Twist Lane Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 11/11/2004 Inspector Name Susan, Helen Spencer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Twist Lane Nursery Setting Address 21 Twist Lane Leigh Lancashire WN7 4BZ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Denise Reynolds Address Twist Lane Nursery 21 Twist Lane Leigh Lancashire WN7 4BZ

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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

The Twist Lane Nursery is owned by Cheshire Care Ltd and is one of two nurseries owned by them. It opened in 1994 and operates from a converted detached house. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. It is situated near Leigh town centre. The setting opens from 08.00 to 18.00 Monday to Friday. It is open for 51 weeks of the year. It is registered to care for 33 children. There are currently 47 children aged between six months and four years on roll and they attend for a variety of sessions. Eleven children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently supports children identified as having special educational needs but has no children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs ten staff of whom eight work with the children. Most have an early years qualification, those who do not have extensive experience of working with young children. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early

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Information about the setting

Years Development and Childcare partnership.

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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 Twist Lane Private Day Nursery is good. It enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. The topic planning is thorough. Staff-led activities are also well planned and show satisfactory links to the Stepping Stones. Daily routines, however, are not well managed and there are too many occasions when the children are not engaged in planned activities. This sometimes leads to deterioration in the children's behaviour. Outdoor sessions are too often improvised rather than planned. Some activities, like the over use of worksheets for 4 year olds, do not stimulate the children. Assessment procedures are firmly based on the staff initiated activities planned for both groups daily. Children are closely observed and staff note into children's files whether or not they have met the objective. This information is used well to plan

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How effective is the nursery education?

future activities and to inform the useful termly reports on each child. The leadership and management of the day nursery are generally good. Polices are clearly set out and job descriptions are in place. There has been improvement since the last inspection. Staff are keen to improve their skills and request to go on courses. Management does not yet have a complete picture of the qualities of provision because the appraisal system is not robust enough. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents like the nursery for its caring staff and its location. On starting the nursery they get sufficient information about routines and complete a form on their child's likes and dislikes. They receive ample information about their child's achievements through termly, detailed reports. They could do more to support learning at home if they received regular information about the topics their child will cover.

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What is being done well?

• Children are happy to leave their parents because they get a cheery welcome from the caring staff. • Children communicate their needs and ideas well through words, phrases and occasionally sentences. • Children concentrate well at any activities which stimulate and challenge them. • Staff encourage children to be 'writers' and to use the writing table frequently.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• the planning of the day and the preparation of toys and activities so that children can play immediately and thus remain motivated to learn all day • opportuntities for children to demonstrate their independence and exercise some choice over what they will do, for example during 'free' play and at meal times • the planning of outdoor sessions so that children improve their physical skills • the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning so that the management has a clear picture of the competencies of staff and how best to deploy them effectively.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made generally good progress on the two key issues from the last inspection. The first issue ask the setting to increase children's awareness of other cultures and beliefs and this has been done very well. Children are much more aware of a whole range of cultures from American to Chinese. They have celebrated a wide range of religious and non-religious festivals, making objects, trying different kinds of food and learning about their traditions. The second issue asked the nursery to make more frequent planned use of small apparatus and only satisfactory progress has been made. Children now use small apparatus more, especially in the warmer months, but these sessions are still not planned carefully enough to ensure that children's skills are challenged.

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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 part smoothly from their parents because they know they will get a cheery welcome. They are encouraged to be independent in taking care of their personal needs but get too few chances to choose between activities partly because they are not laid out as they come into the room. They concentrate quite well when completing jigsaws or listening to a story. Most of the time children behave well and show good manners but occasionally it is poor and this is sensitively corrected by staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children communciate their thoughts and needs using words and phrases, with the most able using sentences regularly. They listen to stories carefully and recall some details from them. They enjoy sharing books with staff or just leafing through the pages themselves. However, the rhyming sounds are not pointed out consistently enough. Some children recognise their own name and a few know its initial sound. They like to use the writing table and know that the marks they make are 'writing'.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children recognise the basic colours and sort objects by colour well. Further work for the youngest on matching, sorting and groups objects would help the younger children develop their understanding. Most of the children 'touch' count accurately to six and everyone chants the numbers from 1 to 10. The most able recognise some of the numerals. Opportunities to get children to count during play were missed. Children know some flat shapes and use positional language in their play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are stimulated by the wide range of topics they learn about over the year. They use their senses frequently and discuss what they see, smell and taste, like during the baking sessions. They know about other faiths and cultures because they celebrate many of them from different parts of the world. The children particularly enjoyed tasting the types of food from other countries. Children are not learning how to control models or other technological toys.

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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: Generally Good Children move reasonably well and their coordination is improving. For instance, children run, jump and skip around the outdoor area and use small toys, like the eggs and spoons with reasonable dexterity. Tricycles are riden quite well, tough some ride the tricycles too fast for the relatively small area. Children continue to grow in confidence when using small tools and they are improving their grip and accuracy. They also negotiate the stairs inside very carefully and safely.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children play imaginatively in the role play both inside and outside because staff get involved in their games and stimulate their conversations. They sing quite well and know a variety of songs and nursery rhymes. Some children are confident enough to sing to the group. However, older children learned little from a music session because they had to wait too long for their turn to play the instruments and the session followed another where the children had to sit and listen.

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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

• implement a policy and procedures to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning • improve the planning of the day and the management of children's time • provide more opportunities for children to demonstrate their independence and exercise choice • plan in detail outdoor learning sessions in which children practise and improve their physical skills.

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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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