Farndon Fields Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/02/2005 Inspector Name Catherine Hill

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Cherryvale Nursery Setting Address Frimley Road Ash Vale Surrey GU12 5NZ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Cherry Nurseries Ltd. Address Weybourne House St. Peters, Guildford Road, Ottershaw, Chertsey Surrey KT16 0RR

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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

Cherryvale Day Nursery opened in 1998. It operates from a former school building in a residential area of Ash Vale in Surrey and serves the surrounding areas. Children are accommodated in age related groups. There are enclosed outside play areas, an indoor play area and the nursery also has a sensory area. Cherryvale is a private day nursery, which is part of the Cherry Childcare Group. There are currently 90 children from 3 months up to 5 years on roll. This includes 24 funded children. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery welcomes children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week all year round from 07.30 to 18.30, apart from a week between Christmas and New Year and Bank holidays. Eighteen full time staff work with the children and there are two supernumerary staff members. Three of the staff work with the funded children and all have early years

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Information about the setting

qualifications. Fifteen staff in total are qualified and one member of staff is currently on training with training being actioned for others. The setting receives support from an early education advisor from Surrey.

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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?

Cherryvale Nursery is an acceptable provision and is of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. Staff are young and enthusiastic and have excellent relationships with all children. They maintain a calm, well set out environment in which children have daily opportunities to progress in all learning areas. They value children's work and it is well displayed. They have high expectations with regard to behaviour and act as positive role models. They set firm but fair boundaries and children respond positively to staff requests, behave very well and have very good manners. Staff use a range of teaching strategies effectively to help develop children's knowledge and skills. They maintain good assessment records and ensure activities are planned to meet individual learning needs. As a result, children are making very good progress in literacy, mathematical, physical and personal, social

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How effective is the nursery education?

and emotional development. Resources are not always used effectively to promote learning in other areas. Leadership and management is very good. The management team are committed to ensuring good standards are maintained and improved. They have recently developed children's assessment records to provide more detailed information for parents and to ensure children's learning needs can be more closely monitored. They support ongoing professional development for all staff and provide in-house training to ensure knowledge and skills are continually updated. They lead a team of friendly, dedicated staff who work well together to maintain a stimulating learning environment. Partnership with parents is very good. They are kept well informed of their children's achievements and progress and receive regular written reports. They are happy with the care and education provided for their children and like, in particular, the well

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How effective is the nursery education?

structured format to their child's day and the conscientious staff.

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What is being done well?

• Behaviour management is excellent. Staff have high expectations with regard to behaviour and act as positive role models. Children are familiar with the nursery's codes of conduct and understand right from wrong. They respond positively to staff requests, behave very well and have very good manners. • Children's language and literacy skills are very well developed. Staff foster children's interest in literature and regularly share books with them. Key word labels are displayed in the setting to help reinforce children's awareness of print and its meaning. Children are developing a very good knowledge of phonics through daily sessions in which they all take part and they are confident, articulate speakers who readily engage in conversation.

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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 • Personal, social and emotional development is very good. Children are happy, motivated learners who enjoy their play. They have excellent relationships with one another and play and learn well both independently and co-operatively with others. • Partnership with parents is positive. They are kept well informed of their children's achievements and progress. They receive regular written reports and have good access to their child's records. Parents evenings and seminars give them an added opportunity to develop their knowledge of their child's education. They receive good information about nursery practice and procedures from regular newsletters, information displayed and daily discussion. They are happy with the care and education provided for their children.

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What needs to be improved?

• opportunities for children to use appropriately challenging software when using technology to support their learning • opportunities for children to freely express themselves through improved access to painting resources • organisation of staff to support and focus children during activities to provide meaningful learning opportunities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Progress since the last inspection is very good. There were three issues raised at the previous inspection relating to literacy and physical development. The nursery had to develop children's knowledge of the sounds and names of the letters of the alphabet. They have introduced the Jolly Phonics programme and have daily sessions in which children's phonic knowledge is developed and reinforced. Children enthusiastically take part in these sessions and are very able at linking sounds to letters. Activities to encourage early writing skills had to be provided to ensure they were closely matched to younger children's abilities. Staff provide children with good opportunities to develop their emergent writing. They have free access to resources to develop their hand-eye co-ordination and enjoy making marks on paper with pencils and brushes. They freely use writing materials in the role-play area whilst at

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What has improved since the last inspection?

play. The third issue raised concerned children's awareness of the effects of exercise on their bodies. This has been addressed within planned activities relating to the current theme being covered and during general physical play. Staff use discussion and questions during daily physical activities to develop children's awareness in this area.

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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 are happy motivated learners who actively occupy themselves learning through play. They are friendly and sociable and have excellent relationships with each other. They share resources, show concern for others and patiently wait their turn, for example, to show and tell. They understand right from wrong and know the nursery codes of conduct. They have very good manners and behave well. They are confident and their independence skills are very well developed.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy books and listen attentively to stories. They understand that print carries meaning and recognise their own name cards. They handle books appropriately, are aware of conventional story lines and use picture clues to read to one another. They are confident, articulate speakers who readily initiate conversations with others. Their phonic knowledge is very good and is reinforced and developed through daily phonic sessions. They enjoy making marks on paper and some write their name.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are confident with numbers and counting. They count comfortably to 10 and some are able to count to 20. They recognise and can name written numbers to 9. They recognise and can name different shapes and match patterns when playing snap with picture cards. They independently make sets of cards when playing on their own, thereby consolidating their learning. They are developing an understanding of size and comparative language through planned activities comparing quantity and length.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are curious about their environment and ask questions to develop their knowledge of how things work. They notice differences and similarities, such as the textures and tastes of an orange and carrot and the changes in the weather. They are developing a good understanding of the passage of time with their knowledge of days and months reinforced daily. They confidently use the computer, know how to change discs and adjust volume settings, but sometimes lack direction with software.

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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 are developing good co-ordination skills using outside equipment. They skilfully steer a path around others when riding wheeled toys and some are able to throw and catch large balls. They show a good awareness of space when practising balancing bean bags as they move without bumping into others. They are beginning to understand the importance of a healthy diet and the effects of different foods on their bodies. They fine motor skills are developing well through use of a range of tools.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children's imaginative skills are very well developed and they understand the difference between pretence and reality. They use real objects to symbolise others during play, for example, sand for sugar when 'making a cake'. They enjoy exploring musical instruments and recognise how sounds can be changed depending on the speed or pressure used to manipulate the instrument. They have daily opportunities to be creative, although opportunities to paint freely are sometimes limited.

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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 the organisation of time and resources to ensure children's opportunities to develop and reinforce technology and creative skills are supported and maximised.

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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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