Oxenhope Under Fives Pre-school

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 11/05/2004 Inspector Name Carol Eaman

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Oxenhope Under Fives Playgroup Setting Address Community Centre Oxenhope Keighley West Yorkshire BD22 9LY

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Oxenhope Under Fives Playgroup 1044244

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Oxenhope Under Fives Playgroup Address Community Centre Oxenhope Keighley West Yorkshire BD22 9LY

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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

Oxenhope playgroup opened in 1973 and is organised by a committee. It is jointly run by the playgroup staff and the committee. The group has use of one large room within Oxenhope Community Centre for play activities and there are additional toilet facilities and a kitchen area. Outdoors children can ride on bikes and they visit a nearby park for physical activities. The group serves the surrounding community of Oxenhope but children from Oakworth, Ingrow and Keighley also attend. The playgroup operates on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning 9:15 to 11:45 and also Wednesday afternoon from 12:30 to 15:00. Currently there are 38 children on the register aged between two and a half and five. There are currently 20 children for whom the group receives funding, 17are aged 3 years and 3 children are aged 4 years. At present there are 2 children attending with special needs and the group employs 1 to 1 workers for both of these children.

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Information about the setting

There are 2 staff present who have completed the Special Educational needs Training. There are no children or staff present who speak English as an additional language. There are seven members of staff present and half of the them hold appropriate qualifications. The group use rota parents on a regular basis. The group has input from other agencies such as EYDCP and Bradford Under fives association. The group employs a member of staff who holds a teaching 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?

Oxenhope Under Fives Playgroup provides good quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The children are happy, confident and settled and their personal, social and emotional development is very good. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff manage the children very well and they provide stimulating activities which capture the children's interest and promote their independence. All children receive good levels of support and those with special educational needs are encouraged to participate in the full range of nursey activities. Staff plan the education programme together to cover all six areas of learning,however, children are not learning about technology or learning to write for different purposes. Time is well planned and good use is made of current resources. At present there are no displays of educational information or samples of children's

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How effective is the nursery education?

work to re-inforce learning and promote reading skills. A key-worker system is used effectively to assess children's progress along the stepping stones of the early learning goals and this information is used to plan what children should do next. The leadership and management of the group are generally good. The group is managed by a voluntary committee who work in close partnership with the staff. The recently appointed playleader and assistants work in a conscientious and consistent manner and have well established working practises. Staff evaluate their provision but do not always see weaknesses in the education programme. They are committed to improvement, welcome advice and regularly attend training courses. Partnership with parents is generally good. Staff are friendly and welcoming towards parents and encourage their involvement in the group. Parents talk informally to staff about their children's progress but do not contribute to assessment profiles. Parents

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What is being done well?

• Staff work well as a team and plan a varied range of interesting activities for the children. • Children are developing good relationships and their behaviour is of a high standard. • Staff are sensitive to the children's needs. They provide appropirate levels of support and ensure that all children are included in activities including quieter ones or those with special needs. • Practical activities are used effectively to promote children's understanding of number and their mathematical development. • Parents are made to feel welcome and they are very supportive towards the

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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 group.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to practise their writing skills for a variety of different purposes • the opportunities for children to explore technology and use programmable toys • the learning environment to enable children to read & learn from displays • the involvement of parental contributions to assessment profiles.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the group was asked to plan activities in more detail following the Quality and Curriculum Authority guidelines and to give more priority to aspects of Mathematics and Language and Literacy. Assessments of children's progress were to be developed and linked to the stepping stones for the Foundation Stage. The group has made very good progress in addressing both of these issues. All staff contribute to long, medium and short term plans which conform to appropriate guidelines and an area of the playgroup has been developed to promote Mathematics and Language and Literacy. Staff consistently use opportunities through daily practical activities to develop counting and calculating skills. They teach children to hold pencils correctly when writing their names and letter sounds are promoted through stories and rhymes. Assessments of children's progress are now linked to the stepping stones and they

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What has improved since the last inspection?

are well annotated by the child's key-worker.

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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 settled and play with a sense of purpose. They interact freely forming good relationships and show concentration as they work independently. Children are very well behaved and their self esteem is promoted as their feelings and beliefs are valued. Staff know the children well and ensure that all are involved in activities including those with special educational needs. Children listen attentively to stories and when playing games they respond with joy and laughter.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn letter sounds as they become engrossed in stories such as 'Pass the Jam Jim'. When writing their names they form letters correctly but they do not write for a variety of purposes. Children speak clearly as they perform puppet shows and four year olds confidently share news. Picture cards are used effectively to aid communication with special needs pupils. Older pupils find and read name cards but there are no displays in the room to promote further reading.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently as they thread beads and sing number songs and at register time they compare the numbers of boys and girls present. They recognise numerals when acting out ten green green bottles and begin to use subtraction to find out how many are left. When using a shape stacking toy three year olds name six mathematical shapes and match them with ease. Other children identify shapes on pictures. In water play children learn about quantity and confidently talk about half a cup.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children develop an understanding of the natural world when they grow plants, visit a farm and record weather on a chart. Four year olds eagerly share news about events in their lives such as getting a new kitten and children learn traditions of their own and other cultures. Construction equipment is used imaginatively and a three year old proudly designs and makes a lorry which moves. Children do not use technology or programmable toys 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 Children move with control and imagination as they travel along, over and through an obstacle course. They show awareness of space and others as they play team games excitedly and four year olds recognise the effect of exercise on their bodies as they become breathless after jumping and hopping. Children's hand-eye co-ordination is developed as they handle playdough tools and pencils with good control. They learn to ride bikes and catch balls and those with special needs are fully included.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore a good range of textures through artwork and at present they are learning about the colour red as they practise printing. They use their imagination as they act out songs and rhymes and they sometimes use musical instruments. Puppet shows enable them to express their ideas and engage in role play and they enjoy moving to action songs as they warm up for movement. They develop their sensory awareness as they taste toast at snacktime, feel sand,pour water and handle playdough.

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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

• plan and provide regular opportunities for children to practise writing for a variety of purposes • provide more resources to enable children to explore programmable toys and technology • develop methods for displaying children's work and other educational information which supports children's learning and promotes reading skills • encourage parents to make contributions to the children's assessment profiles.

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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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