Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 08/03/2005 Inspector Name Jenny Scarlett

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-School Setting Address Tiddy Hall, Shipton Road Ascott-Under-Wychwood Chipping Norton Oxfordshire OX7 6AZ

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-School

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-School Address Tiddy Hall, Shipton Road Ascott-Under-Wychwood Chipping Norton Oxfordshire OX7 6AZ

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

Ascott Under Wychwood Pre-School opened in approximately 1970. It operates from Tiddy Hall in the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood near Burford in Oxfordshire. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school operates 9 sessions a week during school term times, of which 2 are preparing for school sessions. The pre-school supports the toddler group for children aged under 2.5 years in the village. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor area. There are currently 48 children from 2 to 5 years on roll. Of these 32 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide geographical area. The pre-school employs 8 staff. Five of the staff hold an appropriate early years and or teaching qualification. three members of staff are working towards a qualification.

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?

Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. Effective teaching helps the children make very good progress towards all of the areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff demonstrate a very good knowledge of the stepping stones and early learning goals and use this to plan a broad and balanced curriculum. They use the accommodation and resources well to support the children's learning. They organise the indoor space and resources imaginatively to create an interesting and stimulating learning environment. The outdoor environment is used well to promote the children's physical skills and to develop their understanding of the natural world. A new assessment for recording children's progress is in place. Staff are still adapting to this system and are looking at ways to profile the children effectively. There are effective systems in place to provide good

p.3

How effective is the nursery education?

support for children with special needs. Leadership and management is very good. There is good support from the supervisor and the management committee. A shared understanding and commitment to early years is clearly visible. The supervisor knows the staff well and utilises their individual strengths and skills within the setting. Staff work well as a team with clearly defined roles. There is a strong commitment to improvement and training and the professional development of the staff. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are mostly well informed about the pre-school its routines, activities and events with good opportunities to speak to staff on a daily basis. Staff provide regular time for discussions, sharing records of the children's progress and providing a two way flow of information, knowledge and expertise.

p.3

What is being done well?

• Staff promote very good opportunities for parents to become involved in their child's learning and the pre-school through the parent rota system, thus enriching the quality of education and learning for all children. An effective combination of formal and informal methods enables parents and staff to share information about their child's achievements and progress. • Children's personal social and emotional development is very good. They are confident, interested and able to work on their own. They enjoy the activities and make rapid strides in their learning due to the staff demonstrating a good understanding of the individual needs and abilities of the children. • Staff set challenges for children that increase their thinking and skills with practical first hand experiences to explore and investigate. Staff use good

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 consolidation techniques through repetition questions, revisiting topics and activities to enhance the children's learning. • The accommodation and resources are used well to support the children's learning. Staff arrange the rooms, activities and resources imaginatively to encourage the children to make decisions in their play and to be independent. • Children make very good progress in developing control of their bodies through enthusiastic teaching in subjects such as music and movement and the use of the outdoor area to promote their physical skills. They have good opportunities to develop an awareness of space as they ride and manoeuvre sit and ride toys and move to varied repertoires of music.

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• the foundation stage profiles, to include possible next steps in the children's development and learning • the attention given to profiling the children before they arrive • the attention to providing parents with information about the topics.

p.4

What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made in tackling the key issues from the previous inspection. These required the staff to extend the basic selection of resources to enable the children to questions why things happen and how things work; to introduce letter and sounds in a more planned way and introduce some opportunities for the children take part in practical activities to record numbers. Staff have developed resources for children to receive increased opportunities to develop their exploratory skills. The impact on the children's learning has been considerable with very good opportunities to explore a varied range of resources such as cameras, magnifying glasses, torches, using tape recorders and ICT equipment both indoors and out. As a result the children are learning how to operate simple equipment and do simple functions such as exploring and operating the torch. Staff provide good opportunities for the children to learn shapes and sounds of

p.4

What has improved since the last inspection?

letters on a regular basis. A weekly letter sound provides opportunities to bring items from home which support the letter shape and sound thus encouraging home partnership. Staff display letters and different forms of writing to encourage children to develop their early writing skills and to ensure good coverage of the alphabet. Staff plan and provide very good practical and spontaneous activities to aid children's awareness of recording numbers. As a result children's awareness of numbers are reinforced by sound practical opportunities to develop counting and comparing using chalks, clipboards and display work both indoors and out.

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 show good concentration skills and express their needs confidently. They are developing their independence skills as they look after their own possessions, serve snacks and are confident to work independently in a variety of activities. Children are sensitive to the needs of others, share toys and resources and co-operate with each other. They confidently use their initiative to expand activities and show perseverance and motivation in activities such as building towers and gluing.

p.5

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently interact and talk with each other and adults. They use language well to negotiate and express their ideas with each other and adults. Children are articulate speakers and staff develop their vocabulary well through discussions and exploring words that begin with "h". Their spoken language and writing skills are developing well as a result of the good range of planned and spontaneous activities and because staff provide very good individual support.

p.5

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently up to and beyond ten and many recognise numbers up to nine. They learn to use numbers in everyday situations and show that they understand number, size and shape through practical activities, such as sorting and matching cups and plates at snack. Some children recognise the symmetrical flower patterns made with fruit on the plate showing good concentration and observation skills. Children develop their awareness of capacity as they count and fill jugs with sand.

p.5

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Planned activities aid children to notice changes such as observing the weather changes and the life cycle of a frog. They ably build and construct with large and small bricks to extend their skills. Children talk about personal events in their own lives and are learning about the wider world and diversity through well thought out activities such as Japanese Girls Day. Children are progressing very well in ICT through a carefully well planned programme and good one to one support.

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 experience good opportunities to promote their physical skills. They are advanced and skilled in their physical skills through well planned activities such as music and movement. Staff are on hand to provide support and encourage new skills such as balancing on the ball and pedalling the bike. Children use construction toys freely to create models and are able to control pencils, scissors, glue sticks and pegs to develop their manipulative skills in a variety of activities.

p.6

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children participate enthusiastically, matching sound patterns and moves as they dance to music and match sound patterns. They draw and paint freely in different ways with a good variety of media. They join in singing enthusiastically and use their voices to distinguish between sounds. Their indoor role-play is varied and interesting as children draw on their experiences and imagination as they build garages and tunnels with bricks, dress up and listen and tell made up stories to each other.

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 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.

p.7

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 improving the following:- • further develop the foundation stage profiles to include possible next steps in the children's development and learning • review the current system to inform parents of the topics to further develop the home learning link.

p.7

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.

p.7

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

p.7