The Phoenix Pupil Referral Unit

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 28/02/2005 Inspector Name Jill Milton

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Great Tew Under Fives Setting Address Great Tew Primary School Great Tew Chipping Norton Oxfordshire OX7 4DB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of GREAT TEW UNDER FIVES

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name GREAT TEW UNDER FIVES Address GREAT TEW UNDER FIVES GREAT TEW PRIMARY SCHOOL,GREAT TEW CHIPPING NORTON OXON OX7 4DB

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and 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 of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and 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

Great Tew Under Fives is a voluntary group managed by a committee of parents and carers. It has been established for over 20 years and operates from two classrooms within the village primary school. The intake of children is from the village of Great Tew and the surrounding rural communities. A maximum of 12 children, between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 years, may attend at any one time. There are currently 15 children on roll and of these 8 children are in receipt of nursery education funding. The group opens on weekday mornings, from 09.00 to 11.45, during school term times. Two members of staff work directly with the children and they are both training towards obtaining appropriate qualifications in early years.

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How good is the Day Care?

Great Tew Under Fives provides good quality care for children. A manager with many years of experience is in charge of the day-to-day running of the group and the morning sessions run smoothly. Although staff do not currently have the required level of qualification, they are nearing completion of appropriate courses in early years. The staff work well together and support each other in the care of the children. Apart from one omission, staff have all the necessary paperwork in order and they store confidential information appropriately. Staff make good use of the space available to create a warm and welcoming environment for children. They keep the preschool clean and ensure there are plenty of colourful displays on show. There is a good range of resources to promote all areas of development. Staff take satisfactory steps to monitor the children's safety, though there are some concerns regarding the security of the premises overall. Staff have a good regard to

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How good is the Day Care?

children's health and they establish appropriate hygiene routines throughout the sessions. They also have a satisfactory understanding of child protection issues. The children enjoy regular drinks and nutritious snacks during their morning at preschool.

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How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 The children access a broad range of activities to support all areas of their development. The adults interact well with the children and offer encouragement and praise. The adults manage children's behaviour well, acting as good role-models in the way they speak to each other and to the children. Through recent attendance on training courses, the staff are aware of how to support children with special needs and how to promote equal opportunities within the pre-school. They use colourful posters to provide the children with many positive images of the wider world. The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents express their satisfaction with the level of care their children receive and they find the verbal feedback from

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What is being done well?

• The staff use the available indoor space very well to create a homely atmosphere for the children. Staff rotate resources and activities throughout the morning to provide the children with fresh interest and opportunity for play. • The staff provide a warm welcome to the families making use of the pre-school. They work with parents to help new children settle into the morning routine. • Staff manage the children's behaviour well. They act as good role-models and encourage a caring, happy environment. The children respond well to this guidance and they are learning to be polite to each other and to share play. • The children enjoy nutritious snacks and regular drinks during the morning. They are eager to choose from daily selections of fresh fruit and vegetables. The children are also starting to understand the benefits of fresh air in the outdoor area, commenting on the fact they have 'rosy cheeks' in their

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of risk assessment to identify safety issues regarding the outdoor area and access to the pre-school • the procedure to follow if a child is lost, record in writing.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 There are no complaints to report.

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 6 Ensure staff carry out risk assessments of the outdoor area and the access to the setting to fully promote children's safety. 6 Record, in writing, the procedure to follow if a child is lost.

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Great Tew Under Fives provides good quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy and very good progress in all other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff have a good understanding overall of the early learning goals and the only gap is in the development of children's writing beyond the first stages. Staff interact well with the children and they develop warm and friendly relationships with them. This has positive benefits to the children's behaviour, which staff manage appropriately. Staff organise the resources within the preschool effectively to offer children a broad range of activities. There is a good mix of adult-led and child-initiated play and staff lead group times well to develop the children's listening skills and concentration. Staff plan the curriculum on a termly and

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How effective is the nursery education?

weekly basis with care and take into account the six areas of learning. However, it is unclear on a daily basis whether children participate in key activities. Staff monitor children's progress overall, though they do not link assessment to planning the next steps in their learning. Leadership and management are generally good. The committee provides good administrative support to the staff and the adults work well together to ensure the smooth running of the pre-school. The staff respond to advice from other professionals in order to improve quality. Staff evaluate their work on a verbal basis but do not have any formal systems in place to identify strengths and weaknesses. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Staff are welcoming to parents and provide them with good verbal feedback on the children's progress. Families receive helpful information about the setting but have limited opportunities

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How effective is the nursery education?

to be involved in their children's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Children are able to progress well with their personal, social and emotional development in the homely atmosphere of the setting. Staff value the contributions children make by giving them time to speak in the group and by encouraging them to display their drawings on a notice board. • The children have a good awareness of the countryside setting of their pre-school. They talk knowledgeably about signs of spring, like the primulas opening in their planting trough. Staff include local nature walks to collect and discuss what the children observe and find. • Staff are good at using opportunities in the everyday routine to promote mathematics. The children do not hesitate to answer questions and they enjoy activities to estimate whether there are more boys or girls present or to

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 find the day of the month on numbered cards. • The children are familiar with a good range of songs and rhymes. They are quick to identify nursery rhyme characters from sounds and pictures and they like to make their own song choices. Some children are confident enough to sing their chosen song to the whole group.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of planning to enable staff to monitor the children's progress and their participation in activities more closely • the opportunities for children to develop their writing and become familiar with letter shapes and sounds • the range of ways for parents to become involved in their children's learning at pre-school • the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the setting overall.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

There has been generally good progress made since the last inspection. Good progress has been made particularly in the area of mathematics. The children now take part in daily practical activities to help them understand simple calculations and to work out problems. Staff also now include more activities for the children about celebrations from different cultures around the world. The children are developing respect for others and a simple understanding of the views of different people. Staff were required to review assessment and to extend planning to include more detail and to share this information with parents. Generally good progress has been made with all these aspects of the teaching, though these areas are carried forward as key issues as staff continue to develop their confidence and skills.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children settle quickly at activities when they arrive in the morning and they are keen to play. They children respond well to the homely atmosphere of the setting and they are developing their confidence in talking to other adults. The children behave well and are learning how to act appropriately in a group as they line up for outdoor play. The children select resources for themselves and play co-operatively. They are learning about cultural events in their village and in the wider world.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are developing good listening skills when they sit together for group times. They enjoy sharing stories and rhymes and are becoming quite confident at talking about their news. They use language when they play imaginatively together, talking about their made-up stories. Children use a good range of activities to develop their early pencil control, but there are less opportunities for them to progress with their writing or to learn the shapes and sounds of letters.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are progressing well in this area of learning. They count numbers confidently and are quick to recognise numerals. Children use counting, as they count out play dough shapes or count down in number songs. They are quick to work out simple calculations, deciding whether more boys or girls are present. Children use pattern making in art work as they make tile or brick patterns on houses or repeat simple printed sequences. They use language to describe size and shape as they play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children talk frequently about the countryside area in which they live and they handle natural materials and observe changes. They learn about topics, such as homes, which are relevant to them and they use their early design skills to experiment with cutting and sticking. They talk about events in their lives and many correctly name the day of the week and understand the words tomorrow and yesterday. The children access a good range of equipment to develop their confidence in using technology.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children have good opportunities to use challenging climbing and balancing equipment in the outdoor area. They steer wheeled toys with skill and control, avoiding collisions. The children are developing an awareness of their own needs, collecting their own scarves and hats on cold days. Children use many resources to develop their manipulative skills. They know how to carry scissors safely and they demonstrate good control when using play dough tools, construction bricks and paint brushes.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children express their own ideas in paint and examples of their work are on display. They enjoy experimenting with colours, mixing paints and using crayons. They explore different ways of printing as they use rollers to make wallpaper designs. The children know many songs and they take part in a different musical activity each day. They use their imagination in play, acting out roles and scenes in the home corner area. Creative play extends outdoors with water, sand and chalk marking games.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and 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

• extend planning so that staff are assured of children's participation in key activities and that they use the information to plan the next steps in children's learning • develop more opportunities for children to progress with their writing and to become familiar with letter shapes and sounds • explore ways for parents to become involved in their child's learning at pre-school • establish methods to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the setting. 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 Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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