Little Stars Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 18/05/2004 Inspector Name Kathryn Margaret Clayton

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Grimsby College Nursery Setting Address Units 1 & 2 Nuns Corner Site Grimsby North East Lincolnshire DN34 5BQ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Grimsby College Address Units 1 and 2 Nuns Corner Site Grimsby North East Lincolnshire DN34 5BQ

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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

Grimsby College Nursery first opened in 1986. It is a private facilty run under the management of Grimsby College. The nursery is situated within the college grounds in accommodation consisting of several mobile rooms all linked by enclosed corridors. The funded children have access to two playrooms and two enclosed grassed and paved outdoor areas. Babies and children aged two to three have separate play areas. Kitchen and toilet facilities are also available. The nursery serves the childcare needs of the students and staff from the college and any remaining places are open to the general public. The nursery is registered to provide care for 74 children aged from six months to five years. There are currently 100 children on roll, including 21 four year olds and 10 three year olds in receipt of educational funding. None of the children have special educational needs or speak English as an additional language. The nursery has the

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Information about the setting

support of the North East Lincolnshire Early Years Service. The nursery opens from 08:30 to 17:15 on Monday to Friday all of the year apart from Bank Holidays and Christmas week. Twenty full and part-time staff are employed, all of whom hold a relevant qualification.

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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?

Grimsby College Nursery provides high-quality nursery education which enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Children make very good progress in all of the six areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. The environment is bright and stimulating and children choose from a very good range of easily accessible resources. The outdoor area has been developed to include a number of stimulating activities that will help children to make progress in all areas of learning. Staff have a very good understanding of the foundation stage curriculum and plan an interesting, well organised programme of activities. The promotion of speaking and listening skills is particularly well fostered across all of the activities provided. Staff have built trusting relationships with children, and know them very well. This helps them to assess the progress children are making and offer them good challenges in play. Staff are

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How effective is the nursery education?

friendly and enthusiastic and make very good use of the everyday opportunities that arise to extend children's learning. They effectively manage children's behaviour using positive techniques. The leadership and management is very good. The nursery works to clearly identified aims and objectives. There is a professional staffing structure which offers good support, particularly to new staff members. Staff work well as a team within the nursery and also with the local authority support service to continually improve the nursery education provision. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are given comprehensive information about the setting including displayed information about the programme of activities. They find staff friendly, approachable, and professional. Parents are made aware they can approach staff at any time to discuss their child's progress.

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What is being done well?

• Staff plan a very interesting and stimulating programme of activities which promote children's learning in the area of knowledge and understanding of the world very well. Children have many relevant first hand experiences, including visits from local people, for example a librarian, a policemen and a nurse. Children also have the opportunities to learn about the features in the locality when going on walks to the park and flower shop. They learn about the natural world when seeing animals, including reptiles in the local animal care centre. • The outdoor area has been well developed to help to promote all areas of learning. Children confidently use the climbing equipment, but also have the opportunity to listen to the wind chimes, use the musical pans, and carefully watch the colourful mobiles. There are also activities to help develop their mathematical thinking and writing skills.

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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 • The staff give a high priority to developing speaking and listening skills. They talk to children about what they are doing, they question them to make them think and offer many opportunities for children to speak and listen in small groups about things that interest them. • Staff have created a bright and stimulating environment. Resources are well organised and can be easily accessed by children. Staff value children's individual work, which is attractively displayed throughout the nursery. The environment also helps to encourage an interest in print and numbers.

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What needs to be improved?

• the systems to make sure parents are routinely informed about their children's progress.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The nursery has provided a range of interesting objects that stimulate children's curiosity and encourage them to question how things work, including a range of toys with moveable parts and telephones with clear plastic cases that enable children to look closely at the workings.

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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 interested, eager to learn and concentrate well. They confidently make choices in play, when going on a picnic, or deciding to make a pancake out of play dough. They behave very well and are encouraged by staff to be polite and co-operate with their peers, for example, when playing a ring game with fabric. There are many times when they are actively encouraged to develop their sense of self, by talking about their families and events in their lives.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are given very many opportunities to express themselves verbally in small and large groups and incidentally when playing. Many speak clearly, they initiate and take part in conversations in the travel shop. They listen attentively to a story, and respond very well to instructions when playing a shape game. Children's interest of print is fostered by the very rich print environment. Many children recognise their own names and some can write their names correctly.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are actively encouraged to use their everyday nursery experiences to develop an awareness of numbers and simple problem solving. They carefully count how many children are present and how many places are needed at snack time and how many more children need to join the group. Staff provide a number rich environment, and make sure children are introduced to larger numbers. Children are aware of and name basic shapes when playing shape games and making sandwiches.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore and investigate with enjoyment when planting seeds or watching a spider on a flower. They have many opportunities to learn about their own community, the natural world, and features of the environment, when visiting the optician and animal care centre, and walking to the local park and flower shop. Children are becoming increasingly confident in the use of information, communication technology equipment and are starting to become aware of other cultures and beliefs.

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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 Planned opportunities and everyday routines are used to encourage children to learn about healthy eating. Children negotiate space well, and move confidently both indoors and outdoors. They enjoy responding to music and games, using a good range of movements when dancing or playing a ring game. Children use a large range of tools, for example, plastic knives, rollers, and various dough tools with increasing skill when making sandwiches, or playing with dough.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show good imagination in play, when, for example, they are in the travel shop planning a holiday. They express themselves enthusiastically as they chase bubbles. They explore colour, texture, form and space effectively in two and three dimensions, through a variety of well planned experiences. Children's work is valued and attractively displayed by staff. Children confidently select resources for making a collage. They enjoy listening and responding to music.

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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 significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to the following: • the systems used to ensure parents are routinely informed about the progress of their child.

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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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