Headstart Nursery and Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/03/2005 Inspector Name Ron Goldsmith

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care, Out of School Day Care Setting Name Headstart Chester Ltd Setting Address 32 Heath Road Upton Chester CH2 1HX

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Headstart Chester Limited Address 32 Heath Road Upton Chester CH2 1HX

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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

Headstart pre-school day nursery and out of school opened in February 2002. The nursery operates from 4 children's rooms in a converted old school building (formerly St Mary's school) and the out of school operates from 4 rooms in the school house which is attached to the nursery premise. There is also access to enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery and out of school is situated in Heath Road, Upton, near to the city of Chester and serves the local community and further afield. The nursery is registered to provide care for a maximum of 68 children aged from birth to 5 years and is open all year round, Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm. The out of school is registered to provide care for a maximum of 30 children aged from 4 years to under 8 years and is open from 7:00 am - 9:00 am and 1:00 am - 6:30 pm term time only and 7:00 am - 6:30 pm during the school holidays The children on roll in the nursery include 28 funded 3 year olds and 6 funded 4 year

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Information about the setting

olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently no children attending with special needs and no children who speak English as an additional language. 18 full time and 1 part time staff (not including the manager and officer in charge) work with the children. 16 have early years qualifications. 2 staff are currently on training programmes. The setting liaises with 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?

The provision for funded nursery education at Headstart is of good quality. Children make generally good progress towards early learning goals in personal, social and emotional, communication language and literacy, mathematics and knowledge and understanding of the world. Their progress in creative development is very good. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff enthusiastically support the children and create a stimulating environment to motivate the children's learning. They have a good relationship with the children and parents. Staff use planning to provide a wide range of activities, focused on the six areas of learning. However, plans do not identify the stepping-stones and the expected learning outcomes. Appropriate assessment methods are used to identify the children's progress, although these are not always up to date or evaluated to inform future plans. Most activities are interesting and stimulating, but older,

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How effective is the nursery education?

more able children are not always fully challenged by their independence being sufficiently developed, writing for a variety of purposes, and limited use of the computer. The quality of leadership and management is generally good. The manager and the staff work well together as a team and are very committed to providing a quality service. Monitoring of the provision is not yet fully effective and appraisal systems for staff are in their early stages of development. Partnership with parents is very good. This is due to information being regularly shared through newsletters, displays, open evenings and parent interviews. Staff develop good relationships with parents who are welcome to visit at any time. There are both formal and informal systems for communicating to parents how their children are progressing.

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What is being done well?

• There is very good partnership with parents which enables them to share what they know about their child as well as appreciate what their child is learning at the setting. The news letter, parents evenings and the home diary initiative are excellent ways to involve parents in children's learning. • The setting fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. The staff clearly enjoy working with the children and creating a supportive atmosphere where children are comfortable about expressing their feelings. There is a good programme of activities to develop awareness of and respect for diversity.

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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 • There is very good provision for creative and physical play through use of good resources and planned activities. These help children develop their physical skills and imagination in meaningful ways and they have fun while they are making progress towards early learning goals.

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What needs to be improved?

• the process for monitoring the overall provision and it's strengths and weaknesses by having clearer criteria for evaluation • the opportunity for children to be sufficiently challenged in developing their independence, writing for a variety of purposes, practical problem solving in mathematical development, recognising the changes being active makes to their bodies and the use of information and communication technology • the staff teaching skills • the activity plans to match the stepping-stones and to identify the learning outcome.

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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 Children are interested and motivated to learn. They express their thoughts and ideas within a group and initiate play situations confidently. Children are forming good relationships with adults and their peers and work well together, taking turns and sharing. Children's independence skills could be further developed by helping to dress themselves and each other themselves before going outside to play and during snack time. Their behaviour is managed generally well with positive encouragement.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children build up a good vocabulary through well planned topics and some speak confidently in front of others in a group. Books are used by staff to create an interest in stories but time for children to enjoy books themselves does not have enough priority in the routine. There is good labelling around the room and encouragement for children to read their names and identify initial sounds and letters. Children do handwriting activities but only occasional writing for a purpose.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy showing others that they can count up to high numbers which they do confidently. They recognise numerals that are significant to them and can show how many on their fingers. Children are not extending their ability so much to solve mathematical problems and calculate for a purpose.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn to sort and categorise materials by properties using all their senses. They enjoy baking cakes and observing the changes that take place to baking materials. Good use is made of the outdoor environment to ensure children are active and enjoy physical exercise in play. Celebrations such as Red Nose Day help them appreciate significant events in different people's lives. Limited use is made of information and communication technology.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are learning to be aware of others and to move safely. They develop co-ordination and agility using wheeled toys, climbing up, over and through equipment and using small equipment to roll, throw and catch. They learn to skip, hop, run and jump with confidence. They learn about health and hygiene but less about how their bodies work.

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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 have opportunities to explore and choose from a range of media and enjoy sticking, painting, sand and water. They use small equipment, tools and construction kits well. They use their imagination well in art and design, role play and stories. They respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch and their excitement and enjoyment when baking cakes ins infectious.

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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

• develop the staff teaching skills so they can consistently challenge the older, more able children, and further develop the staff knowledge of curriculum planning in order to produce plans that match the stepping stones and identify the learning outcomes. • improve the process for monitoring the provision by having clearer criteria for evaluation and assessment and linking this to whether intended learning outcomes have been met.

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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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