St Peter's Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 28/01/2005 Inspector Name Linda Janet Witts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Abbeydale Playgroup Setting Address Glevum Way Abbeydale Gloucester Gloucestershire GL4 4BL

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Abbeydale Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Abbeydale Playgroup Address Glevum Way Abbeydale Gloucester Gloucestershire GL4 4BL

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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 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

Abbeydale Playgroup opened in 1985. It operates from Abbeydale Community Centre in the residential area of Abbeydale in Gloucester. The playgroup has sole use of the main hall and shared use of the toilets and kitchen area during operating hours. The other main users of the centre are Tumble tots, the Rainbow, Scouts and Brownie groups and the local community. The groups never use it at the same times. There is an outdoor space with grassed areas. The playgroup is registered to care for 26 children aged between two and five years. There are currently 52 children on roll. The Playgroup is in receipt of education funding and at present has 31 funded three and four-year-old children attending. The playgroup supports children with special needs and those for whom English as an additional language. Children attend from the Abbeydale and local area. Abbeydale Playgroup is open during school term time only, on Monday, Tuesday,

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Information about the setting

Thursday and Friday between 09.15 and 11.45 hours, and between 12.15 and 14.45 hours on a Monday, Thursday and Friday, for pre-school sessions. A team of six members of staff are employed, all of whom have appropriate childcare qualifications and experience. The play leader and deputy have completed the National Vocational Qualification in Childcare and Education at Level 3. All staff are trained in first aid. Parent helpers assist at the playgroup on a rota basis. Abbeydale Playgroup receives teacher support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and additional support from a Gloucestershire, Playgroup and Toddler Association (PATA) field worker and Area Special Needs Co-ordinator.

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Information about the setting

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Abbeydale Playgroup provides high quality education and children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. Children are interested, excited and motivated to learn. Teaching is very good. Staff are enthusiastic in their roles and have a clear understanding of the foundation stage, early learning goals and associated developmental stepping stones. Staff have strong relationships with the children and support them well, including those with special educational needs and for whom English is an additional language. Planning and assessment methods used are effective. Staff plan an broad range of activities to promote children's all-round development. Regular observations and assessments of children's progress are made, resulting in a clear understanding of where each child is at in their learning. These are used to inform future planning to ensure that activities help children to

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How effective is the nursery education?

move onto the next stage in their learning. Staff have identified the need to further encourage some four-year-olds to take an interest in the full range of curricular activities but have not tried new strategies to do this. Staff promote good behaviour and foster children's self-esteem; this has resulted in a calm, happy environment conducive to children's play and learning. Good use is made of space, time and resources. Leadership and management are very good. The committee and staff are united in their desire to provide high quality education for children and are committed to improvement. The group is well led and receives appropriate support from the committee. Team spirit is fostered. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive good information about the provision and planned curriculum. They help at sessions which encourages involvement in their children's learning and aids their understanding of the

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How effective is the nursery education?

foundation stage. Staff make time to talk with parents sharing information about their children's progress.

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What is being done well?

• Staff make good use of time and resources. They transform the bare hall into an attractive, child-orientated play environment. Each session is structured well giving children a variety of adult-led and free-play learning opportunities. • Staff are enthusiastic and experienced in their roles. Their knowledge of where children are in their learning aids the planning of a broad range of activities, which provides sufficient challenge for more able children and they offer support as appropriate. • Children have developed strong relationships with their peers, key carer and other adults. They are confident and keen to be involved in circle-time. They

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 ask questions and initiate conversation and demonstrate a strong sense of self within the playgroup. They have good opportunities to gain personal independence and show enjoyment in their learning experiences. • The leader is very competent in her role and fosters team spirit well. She offers support and guidance to her staff team and encourages all to have an active input into planning and the assessment of children. The special educational needs co-ordinator is appropriately trained and experienced in the support of children with special needs; she produces individual education plans for children and liaises with parents and outside professionals to support the children effectively. The leader and staff monitor and evaluate their practice and effectively identify the strengths and weaknesses in their

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What needs to be improved?

• strategies to involve all four-year-olds in the range of activities offered to promote their further all-round development, by building upon their particular interests.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Improvement since the last inspection is very good. Staff successfully implemented an action plan to address the key issues raised. They have reviewed their planning and assessment methods to ensure that they are effective. Mental and written observations of children's progress are regularly undertaken and used to inform summative reports and future planning. This ensures that staff take account of the children's differing stages of development when planning. A broad and well-balanced curriculum of freely chosen and adult-directed activities is now offered supporting children's learning across all six areas of learning. The skilled staff now help children to develop their listening skills by asking questions, encouraging turn-taking at circle-time and during activities and by encouraging children to respond to instructions or signals. The use of numbers in the role play area has been improved. The area is used to reflect different themes such

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What has improved since the last inspection?

as the home corner, vets and construction site. Staff provide resources such as posters, labels, tape measures and money to incorporate numbers for children to see and handle.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show interest in learning, select and join in activities enthusiastically. More confident children take a lead and are keen to demonstrate to others what they know and can do. Children are well behaved. They share, take-turns, wait patiently and play co-operatively with others. They show caring towards living things and are learning to respect other people such as those with disabilities. Children demonstrate independence; they help to serve snack and to tidy away resources.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children speak confidently and initiate conversation with their peers and adults, including those unfamiliar to them. They ask questions, connect ideas, talk about what they are doing and recall past experiences. They listen attentively to stories and rhymes and understand that print carries meaning. Most enjoy looking at books and handle them carefully. Many children link the sounds to some letters. Children can access writing implements and most enjoy mark-making, holding pencils correctly.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show confidence with numbers and willingly count. Many can count irregular arrangements of objects. Some count beyond twenty and are able to say the number that comes next after a given number. Children recognise different uses of numbers; they recall the date and their age. They select resources by shape and size for tasks and sort by type, for example, bottles to recycle. Some confidently use mathematical ideas to solve problems. Children talk about size and use positional language.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children show curiosity, observe, examine and manipulate objects. Local walks have enabled children to explore the natural world and they are learning how to look after it. They regularly visit the local recycling centre. Children talk about the weather. They construct with a range of materials and can operate simple equipment and skilfully control remote control vehicles. Children are introduced to different cultures and are encouraged to talk about countries they visit on holiday.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move with confidence. They mount the climbing frame at speed, up the side, over the top and experiment in ways to slide down. They run freely, negotiate space and avoid obstacles. They stride, skip, march, jump and do actions to songs. Children show some health and bodily awareness. They skilfully use stilts, bats and balls and have regular opportunities to use a wide range of equipment. They cut, thread and draw with control and use tools to effect change upon malleable materials.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children paint and draw freely and are introduced to a wide range of painting techniques. They differentiate and mix colours. Children enjoy dancing to music, have regular opportunities to use musical instruments and sing familiar songs from memory. Children use their imagination and utilise resources as props within role-play, based on their own first-hand experiences and play co-operatively as part of a role-play group. Children are encouraged to use and talk about their senses.

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no key issues to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • develop strategies to involve all four-year-olds in the range of activities offered to promote their further all-round development, by building upon their particular interests.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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