St Laurences CofE Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 22/01/2003 Inspector Name Deborah Sare

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SETTING DETAILS

Setting Name Holwell Nursery School & Holwell Holiday Club Setting Address Crouch Lane Sherboune Dorset DT9 5LP

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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

Holwell Nursery School and Holiday Club is held in an old Primary School building in Holwell, Sherborne. It is registered as full day care, offering holiday play scheme facilities. Holwell Nursery and Holiday club provides care for 26 children aged from 18 months to 8 years old. Older children up to the age of 12 are also accepted in the holiday club. Holwell Nursery school and Holiday club serves a wide catchments area. The Nursery is open all year round, for children aged 18 months to five years from 8:30am - 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. The holiday club cares for children aged 5 - 12, during holiday time only, 8:30am - 4:30 pm. Children may attend on a half day, or full day basis. The Nursery and holiday club is divided in to different areas for different ages. The toddlers aged 18 months to two and a half years have their own play area with sleep facilities. This room holds up to 6 children. The pre school room

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Information about the setting

is for children aged 2 and a half to five years old, staff aim to keep to a maximum of 10 - 12 children in this room, and the out of school facility holds up to 10 children. During term time this room is used as part of the pre-school. All age groups have supervised access to a large outdoor play area, which is supervised by staff at all times. A total of 5 staff are available, with the Manger holding a teaching qualification and NNEB, the Deputy has NVQ 2 and nearing completion of NVQ 3. Appropriate staff ratios are adhered to with each age group. Funded three and four year olds are accepted and currently there are 11 four year olds and 12 three year olds on the register. At the time of inspection there were no children on the register who had Special Educational Needs or for whom English is an additional language.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Holwell Nursery School provides very good nursery education. Overall teaching is very good. The staff team is knowledgeable and they provide well-planned interesting activities which are meaningful to the children. There is a good balance between structured activities and those initiated by the children. As a result children are making very good progress towards the Early Learning Goals in all areas of learning. Teaching is very good and staff relationships with children are excellent. Staff work hard to introduce challenging and interesting topics and activities that are meaningful to the children. Staff are good role models and have reasonable and realistic expectations of children's behaviour. Staff promote self-confidence and a positive attitude in all children. Planning and assessment is thorough and caters for children's individual needs in all areas of learning. Leadership and management is very good with a clear line management structure and thorough induction

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How effective is the nursery education?

procedures and appraisals for the staff. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are provided with good information about the setting and the activities experienced by the children, but there is not system in place to ensure that all parents are given opportunities to share information with the staff about their children's progress in learning or to be involved in the learning process.

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What is being done well?

Children's personal, social, emotional and development is very good. The children are confident, independent and their behaviour is good. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all areas of learning. Activities are interesting, well planned and meaningful to the children. Staff take into account the range of abilities in the group. Good use of space and the accommodation is made to enable children to gain confidence, spatial awareness and to be familiar with their surroundings. The nursery has a clear management structure with well-defined roles and responsibilities. Parents are well-informed about the nursery.

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What needs to be improved?

Methods of sharing information with parents about the children's progress and methods of encouraging parents to be involved in their children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Staff's knowledge and understanding of the Early Learning Goals. Staff's knowledge of the Code of Practice for special educational needs. Children are given opportunities to use their imitative and make decisions. Children's behaviour has improved Better use is made of the accommodation to give children access to equipment and resources. Information given to parents about the setting. Policy documents have been developed and adopted. The partnership between the management committee and staff has improved.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Progress in personal and social development is very good. Children show good levels of personal independence and have opportunities to select resources for themselves and work independently. They work well in groups and help each other, by assisting with putting their coats on. Children are confident and staff promote self-esteem by constantly praising them. The children's behaviour is very good.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Progress in communication, language and literacy is very good. Children enjoy books and stories and understand that print carries meaning. Activities are planned to help them recognise letters of the alphabet by shape and sound and to become familiar with simple words. They are encouraged to write their own names and captions by using good quality writing tools in everyday situations.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are making very good progress in mathematical development. They are given opportunities to recognise numbers and to be familiar with counting rhymes. They beginning to be familiar with mathematical language and concepts of shape, space and measurement in activities that are interesting to them.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Very good progress is being made by the children in knowledge and understanding of the world. They have opportunities to investigate, explore and observe changes through interesting activities. They are skilled in using the computer and other IT equipment. They are given opportunities to talk about their families and to be familiar with their environment, as well as learning about other cultures and beliefs.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Progress in physical development is very good and children are given opportunities to handle a range of tools and equipment to develop fine manipulative skills. They have many opportunities to use large and small equipment and to develop large motor movements, skills co-ordination and control.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are making very good progress in creative development. They have opportunities to explore, use and select different mediums and materials. A good range of musical instruments are available for children to use freely or with direction. Opportunities are planned for children to recreate stories and make up their own.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered appropriately: Y

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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

Provide opportunities for parents to be more involved in their children's learning and to share the progress in their children's development.

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