Rub-a-Dub Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 14/10/2004 Inspector Name Charlotte Jenkin

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Out of School Day Care, Full Day Care Setting Name Rub a Dub Pre-School Setting Address Lansdowne Hall Derry Hill Calne Wiltshire SN11 9QY

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Rub a Dub Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rub a Dub Pre-School Address Lansdowne Hall Derry Hill Calne Wiltshire

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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

Rub a Dub Pre-School opened in 1979. It operates from two rooms in the village community centre in Derry Hill, near Calne. The group serves the local area and has close links with the local primary school. The children have use of a large main hall, smaller playroom and an outdoor area. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The group supports children with special educational needs. The group accepts funded children and there are currently 24 funded three-year-olds on roll. The group opens on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during school term times, and there is a holiday play scheme for two weeks in August. Sessions are from 09:30 to 15:00 on Monday and Thursday, and 09:30 to 12:30 on Tuesday and Friday for the pre-school and 09:30 to 12:30 for the holiday play scheme. Six staff work with the children. The supervisor is a qualified primary school teacher and three other staff members have early years qualifications. The setting receives

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Information about the setting

support from a teacher/mentor from the 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?

Rub a Dub Pre-School is an acceptable provision, of good quality, where children make very good progress towards the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development, maths, communication, language and literacy and physical development, and make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in the other areas of learning. Teaching is generally good. Staff demonstrate a generally good knowledge of the early learning goals through their interaction with the children, and their good use of routine activities which encourage children's thinking. Staff plan a good range of activities that engage children's interests. Sessional activity plans are clear and well organised and enable staff to use them well and tailor them to individual children's abilities. Staff support children's transition to school well. Support for children with special educational needs is very good. Assessments do not monitor children's

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How effective is the nursery education?

progress in all six areas of learning, and are not fully supported with examples of children's work. Leadership and management is generally good. The committee and supervisor work closely together and support staff well, enabling them to access good training and development opportunities, and develop their confidence in identifying areas of strengths, as well as areas for future development. The well established staff team communicate well, work closely as a team and share all responsibilities of the group. Long term plans are closely monitored, although equal attention is not given to all six areas of learning. Evaluations of activities are well used. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive detailed information regarding the curriculum through access to activity plans and curriculum meetings. They give staff detailed information about their child prior to starting the group and are encouraged to contribute to assessments of their child's progress. Parents are

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How effective is the nursery education?

actively involved in their children's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Children enter the pre-school with confidence and are eager to explore the activities on offer. They form good relationships with staff and peers, and work co-operatively together during activities. • Children develop very good mathematical skills through routine, fun and practical activities in all curriculum areas, for example through role play. • Staff plan a good range of activities that engage children's interests, challenge them well and extend more able children, and help them make progress in all areas of learning. • Staff support older children's transition to school well. They have close links with the local school and the reception teacher visits the pre-school, reads to

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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 the children and forms positive relationships with them prior to entering the reception class. • Parents are actively involved in their children's learning. A successful parents rota enables them to see their child's play and learning in progress and they have opportunities daily to settle their children into the group and play with them. They are encouraged to borrow story sacks and books to share with their children at home. • Evaluations of activities are well used, both to monitor children's participation and to determine whether children achieved the learning outcomes of activities. These are used to inform future planning and move children on to the next stage in their learning.

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What needs to be improved?

• the staff's monitoring of the curriculum to ensure all six areas of learning are given equal attention, especially knowledge and understanding of the world • the assessments of children's progress to ensure their progress is monitored in all six areas of learning, and that there is evidence to support children's achievements • children's free expression through art and craft activities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Rub a Dub Pre-school has made generally good progress since the last inspection. At the last inspection the pre-school agreed to extend assessment schedules to cover all early learning goals, re-organise key worker activities to improve the quality of teaching and learning at these times and to extend children's learning by providing them with appropriate challenges and extension of activities, especially in writing and some child chosen play. Staff now use the building blocks to assess children's progress and their achievements are supported by observations during themed activities. However there are still gaps in assessments, especially in knowledge and understanding of the world, where children's progress is not monitored fully, and assessments are not supported by examples of children's work. Key worker activities are well organised and plans have clear learning outcomes for children, grouping of children and resources to be used. This enables staff to use

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What has improved since the last inspection?

activities well and tailor them to individual children's abilities and further their learning. Staff have clear and different learning outcomes for younger, older, or more able children. They have looked closely at routine activities in all curriculum areas and clearly demonstrate how they can extend more able children's learning in all curriculum areas, for example role play, sand play and construction.

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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 enter the pre-school with confidence and are eager to explore the activities on offer. They spend long periods engaged in these and often complete chosen tasks. Children form good relationships with staff and peers and work co-operatively during activities. They speak with confidence in a familiar group, are proud of their achievements and sit quietly when appropriate, for example story time. Children develop good turn taking and sharing skills and their behaviour is very good.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children use speech with confidence, when talking about what they are doing during activities, as well as when describing past events. They use a widening range of vocabulary and gestures to express themselves to others. Children develop good listening skills and take turns in conversation. They listen well to stories and show interest in books, selecting them and requesting staff to read to them. Children freely make marks and often give meaning to them, with older children writing their names.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show interest in numbers and count up to 10 objects with confidence. They recognise numerals 0-10 out of sequence and more able children recognise 2 digit numbers. Routine activities are well used to encourage children to link counting to numbers and to use their developing mathematical awareness to solve simple problems, for example during role play. Children use language to describe shape, size and position and independently select puzzles and persevere to complete them.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children investigate textures and materials and use their senses well. They examine objects and comment on how things work, for example 'if I press this button it talks'. Children develop a sense of time and talk about past events. They have regular trips out in the local environment and comment on what they see. Children gain awareness of other cultures. Children have limited opportunities to develop interest in ICT, operate programmable toys and engage in modelling activities.

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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 around the room freely and with control. They show good awareness of space and of others. Children move in a range of ways, for example running, skipping and jumping and experiment with different ways of moving. Children develop good balancing skills and climb the climbing frame with confidence. They develop skills in throwing, kicking and catching balls and persevere when attempting new skills, for example balancing. Children use writing implements with increasing control.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore texture and describe what they see and feel. They have regular opportunities to paint and draw and make marks on paper. Children enjoy singing familiar songs and begin to move rhythmically, moving their bodies well to music. Children imitate past experiences well through role play and use available props to support their play. Children are not able to freely select materials and resources and initiate their own art and craft activities and develop free expression.

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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

• monitor the educational programme offered to the children to ensure equal attention is given to all six areas of learning, especially knowledge and understanding of the world • continue to develop assessments, to ensure children's progress is monitored in all six areas of learning and supported with evidence of children's achievements.

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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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