St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Fleetwood

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/03/2005 Inspector Name Toni Hanson

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Tower Hamlets College Setting Address Arbour Square London E1 0PS

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Tower Hamlets College Address Arbour Square London E1 0PT

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.1

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.

p.2

Information about the setting

Tower Hamlets College Nursery is a private day nursery, run by Tower Hamlets College and provides day care for students and staff. It opened in 1990 and is situated in a residential area of Stepney. A maximum of 26 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open Monday to Friday during term time. The children's hours of attendance vary to suit the needs of their parents. The nursery building is purpose built and consists of two playrooms, children's toilets, a baby changing area, a kitchen, office, laundry facilities and an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 30 children aged from 18 months to 3 years on roll. Of these, three children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as many parents travel in to work or study at the college. The nursery currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs five members of staff including the manager. All staff hold an

p.2

Information about the setting

appropriate early years qualification to National Vocational Level 3. No staff are currently working towards a qualification.

p.2

Information about the setting

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.2

How effective is the nursery education?

Tower Hamlets College Nursery provides good quality provision where children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Provision for their development in four areas of learning are particularly well planned and they make very good progress in these areas. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff understand how three and four year olds learn and have a sound knowledge of the stepping stones and early learning goals. They plan and provide interesting activities for children. Some activities however, are not adapted effectively to ensure they provide sufficiently challenging experiences for older/more able children. Staff manage children's behaviour positively, helping to build their self confidence and social skills. Appropriate systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. Leadership and management at the setting is generally good. There are clear and

p.3

How effective is the nursery education?

appropriate aims for the children's care and education and a strong team commitment to evaluating and improving care practices and the quality of nursery education. The nursery provides an excellent range of play equipment. Systems to evaluate the effectiveness of curriculum planning are in the process of being developed. Staff's assessments of the children progress towards the early learning goals are not yet used when planning to help children move on to the next stage in their learning. The staff appraisal system and regular training are used to further develop the staff's knowledge and skills. Partnership with parents is generally good. Children's keyworkers are available each day to talk to parents about their child's care and general progress. The parent's notice board informs parents about planned topics and events. Parents receive limited information about the foundation stage and an annual report detailing their

p.3

How effective is the nursery education?

child's progress towards the early learning goals.

p.3

What is being done well?

• Children's personal, social and emotional development is very good. They are confident, interested, become highly involved in activities that interest them and are able to sit and concentrate appropriately. Children behave well and often show care and concern for other children. • Opportunities for children to explore and investigate are very good. Interesting activities such as growing seeds and bulbs, melting ice and tasting multi-cultural foods, help children make sense of the world around them. • Children have good opportunities to design and construct using a wide range of construction kits, resources and tools. These activities help promote

p.3

What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 children's physical and mathematical skills and find out about the different properties of the materials they handle. • Children's creative development is very good. They have frequent opportunities to explore their thoughts, feelings and ideas using a wide range of media and materials including paint, chalk, collage materials, clay and crayons. • Staff manage children's behaviour in a consistent and positive way. Staff are good role models, speak respectfully to children and use praise frequently to re-enforce good behaviour and help children learn to co-operate with others.

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• Systems to monitor and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of curriculum planning. • The use of children's assessments to ensure planned activities effectively help children move on to the next stage in their learning • Information provided to parents about the foundation stage of learning. Systems to inform parents about their children's progress towards the early learning goals.

p.4

What has improved since the last inspection?

N/A. This is the nursery's first S122 nursery education inspection

p.4

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

p.4

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are interested, excited and keen to learn. They become highly involved in activities that interest them and are able to sit and concentrate when appropriate. The children are happy, confident and learning to share, take turns and be considerate to others. They are developing personal independence well, as they help themselves to the play equipment they need. Children explore their community through project work, such as eating noodles with chopsticks for Chinese New Year.

p.5

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently speak to adults and other children and enthusiastically share their thoughts and ideas with others. They competently handle books, enjoy listening to stories and can recognize their own name card. Children have good opportunities to develop their eye hand co-ordination, as they cut with scissors and make patterns with their fingers in the dry sand. They confidently practise their early writing skills through play as they 'write' shopping lists when using the play phones.

p.5

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are learning to count and understand numbers as they count to ten when playing hide and seek and join in with number rhymes and songs. They confidently name and recognize basic shapes and colours during their play. Children solve problems of shape and size as they complete puzzles and make models of Canary Wharf using recyclable materials! Opportunities for confident counters to further develop their understanding of number problems are often missed.

p.5

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Well-planned activities help children learn about the world they live in. They investigate how water cress seeds grow, discover which ingredients make fairy cakes and explore whether objects float or sink in water. Children have frequent opportunities to design and build using a wide variety of resources, such as sand, recyclable materials and construction kits. They explore basic information and communication technology when using the computer and push button phones.

p.5

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

p.5

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use small equipment and tools with confidence and control, including scissors, pens and chalk. They are developing spatial awareness well as they manoeuvre trikes and prams. Children have frequent opportunities to be active and have access to the garden or nature area each day. They enjoy using the large physical play equipment, including the ball pool and climbing frames. These activities however, do not always offer sufficiently challenging experiences for more able children.

p.6

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have frequent opportunities to use their imagination and be creative. They express themselves well when drawing, painting and using collage materials. Children enjoy exploring the different sights, smells and textures of cooked spaghetti, clay and finger paint. They enthusiastically act out different roles and events, including playing their 'mummy' and 'baby' game. Children sing, enjoy listening to music and have frequent access to percussion musical instruments.

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.7

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Improve systems to monitor and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of curriculum planning. • Make more effective use of children's assessments when planning to help children move on to the next stage in their learning. • Develop systems to inform parents about the foundation stage of learning. Improve systems to keep parents informed about their child's achievements and progress in the six areas of learning.

p.7

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.

p.7

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

p.7