Rushwick Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 01/03/2005 Inspector Name Jane Elizabeth Roberts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Rushwick Pre-School Setting Address Upper Wick Lane Rushwick Worcester Worcestershire WR2 5SU

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Rushwick Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rushwick Pre-School Address Upper Wick Lane Rushwick Worcester Worcestershire WR2 5SU

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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

Rushwick Pre-School opened in 1997. It operates from a purpose built unit within the grounds of Rushwick Primary School and serves the local area. A maximum of 20 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The setting is open Monday and Friday from 09:00 to 13:00 and 09:00 to 15:30 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during term time. There are currently 37 children from 2 years to 5 years on roll. This includes 12 funded 3-year-olds and 17 funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions including full day care. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with special needs and can support children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs nine staff. All of the staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from an early years mentor teacher from Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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?

Rushwick Pre-School provides very good nursery education. All children are making very good progress in the six areas of learning.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Teaching is very good. Staff have a clear understanding of the Foundation Stage stepping-stones and early learning goals. Staff plan creatively and they organise space and resources imaginatively; including those resources which promote other cultures and social diversity. However, there are limited visual images of numbers and pictorial labelling of resources within the everyday activities. Staff effectively use their evaluation of children's learning, and the impact of the activities on the children, to organise the weekly curriculum. Staff know the children well and children respond positively to the sensitive interaction with staff. Children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language can be supported well by experienced staff.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Leadership and management are very good. The staff team work well together, which ensures good communication and contributes to the smooth running of the pre-school; staff are good role models. They all contribute to the curriculum and take responsibility for the assessment of the children's progress. Both management and staff are very dedicated to on-going improvement of the pre-school to provide good quality care and education by monitoring and evaluating what they are doing.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are welcome in the setting and staff work closely with families, providing informal and formal opportunities to discuss their children's progress. There is a comprehensive range of useful information provided for parents about the setting. Improvement in the written information about the Foundation Stage stepping stones and early learning goals in the setting would benefit parents, however staff talk to parents each week about their child's progress and they are provided with a written update about the activities and projects.

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What is being done well?

• The staff creatively plan activities to encourage children's independence and learning through play. Children help with tasks, such as preparing the fruit for their snack and they pour their own drinks. Children confidently attempt to dress themselves for outdoor play and initiate role-play activities. • Well-organised resources and the interesting layout of activities promote children's interest and conversation. Children have a balanced routine during which they self-select what they want to do and join in adult led activities. For example, the woodworking project provides tools and accessories from which children decide to make such things as vehicles and masks. This activity

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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 inspires them to plan and work out how they will make three-dimensional objects. • Staff provide a magic box, this is used for memory games and also to talk about objects relating to projects, for example identifying opposites. The box also helps children understand simple mathematical concepts such as adding up and subtraction. • The pre-school have strong links with the local community, especially the primary school. Children join in assemblies and appropriate playtimes; they use the library for picture books and enjoy sharing stories. Parents are important to the pre-school and provide resources about other cultures and the wider world for the children's projects.

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What needs to be improved?

• there are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • the labelling throughout the everyday activities to help children recognise numbers and to identify resources • the development of information for parents about the Foundation Stage stepping stones and early learning goals.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The pre-school was asked to continue to build upon the excellent foundations established in order to extend the systems for monitoring the quality of teaching and staff's professional training. Staff were also asked to develop long term plans with more detail. Long-term plans now include the Foundation Stage stepping-stones and early learning goals. This has enabled staff to become familiar with them and link them to the medium term and weekly planning. All the staff are involved with the planning and they meet frequently to ensure they all have clear objectives when delivering the curriculum. All staff take time to evaluate and monitor each activity, this helps future planning. Two members of staff are scheduled to attend further training on delivering the Foundation Stage curriculum. Staff regularly obtain support from the early years mentor teacher from Early Years Development and Childcare

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Partnership when developing their ideas.

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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 interested, confident and motivated to learn through play. Staff encourage children to be independent and self-select activities. Older children take care of their personal needs and all children enjoy helping with tasks, such as helping cut up the fruit. Children behave well, share and take turns. Within free play friendships are formed and when children are considerate and care for each other this is praised straight away by staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy books, and concentrate very well when staff read stories, they also visit the local primary school to borrow picture books. Children relate experiences in their lives well and more able children use an increasing vocabulary. Most children are beginning to link sounds to letters and recognise their name, but pictorial images on storage units are not well defined. Older children are starting to make marks to convey meanings and write their name and write simple captions on drawings.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show interest in numbers and most children confidently use and understand numbers up to ten and above. They enjoy numerous number games and activities, including songs and rhymes. Children use a wide range of mathematical language, such as identifying opposites and shapes. However, visual images of numbers are not so well defined in everyday activities. Most children can describe position, match and compare size, for example when making use of the magic box.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently explore, and ask questions, for example, projects such as observing ice melt provides moments to talk about what is happening and record what they see. There are close links with the local community, they join the local primary school regularly and parents provide resources and their time to talk about the wider world. Most children are becoming aware of time and can identify future events and recall the past well. Simple computer programmes are used with increasing skill.

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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 enjoy practicing their physical skills both indoors and outdoors. They confidently move in different directions and show increasing awareness of space and regard for others. Children enjoy well planned games to promote their large muscle coordination. Staff promote their awareness of a healthy life style and diet. All children show increasing skills when using a wide range of tools and malleable materials; for example making playdough faces and creating 'Thunderbirds' from junk.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children can be seen playing imaginatively in a wide range of role-play situations - such as talking to friends about the journeys they will make. Most children are confident painters and older children use paint and crayons to express their ideas and experiences. Children explore a wide range of materials including sand, corn flour and collage. They join together to sing their favourite songs and staff use puppets to extend younger children's concentration in a large group.

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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: • expand the labelling throughout the everyday activities to help children recognise numbers and to identify resources • continue to develop information for parents about the Foundation Stage stepping stones and early learning goals.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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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