Grandpont Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve achievement in writing by providing opportunities for children to practise their writing skills in different areas of learning.
• Ensure that governors monitor the impact of the actions taken by leaders more rigorously to secure the best possible outcomes for the children.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The new headteacher, who joined the school in April 2017, and the governing body use rigorous self-evaluation effectively to plan, monitor and refine actions to improve the school.
• There is a culture of high expectations for children and staff. The headteacher is building on the already strong team spirit to ensure the best possible outcomes for children.
• The curriculum is highly engaging, equipping children well for life in modern Britain. Adults work with children to create a picture book of values based on British values. For example, children know that democracy at the school means, ‘children have the freedom to choose what they play, where they play and who they play with’.
• Children have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities that enrich their learning and development, such as visits to the local story museum and the local church.
• Leaders’ careful monitoring of children’s progress is helping them to target individuals who need extra help in a specific area of learning. However, leaders are not currently monitoring how the most able disadvantaged children are progressing to make certain that they are on track to exceed a good level of development.
• Leaders make efficient use of additional funding such as the early years pupil premium. This enables disadvantaged children to make good progress through focused support. As a result, differences between their achievement and that of their peers are diminishing.
• The provision for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is a strength of the school. Children experience lots of ‘wow’ moments, for example when they turn the logs over to see countless woodlice and centipedes moving about busily in the woodland area. Adults are adept at using learning aids, such as dolls, to help children understand sensitive issues such as the importance of not hurting others’ feelings. There are many opportunities to develop children’s social skills, for example through the lunch club in which they learn to sit at the table and interact with other children. Children respect different cultures by celebrating special events such as the Chinese New Year.
• Parents are highly appreciative of the way staff help their children feel settled and secure in the nursery. One parent commented, ‘Staff have always been warm, caring and exceptional.’
• Since the previous inspection, in which leadership and management were judged to be outstanding, the school has undergone a period of change. As a result, leaders’ monitoring of some aspects of the school has not been systematic enough.

Governance of the school

• The restructured governing body is up to date with changes in statutory requirements. New governors have undergone a process of induction and have accessed relevant training. The highly experienced chair of the governing body uses his detailed knowledge of safer recruitment and the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty to help make sure safeguarding procedures are rigorous.
• Governors have an accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths. They have a clear and appropriate view of what the school needs to do to improve. They provided information and support to the new headteacher during her period of induction last term. This was instrumental in helping her to become effective quickly.
• Governors are reflective and responsive. After the recent closure of the children’s centre which they managed, they worked with the local authority to secure the long-term future of the school, gaining approval for the extension of nursery hours from September 2016.
• Since the previous inspection, governors have not ensured that monitoring has been used effectively enough to help school improvement. However, new governors have quickly started to address this, making it a priority for action.

Safeguarding

• Arrangements for safeguarding are effective and meet statutory requirements. Safeguarding procedures are thorough and the required checks on staff and visitors are carried out effectively. Staff are well trained. They discuss issues related to safeguarding regularly in staff meetings. They know the procedures for reporting and recording any concerns regarding the welfare of children and use these procedures appropriately.
• Children have a very good understanding of how to keep safe, both indoors and outdoors. For example, they learn to recognise and stay away from stinging nettles and prickly bramble bushes as they visit the woodland area with adults. They know to think about their own safety and that of other children. This was clearly seen when a child assessed the risk of a protruding branch and grabbed it to ease the passage for other children as they approached the woods.
• Parents are confident that staff keep their children safe in school. All who completed the online questionnaire, say the school looks after the welfare of their children well.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Adults’ effective planning helps children to make good progress. The learning environment is well organised and reflects all areas of learning, particularly reading. As a result, children can select from a wide range of interesting activities.
• Adult-led activities help children to deepen their understanding, knowledge and skills. For example, in an outdoor activity the lead teacher planned a mud, clay and water activity for the children. A child extended it by making bubbles by whisking washing-up liquid in a jug of water. When asked, he talked about his experiment with great confidence and pride.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, children who speak English as an additional language and disadvantaged children are supported well. Adults use their detailed understanding of individuals’ learning needs to plan stimulating and interesting activities. They use effective targeted questions to help children develop their knowledge and to increase their understanding. Adults work closely with parents and specialist agencies to plan effective individual programmes for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Adults develop older children’s reading and writing skills through highly effective teaching of phonics. In one lesson, children transferring to Reception in September showed they were able to use their knowledge of sounds and letters to write basic simple words such as ‘cat’.
• However, children’s achievement in writing is lower than other in areas of learning. Plans to develop children’s pencil control and create varied opportunities for developing their writing have not yet had time to show an impact.
• Children develop the confidence to learn from their mistakes. For example, children showed how they had learned how to hold a watering can in different ways so they could see water travelling through the funnel down to the sandpit.
• The school involves parents in their children’s learning by sending their observations of a child’s learning home and inviting parents’ comments. However, some parents feel they need more information on how their child is progressing in all areas of learning. ,

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote children’s personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Staff understand the importance of warm, caring relationships for children. They make sure that each child has a key person within the setting who has detailed knowledge of the child’s needs.
• Children settle in quickly and start participating in the daily routine of the school. Many parents commented how secure their children felt after just a few days of starting school.
• The relationships between children and staff are excellent, and children know they can readily approach any member of staff for help. During group time, a child was able to go straight to his key person when he got upset after tripping over a model he had made.
• By attending nursery regularly children learn to show care for their personal hygiene and independence, for example by putting on a coat on their own to go outside.
• Children make healthy choices while having lunch in school and take full advantage of the opportunity for energetic play outdoors for longer periods.

Behaviour

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• The behaviour of children is outstanding.
• The highly stimulating and enriched learning environment develops children as confident and self-disciplined learners and promotes a love for learning. Children quickly learn to use tools to invent their own play, and get fully absorbed, showing high levels of concentration.
• Children know that freedom means responsibility as they select their learning experiences. For example, while investigating worms, adults let children handle the worms. Children took great care to touch them gently as they wiggled on their palms.
• A few do not achieve as well as they could because of barriers to their learning, such as poor attendance. This is despite leaders’ considerable efforts to reduce the persistent absence of a few children.
• Children show excellent attitudes to learning, whether in self-chosen or adult-led activities. They listen to each other’s views carefully and take turns politely when playing with their classmates.
• Children’s impeccable behaviour reflects the effective strategies staff use to treat them with respect. Staff model positive behaviour while working with the children. Children take pride in helping adults tidy up after play and feel happy when they receive praise.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Children make typical or above-typical progress in all areas of learning from their different starting points.
• Children who learn English as an additional language settle quickly in their learning and make rapid progress in their communication and language skills.
• Disadvantaged children make good progress as a result of careful identification of their learning needs and timely support.
• Through careful tracking of children’s progress, leaders have identified that, last year, girls did not make as much progress as boys in their personal, social and emotional development. Adults have taken prompt action to ensure that girls make more rapid progress, so that currently there are no significant differences in their achievement compared to that of boys.
• Children moving to Reception classes are secure in their learning of letters and sounds. They are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Staff have identified the need to enhance younger children’s pre-writing skills through physical activities to improve their pencil control. This is at an early stage of development, and its impact is not yet evident in improved outcomes in writing.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 122969 Oxfordshire 10012612 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 3 to 5 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 95 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Phil Doubtfire Lisa Fern 01865 242900

www.grandpontnurseryschool.co.uk office.1010@grandpont-nurs.oxon.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 19–20 March 2013

Information about this school

• The school does not fully meet requirements on the publication of information about early years pupil premium.
• Grandpont Nursery School also provides day care for children aged one to five, which is subject to a separate inspection.
• Just under half the children speak English is an additional language. This proportion has increased since the previous inspection.
• The proportion of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The newly appointed headteacher started in April 2017.

Information about this inspection

• The lead inspector met with the headteacher, three members of the governing body, including the chair, and had a telephone conversation with the local authority adviser. She also had informal discussions with parents to seek their views of the school.
• The inspector carried out joint observations with the headteacher, both indoors and outside, looked at examples of children’s work, and spoke to the children.
• The inspector also reviewed a range of documentation, including the single central record, the school’s self-evaluation, the school action plan, and records of the progress that children make.
• The inspector also took account of the 24 responses to the online Ofsted questionnaire completed by parents, results of the school’s own survey of parents’ views, and 10 questionnaires completed by staff. Kusum Trikha, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector