Grosvenor Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve attendance for the small number of parents who are more reluctant to send their children to school on a regular basis.
• Ensure that the feedback given to teachers after observations of teaching and learning provides even more information about the progress that the different groups of children are making.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Every effort is made to ensure that children achieve to the best of their ability at Grosvenor Nursery School. The school has been through a period of turbulence in recent years. To their credit, staff have not let this have an impact on the high quality of education and care that they provide for children. The nursery runs like clockwork. Staff clearly understand their roles and work exceptionally well as a team to promote outstanding outcomes for children.
• The new headteacher has worked at the school for a significant number of years; her previous role was that of assistant headteacher. She has been instrumental in making many changes, which have enhanced the quality of the provision even further. For example, she has successfully integrated two-year-olds into the provision and set up a ‘high needs’ unit for children who have very complex needs. To add to this, she has revised the planning of activities to ensure that they are now more sharply focused on children’s interests.
• The headteacher knows her school very well. Self-evaluation is honest and accurate. Priorities for development are set out in the school development plan, with clear lines of responsibility and regular monitoring arrangements.
• The headteacher has developed the role of middle leaders to encourage them to take a more active part in the leadership and management of the school. For example, teachers have been given responsibility for monitoring the quality of teaching delivered by support staff. Other staff members have taken responsibility for leading a project, working with parents to equip them with the skills to help them develop their children’s reading and writing skills at home. Finally, with her encouragement, some support staff have completed additional qualifications to help them develop their roles in education.
• Leaders monitor the quality of teaching closely and give staff helpful hints to improve. This feedback is appreciated. However, at times, the feedback after formal lesson observations does not focus sharply enough on the progress that different groups of children are making. The headteacher recognises this. Training is used very effectively to support staff improvement.
• Excellent use is made of the early years pupil premium funding, ensuring that disadvantaged children flourish during their time at the nursery. The headteacher has a very good understanding of the challenges that this group of children face that may have an impact on their learning. Such very good practice demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.
• The special educational needs (SEN) funding is equally well spent to meet the very diverse needs of children who attend the school. The nursery is fully inclusive. This results in high-quality support for children who have SEN and/or disabilities, particularly in the ‘high needs’ base.
• The outstanding curriculum builds on children’s experiences and interests and successfully promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children learn that we live in a very diverse world through a varied range of meaningful experiences. An exciting range of visitors to the nursery, and trips in the local area, broaden children’s experiences further and enthuse their passion for learning. For example, children visit the library, local shops, railway station and park. Visitors to the school include storytellers, street dancers, train drivers and police officers.
• British values are woven though all aspects of the nursery’s work and everyday life. For example, holding a ballot to name the school rabbit teaches children about democracy. Staff, through their words and actions, demonstrate British values. They lead by example and children follow.
• The nursery works well with schools in the local area to support each other with training and the moderation of children’s work. Good levels of support are also given to students from local universities, colleges and high schools who are working in the school to help them develop their careers in education.
• Transition arrangements into the nursery and onwards to Reception are effective. Parents really do appreciate that these arrangements are tailored to suit the needs of each child. Plans are afoot to introduce home visits to give staff an even deeper knowledge of each child, before they start at the nursery.
• Relationships with parents are exemplary. Parents hold the school in the highest regard. Many travel from far afield to send their children to the nursery. Parents are effusive about the care and the quality of education that the school provides for their children.

Governance of the school

• Governors bring a variety of experiences to their roles, including some with an educational background. Some of the governors have been in post for over 10 years.
• Governors are regular visitors to the school and proud of its achievements. They believe that the quality of education that that this school offers is ‘second to none’.
• They are aware of the school’s priorities and the progress that children are making.
• Safeguarding duties are taken seriously. The budget is monitored with an eagle eye. Governors are not afraid to make difficult decisions to ensure that the nursery remains sustainable.
• Governors act as a critical friend to the headteacher, offering her good levels of support and challenge in equal measure.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff talk with confidence about the indicators of abuse or neglect. They recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and are aware of procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child’s welfare. Relevant telephone numbers are on the back of their identity badges, which they wear at all times.
• Staff talk with some confidence about the latest national concerns of radicalisation, sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation.
• There are comprehensive procedures in place for the recruitment and selection of staff. No new member of staff is allowed to start working at the nursery until all checks have been completed. The single central record is compliant.
• The school site is secure and the visitors’ credentials are checked closely.
• The school works well with parents and other stakeholders to ensure that children are safe. All records relating to safeguarding are fit for purpose.
• At the time of this inspection there were no breaches of the statutory welfare requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Fundamental to the outstanding teaching are the wonderful relationships that children have with staff, particularly their key person.
• All staff working directly with the children have a clear understanding of the ethos of the early years foundation stage and of the importance of learning through play-based activities. The planning of activities is personalised to the needs of each child and linked to their interests.
• Learning is exciting and, above all, fun at this school. Children are very secure in the routines that operate within the nursery. The organisation of the day, with regard to the provision of adult-directed and free-play activities, meets their needs exceptionally well. High-quality questioning probes and deepens children’s learning.
• The quality of the learning environment, both indoors and outside, is quite simply breathtaking. Children delight in the freedom that they have as they move freely between indoors and outside. Resources are of high quality and used creatively and skilfully by staff to inspire children and bring learning to life. For example, during a phonics session, a member of staff dressed as a witch and used resources related to Halloween to develop children’s concepts of syllables. The delight in children’s faces as they clapped out and counted the syllables in words, such as ‘spider’, ‘apple’ and ‘skeleton’ was a joy to see.
• Children are not afraid of getting things wrong and are keen to have a go. For example, a child in the two-year-old room spent a long time trying to work out how he could get a get a pushchair over a wooden stump. Initially, he tried to push it over, but through trial and error he soon found out that the best solution was to lift it over. When observing children at play, most staff are skilled at knowing when to intervene and when to stand back and let children work things out for themselves.
• Staff work well as a team and are very well deployed. No time is wasted and staff spend all of their time working with the children to develop and extend their learning. Language skills are exceptionally well promoted and most staff model the correct use of language. There is a real buzz of conversation around the school. For example, as children dug in the soil looking for ‘treasure’ some were singing number songs and others were counting in sequence as they shovelled soil into buckets. Finally, a child found some treasure and squealed with delight: ‘Look, I have found a diamond.’
• Children’s reading and writing skills are developing very well. Books are beautifully displayed around the nursery. Children enjoy listening to stories as part of a group or reading on their own for pleasure. Many can form recognisable letters, numbers, key words and write their name correctly. Indeed, some of the most able children can write more-complex words correctly, such as ‘Halloween’.
• Children relish the time they spend in the woodland area next to the school. They develop many aspects of their learning as they examine plants and trees using magnifying glasses and make music with sticks, pans and dustbin lids. Children develop their artistic talents by making pictures with leaves and other foliage. They strengthen their muscles and develop their physical skills as they climb trees and splash in puddles. Such exciting experiences make a significant contribution to the excellent progress that children make.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote children’s personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Relationships between staff, parents and children are excellent. Children feel secure and have a tight bond with their key person. Consequently, children feel and are extremely safe.
• Friendly and independent children are a credit to the school and their families. They skip into school each morning with happy, smiley faces. Without a backward glance they say goodbye to their parents and walk into their class, chatting happily with staff and their friends.
• Children really do want to learn and are becoming resilient learners. Right from the start they learn the importance of sharing and taking turns and of developing a caring attitude towards one another.
• Healthy eating is actively promoted. Snacks are readily available throughout the day for children to access whenever they wish. Drinks are readily available to allow children to quench their thirst. Staff sit with the children at lunchtime, where they learn key personal skills, such as sitting at the table when eating food and holding knives and forks correctly.
• Every opportunity is taken to help children become aware of personal safety. Children are fully involved in risk-assessing the premises and undertaking risk assessments of activities planned by staff. For example, when hammering golf tees into pumpkins to make monsters, children identified potential risks and control measures to ensure their safety. Staff constantly reinforce the importance of not speaking to strangers and how to cross the road safely. Children are made aware of how to keep themselves safe online, at an age-appropriate level. When engaging in outdoor learning they are taught not to touch nettles, to handle metal spades correctly and to toast bread over an open fire safely.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of children is outstanding.
• Children are polite, well mannered and very clearly understand what acceptable behaviour is. Visitors to the school receive a warm reception and they are made to feel very welcome.
• Staff handle any minor altercations in a calm and sensitive manner. However, because there are so many exciting activities to enjoy, children do not have time to squabble.
• Staff take great care to constantly celebrate children’s achievements, which helps to promote their confidence and self-esteem.
• Children’s joy at coming to school is reflected in their high rates of attendance. However, there are a very small number of families who do not send their children into school on a regular basis. The headteacher, quite rightly, recognises that this issue needs to be looked at with fresh eyes, in order to develop more innovative ways to support these families.

Outcomes for children Outstanding

• Children come into school with skills that vary year on year, but are below and, at times, significantly below those typical for their age. Outstanding teaching ensures that children, of all abilities, are guided to make rapid progress. Consequently, children leave the nursery as happy, confident youngsters well equipped for their transition to Reception or the next stage of their education.
• The headteacher from a local primary school told the inspector that ‘children from Grosvenor Nursery School shine out’. The assessment records that the nursery sends on to the school are exceptionally detailed and accurate.
• Data is scrutinised on a regular basis. Consequently, any underachievement is very quickly identified and swiftly addressed. For example, the school’s assessment information highlighted some underachievement in reading and writing, particularly for boys. Immediately, reading was given a much higher profile in the learning environment. A wider and more interesting range of writing activities was provided, both indoors and outside, to engage the interest of all children, but most notably boys. As a result, outcomes in reading and writing are now strong.
• Staff have high expectations of the children and are very keen to get the basics right. Consequently, when children start at the nursery, a great deal of time is spent on developing their communication, social and physical skills. Rapid gains follow in other areas of the curriculum because children know what is expected of them. In addition, they are ready and very eager to learn.
• Disadvantaged pupils excel at this school. This is the result of the highly effective spending of the early years pupil premium funding. Part of this pot of money is used to employ a teacher, on a part-time basis, to work exclusively with this group of children. As such, disadvantaged children often perform better than their peers, most notably in communication and language, reading and writing.
• Children are taught in key groups, relative to their age and stage of development. As a result, activities are planned to meet the needs of each individual child. Great care is taken to ensure that those who are the most able are given activities which make them think deeper and harder.
• Children who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those in the resourced base provision, make excellent gains in their learning. Parents, typically, describe their progress as ‘amazing’. This is a result of exceptional teaching and close working with outside agencies. This ensures that the very diverse needs of this group of children are met, in a sharing and inclusive environment.
• Above all, the school really does succeed in its aim to give all children an excellent start to their education.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105144 Bolton 10001259 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Nursery School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 2 to 4 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 98 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Margaret Rothwell Susan Pounds 01204 337343 www.grosvenornurseryschool.co.uk office@grosvenor.bolton.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 29 November 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Grosvenor Nursery School is an average-sized nursery school.
• Most children are of White British heritage and attend on a part-time basis.
• Since the last inspection, a ‘high needs’ unit has opened within the school to support children with very complex needs, including physical disabilities. There are currently three children attending.
• The school has provision for two-year-olds.
• The governing body manages Grosvenor Daycare Centre, which is located on the same site as the nursery school.
• Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed. She was previously the assistant headteacher at the school.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed teaching and learning at various times during the two days of the inspection. The headteacher carried out five joint observations with the inspector.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, teachers and support staff.
• The inspector also met with members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and parents. A telephone call also took place with the headteacher from a local primary school.
• The inspector looked at examples of children’s work in their learning journals and on display.
• The schools’ work was analysed and the inspector looked at a range of documentation, including the school improvement plan and records relating to the quality of teaching. Documentation relating to attendance, safeguarding and the tracking of children’s progress was also considered.
• Account was also taken of the Ofsted online questionnaires completed by one member of staff and 10 parents.

Inspection team

Sheila Iwaskow, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector