Beeches Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 08/01/2004 Inspector Name Carly Louise Thrower

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Beeches Pre-School Setting Address Iqbal Family Centre 157 Cromwell Road Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE1 2EL

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Beeches Pre School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Beeches Pre School Address Iqbal Family Centre 157 Cromwell Road Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE1 2EL

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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

Beeches pre-school opened at it's present premises in 2003 but has been operating since 1993. It operates from a large room in the Iqbal Family Centre in central Peterborough. Beeches pre-school serves the local community. There are currently 52 children on roll. This includes 33 funded 3 year olds and 13 funded four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports 1 child with special needs and all 52 children who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09.00am to 11.30am each weekday morning and from 12.15pm to 14.45pm every weekday afternoon. There is no extended lunchtime provision. Six full time staff work with the children. All staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. The setting recieves support from an Early Years Pedagogical worker, a childcare advisor and is a designated area for Sure Start.

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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 for nursery education at Beeches pre-school is generally good. It enables children to make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world and generally good progress in all other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of most early learning goals in the six areas of learning. They plan and provide activities which are interesting and stimulating and appropriatley question children, whilst also allowing them to observe, predict and think for themselves. Plans of activities are evaluated and used to influence future planning. Children with English as an additional language receive excellent support. However, planning of weekly focused activities do not show a good balance across the six areas especially in physical and creative development.

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How effective is the nursery education?

The leadership and management of the pre-school is very good. All staff are clear in their roles and responsibilities and work very well together as a team. Regular meetings allow staff to put forward their thoughts and ideas for planning of the activities, all of which are valued by the supervisor. An appraisal system allow staff the opportunity to assess their own strengths and weaknesses and develop their individual training needs. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are kept regularly informed of their child's progress through termly parent and keyworker meetings and informal disscussions on a daily basis. Support is offered by bi-lingual staff at the meetings for those parents who have English as an additional language. However, information supplied on the Foundation Stage in the parents handbook is limited. Parents are encouraged to be part of their child's pre-school life by a home

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How effective is the nursery education?

book system and involvement in events such as the Christmas and Eid parties.

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What is being done well?

• Children's opportunities to link sounds to letters and to recognise letters of the alphabet. • Children's opportunities to engage in simple calculation and counting, especially through number songs. • Staff's planning of interesting and stimulating activities. • The support given to those children who have English as an additional language.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• opportunities for children to develop their imagination through interesting and appealing role play situations • planning to include regular large physical and creative activities in the focused weekly plans • information supplied on the Foundation Stage curriculum in the parent's prospectus.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Beeches pre-school has made very good progress since the last inspection. The previous key issues were to further develop the planning system, especially short term plans to show the purpose of an activity and how staff will be deployed, provide more time for communication, language and literacy to enable children to develop their writing and reading skills, recognising sounds etc, enable children to solve simple problems, to record numbers and compare, sort, order and match, develop effective ways of monitoring and improving teaching in relation to deployment of staff and grouping of children and implement a policy for special educational needs with procedures in place to identify, support, monitor and record children with special educational needs. Staff now plan activities which show clear learning intentions linked to the early learning goals, how staff will be deployed and the vocabulary they will use. Children

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What has improved since the last inspection?

are now given very good opportunites to link sounds to letters and to develop their reading and writing skills e.g. by using alphabet finger puppets related to the letter of the week and by putting actions to the sounds letters make. The setting has a mark making table where children can practice writing their names with the help of their name card and other words on a daily basis. Plans show that activities involving problem solving, comparing, matching etc are regualrly planned for and staff use all opportunities to develop these skills throughout the session. Regular appraisals allow staff to develop their teaching skills and assess their own strengths and weaknesses. Staff are deployed at specific activities and can recognise when support is needed. A special educational needs policy is now in place and a trained Senco employed within the setting. Procedures are now followed when a child is identified as having a special educational need in order to support and monitor their

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What has improved since the last inspection?

progress. There is now a sensory room which all children are able to use.

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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 confident in their environment and enthusiastically choose to participate in the activities provided. They are developing their own personal independence such as pouring their own drinks at snack time and attempting to do up their own coat. Children show that they are sensitive to others needs and work very well together in large group situations such as register or story time. They demonstrate high levels of concentration.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children use a variety of means to communicate with staff and others including speech, hand gestures and facial expressions. They are given excellent opportunities to link sounds to letters through a letter of the week and by putting actions to sounds. Children appear passionate about books and enjoy being read to. They enthusiastically act out parts of familiar stories and eagerly anticipate what might happen next.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are able to confidently count from 1-10 and are beginning to recognise numerals from 1-9. They engage in simple calculation through the excellent activities provided and by participating in simple number songs. Resources such as compare bears and lego allow children to develop an understanding of size such as big and little and to sort and match by colour or shape.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children participate enthusiastically in activities, which allow them to explore and investigate objects in their environment. They enjoy looking for birds and insects with binoculars and magnifying glasses. Children show good interest in ICT equipment and can successfully complete a computer program. They enjoy printing out their work. There is a strong commitment to help children learn about cultures and beliefs of others through planned celebrations of festivals and resources provided.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children successfully use a range of equipment and confidently handle a variety of tools such as pencils and cutters. They generally move well and with confidence during their play, showing a sense of personal space and that of others. Children are beginning to develop an understanding of health and bodily awareness such as hand washing before snack. However, large physical play is not often planned for in the weekly focused activities.

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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: Generally Good Children enthusiastically and with confidence explore shape, colour and texture using a variety of materials. Children enjoy singing and demonstrate how they are able to tap out simple rhythms and use their voices to distinguish between loud and soft sounds to familiar songs. However, although children are provided with role play situations developing their imagination is limited due to the sometimes unappealing set up and lack of adult support.

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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 provision for creative development to include regular opportunities for children to develop their imagination through interesting and appealing role play situations • improve planning to include regular focused activities on large physical play and creative development • provide parent's with more detailed information on the foundation stage curriculum in the settings prospectus.

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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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