Face to Face

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/01/2005 Inspector Name Janette Elaina Langford

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Clever Clogs Preschool Setting Address Main Road Hawkwell Hockley Essex SS5 4EH

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Clever Clogs Pre-school opened in 1995 and operates from a large hall, an adjacent room and a self contained annexe, within Hawkwell Village Hall. A maximum of 50 children may attend the setting at any one time. The group opens five days a week, for 47 weeks of the year. Sessions in the main hall are from 09:30 until 12:15 Monday to Friday and 13:00 until 15:30 on Monday, Thursday and Friday. The Annexe is used Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning from 09:15 until 11:45 and on Tuesday afternoon from 13:00 until 15:30. There are currently 92 children on roll. Of these 61 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a local catchment area. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs. There are no children attending who have English as an additional language. The setting employs thirteen staff. Nine of the staff, including the manager, have Early Years qualifications.

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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?

The provision for nursery education at Clever Clogs Pre-school is good. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in communication language and literacy, mathematical and physical development and generally good progress in all other areas of learning. Teaching is generally good. Most staff receive in house or external Foundation Stage training. Staff use their skills to teach in line with the early learning goals and the stepping stones and build upon what children already know. All children including those with special needs are able to take part in activities and all the areas of learning are covered. Children are taught at different levels; staff know how they group the children and verbally evaluate the effectiveness of the activities. These details, however, are not shown on the planning and there are no evaluations to refer to. Progress records show the child moving forward but there are

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How effective is the nursery education?

no observations to illuste this. Children behave well, staff anticipate unwanted behaviour and manage it well. They work with children closely for the majority of the time. Leadership and management are generally good. The supervisor works with the staff and holds planning meetings every three weeks where all staff can contribute their ideas and take on responsibilities for activities. She attends cluster meetings and feeds back and any staff that attend training are encouraged to feedback to other staff. Information is gathered from the EYDCP and contact made for advice. Partnership with parents is generally good. The notice board display the plans and themes. There are newsletters and an open day every year when parents are invited to see their child's records and they receive copies of their child's progress records when they leave the provision. Questionnaires are distributed to parents to get their

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How effective is the nursery education?

views on the provision and share what they know about their child.

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What is being done well?

• Staff recognise the importance of encouraging children to initiate conversations and activities. When this happens they follow the child's lead and extend the play, linking it into other areas of learning. • Staff bring mathematical language, counting and calculation into the everyday routines so that children can begin to understand the purpose of it. • Emergent writing is imaginatively encouraged in play areas. For example, making registration plates for the ride on toys. • Staff have effective systems to ensure that children with special needs are fully included in the setting and that they keep abreast of all information relating to the children. They work closely with parents, giving them excellent

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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 support, and liaise regularly with any other agencies involved with the children to ensure that they are working co-operatively to help the child progress.

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What needs to be improved?

• observations and records of the children's progress • details included in the planning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made very good progress since the last inspection. Daily opportunities have been increased for children to practise writing and mark making independently. There are more opportunities for children to solve simple practical mathematical problems associated with adding on and taking away during free play.

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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: Generally Good Children are enthusiastic and motivated to play and learn. They are developing their confidence, demonstrating trust and beginning to understand the routines. Children make good relationships with staff and other children and talk about their homes freely. They are able to remember and demonstrate some simple rules. There is some encouragement for development of children's independence, however, there are a few missed opportunities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children skilfully use their language for a range of purposes. They initiate conversations, make requests, communicate ideas and organise their thoughts. They are encouraged to link sounds to letters and words, and are beginning to understand that print carries meaning. Children enjoy listening to stories and anticipate what comes next. They practise their emergent writing in a purposeful manner and are beginning to form some letters correctly.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are grasping concepts of numbers as labels and for counting. They accurately count up to ten and beyond, and most children can recognise and match numerals. There are regular opportunities for children to experience and practise simple addition, subtraction and comparing numbers. They use size and positional language and are enjoy practical activities to encourage understanding of shape, space and measure.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children investigate objects and materials using their senses and find out about features of living things. There are opportunities to build and construct using a variety of construction sets. Children enjoy using the computer and programmable toys. They are developing a sense of time and look at various aspects of the world around them, with a gradual understanding that we have similarities and differences and live in different ways.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good There are daily opportunities to develop moving with control and co-ordination. Children are developing a good sense of space and move around imaginatively, avoiding obstacles. There are activities to reinforce understanding of the importance of staying healthy and children regularly exercise in the fresh air. More able children competently use a range of small and large equipment. Children enjoy exploring malleable materials.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good A range of activities such as painting, drawing and collage are included in the routine. Staff plan a number of adult led activities, but there are fewer opportunities for children's free expression of ideas. There are regular musical activities, singing and matching movements to music. Children use props to act out their ideas in their role play and they respond in different ways to what they see, hear, smell, taste, touch and feel.

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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 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

• improve information contained in the progress records, making use of observations to present a clearer picture of how a child is progressing • ensure plans reflect how activities are carried out, and include evaluations of them.

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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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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