Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 26/11/2004 Inspector Name Doreen Forsyth

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Kitchener Road Pre - School Setting Address Kitchener Road Amesbury Salisbury Wiltshire SP4 7AA

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Committee of Kitchener Road Preschool

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Committee of Kitchener Road Preschool Address Amesbury Church Of England Aided Primary School Kitchener Road,Amesbury, SALISBURY Wiltshire SP4 7DX

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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

Kitchener Road Pre-school opened in 1985. It operates from a mobile classroom, situated in the grounds of Amesbury Church of England Aided Junior School in Amesbury, Wiltshire. The mobile classroom is used solely for the pre-school. Children attend from the local area. The pre-school is registered for 18 children aged between 2 and 5 years. There are currently 18 children on roll. This includes 13 funded three and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. At present there are no children attending that have special educational needs, or that speak English as an additional language. The pre-school is open from 08.50 until 11.50 each morning during school term times. Five full and part-time staff work with the children. Four staff members have early years qualifications at level two or three. The setting receives support from the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, and is a member of the

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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?

The provision at Kitchener Road Pre-School is of good quality overall, children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. In personal, social and emotional, mathematical and physical development children are making very good progress. Teaching is generally good. Staff are very experienced, they know the children well and provide them with individual support and attention. Staff's understanding of the early learning goals is very good. They plan a stimulating range of activities, based on the stepping stones towards the early learning goals, that are challenging and help both three and four-year-old children to learn. Staff observe and record children's progress, but do not always use these assessments when planning the next steps in children's learning. Staff encourage children to behave well using a range of different strategies, including praise, encouragement and rewards. The

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How effective is the nursery education?

session is well organised and the pre-school well resourced, but children's opportunities to use information and communication technology is limited. Leadership and management of the pre-school is generally good. Staff are suitably qualified and attend regular training. They do not have appraisals to monitor their professional development. The strong staff team work very well together. They are very aware of their roles and responsibilities. Staff use feedback from parents and feeder schools to monitor the provision offered and are aware of some of their strengths and weaknesses. There is no method in place for self-evaluation. The committee provides fund-raising and support. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents have good informal opportunities to talk to staff and discuss their children. There is a parents' notice-board and regular newsletters. There are no planned opportunities for parents

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How effective is the nursery education?

to discuss their children's achievements and progress with staff, or for them to share what they know about their children's learning at home.

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What is being done well?

• Children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered very well. Children behave well; concentrate very well; are confident and have good relationships with each other. They are learning to respect other's views and feelings. • Staff are skilled at presenting mathematical concepts and language in the daily routines. They pose children simple mathematical problems and encourage children to think about number. • Children have good opportunities for physical development. They spend time outside each day using wheeled toys, have regular P.E and movement sessions and use climbing and balancing resources in the playroom.

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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 • Staff know the children very well, the pre-school provides good adult/child ratios so children receive individual support and attention. Staff interact well with the children and are interested in what they do and say.

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What needs to be improved?

• the partnership with parents, to ensure they have planned opportunities to find out about their children's progress and achievements and to share what they know about their children's learning • the provision of resources to enable children to use information and communication technology to support their learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the pre-school was set two key issues, they have made generally good progress in response to these. The first was to 'devise strategies to lower noise levels and to ensure that the children are concentrating, particularly in whole group activities'. At this inspection the noise level was acceptable, children concentrate very well, and participate fully in whole group activities such as registration or story time. The second key issue was to 'increase opportunities for the children to use simple technology to support their learning'. The setting has obtained some resources for children to use for exploration and investigation and a tape player and tapes which the children enjoy using. But the resources to support their learning using information and communication technology are still quite limited, this issue will carry forward following this inspection.

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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 play happily and are engaged in their activities. They concentrate well and sit quietly and listen when appropriate. They have good relationships with each other, they work well together, for example, when helping to tidy up. They behave very well and understand the rules and routines of the pre-school. They are learning to be independent, for example, they attempt to change their own clothes for P.E. They pour their own drinks at snack time and can chose some of their own resources.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers, they express their ideas and thoughts in words well. They listen well to stories and can predict the text and retell the story. They are exploring and enjoying words. They are learning to link sounds to letters appropriately. They all recognise their own names, some can write their names and other letters. Children enjoy mark making, but the resources provided are not very well presented and do not invite children to explore the mark-making table.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Staff use the daily routines and activities to help children to learn about numbers and to solve simple problems. For example, at snack time children count the number of children at their table and ensure they have the correct number of cups and biscuits. They use construction toys such as the Lego road resources or the train set to solve practical problems and examine position, quantity and shape. They can count to ten and beyond with confidence and they recognise numerals and shapes very well.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn about their own lives, their local environment and the world around them through interesting topic work. They have good opportunities to investigate and explore objects and materials, such as what happens to icing sugar when you add water. They use different materials to design and build. They are learning very well about their own and other cultures. Children do not have many chances to use everyday technology or information and communication technology to support their learning.

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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: Very Good When playing outside on the bikes or climbing resources children learn to move with confidence and control. They have many opportunities to develop their large muscle skills as they are involved in physical activities each day. They learn an awareness of space in ring games. Staff help children to learn the importance of staying healthy, for example, they discuss foods that are good for you. Children handle many tools and malleable materials that help develop their small muscle control.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy easel painting each day, freely exploring colours. They have some opportunities to explore textures and different materials in collage, paint and craft activities but these are sometimes over adult directed instead of allowing children to explore their own creativity. They enjoy listening to music and can sing songs from memory well. Children use their imaginations well in role play, for example in the home corner, when dressing up or playing on the 'pirate ship' climbing frame.

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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

• improve the partnership with parents by providing them with planned opportunities to be informed about their children's progress and achievements and to share what they know about their children's learning with the setting • provide more opportunities for children to know about everyday technology and to use information and communication technology to support their learning.

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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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