Growing Places @ Mill Hill

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 23/11/2004 Inspector Name Clare Moore

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Community Childcare Centres Setting Address Waite End Day Nursery Mill Road Waterlooville, Portsmouth Hampshire PO7 7DB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Community Childcare Centres 4148695 1086957

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Community Childcare Centres Address Waite End Day Nursery Mill Road Waterlooville Hampshire PO7 7DB

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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

Waite End Day Nursery opened in 2000. It operates under the umbrella of The Community Childcare Centres and is managed by a board of trustees. The nursery is accommodated in a separate building within the premises of Waite End School in Waterlooville and serves the local area. There are currently 73 children from 0 to 5 years on roll. This includes 22 funded 3-year-olds and five funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting welcomes children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens five days a week all year round. Opening times are from 08:00 until 18:00. There are 10 full-time staff and 4 part-time staff who work with the children. A high proportion of staff hold early years qualifications equivalent to NVQ level 3. One member of staff currently at level 2 is working towards a level 3 qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and

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Information about the setting

Childcare Partnership. It has adopted the Reggio Emilia approach which is used as a teaching method.

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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?

Waite end Day Nursery provides nursery education of high quality overall. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all the areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. All the staff are involved in the planning which builds on the interests of the children and provides a balanced curriculum of activities that stimulates learning across the six areas. An effective key worker system ensures that staff have good knowledge of individual children. They regularly record children's achievements, and show areas to be targeted for development. Staff liaise with other professionals to include children with special educational needs. They use skilled teaching methods, asking questions and making suggestions that promote learning. They engage children in conversation, develop language skills and include counting in a variety of activities. They help all children to enjoy books and stories. They use praise and encouragement to build children's

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How effective is the nursery education?

confidence and are very good at helping children to develop independence. They provide a balanced range of adult led activities and frequent opportunities for children to initiate their own activities. The leadership and management are very good. The manager leads a strong staff team who work well together. A system of staff appraisal identifies training needs and staff are supported in updating their skills and knowledge. The setting is strongly committed to ongoing development and improvement. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are warmly welcomed in the nursery and receive information about the setting through informal discussion, displays and newsletters. They are invited into the setting at any time to share written information about their children's progress and also to attend annual parent meetings. This is mostly effective in keeping parents informed.

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What is being done well?

• Children are confident, sociable and independent. They develop trusting relationships, relate well to adults and to each other, and are self sufficient in selecting resources and activities. • Staff interact and support children very well during role play. They provide an interesting variety of well resourced role-play sets. • Children have frequent opportunities to use their imagination and to make links in their learning, for example from a story about a bear, to going on a bear hunt, to making pictures of bears and talking about them in circle time. • Staff's clear understanding of the early learning goals leads to well planned activities based on children's interests which engage and sustain children's interests and efforts.

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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 • Staff regularly record children's achievements, and each child has a folder to record their progress. This is linked to the planning to ensure that children are set appropriate challenges that increase their thinking and skills. • Children have frequent access to outdoor play. The outdoor area has been developed and is used well to promote children's learning in a wide variety of ways.

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What needs to be improved?

• the process by which parents and carers are informed of their children's' progress.

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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 sit quietly to listen and most are able to concentrate for sustained periods. They are confident in moving between activities and relate well to other children. They learn to take turns and to share and are becoming sensitive to the needs of others. They are very independent in their play and collect together the resources that they need for their choice of activity. They serve themselves at meal times and put coats on for outside play.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are becoming confident speakers and take turns in group discussions. They enjoy looking at books and listening to stories in a well-equipped and comfortable reading area. They are developing an understanding of rhyme and learn to hear and say the initial sounds in words. Most can recognise their printed names and some are attempting to write them. They use writing in role-play situations, for example making appointments at the hairdressers, and taking telephone messages.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children benefit from good individual support to help them count to10 and to recognise colours and sizes. Their understanding of number is practised in daily routines such as mealtimes and snacks when they work out how many cups they need. They learn to recognise numerals using games, puzzles and wall charts. They practise mathematical language with play dough, construction toys, and role-play. Children solve problems of shape and size as they dress dolls and construct with blocks.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are able to investigate, observe and talk about what they see. They learn about the life cycle of butterflies through looking at caterpillars and butterflies that they find, sharing books, making and wrapping themselves up like a cocoon. They learn about cultures and beliefs by celebrating festivals such as Thanksgiving and Divali. They design and build with construction toys and a variety of recycled materials. They use a computer and a digital camera as an introduction to technology.

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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 develop physical skills and fitness with ride-on toys, balancing apparatus, and moving to music both indoors and using the outside play area. They use small equipment to throw, catch and control, and develop manipulative skills with a range of tools and materials such as staplers, pencils, scissors and play dough. Children learn about the importance of good hygiene practice in keeping healthy.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore colour and texture by mixing paints, matching colours and with imaginative art and craftwork. They join in songs and rhymes and use percussion instruments to explore sound and rhythm. They develop imagination and act out experiences in planned role-play situations, and through acting out stories, for example a bear hunt. They also enjoy making up scenarios and improvising with available resources.

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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: review the system of sharing children's progress records with parents to ensure all parents are informed about the progress their children are making.

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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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