The Sheffield Children's Centre

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/03/2004 Inspector Name Glenys Swift

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Sheffield Childrens Centre Ltd Setting Address Shoreham Street Sheffield South Yorkshire S1 4SR

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Sheffield Childrens Centre Ltd 265250

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Sheffield Childrens Centre Ltd Address Shoreham Street Sheffield South Yorkshire S1 4ST

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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

Sheffield Children's Centre Ltd is situated in the centre of Sheffield. It is open Monday - Friday 08:00 to 18:00. The premises are purpose built on ground floor level and have disabled access. and toilet facilities. Outdoor play is available in a fully enclosed area. There are 30 funded children on roll, 5 of whom are 4 year olds. Children with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language are welcomed. At present there are 10 children attending for whom English as an additional language. There are 28 members of staff working at this centre of which 16 members of staff work with the funded children. Almost all of them have, or are working to achieve a qualification in child care and education. The Centre operates as a community co-operative and has a clearly stated philosophy and management structure.

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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?

Sheffield Children's Centre Ltd provides a warm, friendly environment. Children are happy, confident and eager to learn. They are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff work well as a team and use a wide range of resources to plan an interesting programme of worthwhile activities. They manage children in a calm way, helping them to consider the needs of others. Behaviour is very good. Staff use opportunities to develop children's language skills, encourage them to solve simple problems and understand a range of mathematical ideas. Staff know individuals well and are aware of their needs. They adapt their teaching to give strong support to all children, including those with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language. Staff challenge children to think in practical situations but some of the activities involving worksheets, especially those

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How effective is the nursery education?

linked to letter sounds, are not appropriate to some children's stages of development. Chances to encourage writing for a purpose are not used in role play. Staff observe and record children's progress carefully. Records show children's achievements and are used to note ways to promote learning. Leadership and management is very good. There are clear policies and the management committee, advisory group and staff work closely together to provide quality provision for children and opportunities for parents and the local community. There are plans for a new building and a clear vision to develop this. Effective systems are in place to support staff and parents and to monitor and review the provision. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive clear information about the Centre and are very pleased with the progress their children are making. They feel well-informed of their children's achievements and appreciate the friendliness of the

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What is being done well?

• Children are happy, confident and eager to learn. They behave well and develop very good relationships with staff and each other. • Staff use opportunities for discussion and stories very effectively to help children to develop their skills in speaking and listening. • Children progress very well in mathematics. They are learning to count, use numbers and solve simple problems through practical activities. • Children have excellent opportunities to respect and learn about their own and other cultures and beliefs from staff and visitors who share their experiences and festivals.

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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 • Children are encouraged to use imagination in a range of stimulating activities linked to role play, music and stories. • Staff give excellent support to individual children and parents, especially those learning English as an additional language.

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What needs to be improved?

• the challanges that are set to help children, especially the younger ones, recognise letter sounds and write letters; for example, the activities involving work sheets are appropriate to their levels of development • the opportunities for children to write for a purpose in role play • the monthly records of children's attainments all need to include the date of the assessment so that children's progress is clearly shown.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The Centre has made very good progress since the last inspection of nursery education. There was one point for consideration which was to make all staff were aware of how to teach children to distinguish between names of letters and sounds they make. Staff now use practical activities, such as children's name cards, talking about "letter of the week", writing and painting letters freely and finding letters on the computer, effectively to help children become aware of the sounds and names of letters.

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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 are happy and confident. They choose their own activities and concentrate well. They learn personal independence as they put their own coats on for outdoor play. Activities, such as painting portraits of themselves, help them to feel proud of their own individuality and to respect that of others. Relationships and behaviour are very good. Children are learning to share, take turns and co-operate very well. Staff help children to express their own needs and to respect each other.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are learning to share their ideas. Staff support their skills well, introducing vocabulary and helping them to recall experiences. Children enjoy listening to stories and using books. They make marks freely and some write letters, words and sentences. Practical activities help children learn letter sounds, however younger children have inappropriate challanges. Children have insufficiant opportunities to write for a purpose in role play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are learning to count, use and recognise numbers confidently. Staff emphasise opportunities to count and use practical activities, such as baking and number rhymes, well to help them explore simple problems and ideas of addition and subtraction. Children learn about mathematical ideas of size, shape and position as they build with bricks and make pictures using shapes. They explore quantity as they fill jugs in water play and sort toy bears for colour to match numbers up to five.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have good chances to explore materials, such as sand and water. They find out what happens as they use magnifying glasses and notice changes observing plants grow. Children build skilfully and use technology, such as computers and a listening station to support their learning. Role play situations, such as a hospital and garden shop increase their understanding of the environment. Staff and visitors share their experiences and festivals to help them learn about cultures and beliefs.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing good co-ordination and control of their bodies. They move confidently and safely with awareness of space and each other. Staff use the large outdoor area and smaller rooms inside to give good chances to move in different ways. Children use a wide range of resources, including challenging apparatus for balancing and climbing, skilfully. They handle tools, such as knives, with increasing control, to spread cheese on crackers. Staff discuss eating healthily at snack time.

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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 explore an interesting variety of materials to paint, draw, make collages and models. They use imagination to draw and paint lovely pictures. They create situations in play in the home corner and "hospital" and recall and make up stories using puppets. Children enjoy singing and dancing and join in enthusiastically. They use musical instruments, happily and listen and respond well to a range of music, including music from many different cultures.

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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 key issues as a result of this inspection but there are the following points for consideration: • provide opportunities for children to write for a purpose in their role play. • ensure that all activities to help children, especially the younger ones, recognise letter sounds and write letters are appropriate to their levels of development.

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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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