Draycott Moor College

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 14/03/2005 Inspector Name Ruth George

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Polstead Playgroup Setting Address St Margarets Institute Polstead Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 6TN

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Polstead Playgroup 112366

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Polstead Playgroup Address St Margarets Institute 30 Polstead Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 6TN

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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

Polstead Playgroup first became registered more than 25 years ago and operates from a shared community building off Woodstock Road, approximately one mile from the centre of Oxford. Children attend the playgroup from all areas of Oxfordshire. There is a fully enclosed outdoor play area. A maximum of 24 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. There are currently 45 children from 2 to 5 years on roll. Of these, 25 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting has provision to support children with special needs and who speak English as an additional language. The playgroup runs from 09:00 until 12:00 five days a week during school term times and has sole use of part of the building while the sessions run. The playgroup employs five staff. Three of the staff including the supervisor hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff are currently working towards a

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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?

Polstead Playgroup provides high quality nursery education overall which enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Children make extremely good progress in the areas of personal, social and emotional development and knowledge and understanding of the world. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff have a good working knowledge of the early learning goals. They produce clear plans, which cover all areas of learning, but staff do not routinely update children's assessment records or ask parents to contribute. Staff are enthusiastic and are aware of their individual roles and responsibilities throughout the playgroup session. They provide children with an interesting and stimulating range of activities, which link exceptionally well into the current theme. Staff are good role models, they interact well with children supporting play and learning by their involvement at the activities. Staff provide a very good

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How effective is the nursery education?

daily routine, using their premises, resources, toys and equipment well to support children's learning. They have turned the small concrete outdoor play area into a well-resourced learning environment. Leadership and management are very good. The staff and committee work well together. They identify areas for improvement and fund raising, an example being to provide more musical instruments in the playgroup. Staff have the opportunity for individual professional development and the committee actively encourage staff to attend training. The supervisor helps colleagues to identify and access appropriate training. The partnership with parents and carers is very good. Parents and carers have access to good quality information about the setting, its provision and plans, which are always on view. Parents and carers feel the playgroup offers a good variety of activities and resources to help their child develop and find staff approachable,

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How effective is the nursery education?

friendly and helpful. There is good daily communication between staff and parents.

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What is being done well?

• The staff plan the educational curriculum well. They take into account all areas of learning into which they link the current theme. Staff work very well together as a team and are always on hand to support a child and extend learning. • The children are developing well in their reading and writing. They enjoy choosing and reading books from the well resourced and displayed book area and are with adult support able to recognise and sound out letters and words and write them down. • Staff are good role models and demonstrate a positive attitude towards learning by presenting activities in an interesting manner, making them

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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 meaningful. The excellent simple activity of pictures of the frog life cycle was well planned and well communicated to the children. Children were able to put the cards in the correct order and talk about frogspawn, tadpoles and frogs with confidence. Staff bringing some frogspawn into the group for the children to see further supported this activity. • The staff make parents and carers very welcome in the group. Parents and carers particularly like the monthly newsletter, which they feel, keeps them well informed. They know where to access details of weekly planning, activities, policies and procedures. The parents who participate in the parent's helper rota are able to see first hand how children's learning takes place during the session as children play.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to use musical instruments to explore sounds and how they can be changed • the children's individual profiles, update regularly to show children's rate of progress and include what parents share about what their child can do at home.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The staff have introduced a well thought out system for recording the children's progress and attainment. Each member of staff has their own key worker folder with individual profiles for each child. Good photographic information has also been included. However, there is stillroom for improvement and is carried forward as a point for consideration.

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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 The children are happy, independent and secure in their surroundings. They relate confidently to each other and adults. Children's behaviour is very good; they understand the routines and expectations of the playgroup. Children share resources very well. They support each other and negotiate whose turn is next on the computer without adult intervention. Children play very well together and often form small groups for co-operative and imaginative play.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy books and handle them carefully. They spend time choosing, sharing and reading books with friends. They can tell well-known and favourite stories by looking at the pictures. Children listen and interact well at group times. They share frequent conversations with other children and staff during the session. Staff pose questions for children to make them think as they work together with pictures on the life cycle of a frog and extend children's vocabulary introducing new words.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children are able to recognise numerals 0 through to 10 and can confidently count up to 10 and beyond. They are able to organise the ladybird number line. Children understand the concept of simple addition and subtraction. They can say what is one more or one less and add the groups back together again. Children are discovering and discussing shape, colour and pattern as they decorate with different size brushes their oval Easter eggs.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing increasing knowledge and ability from a good range of practical activities and resources. They are confident in their design and making skills and construct with a purpose in mind when making their Easter hats and decorating their Easter eggs. Children are confident in using information and communication technology and ably navigate their way through computer programs, friends happily watch waiting for their turn and offer support if needed.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have regular opportunities to use a range of small and large equipment. Their fine motor skills are developing well. They are competent when selecting small equipment such as scissors, glue sticks, paintbrushes and staplers and use them safely and with control. Children show good co-ordination skills and spatial awareness, they understand and negotiate space to pedal the bikes and park them safely.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore their imaginative play freely through a range of activities. They use available resources from the flower shop to create props, clear up the soil from the floor with great gusto and play co-operatively as part of a group. Children experience a good range of resources to investigate a range of media and materials. Children have opportunities for music and movement daily but this does not include regular use of musical instruments.

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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 weakness to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • the opportunities for children to use musical instruments to explore sounds and how they can be changed • the children's individual profiles, update regularly to show children's rate of progress and include what parents share about what their child can do at home.

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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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