Duffield Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/11/2004 Inspector Name Jackie Dew

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Duffield Playgroup Setting Address Park Road Duffield Belper Derbyshire DE56 4GT

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Duffield Playgroup Address Park Road Duffield Belper Derbyshire DE56 4GT

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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

Duffield Playgroup opened in 1986. It operates from one main room with access to an attached kitchenette; toilet facilities and a secure outside play area. The playgroup is based in centre of Duffield, serving the local community. There are currently 31 children from 2 to 4-years on roll. This includes 15 funded 3-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports no children with special educational needs and none who speak English as an additional language. The group opens 5 days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09:00 until 11:30 on Monday and Tuesday and 13:00 until 15:30 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There are four full-time staff that work with the children, of these, three member's of staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 3. One is currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support

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Information about the setting

from a mentor from the Derbyshire Early 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?

Duffield Playgroup provides good quality nursery education overall. The children are generally making good progress towards the early learning goals. Provision for their personal, social and emotional development and their mathematical development is particularly well planned and they are making very good progress in these areas. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff provide a happy, secure environment for the children. They have good relationships with the children and manage their behaviour well. Staff plan a wide range of interesting activities but do not provide sufficient to extend and improve children's climbing skills and knowledge of health and bodily awareness. Staff give individual children a good level of support and those with special educational needs are encouraged to join in the full range of nursery activities. They communicate well with the children but need to participate more in children's

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How effective is the nursery education?

activities in the book corner to encourage their use and enjoyment of books. Staff assess the children's learning against the stepping stones and early learning goals. They use this information to plan what children should do next. They maintain records of individual children's progress which are shared with parents. These do not include children's progress in understanding other cultures and beliefs. The leadership and management of the playgroup is generally good. The supervisor has fostered good staff and parent relationships and has developed a committed staff team. She seeks and acts upon advice and has implemented a programme of staff training. The monitoring system is generally effective but there are areas of planning and staff deployment which need further evaluation and development. The partnership with parents is very good. They are encouraged to comment on their children's written reports and to be involved with their children's learning at the

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How effective is the nursery education?

playgroup. They are made aware of the topics for the term.

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What is being done well?

• Staff encourage children's communication skills and are good at developing their vocabulary. They value what children say, introduce them to new language and encourage them to listen to others. • Children's mathematical development is promoted very effectively through a range of well planned activities. Staff are very skilled at encouraging mathematical thinking. • The children are given every opportunity to develop personally, socially and emotionally. They are encouraged to be independent and to make choices.

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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 children are developing very good attitudes to their learning. They are encouraged to be aware of other's needs. • Parents are kept very well informed of their child's progress and are encouraged to share knowledge of their own child. Staff work in partnership with parents and carers and outside agencies to ensure all children, gain as much as possible from the activities.

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What needs to be improved?

• The planning of the activities to develop children's climbing skills and their knowledge of health and bodily awareness. • The deployment of staff to encourage children's use of the book corner and their enjoyment of books. • The assessment and recording sheets to include children's progress in understanding different cultures and beliefs.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made since the last inspection. There is now a system of assessing and recording children's progress in place which covers most of the early learning goals. This, combined with good observational notes and focused activities, have made staff more effective in planning work for individual children to extend their learning. This information is now made available to parents in oral feedback and termly reports. Long term curriculum plans are now operational and these help to ensure that the children cover the full range of early learning goals during their time at the playgroup. Staff have planned more activities to help children develop respect for and knowledge of cultures and beliefs of other people. They have planned activities around festivals and have purchased new books and equipment and attended training courses to give the children more opportunities in this area. Children's

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What has improved since the last inspection?

achievements and progress in this area of the curriculum are not yet included on the new assessment and recording sheets.

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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 The children are developing good relationships with staff and are kind to each other. They take turns at the easel, asking if other children have finished. They are developing good personal independence, choosing their own activities, washing their own hands and pouring their own drinks at snack time. Children generally behave well and respond appropriately to teacher's instructions. They are developing good attitudes to their learning, concentrating well when making a rocket picture.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good The children communicate well and discuss the activities they are involved in with the teachers and each other. A child describes his pumpkin as 'Soggy', and says, 'They don't last forever'. They are beginning to link sounds to letters and some know the initial sound in their name. The children attempt to write their own names and some can read their own name cards. The children enjoy stories and can join in at story time but they do not fully use the book corner to access and enjoy books.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children are beginning to count objects accurately. They recognise several numerals on the calculator and know that 5 comes after 4. At snack time older children work out how many more cups are needed. The children are beginning to understand addition and subtraction. When singing '5 Little Ducks' they know how many are left each time. They use mathematical language correctly during their play to describe a small elephant and a long train. They can recognise and name some shapes.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good The children are developing good design and making skills using a wide range of objects, materials and tools. They are curious and enjoy exploring and investigating how things like a torch and a file work. They are able to use simple programmeable toys and a calculator. They know about the environment and can describe shells which they found on the beach. The children are beginning to learn about other cultures and beliefs but their achievements in this area are not shown on their records.

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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 The children are beginning to move in a controlled way and use the space well when playing musical statues. They handle a variety of tools and materials safely and effectively. Although the children have good opportunities to learn to balance and crawl there are few planned activities for them to improve their climbing skills. There are few activities planned to help children recognise the importance of staying healthy and recognising the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The children enjoy expressing and communicating their ideas when painting, choosing materials for a picture and dancing as animals. They play imaginatively in the 'Doctor's surgery'. They explore a variety of media and materials describing felt as soft and dry pasta as noisy. The children enjoy listening to music from other countries and know some simple songs and their actions from memory. The children enjoy listening to stories but do not fully use books imaginatively in the book corner.

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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

• Plan the deployment of staff to include time in the book corner to encourage children's use and enjoyment of books. • Plan activities to develop children's climbing skills and their understanding of the importance of staying healthy and the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active. • Include into the assessment records, children's achievements and progress in understanding about their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people.

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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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