Swale Inclusion Service

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 13/12/2004 Inspector Name Jill Milton

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Rainbow Corner Day Nursery Setting Address Love Lane Watlington Oxfordshire OX49 5RB

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rainbow Corner Day Nursery Address The Anne Brown Centre Love Lane Watlington Oxfordshire OX49 5RB

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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

Rainbow Corner Day Nursery opened in 1984 and is located in the Anne Brown Centre on the site of Icknield Community College in Watlington. The nursery serves the local area and employees of the college and school. It is a non profit-making nursery managed by a committee of parents and local residents. The accommodation consists of a refurbished single storey building with separate areas for the different age ranges of children. Each age group have their own quiet area, changing facilities and garden. There are currently 72 children under 5 years on roll, which includes 8 children who are receiving nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions and support is provided for a small number of children with special needs. The nursery opens five days a week for 48 weeks per year, from 08.00 until 18.00. The nursery employs 22 staff, of whom 13 have early years qualifications and 4 who

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Information about the setting

are currently working towards a recognised qualification.

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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?

Rainbow Corner Day Nursery provides high quality nursery education overall which enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff have a good understanding of the Foundation Stage and they access training to develop their skills and knowledge. They plan the curriculum with care, giving attention to all six areas of learning and they ensure that they consider the outdoor area. Staff plan the day with a well-paced mix of activities, ensuring older children have time for more challenging activities. They make good use of a wide range of resources to support learning. Staff meet individual children's needs well and choose particular resources to match the child's interest. They also support children with special needs very well and have experience in liaising with outside professionals. Staff manage children's behaviour appropriately. They use positive incentives for good behaviour and have realistic

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How effective is the nursery education?

expectations of the children, though sometimes forget to let children accomplish everyday tasks for themselves. Staff monitor children's development regularly and they note specific areas where children need support, for example using scissors. Leadership and management are very good. Senior staff provide good guidance, they encourage training and they are very aware of what is happening within the nursery. There is a positive attitude to working together to develop and improve the setting. Staff monitor the provision well, through regular meetings and in the achievement of accreditation awards. The partnership with parents and carers is very good. Parents can access many well-presented sources of information about the learning that is taking place within the nursery. They talk to staff informally about their child's progress and they have opportunities to view developmental records. The parents express their satisfaction

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How effective is the nursery education?

with the nursery setting and the staff who care for their children.

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What is being done well?

• Senior staff plan the educational curriculum thoroughly and ensure that the children have good opportunities to progress in all six areas of learning. Staff make good use of a small quiet room to provide activities for older children where they can concentrate and take part in more challenging games. • Staff make very good use of the outdoor area to extend children's learning. Children take part in construction activities with recycled materials and extend their design skills with tyres and large boxes. They use the area for imaginative play and experience handling natural resources. • Staff share information with families about the children's progress and about the educational curriculum. The staff display photographs and prepare written information about what the children are learning as they play. The information

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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 is also useful for students and visitors to the nursery as it provides a useful record of the many exciting and interesting activities. • Children have good opportunities to learn about different cultures and beliefs. They take part in well-planned activities, which introduce them to festivals from the wider world. Parents share with the children customs from their own country, for example preparations for Christmas in Germany. This helps children to respect others and builds their self-esteem about their own culture.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to develop their self-help skills.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. Two areas were raised for improvement. The first issue was a requirement to indicate in the planning where staff are deployed. The adults in the nursery have a good awareness of where they are to work and they indicate this on the planning sheets. Staff have guidance at individual areas, such as the creative corner, as to what their responsibilities entail when they work there. Improvements mean that staff are aware of how they can best support children's play. Secondly staff were required to place more displays at child-height. Staff now make good use of the new nursery accommodation to display items where the children can interact with them. This includes photographs, children's names and creative art work. Children now have better opportunities to make use of these areas for discussion and extending 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 are busy and engage in play quickly when they arrive at nursery. They are confident at choosing activities for themselves and when they come together as a group they speak out. They sometimes lack opportunities to develop self-help skills, like hanging up coats. Children talk about sharing amongst themselves without prompting from the adults. Older children are kind to younger ones and overall they behave well. Children share in cultural events and are learning to respect differences.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children interact well with staff and they like to share their ideas, for example about their dreams, with the group. They are developing a good awareness of the sounds of letters and are eager to take part in games to extend their knowledge. Children enjoy listening to stories and they like to make comments on the pictures. They are starting to use mark-making for enjoyment and a purpose as they write shopping lists or name their own work and they make good attempts to form letter shapes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children take part in well-planned activities to reinforce their understanding of concepts like shape. They quickly and correctly identify different shapes and use activities like printing to make patterns. They use their understanding of position and size to construct with large bricks. Children are confident at counting and they enjoy working out number puzzles to see how many boys and girls are present and what the total number is. Staff ensure numerals are on display around the nursery.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have very good opportunities to use natural resources in their play. Their learning extends to the outdoor area where they handle textures like wood, rubber, water and sand. They can observe changes, like ice melting and use materials to design and build. They access toys, which use technology. Children take part in seasonal activities, celebrating important events, like birthdays, together. Their knowledge also extends to the wider world with activities linked to different cultures.

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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 Children move with confidence and control in the outdoor play area and they steer toys around a roadway. They are good at balancing on wooden beams and have access to climbing equipment to extend their skills. Children use a variety of resources to practise throwing accurately and staff encourage their efforts. Children are developing an awareness of their own bodies and remind each other to 'keep moving' on cold play days. They are developing good control of tools like pencils and scissors.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children experience many textures and media in their play and they have opportunities to create their own pictures. They use instruments to explore sounds and accompany songs. Children's creative development extends to the outdoor area where they use their senses to take in what is happening. They express their ideas in imaginative play, expressing delight at seeing their constructions develop. Children learn how props and actions can help to tell well-known stories.

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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 significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • the opportunities for children to develop their self-help skills. 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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