Owlets Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/02/2005 Inspector Name Paula Durrant

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Owlets Setting Address Methodist Church High Street Langford Bedfordshire

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Owlets Pre-School 1030866

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Owlets Pre-School Address Methodist Chapel High Street Langford Bedfordshire

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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

Owlets Pre-School is a committee run group. It originally opened in 1986 and relocated to it's current premises in October 2002. The pre-school currently operates from a main hall in the Methodist Church building, situated in the heart of the village of Langford. A maximum 24 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre school is open each weekday from 09:15 until 11:45 for approximately 36 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor area. There are currently 32 children from two years to under five years on roll. Of these 18 receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment which includes surrounding villages and towns. The pre-school has systems in place to support children with special needs and English as an additional language. The pre-school employs five staff. Three of the staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. One staff member is working towards a

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Information about the setting

qualification and the final staff member remains unqualified although has experience in working with young children.

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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?

Owlets Pre-School provides good quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Provision for Personal, Social and Emotional Development is particularly well planned and children make very good progress in this area of learning. Teaching is generally good. Staff have developed their knowledge through training, literature and support from external advisers. They have evolved their own planning system. Long and medium term plans are detailed. Adult focused activities support the implementation of short term aims. However, insufficient use of the daily routine and inadequate monitoring of the curriculum impacts on the balance of the educational programme. Staff plan a wide range of interesting and stimulating practical activities but do not promote regular opportunities for children to reaffirm their understanding of forming recognisable letters, calculation, design for making,

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How effective is the nursery education?

sense of time and place, IT or health and bodily awareness. There are appropriate systems in place to support children with additional needs. Behaviour is good. Children demonstrate sensitivity towards others. Resources are thoughtfully linked to topic themes. Assessment systems are well balanced. Staff use direct observation to monitor individual achievements. The staff team plan together and use their knowledge of the children to set targets which intertwine with the planning programme. Leadership and Management is good. Staff work well as a cohesive unit under the direction of the pre-school leader. There are clear roles and responsibilities and staff promote a flexible approach to their work. Parents are active participants in their child's learning. Regular opportunities are provided for parents to assist in the daily session. They are kept regularly informed about the group's topics and current events, with literature explaining the curriculum

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What is being done well?

• The programme for Personal, Social and Emotional development is outstanding. Children are confident and competent individuals who are firmly nurtured by experience and well trained staff. Children are listen to. They are welcomed in expressing their thoughts and ideas and are given substantial freedom, especially in accessing supplementary resources such as craft and writing materials. Children form meaningful relationships. They give impromptu cuddles to friends and support each other in their tasks. They listen to what adults say and are keen to assist with tidying away at the end of the session. Children develop a strong sense of community as they link

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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 with the local school and take part in village events. • The group are limited in their access to an outside area, however they make exceptional use of what is available. A small enclosed paved courtyard is used daily. Staff divide the number of children accessing this area allowing sufficient space for children to manoeuvre bikes safely. They plan a varied range of activities to encompass differing skills such as throwing, catching, balancing and climbing. They also provide pots for planting seeds and bulbs throughout the year. • Staff are committed to improving their educational programme. They have devised their own planning systems, fully utilising the QCA Guidance and external advisory services. Planning continues to change as staff gain confidence and extend their knowledge of the curriculum. They remain open

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What is being done well?

to constructive criticism and invite discussion for improvement. They are sound in their own abilities and work in harmony as a team to support each other in the implementation of the educational programme.

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What needs to be improved?

• the programme for Knowledge and Understanding of the World to give further emphasis to design and making, IT, and a sense of time and place. • the productivity of time and use of the daily routine to give further emphasis to opportunities for counting, recognising numerals, calculation and a sense of time and place. • the planning programme to ensure effective monitoring and equal coverage across all areas of learning.

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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 enjoy attending this group. They separate well from their main carer and show eagerness to participate in the activities on offer. They listen attentively during whole group sessions and are highly articulate in expressing their views and ideas. Children demonstrate sensitivity towards others, sharing and taking turns. Independence is good. Children help themselves to a drink when thirsty and select their own resources. The group have positive links with the local village school.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children interact, talk and negotiate clearly with others and demonstrate a sensitive awareness of the listener. They enjoy sharing their views and ideas and use speech skilfully to explore real and imagined experiences. There are plentiful opportunities to handle books. Children are sound in their knowledge of phonetic links. Children make marks for a purpose in role play and when labelling art work, but insufficient emphasis is given to supporting children to form recognisable letters.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to count up to and beyond ten. The group have good visual prompts to support recognition of number, but children are not always consistent in their naming. Older children when questioned are able to differentiate between the number of green and yellow pieces of dough used within their caterpillar model. Children measure in differing contexts, weighing and recording on a graph goals scored.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children gain regular opportunities to observe and identify features of living things as they grow seeds and bulbs in tubs outside. Children have access to a range of construction materials, but are not encouraged to develop their creativity in design. IT is poor. Children have insufficient access to technological resources. Children gain little awareness of the passing of time or their direct environment as a sense of place. They are introduced to a range of cultures through topic work.

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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: Generally Good Children have regular access to an outside area. They ride bicycles, throw and kick balls and manoevour over, under, and through a pre-set obstacle course. Children show an awareness of space as they move freely within their environment and position themselves for large group activities on the mat. Children gain little understanding of changes to their body when they are active. They use a range of tools, such as scissors for cutting, spades for digging and varied mediums to make marks.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy the freedom of expressing their creativity within their art work. Good access to a range of media and materials supports children in exploring colour, texture, shape and two and three dimensions. The daily routine supports the regular introduction of musically based activities. Children use their imagination in art, role play and stories. However, they are limited in their creativity for design when building with blocks.

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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

• develop the programme for Knowledge and Understanding of the World to enable children to use their imagination in design when constructing, experiment and revisit their learning with programmable toys and increase their awareness of features in the place that children live and the natural world around them. • give further emphasis to the organisation and use of time within the daily routine to promote regular opportunities to underpin recognition of numerals, calculation and a sense of time and place. • ensure that planning is monitored effectively and that equal coverage is given to all six areas of learning, consolidating long and medium term plans within the short term programme.

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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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