Cottam Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/02/2004 Inspector Name Laura Henry

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name New Park Nursery Montessori School Setting Address 67 Highbury New Park London N5 2EU

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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

New Park Nursery and Montessori School opened in 1994. It operates from a basement within a residential property. The school is registered to provide care for 32 children aged under 5 years. There are currently 32 children on roll. This includes four funded 3-year-olds and four funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The school supports children who speak English as an additional language. It has systems in place for supporting children with special educational needs. The school opens from 7:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week, for 50 weeks of the year. Eleven staff work with the children. They have a variety of qualifications in early years. Six are currently on early years training programmes. The school follows the Montessori early years curriculum.

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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?

New Park Nursery and Montessori School offers high quality provision, which helps children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is very good. Staff interact positively with children, which helps to extend their learning. There are excellent systems in place to monitor and evaluate the activities that are on offer. Effective planning and organisation ensures that children are able to access all of the activities. There are good support systems in place for children with special educational needs. The assessment systems that are in place are effective and demonstrate that staff have a sound understanding of the early learning goals. Staff plan for individual learning, which helps children to make good progress through the stepping stones. Staff carefully present activities to children, in accordance with the Montessori philosophy. Leadership and management are very good. Staff are appropriately led by example

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How effective is the nursery education?

and are encouraged to develop their existing skills. Effective organisation ensures that all staff work directly with the children. The positive developments since the last inspection demonstrate that staff are highly committed to developing a secure learning environment for all children. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are well informed about their child’s achievements and progress. They receive helpful information about the educational provision. Parents are initially encouraged to share what they know about their children but further opportunities to share information about what their children learn at home are not always fully exploited.

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What is being done well?

• Children’s spiritual development is fostered appropriately. Children respond well to cultural celebrations and learn about other beliefs. Children have very good opportunities to reflect on situations and talk about what they have experienced. • The Montessori curriculum works very well in practice. Staff are very skilled at assessing children’s progress. Effective planning ensures that children's needs are met. • Staff are very committed and work hard to provide a stimulating environment where children enjoy learning. As a result children behave very well and are respectful to each other. • Leadership is very strong and regular training opportunities support an already committed staff team. This is evident in the progress that has been made since the last inspection.

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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 opportunities for parents to share information with staff about what their child has learnt at home.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made very good progress since the last inspection. The staff team have developed an effective and workable action plan, which clearly identifies areas of development. Staff have worked extremely hard in meeting the key issues. They have provided a selection of safety mats and children make good use of the climbing apparatus. Children have access to a wide selection of quality storybooks. Children make very good use of the resources and create a wide range of imaginative roles and characters. Staff skilfully record children’s achievements and carefully plan for their next stage of learning, covering the six areas of learning. Children enjoy using the technology resources and have a very good understanding of how computers work. Staff frequently access training and this has helped to develop their knowledge and understanding of how children progress. High quality planning has enabled the

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What has improved since the last inspection?

staff to develop children’s language and literacy skills.

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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 demonstrate a high level of independence and are confident in selecting the Montessori resources and materials. They behave very well and will patiently wait their turn, especially at lunch times. Children are developing a respectful understanding of other cultures and beliefs. For example, they make very good links with the Chinese New Year artefacts and the celebrations that take place within the nursery.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children communicate their needs very well. They constantly ask questions and speak confidently to each other and adults. They learn that listening to each other is just as important as speaking. Many children are able to write their names and write for a variety of purposes. Most children make very good use of the books and are able to confidently and skilfully show that print is read from left to right.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children’s counting skills are very good. Most children are able to count to 10 and beyond; some are able to count reliably up to 40. Children do so naturally whilst interacting with each other and when needing to find out information. They have an excellent understanding of calculation; within activities they are able to add and subtract objects. They use the Montessori equipment to talk about and create a range of patterns.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children keenly observe and identify features in their environment. For example, they observe and monitor the changes in the daffodil bulbs that they have planted. Children make very good use of technology resources. They have designed a range of detailed patterns on the computer. Children have a very good understanding of time and will frequently talk about significant events and about key people in their lives.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move skilfully and freely around the setting. They have good opportunities to develop their manual dexterity. They make good use of the Montessori equipment when pouring liquids. They use their large motor skills, especially when climbing on the apparatus. Children make some very good connections with being active and the changes in their 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: Very Good Children make very good use of the role play area. They will create a variety of roles and act these out in detail. Children make excellent use of the materials provided and will design and construct detailed pictures and objects. They use their senses well to describe what they have experienced. At lunchtime, children talk about the different types of tastes and textures they experience.

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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 improving the following: • develop further opportunities for parents to share what their child has learnt at home.

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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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