St Barnabas Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/03/2004 Inspector Name Janet Banham

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name St Barnabas Pre-School Setting Address St Barnabas Church Pilsley Road, Danesmoor Chesterfield Derbyshire S45 9BJ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of St Barnabas Pre - School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name St Barnabas Pre - School Address St Barnabas Church Pilsley Road, Danesmoor Chesterfield Derbyshire S45 9BJ

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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

St Barnabas Pre-school was established in 1974. It operates from a detached building in the grounds of St Barnabas Church in Danesmoor sited on the main road to Clay Cross and serves children living within the local community. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are 39 children on roll, of whom 11 three - year - old and 11 four- year - old children are in receipt of funding. There are no children attending who have special educational needs nor English as an additional language. The provision is open each weekday during term time from 09:00 to 11:45 and on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 12:45 to 15:15. The provision is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and co-opted members. There is a regular staff group of 7, 5 of whom hold relevant qualifications. The pre-school offers placements for students. It is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and is supported by a development officer from Derbyshire's 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?

Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals overall and very good progress in the areas of personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world, and physical and creative development. In the areas of communication, language and literacy and mathematical development their progress is generally good. The quality of teaching is generally good. Most staff have sound knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals but some are insecure, resulting in weaknesses in teaching and insufficient challenges for the children. There is limited use of open ended questioning to develop learning and understanding. Generally staff use appropriate methods to help children learn, teaching in small groups or on a 1:1 basis. Management of the children and their behaviour is very good. Time and resources are used well. Children's knowledge is enhanced by regular local visits in

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How effective is the nursery education?

the community, and visitors to the setting. Expectations of staff and children are high although the monitoring of individual children's progress does not build on what children already know. The leadership and management of the provision is generally good and in some areas very good. The leader and management have high expectations of staff and children and act as good role models. Staff strengths and weaknessess are assessed but monitoring of the quality of teaching is weak. Leadership and management are supportive of staff training and many opportunities are taken to improve practice. The partnership with parents and carers is very good. They are given information about the curriculum through the handbook and regular newsletters. Informal information about their child's achievements is given regularly and a written assessment is made at the end of each term. Parents are encouraged to share their knowledge of their children and have opportunties to contribute to assessments of

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What is being done well?

• The development of children's feelings and emotions and their sense of responsibility. • The promotion of caring for others and good behaviour. • The development of the children's sense of community and place. • The quality of information for parents and the encouragement for them to be involved and part of their children's learning. • The provision of a warm and welcoming environment. • The commitment of the management and staff to continually improve

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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 practice.

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What needs to be improved?

• the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching • staff's understanding of the learning objectives in the plans and the use of assessments to evaluate where children are in their learning • staff's knowledge of how to use activities and routines to help children develop their understanding of numbers through counting and practical problem solving • opportunities for children to link sounds with letters; handle books and routinely access resources for writing and mark making

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the pre-school has made generally good progress. Additional resources have been acquired to enhance children's understanding of technology and they now have routine opportunities to explore and investigate mechanical and programmable equipment which have a positive impact on learning. Opportunities for managing and forming letters have increased but often are still not offered effectively due to the weakness in teaching.

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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 feel secure. They separate happily from their carers and are keen to explore play activities. Children respond appropriately to experiences and contribute at group times. They are given responsibilities to develop their self-esteem and sense of achievement. They are learning about emotions and the need to care for and respect others. Their behaviour is good. They are acquiring knowledge of right from wrong and are clear of expectations.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident communicators. They listen and respond appropriately. They are acquiring a good vocabulary and challenge when new words are not understood. All children have good name recognition skills and most recognise some letters of the alphabet but there are few opportunities to link sounds to letters and words. Children enjoy stories but are not encouraged to use books routinely. The irregular provision of writing and mark making materials is not promoting handwriting skills.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have frequent opportunities to explore shape, size and position both independently and with staff support .They enjoy varied activities involving pattern making. A numerate environment encourages their number recognition but there is little input to extend their mathematical learning through calculation. Staff do not encourage spontaneous and routine counting.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing a good sense of time. They can relate to past and present and project thoughts into the future. They have a very developed sense of place. They explore their locality and make models relating to experiences. Varied activites offer them discovery of change, growth and the natural world. Technical equipment is routinely available. Children have good construction skills.They celebrate a variety of festivals and use a wide range of multi cultural resources.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Good use is made of a range of large and small equipment both inside and out. Children move confidently and with control around each other and the equipment demonstrating a good sense of space. They are co-ordinated and move with care when carrying drink or delicate materials. Children develop hygiene awareness routinely and with special topics and visitors. They understand the importance of healthy eating. They are confident and skilful in using a wide range of tools and equipment.

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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 All children have a good awareness of colour. Children are able to create and express themselves freely using a good range of materials and equipment. They have access to a variety of music, used as background or as a focussed activitity. They create the props and act in plays, enjoy musical movements and dance. Model making is encouraged and children have regular opportunities to create in 2 and 3 dimensions.

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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

• Introduce a rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching • Make learning objectives explicitly clear in the plans and ensure these are used and understood by all staff so that assessments inform future planning • Increase staff's knowledge of how to use activities and routines to help children develop their understanding of number through practical problem solving; their awareness of linking sounds to letters and words and their handling of books in a variety of situations.

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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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