The King Edmund School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 12/03/2004 Inspector Name Jennifer Fisher

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Bexley Manor Nursery School Setting Address 162 Penhill Road Bexley Kent DA5 3EA

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Bexley Manor Nursery School Limited 04673760

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Bexley Manor Nursery School Limited Address 162 Penhill Road Bexley Kent DA5 3EA

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

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

p.1

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.

p.2

Information about the setting

Bexley Manor Nursery School was established by the current Head teacher, Mrs Waters, in 1984. The nursery school is located in a detached building situated in Penhill Road, in a residential area of Bexley. The staff team has Qualified Teachers and Nursery Assistants at each session. The building is divided into defined areas with a well equipped library, cloakroom, messy area, home corner, main room, bathroom and office. There is a pre-school curriculum incorporating small group work and own choice activities. There is a large car park to the front and a secure outside play area to the rear and sides. The nursery school serves a wide community and welcomes children with Special Needs and receives funded children. Operates Term Time only. Monday to Friday sessions between 09:00 -12:15 and 13:00 - 15:45.

p.2

Information about the setting

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

p.2

How effective is the nursery education?

Bexley Manor nursery offers good quality nursery education. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children are making very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development as well as physical and mathematical development. Communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development are generally good. Teaching is generally good and staff use their knowledge to plan a broad-based curriculum that includes a range of interesting practical activities and experiences. The challenge set for children is very good, teaching methods are generally good, there is a slight tendency to over direct children during craft activities and there are limited opportunities for children to freely express themselves in this way, there is sometimes an over dependence of worksheets. Support for children with special needs is generally good and staff are developing

p.3

How effective is the nursery education?

their work with the help of a local SENCO. Staff show positive and skilful management of behaviour and demonstrate a consistent approach, they have high expectations of children's behaviour. There is a good range of equipment to cover all areas of learning. The assessment of children's learning is very good. Staff make good use of the daily lesson plans and key worker system to evaluate and assess children's learning to inform the next stage of planning. Leadership and management is very good. Much of the success of the setting is due to the strong leadership of the manager, there is a strong commitment to training and there are effective systems in place to monitor progress, staff work very well as a team, they act as good role models. They are committed to improving services provided for funded children. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are well informed about the policies and procedures of the pre-school. They are encouraged to be actively involved in

p.3

What is being done well?

• Children make very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. They are interested in their play and keen to learn, they are confident and this gives them a good foundation to learn in all other areas of development. • Children make very good progress in their mathematical and physical

p.3

What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 development and provision for physical development is well planned. • The partnership with parents is very good and staff work hard to provide parent/carers with a range of useful information and encourage parents to be actively involved in their child's learning. • Staff work very well as a team, they show positive and skilful management of children's behaviour and have high expectations of behaviour as a result children are clear of the boundaries and behave well.

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• Opportunities for children to freely express themselves through creative work and writing. • Opportunities for children to develop and sense of time.

p.4

What has improved since the last inspection?

Staff have increased their knowledge of the foundation stage and the Early Learning Goals, this has resulted in a clear system of planning that is used and understood by all staff, this has ensured a broad and balanced education programme for children, staff are also able to implement a clear system of assessment and this has been made available to parents so they are well informed of children's progress.

p.4

What has improved since the last inspection?

A clear SEN policy has been developed, this just needs to be updated with current legislation, a SENCO has been appointed and as a result staff are clear in the way that they respond and meet the needs of children with special educational needs. The provision for mathematical development has improved as a result of staff making good use of daily routines and opportunities to extend mathematical learning, children are keen and interested to learn new mathematical concepts and language.

p.4

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

p.4

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development. They become interested and involved in their play, which helps them to progress in many areas. They behave well and form good and caring relationships with peers and adults. They are developing a sense of community and an awareness of other cultures. They are confident, social and there are good opportunities for them to develop their independence.

p.5

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy. Many are confident and fluent speakers and engage easily in conversation with each other and with adults. They develop their reading skills well and absorb themselves in books and stories, the whole group session is used well to share high quality stories. The free access to books is sometimes limited. Children make marks and practise writing, although there is sometimes a slight over dependence on worksheets.

p.5

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children's progress in mathematical development is very good. Staff use a good range of practical activities to support children's mathematical learning and make good opportunities to extend mathematical learning and language, this helps children to have an interest in mathematical activities. As a result children are confident when counting, exploring pattern, shape, size and colour and they are beginning to add up and take away.

p.5

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children's progress in knowledge and understanding of the world is generally good. The local community is used well to help children learn and there are many opportunities for children to learn about the natural world and features of the environment. They build and construct models well and show good control when using the computer. There are limited opportunities for children to develop a sense of time and days of the week, months of year are not always reinforced.

p.5

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

p.5

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in physical development. Provision for physical development is well planned and incorporated into the curriculum and there is a variety of equipment available. Children move confidently and with increasing control and balance. They are able to use a range of tools effectively and through topics and activities they learn about hygiene and healthy eating. They are beginning to recognize changes that happen to their bodies when they are active.

p.6

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children's progress in creative development is generally good. They express themselves well using music, dance, role play, stories and songs. Children use a range of media to express and communicate their ideas and feelings, although staff sometimes over direct the children and there are too few opportunities for free expression.

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.7

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Improve the opportunities for children to spontaneously use craft materials and develop writing skills by ensuring that there are more opportunities for children to freely explore and express themselves in this way and limiting the use of worksheets. • Improve opportunities for children to develop a sense of time by finding out about past events and use practical daily routines to develop this.

p.7

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.

p.7

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

p.7