Jigsaw Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 24/03/2004 Inspector Name Sue Taylor

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Jigsaw Day Nursery Setting Address 4 Cumberland Gardens St. Leonards-on-Sea East Sussex TN38 0QL

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Jigsaw Day Nursery Address 4 Cumberland Gardens St Leonards on Sea East Sussex TN38 0QL

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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

Jigsaw Day Nursery opened in 1994. It operates from the ground floor of a large house close to the town centre. Children use three rooms and have use of an enclosed outdoor area. The nursery serves the local community. There are currently 68 children from 2 years to under 6 years on roll. This includes 17 funded 3-year-olds and 19 funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The group supports children with special needs and children for whom English is an additional language. The group opens five days a week for most of the year. Sessions are available within the full day from 08:00 until 18:00. Nine part time/full time staff work with the children. All have early years qualifications and four are currently extending their training.

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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?

Jigsaw Day Nursery provides nursery education that is acceptable and of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. The majority of the staff have a good knowledge of the early learning goals and they support the newer staff members. Their informed observations show understanding. Planning is clear and understood by all, it covers all six areas of learning, giving indications for the learning intentions and ideas for extended learning. Children are very well supported and challenged appropriately by staff who ask open questions. They show great interest in what the children have to say, extending their curiosity and interest. They know the children well and manage behaviour effectively. The assessment process ensures monitoring of children's progress but it is unclear how this informs future planning. The leadership and management is very good. The staff team are well supported by

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How effective is the nursery education?

the owner. All staff are very clear about their responsibilities and roles, receiving good guidance from senior staff. Processes in place provide effective monitoring and evaluation of planning and for the deployment of staff. Positive ideas for future development are in place, building on the past year of recruitment and team building. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. They receive clear information about the nursery, can log onto the web site to view art work. They are verbally informed about their child's day, this could be extended to include ideas for supporting their child's learning at home. They can view the profiles and work folders as they wish, discussing issues with key workers. They share what they know about their child on admission and are encouraged to be involved.

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What is being done well?

• The children are very enthusiastic about singing. It is very clear and tuneful, particularly with familiar songs. The use of action and number rhymes help reinforce their development in mathematics. • A wide range of textures and different tactile experiences are available for the children to explore. These can include hunting for dinosaurs in slime, playing with corn flour mix or jelly. • The staff question the children well. They use open questions allowing the children time to talk through their own thoughts and feelings. The use of all senses are encouraged in a range of activities. • There is flexibility in the planning. Adult led activities are balanced with child initiated experiences. On occasions, the children's ideas are followed for topics and themes. For example activities around dinosaurs were instigated by some children's expressed interest.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• parental involvement in their child's learning • planning, in showing how it takes account of individual children's learning needs.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The group have made generally good progress in implementing the issue identified at the last inspection. They were asked to make the assessment procedures more manageable and to continue encouraging parents to contribute to these assessments. The nursery devised an assessment process that they found to be effective and was seen as useful by the staff. They believe the process gave a clear view of each child's individual progress. They state that parents were appreciative of the information it contained about their child. Parents and carers were invited to make comments about their child's learning and this was taken up by a couple of parents. Since this, the nursery have changed the assessment system to use the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership Stepping Forward profiles. The process indicates clearly how children are progressing towards the early learning goals. Informed observations by the staff show their understanding of the stepping stones

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What has improved since the last inspection?

and of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to the process but there has been no noticeable increase in involvement. The nursery are devising new ways to try to involve parents more and this has been identified as an area for continued improvement.

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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 The children settle quickly into the nursery, accessing play equipment easily with some personal independence such as accessing the toilet. They become very involved in their play, particularly those with adult support. The majority of the children behave very well, beginning to share and understand the need to take turns and wait patiently. They relate very well to adults and there are some friendships emerging amongst their peers. Care and consideration is shown to other children.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Books and print are used to support some activities. The children are very good communicators and many use clear speech. They start to recognise the sounds of letters. This is well supported in other ways, such as tracking letters on worksheets and using sand to practice correct letter formation and mark making. They are fully encouraged to develop pre-writing skills. Most children recognise their name. Some are writing very good letters and can write their name freely.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children enjoy a wide range of number songs, following with their fingers to show their understanding. They recognise numerals and some have very good knowledge of numbers over ten. They begin to learn about simple addition and subtraction by talking about more or less in their play and whilst sharing out play materials. They spend time and concentration on creating their own patterns and some are able to follow a sequence well. They explore size, shapes and measuring in varied ways.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good They learn about the natural world and of the need to care for animals. They create their own designs as when making framed mirrors. They show a great interest in the lives of others, and the majority are happy to share information about themselves. They get to use all of their senses in some activities, well supported by the staff. During the activities that explored varied foods they show keen curiosity and ask interesting questions. Most begin to perform simple functions on the computer.

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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: Very Good Most move with good control and coordination. They begin to develop skills in outdoor play and in manoeuvring around obstacles. Most have an awareness of others need for space. They have a preference for and most are aware of whether they are left or right handed. Through the topic of foods they have become aware of healthy eating. Good hand-eye coordination is developed through play, crafts and mark making activities. They use different objects for control such as hoops, balls and ride on toys.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children follow action songs well with good rhythm, they enjoy music moving in response spontaneously. They are extensively encouraged to describe the texture of things. They use different materials and textures to create art and crafts. Their own ideas and creations are valued. Explanations of their own pictures are well labelled. All show great interest in what they see, feel, smell, hear, taste. Using items such as the puppet theatre encourages them to play with others, along a similar theme.

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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 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.

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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 : • continue to encourage parents and carers to be more involved in their child's learning and to contribute to the assessment process • show how a child's individual progress is used to inform planning. 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

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

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