Thrybergh School and Sports College

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/02/2005 Inspector Name Kay Roberts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Fledglings Day Nursery Setting Address 25 Oldbury Court Road Fishponds Bristol BS16 2HH

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Fledglings Day Nursery opened as a private day nursery in 1987. It operates from an extended, semi-detached house located in Fishponds, a suburb of Bristol. Children attending the nursery are from the local area of Fishponds, Downend and Staple Hill where there is a mixture of private and housing association homes. Children are accommodated on the ground floor of the property, which is close to the local shopping centre and parks. Up to six children under two years of age are cared for in a self-contained area. This comprises of a playroom, sleeping and changing room and a kitchen. It also has a separate, enclosed outdoor play area. Children aged two to four years of age have access to a more open-plan area to the rear of the property, including an enclosed outdoor play area. Children in this area are separated into two groups, those under two years and from three to five years. The nursery opens on Monday to Friday from 08.00 to 17.30 hours for 51 weeks of

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Information about the setting

the year. There are currently 55 children on the register, of these there are 17 funded 3-year-olds and 2 funded 4-year-olds. Children with special educational needs, and English as an additional language attend the nursery. The nursery has a team of 12 staff which includes the manager, of these 9 staff have appropriate childcare qualifications. Two staff members are able to offer some extra languages, such as Hindi and Punjabi, in addition to English. The nursery is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and is working towards the Bristol Standard Quality Assurance scheme. Advice on educational provision is provided by the Early Years 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?

Fledglings Day Nursery offers good quality provision which helps children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. Staff offer an exciting range of theme-based, practical activities. The effective planning cycle takes into consideration the needs of all children, regardless of ability, disability, gender or special needs. Children are given time to be independent and independence is further encouraged through good organisation of the environment and the extensive range of readily accessible resources. Staff actively follow through on children's interests so that learning opportunities are maximised. However, on occasions this results in children not having stories and books included in the daily routine. Staff are deployed well, work closely with children and have a proactive approach to behaviour management. Leadership and management are generally good. The leader has a vision for the

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How effective is the nursery education?

future and provides clear guidance for staff about their roles and responsibilities, but the importance of stories in the daily routine has not been fully realised. The owner has a strong commitment to improving the quality of education for all children. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are provided with quality information about the setting which includes a personalised, detailed document about the curriculum. The daily verbal feedback, informal parents' evenings at the end of each topic and access to children's records and individual education plans ensures that parents are provided with good quality information about their child's progress. Parents are enouraged to share their knowledge about their child's progress and to be involved in their child's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Children are confident, curious, independent, physically adept and have good concentration. They form good relationships with staff and each other. • Children have good communication skills and demonstrate an interest in numbers. They are learning to write and undertake simple calculations. • Children are creative. They paint some excellent pictures and talk about what they have made. • Staff offer an exciting range of theme-based, practical activities and the effective planning cycle ensures that the needs of all children are met. • The leader has a vision for the future and provides clear guidance for staff about their roles and responsibilities. • Parents receive quality information about the setting and children's progress. At the end of each topic an informal parents' evenings is held and parents given an opportunity to access children's records and individual education

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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 plans.

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What needs to be improved?

• the inclusion of stories in the daily routine, so that children learn to appreciate the value of books and stories.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection in April 2001 the nursery were asked to meet two key issues. The first key issue was to further develop planning to ensure that the learning objectives of main activities were sufficiently detailed to guide teaching. Use information gained from assessment for formal planning. Show how children should be grouped to facilitate learning where appropriate, and how activities can be adapted to meet the developmental needs of individual children. Very good progress has been made against this key issue. Short term plans ensure that learning objectives are clearly identified and children's individual needs met. The second key issue was to provide older more able children with increased opportunities to develop their early writing and number recording skills in meaningful and challenging ways. Organise activities to allow them to discuss and explore topic projects in greater depth. Very good progress has been made against the second

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What has improved since the last inspection?

key issue. Children are provided with opportunities for informal mark-making and are encouraged to write for a purpose. Topics are discussed at length as staff follow through on children's interests so that learning opportunities are fully extended. Very good progress has been made against the key issues of the last inspection.

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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 are keen to explore and have good concentration as staff follow through on children's interests and offer exciting activities. Children want to be independent. They confidently choose resources, attempt to dress and undress themselves and manage their own personal care. Children are well behaved, polite, able to share and take turns. They form good relationships with staff, develop friendships within the group and show concern for others. Children talk about their life outside nursery.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children have good communication skills they are able to follow simple instructions, use language in imaginary play, can clearly describe the rules of a game and take turns when talking in a group. Although children treat books with respect, they are not consistently encouraged to appreciate stories. Children write their own name on pictures and labels, saying and sounding the letters in their name. More able children are beginning to write other words by copying what adults do.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children demonstrate an interest in numbers and can count reliably beyond 10. They recognise numerals up to nine. Children undertake simple addition and subtraction as staff offer many opportunities through rhymes, practical activities and computer programmes. Mathematical language is used to describe shape and size. Children are learning about volume as they use one container to fill another with water. They complete jigsaw puzzles and are beginning to problem solve.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are curious. They examine objects and living things to find out more about them, such as feeling the snow as it falls. Children are familiar with the local environment as they visit shops and parks. They are interested in information and communication technology and can operate simple equipment. Children are learning to appreciate the cultures of others through planned activities which are brought to life by the different cultural backgrounds of the staff team.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move with confidence, appropriately avoiding obstacles when running. When using the soft-play area and outdoor climbing frame they competently climb, scramble, jump, balance, slide and, push and pull large objects. They demonstrate increasing skill when using mark-making implements, playing with small toys and managing clothes. Staff provision of many interesting, practical activities has helped children recognise some good practices with regard to exercise, eating and hygiene.

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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 respond to all their senses. They explore what happens when they mix colours and choose colours for a specific purpose. More able children create excellent paintings and enter into a dialogue about their creations. The extensive range of readily accessible materials helps children recognise that different media can be combined. Children join in with favourite rhymes, such as 'Ten in a Bed'. Available resources are used to create props for role play, in the home corner and outside.

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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 the programme for communication, language and literacy by incorporating a story into the daily routine.

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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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