Saint Cecilia's Church of England School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/03/2004 Inspector Name Dorcas Elizabeth Forgan

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care, Out of School Day Care Setting Name Hanslope Pre-School Setting Address Village Hall, Newport Road Hanslope Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK19 7NZ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Hanslope Pre-School 1038425

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Hanslope Pre-School Address C/O Cathryn Willis 13 Kitelee Close, Hanslope Miton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK19 7JT

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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

Hanslope Pre-School is based in Hanslope Village Hall which is a village to the North of Milton Keynes. The group operate a pre-school during term time and a play scheme for a few weeks during some school holidays. The same staff operate both. The pre-school is registered for a maximum of 32 children from two to five years and the play scheme for a maximum of 32 children from three years and over. The pre-school group receive nursery education funding for three and four year old children. Staff are working towards suitable qualifications and there is a designated worker for Special Needs.

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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 education offered by Hanslope Pre-School is acceptable and of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. They are making very good progress in communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. Some opportunities are missed for children to count in every day situations and to use simple addition and subtraction. They enjoy being creative and expressing themselves imaginatively, they are becoming independent and confident. The quality of teaching is generally good. A new team is being established, most staff are under-going training and new systems are being introduced. They are becoming familiar with the early learning goals and stepping stones. The staff enhance the children's learning through questioning, discussions and clear explanations. The resources are used well and are attractively presented in the large

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How effective is the nursery education?

hall. However the organisation of some activities is not always successful, such as story time and snack time. The staff enjoy being with the children and children approach them readily; they are good role models and are able to use their judgment of when it is appropriate to intervene or take part in an activity. The planning and assessment is not always effective. The management and leadership is generally good. The management committee is made up, in the main of volunteer parents whose children have now left the group and moved onto school. It is acknowledged that communication can be difficult, various initiatives are being tried to overcome this. Staff are supported well with annual appraisals to identify training and development needs. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. They are well informed about forthcoming events and are actively encouraged to take part in the sessions.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Parents spend time talking informally with the staff about their children. Parents evenings take place annually.

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What is being done well?

• Relationships between staff and the children and their parents are good. The children come into the group eager to take part, they leave their carers with confidence and are becoming independent. • Children are motivated to learn through activities which are interesting and fun to take part in. They are well resourced, giving children the opportunity to choose their own materials and develop their skills using a range of tools. • Children's learning about knowledge and understanding of the world is enhanced by good use of the local environment and the introduction of stimulating items of interest. The popcorn machines provoked a lot of discussion, interest and fun and enabled the children to use all their senses.

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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 staff are good role models; they stay calm and controlled. Through positive reinforcement and encouragement they are helping the children to have respect for others, to have control over themselves and to learn the consequences of their actions.

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What needs to be improved?

• planning, so that it clearly shows the six areas of learning and how each activity can be adapted for the more or less able children • evaluation of activities to identify whether the learning outcome has been met, to ensure that large group activities are well managed and that all equipment is child-sized where appropriate. • increase opportunities for children to count and recognise numerals, practise simple addition and subtraction, make patterns and recognise shapes.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The progress made by the pre-school in addressing the issues raised at the last inspection is generally good. The points raised were that the assessment system should continue to be developed, that the plans should ensure that all six desirable areas of learning are covered and that these should be based on what the children need to learn next. Since this report all the committee and staff are new. All the systems for planning the activities and assessing the children have been changed. The stepping stones are recorded for each child as they achieve them. They are not used to ensure that plans incorporate each child's developmental needs. The six areas of learning are covered but these are not recorded clearly in the plans. These two key issues will be carried forward.

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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: Generally Good The children come into the group confidently eager to take part in activities. They are able to choose between activities and to select their own resourses. They are becoming confident to speak in large groups and are able to express their own views and feelings. The children are learning right from wrong, but some find it difficult to understand the boundaries during group activities, such as story time. The majority of children enjoy each others company and are able to take turns and share.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good The children chatter happily with the adults and each other. They listen to stories and are eager to participate and to anticipate what will happen. New vocabulary is introduced through stories and role play. The children show pride when providing items for the letter of the week, they are becoming aware of letters and the sounds, and can recognise their own names. Some are beginning to write them, and to make their marks for other purposes, such as taking notes in the hospital.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The children are beginning to count and use numerals; opportunities are missed for counting in routine tasks. The children are beginning to talk about volume and capacity whilst using resources such as water and mixing the playdough. They are being introduced to measuring and recording those measurements in simple graph form. Constructions are made both free-hand and following instructions. The potential to develop an awareness of shapes and patterns is not sufficiently exploited.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have opportunities to participate in activities from which they gain first hand experiences of using their senses, for example how cooked and uncooked spaghetti differs. They are able to explore the environment and learn about the natural world, through walks in the local area, growing, cooking and designing. They are gaining a sense of time and place and are able to use everyday technology such as the computer and tape recorder. Opportunities are also made to celebrate other cultures.

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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: Generally Good The children move confidently and safely with good co-ordination and spatial awareness both indoors and outside. They have daily opportunities to use large equipment to practise the skills of climbing, bouncing and balancing. Children develop their fine motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination through a variety of interesting activities and are able to use a wide range of tools. Some equipment such as jugs are too large to be handled competently.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are able to explore a variety of media and materials. They are given the freedom to express themselves through many activities, such as role play, painting and construction. The hospital area is well planned and thoughtfully resourced; the quality of play is enhanced by supportive adult intervention. Children are enabled to talk through their experiences of hospital and record them if they wish. The children are given time to develop and complete 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 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

• improve plans, so that they clearly identify how the six areas of learning are included and how activities can be adapted to meet all children's abilities. • evaluate activities to ensure that learning objectives are met, that large group activities are well managed and all equipment is child sized where appropriate • increase opportunities for children to use maths as part of everyday routines. 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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