Newsham County Infant School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 13/02/2004 Inspector Name Virginia Cooper

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Hunton & Linton Underfives Setting Address The Village Hall, West Street Hunton Maidstone Kent ME15 0RS

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Hunton and Linton Underfives

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Hunton and Linton Underfives Address Hunton Village Club West Street, Hunton Maidstone Kent ME15 0RS

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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

Hunton and Linton Underfives Pre-School opened in 1985. The pre-school is committee run but it is the staff that take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the group. It operates from one room in a village hall in the rural area of Hunton. The hall has kitchen facilities. There is an enclosed paved play area. The pre-school serves the local area. There are currently 32 children from two to five years on roll. This includes ten funded three-year-olds and six funded four-year-olds. Children attend a variety of sessions. The setting is not currently supporting any children with special needs, and none who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09:15 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. each day. There are seven staff working with children and one administrator. Two members of staff hold an early years qualification to NVQ level 2 or 3 and two staff are currently

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Information about the setting

working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the Early 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?

Hunton and Linton Underfives provides a welcoming environment enabling children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals, however the children's mathematical development requires some attention. The staff need to ensure that all children are engaged in their activities and are sufficiently challenged. The quality of teaching is generally good. The staff plan interesting activities that the children enjoy. The plans relate to the six areas of learning but the focus is often general and children's individual learning needs are not recorded on these plans. However each child's particular goal is recorded in a folder that all staff can access. Staff deployment is loose and lacks forethought. Children choose their activities but will benefit from more information about what is available. The assessment records are observational. Some children quickly become disinterested in the activities and

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How effective is the nursery education?

are insufficiently challenged. Mathematics is an area of the curriculum that staff find less easy to deliver. Children enjoy the creative activities, especially painting where they are able to mix paint and experiment. Leadership and Management is generally good. The playgroup is committee run but it is the supervisor who takes responsibility for the day to day running of the group. The staff group have not been working together for very long but it is evident that they are beginning to work well as a team. They are keen to deliver a quality service and address any areas of weakness. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are provided with well presented information about the nursery and the policies and procedures are always available for parents. Regular letters go to parents to keep them informed about the provision. Parents are made very welcome at the group and communicate easily

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How effective is the nursery education?

with staff when they collect their children.

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What is being done well?

• The children are read to regularly, they enjoy stories. The staff are encouraging a love of books for pleasure and for finding information. • Children are encouraged to be creative and explore different materials. • Children's physical development is well supported, they move with control and competently use a range of hand held tools. • Parents are kept very well informed about the provision and their child's progress.

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What needs to be improved?

• the deployment of staff and organisation of the peripheral activities to ensure

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What needs to be improved?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 that all children are engaged • the staff's ability to recognise opportunities to include mathematics throughout the session.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The staffing has changed completely since the last inspection. The progress is mixed but limited. Some progress has been made with the planning and the plans now include all six areas of learning. The delivery of Knowledge and Understanding of the World is generally good, however the delivery of Mathematics remains a weakness.

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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: Significant Weaknesses Some children are disengaged during the session and wander away from the activities, they are finding it difficult to sit and concentrate on a task for any length of time . These same children have difficulty sharing and taking turns which has an impact on their ability to form relationships. Most children show independence in their self care. The children have been encouraged to be aware of their community and have created a display of the surrounding villages detailing where they live.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Most children recognise their names and a good proportion can write part or all of it. The children have lots of opportunities to practice their emergent writing skills in role-play situations. Children enjoy having stories read to them in small groups but are less interested in story time at the end of the session. Books are used for pleasure and information. They can sequence a story from the pictures in books and are becoming familiar with some words and letters and the sounds they make.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Most children count competently and they are given lots of opportunities to practice these skills. Children are introduced to different shapes but the names of three dimensional shapes are rarely used. Children undertake pattern and sorting activities. They are encouraged to make simple calculations but staff are not easily fitting this into the curriculum unless it is specifically planned. Some children are insufficiently challenged mathematically.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are provided with a good range of activities that allow them to explore and investigate. They are encouraged to compare and notice differences between materials. Most children are willing to try a variety of different fruits at snack time. Children are able to build and construct with a wide range of objects when junk modelling. The children celebrate a variety of festivals. They are introduced to information and communication technology but this area of learning can be extended.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently with control and understand how to move safely. The children regularly play outside, most competently kick balls and can balance well. The children are well practiced and competently use various hand held tools. Children have an understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and have an awareness of their own bodies.

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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 Children are provided with lots of experiences where they can explore colour, texture and shape. They particularly enjoy painting, mixing the paints and experimenting using different tools and their hands to create different effects. Children sing readily and confidently. The role play area is set up to provide different experiences, at the moment it is an office. Craft activities are usually set up with a good range of resources but these are chosen by the staff.

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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

• consider the organisation of the peripheral activities, ensure that all staff are aware of the focus of the activity where they are deployed • ensure systems are in place to inform staff of children's individual learning needs to help them focus the activity appropriately to sufficiently challenge them and keep them engaged • improve the ability of staff to recognise opportunities to include mathematics throughout the session in addition to planned activities

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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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