3 0 0 The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 12 34 20 57 3 9 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 20 57 15 43 0 0 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 17 49 18 51 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its children’s needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its children well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its children. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its children. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 39 58 3 0 Primary schools 13 50 33 4 Secondary schools 17 40 34 9 Sixth forms 18 43 37 2 Special schools 26 54 18 2 Pupil referral units 7 55 30 7 All schools 15 49 32 5

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above were reported in The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2007/08. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Secondary school figures include those that have sixth forms, and sixth form figures include only the data specifically for sixth form inspection judgements.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a child in their learning and development.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: in other phases of school, for example primary schools, attainment is the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons. However, there is no national average for three- and four-year-olds. Therefore, in inspections of nursery schools, inspectors take account of expectations in the age-related bands of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well children acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.  The school’s capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of children.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets children’s needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which children are learning in nursery sessions and over longer periods of time. 30 September 2009

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Nursery, Bedford MK42 9DR

It was lovely meeting such well-behaved and friendly children when we visited your nursery recently. Thank you for all your help. We believe that your nursery school and nursery are good; your teachers look after you well and give you a great place to play and learn. There are lots of good things, such as the way no-one gets left behind and everyone is so well looked after. The school is so friendly to parents. This is great and really helps you get on so well.

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Nursery, Bedford MK42 9DR

The super mix of things that are organised for you to do, and the good teaching, helps everyone to enjoy their days and achieve well. The head teacher and other grown ups help you a lot and run the school well. We have asked the school to improve three things to make it even better:

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Nursery, Bedford MK42 9DR

 improve teaching when you are together in groups, so that older children get the right sort of work to do,  organise things so that your teachers can tell you the best way to improve your reading, speaking, listening and number skills  start working with other schools in different parts of the country and the world.

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Nursery, Bedford MK42 9DR

Once again, thanks for all your help. It was very nice to meet you.

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from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy

of the guidance, please telephone 08456 404045 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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