St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Infants School, Alvescot

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 23/11/2004 Inspector Name Judith Pitter

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Schoolroom Two Setting Address Gressenhall Road London SW18 1PQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

School Room Two Montessori Nursery has been registered since 1994. The nursery operates from a tennis club in Southfields, south west London. The area is well served by public transport and the majority of children attending come from the local vicinity. The nursery is open each weekday from 09.15 to 15.15, for 33 weeks of the year. A maximum of 24 children may attend at any one time. The majority of children attend for morning sessions only. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 31 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 9 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently supports children with special educational needs and, children who speak English as an additional language. Six staff including the provider/manager work with the children. They hold appropriate early years qualification. Additionally 4 teachers provide extra curriculum

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Information about the setting

activities including, music, tennis, French and yoga. The nursery receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

School Room Two Montessori Nursery provides a good standard of care for children aged 2 to under 5 years. The manager and staff are experienced and well qualified in Montessori practice and early years childcare and education. Good staff ratio and the deployment of staff ensure that children receive individual attention and supervision. Staff sit with children at activities, are interested in what children say and do and they respond appropriately to the children’s interests. Children with special educational needs are

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How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 supported well and are included in all activities. There is a very good selection of accessible Montessori materials, books, puzzles and materials for creative activities. Some materials reflect positive images of diversity and equality. Resources are used generally well to support children’s learning. Staff plan a range of activities based on interesting themes, which enable children to experiment and learn through play. For example children learn about colour and shapes whilst making butterflies. Personal care is encouraged through the daily routines and children are helped to develop good hygiene practice, however warm water is not always available for hand washing. Staff encourage good behaviour. Children are praised and made

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How good is the Day Care?

aware of the importance of respecting and caring for each other in a supportive and gentle manner. Regular safety checks are carried out and children are carefully supervised. Staff show a satisfactory understanding of child protection issues and procedures. Clear polices and procedures are in place, regularly updated and shared with parents. Records are well maintained and securely kept. Staff offer a warm welcome to parents and take time to exchange information about their child's needs. Parents are actively encouraged to participate in the provision and are offered activities to do with their child at home. A website is available for parents to access information and liaise with the nursery.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

All actions from the last inspection have been met including, ensuring children cannot access the locks on the toilet doors and there is an appropriate range of resources that promote positive images of disability. The current recruitment procedure includes the DC2 and CRB processes and a system is in place to record concerns.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are well deployed so children receive individual attention and are well supervised. • Staff sit with children at activities, are interested in what children say and respond to their interests • Staff offer a warm welcome to parents and take time to exchange information about their child's individual needs. Parents are actively encouraged to contribute to the nursery provision and to continue their child's learning at home. • Good behaviour is valued and children are supported to behave well. Children are praise and made aware of the importance of respecting and caring for each other in a supportive and gentle manner. Staff provide good role model for children.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • Children with special educational needs are supported well to enable them to be included in all activities

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

Parents are actively encouraged to participate in the provision. For example, parents are offered activities to do with their children, to continue children’s learning at home. Most children are taken to the nursery and collected by a carer. The nursery has made a website available, to enable direct communication with the children’s parents and for parents to access up to date information about the nursery provision and their child's progress. Feedback from parent's indicate that the website is a good tool to access information and liaise with the nursery.

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What needs to be improved?

• staff knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and procedures • the facility for hand washing

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 4 improvethe hand washing facility 13 improve staff knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and procedures

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

School Room Two provides good quality nursery education overall, which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children make very good progress in communication, language and literacy. Teaching is generally good. Staff are aware of the progress children are making. They undertake detailed observations of children’s progress, which they share with parents. Activities provided encourage children to make good progress, with staff using effective questioning to encourage children's vocabulary and offering good support to those less confident. The staff plan a range of activities based upon themes and they understand what children learn from them. Some activities do not provide sufficient challenge for more able children. Children with special educational needs receive very good support, with staff using Makaton symbols and other aids to fully integrate them into the nursery. Children

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How effective is the nursery education?

with English as an additional language are able to see their home language used in displays. Although the nursery is well resourced, the room layout restricts opportunities for children to use resources to fully extend their play, and messy activities are limited. The garden is used every day, but limited planning in this area means that staff do not always consider how they can include all six areas of learning, particularly for mathematical development. The leadership and management of the nursery are generally good. The staff team work well together, sharing ideas and undertaking evaluations of the planning. However, the manager and staff are not using the assessments of children's progress to fully inform the planning. Staff have a very good partnership with parents, inviting them in to share information about their child's progress, and providing information for parents, which includes suggested activities to enable them to continue their child's learning at home.

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What is being done well?

• Children with special needs are given very good support from staff and are fully integrated into all aspects of the nursery and the activities. • Children with English as an additional language, and their parents, are made to feel welcome and included. Effective displays show the home languages of all the children at the nursery. • Staff manage children's behaviour very well, providing an environment where children feel secure and well supported. Children rise to the positive expectations of staff by showing kindness towards others, sharing and taking turns.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • The setting work very effectively with parents, involving them completely when identifying the progress their child is making. Every half term, parents receive very good information from the nursery, offering suggestions as to how they can continue and support their child's learning at home. A nursery website enables working parents to find out more about what their child has been doing. • Children's progress in communication, language and literacy is very good, due to the effective questioning used by staff to encourage children's vocabulary, and good support from staff to enable children to link sounds to letters. • Staff make effective use of large books, props and puppets to bring story time alive and encourage children's enjoyment.

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What needs to be improved?

• the organisation of the room and resources, to encourage children to freely move around the room and use resources widely to extend their play • the use of the assessment sheets, so that staff can use them to inform planning, identify challenges for children and to differentiate activities accordingly • the planning in relation to the outside play area, children's physical development and cultural and festival events • the opportunities for children to design freely using junk resources, to explore living things and to access sand and water play

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What has improved since the last inspection?

One key issue was made at the last inspection, which has been met. The nursery has made very good progress, re-organising the book area so that books are far more accessible to children. As a result, children enjoy accessing and looking at books throughout the session.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children show personal independence, selecting resources, making choices, pouring their own drinks and taking themselves to the toilet. They respond well to the positive expectations of the group, showing care and concern for others, sharing and taking turns. Children are developing confidence, as they take part in show and tell and join in with story and song sessions. Although resources reflect positive images, the cultures and beliefs of others is not fully explored.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing wide vocabularies, through the effective questioning of staff during story sessions and circle time discussions. Staff also give good support to those who need it, using Makaton symbols to effectively communicate with children. Children are able to find their own name card, and are beginning to link sounds to letters. Books are enjoyed by children during circle times and independently throughout the session. Children use speech effectively to develop their role play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count confidently and are developing their skills to recognise numerals in and out of sequence, and match numerals to the correct number of objects. Montessori resources are used to enable children to order by height, length and size. Children match colours, shapes and everyday objects, and enjoy completing jigsaw puzzles and using construction resources. They create patterns using beads and enjoy threading. Mathematical thinking is not fully integrated into all areas of play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children have opportunities to observe change during cooking activities and when working with clay. They can design using construction resources and they have undertaken projects relating to recycling resources, and the uses of plastic, wood, fabric and wool. Outings relate well to themes, resulting in trips to the theatre to see a play about the weather and an outing to Syon Park to see the butterfly house. ICT equipment is used confidently by children. Living things are not fully explored.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move imaginatively during yoga sessions, pretending to be animals, and they dance, hop, shake and crouch during action rhymes. Outside they can ride bikes, climb on slides, balance on wooden stumps and jump in and out of tyres. Children are learning to use scissors confidently, and demonstrate good pencil control when drawing, painting and mark making. They handle tools safely and show an awareness of their bodies and good hygiene. More able children are not fully challenged.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Themed craft activities provide opportunities for children to make collage, to paint and to cut and stick using a wide range of resources and materials. Children use musical instruments to tap out rhythm and to experiment with sounds. They show good imagination when playing in the dressing up area, linking up well with other children to re-enact favourite stories and to undertake role play based on their own first hand experience. Messy play, including sand and water, is restricted.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• re-organise the room layout and resources, so that children are able to freely move around the room and use resources widely to extend their play • improve the assessment sheets, so that staff can use them to inform planning, identify challenges for children and to differentiate activities accordingly • improve the planning in relation to the outside play area, children's physical development and cultural and festival events • provide greater opportunities for children to design freely using junk resources, to explore living things and to access sand and water play

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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