Spurcroft Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 19/10/2004 Inspector Name Deborah Jaqueline Newbury

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Tweseldown Community PG Setting Address The Abercorn Trust Hall Aldershot Road, Church Crookham Fleet Hampshire GU52 8LE

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Tweseldown Community Playgroup 294330

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Tweseldown Community Playgroup Address The Abercorn Trust Hall Aldershot Road, Church Crookham Fleet Hampshire GU52 8LE

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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

Tweseldown Community Playgroup is a community pre-school group run by an elected committee of parents. It was established in 1981 and moved to its current premises in 1999. It operates from the Abercorn Trust Hall, which is situated in the village of Church Crookham, near Fleet, Hampshire. The group has access to a large hall, kitchen, toilet facilities and an enclosed outdoor play area. A maximum of 26 children may attend at any one time. The pre-school is open five days (Monday to Friday) a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09:10 until 11:40 and from12: 20 to 14:50 apart from the autumn term when there is no session on a Friday afternoon. Children bring packed lunches to the afternoon sessions. There are currently 47 children aged from two to under five years on roll, although children are usually two years and nine months when they start. Of these, 33 receive funding for nursery education. The pre-school serves families from the local area.

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Information about the setting

There are procedures in place to support children with special needs and/or who have English as an additional language. Six staff work with the children. Five members of staff have early years qualifications to NVQ (national vocational qualification) level II or III. One member of staff is currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) and is accredited by the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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 quality of nursery education offered by Tweseldown Community Playgroup is acceptable and of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the Early Learning Goals. Quality of teaching is very good. Children are accommodated in a stimulating environment and have access to an excellent range of resources. Staff plan and present interesting and well thought out activities across all areas of the curriculum. They are secure in their understanding of the foundation stage of learning and use a variety of teaching methods to support children's learning. They are guided by and respond positively to children's interests. Planning and assessment procedures are effective. Staff are enthusiastic and act as good role models. Their management of children and their behaviour is very good. Leadership and management are very good. Committee and staff work together, providing mutual support. The staff team is well established. Training is valued and

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How effective is the nursery education?

encouraged. The supervisor takes steps to monitor and evaluate existing provision. This has recently resulted in the further development of planning to include the stepping stones for some activities. The setting is strongly committed to improvement of care and learning for all children, for example, since the last inspection it has achieved accreditation with the Pre-school Learning Alliance, which demonstrates a positive attitude. Partnership with parents is very good. Staff provide good quality information about the playgroup and its provision through newsletters, displaying of plans and other pertinent notices and access to an interesting resource library. They share information about children's achievements and progress. They encourage them to support children's learning at home and to share in the life of the playgroup in a variety of ways. Existing good practice could be further enhanced through the

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How effective is the nursery education?

development of additional ways of providing greater feedback to parents about completed topic work.

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What is being done well?

• The playgroup actively seeks to work in partnership with parents. Parents are offered very good opportunities to be involved, for example by joining the committee or helping during sessions. They receive information about the playgroup's plans for each half term and are given some interesting ideas for activities they may like to do with their children at home. The sharing of information about children's progress is enhanced by providing regular access to development records throughout the year and encouraging parents to contribute to this process. Parents' evenings enable parents to find out more about how staff work with children and support their learning. The setting supports parents who wish to attend relevant pre-school training by

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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 allowing them to work alongside staff. • Children enjoy writing and mark making during the course of their play. They explore writing for a variety of purposes - for example as they write messages on post-it notes and display these in the role-play area. They also make good use of the well-equipped writing area where they have access to a variety of writing materials. These are changed regularly to maintain interest. Some children can confidently write their names, forming recognisable letters whilst others make marks meaningful to them. • Staff work well together as a team to plan and provide a stimulating environment where children are keen to learn. It is visually appealing with good use of labelling and much effort placed on the attractive presentation of children's work which helps them appreciate that their efforts are valued.

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What needs to be improved?

• the continued inclusion of identified stepping stones when planning specific activities • the development of additional ways of providing greater feedback to parents about completed topic work.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Two points for consideration were identified at the pre-school's previous education inspection. These related to ensuring that there are opportunities for four year olds to link sounds to simple words and to attempt writing of simple words where letters are recognisable and correctly formed and to enhancing the programme for mathematics by planning practical activities for four year olds to promote understanding of what happens when objects are added on or taken away from a group and to use the vocabulary involved. At the time of inspection the setting had no funded four year olds on roll. Evidence gained from a scrutiny of previous plans including the types of activities on offer and the associated vocabulary that staff wished to focus on, photographs, discussions with staff and observations carried out during the course of the inspection indicates that very good progress has been made in addressing these issues. Staff make sure

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What has improved since the last inspection?

that children always have access to a variety of activities and resources where they can practice and develop their pre-writing skills and pencil control. They are encouraged to practice writing for a variety of purposes, including role-play, labelling work with their names, when exploring the writing area. Some children write using recognisable letters. Staff model appropriate language as they talk about the concepts of addition and subtraction. Children show understanding of this.

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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 self-motivated. They make decisions about what they wish to do and concentrate and persevere to complete chosen tasks. They build trusting relationships both with their peers and their carers. They are encouraged to be independent and gain good self-help skills. They learn to take turns and share. They are familiar with the daily routine and follow this well. Children's behaviour is generally very good. They respond well to the positive example set by staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children's communication and listening skills are developing well. They express opinions, ask questions and negotiate turns during free play and in conversation with others. They follow instructions and enjoy story time. They explore books and handle these with care. They link sounds with letters, showing particular awareness of the letters in their names. Many children recognise their written name and some recognise those of other children. They experiment with writing in a variety of ways.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Many children count confidently to ten and beyond. They recognise and name numerals. They develop sound calculating and problem solving skills, for example through effective use of number rhymes and an interesting approach to finding out the number of children present. They name shapes and colours. They explore different mathematical concepts both through planned activity and independently as part of their play. They use appropriate language to describe size and position.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children use everyday technology such as the computer which they operate competently, performing basic functions such as clicking and dragging. They find out about the world around them as they explore their immediate environment and learn about living creatures through first hand experiences such as going for walks and closely observing snails. They take part in many activities that enable them to explore and investigate differing materials and objects and use their senses.

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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 confidently and safely, inside and out, with good spatial awareness. They explore different ways of moving, manoeuvre wheeled toys, adjusting speed and changing direction. They are physically adventurous when using the indoor climbing apparatus. Children confidently use a broad range of tools and equipment and thus develop their fine motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination. They gain awareness of their physical well-being, for example why and when they need to wash their hands.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy imaginative play and make good use of the environment as they move around the hall and their play develops. They make up stories using the props provided in the dolls house such as Father Christmas and his reindeer. Children enjoy singing and using musical instruments. They explore different forms of media and are presented with some interesting and unusual art activities. Free access to a range of materials encourages them to explore and express their own ideas.

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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 the following: • continue to include identified stepping stones when planning specific activities • consider ways of enhancing existing good practice by developing ways of providing greater feedback to parents about completed topic work.

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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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