Staples Road Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 01/10/2004 Inspector Name Doreen Forsyth

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Perham Down Pre-school Setting Address Cachy Buildings Swinton Barracks, Perham Down, ANDOVER Hampshire SP10 9LQ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Army Welfare Service Address Tidworth, Netheravon & Bulford Garrison Horne Road, Bulford Salisbury Wiltshire SP4 9AE

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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

Perham Down Pre-school opened in 1980. It operates from its own building consisting of two playrooms, entrance hall and offices. The pre-school is in Perham Down near Tidworth, Wiltshire, and is part of the military establishment there. Perham Down Pre-school serves the local military areas and nearby villages. There are currently 54 children aged from one to five years on roll. This includes 27 funded three-year olds and 7 funded four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports children with special needs and who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09.00 until 12.00 each morning, and 12.45 until 15.15 Monday to Thursday. Eight members of staff work with the children. Four of these have relevant early years qualifications. The setting receives support from Wiltshire's Early Years team

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Information about the setting

and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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?

At Perham Down Pre-school the provision is of good quality overall: children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. In mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world, and creative development, children are making very good progress. Teaching is generally good. Staff interact very well with children. The good adult/child ratio results in children receiving individual support and attention. Staff become involved in the children's play, extending the play to meet the needs of older children or children that learn quickly as required. Some staff understand the early learning goals well. The planning currently used is complicated and does not show what children are expected to learn from the activities presented. Planning is not sufficiently based on the stepping stones towards the early learning goals to ensure there are no gaps in the provision offered. Staff observe and record children's

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How effective is the nursery education?

progress appropriately. The pre-school meets the needs of children with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional language very well. The setting is well resourced. The leadership and management of the pre-school is very good. The setting has a clear vision for the future and is continuously monitoring the provision offered and identifying its' strengths and weaknesses. The playleader uses appropriate strategies to deal with the constant turnover of staff that occurs in this military setting. Staff are encouraged to train and to develop their skills. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. All parents receive a good prospectus that contains information about the foundation stage of learning. Staff visit children in their homes before they attend the setting, providing parents with an opportunity to share what they know about their child, although this does not

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How effective is the nursery education?

continue throughout their time at the setting. There are no planned opportunities for parents to be informed about their child's progress.

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What is being done well?

• The provision and support offered to children with special educational needs. A Special Needs co-ordinator, with the support of the playleader, ensures children have individual learning plans specifically written to help them progress. Any special equipment that is required is obtained. The setting works very closely with parents and other professionals. • Children's mathematical development is promoted very well. Staff ensure children have opportunities to develop mathematical ideas and solve simple problems in their everyday activities. • Children are provided with many good opportunities to explore and investigate different objects and materials. At the time of the inspection

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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 children collected conkers, fir cones and leaves form the pre-school garden, which they could observe closely and use in their play. • The leadership and management of the pre-school is very good. This setting is in a military area and provides care for service families. This often results in a high turnover of staff and the staff leaving before they are qualified. The playleader is very aware of this problem and uses many strategies, including very good monitoring of the provision, to ensure children receive the best possible care and education.

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What needs to be improved?

• the planning, to make it more simple and easy to use, to include what children should learn from the activities provided and to ensure there are no gaps in the provision by using the stepping stones as the basis for planning • the parent's opportunities to be informed about their children's progress and share what they know about their children's learning with the setting • children's opportunities in the daily programme to link sounds to letters.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school has made very good progress towards meeting the two key issues set at the last inspection. The first was to provide support and guidance for children to learn to form letters of the alphabet appropriately. Children have very good access to mark making resources and are encourage to write for a purpose in their play. Children's emergent writing is encouraged, and examples of children's writing were seen at this inspection. Displays of letters are provided and children are constantly exposed to the written word. Children are developing their writing skills appropriately for their stage of development. The second key issue was to develop the effectiveness of work samples to show children's progress and achievements by including comments such as the context of work and support given. Staff observe and record children's progress well. They record children's progress along the stepping stones towards the early learning

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What has improved since the last inspection?

goals, adding appropriate observation comments as well as retaining examples of children's work.

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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 The children are confident, happy and eager to learn. They are developing an awareness of the feelings and needs of others. They are beginning to form good relationships with each other; they can work as a group, for example when helping to tidy up. The children are learning to be independent, they put on their own coats to play outside and serve their own drinks at snack time. They usually behave appropriately for their stage of development, and take turns and share.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children interact well with others and speak clearly to the adults in the setting. All children including those with special needs are able to communicate confidently. They enjoy books and stories and can retell aspects of a story. They have very good opportunities to freely use mark making materials. They can recognise their names, some children can write their own names. They are not encouraged enough to label their own work, and have limited opportunities to link sounds to letters.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good In their daily play and activities children are developing mathematical ideas and are learning to solve simple problems. They compare the weights of conkers, fir cones and leaves: they count how many shovelfuls of sand fill a bucket. They sing counting rhymes that introduce the concept of addition and subtraction. They use a range of resources such as puzzles or the train set to look at position and patterns. They describe shapes, a piece cucumber with a bite out of it, is a 'crescent' shape.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Staff provide children with many opportunities to explore and investigate the world around them. They see whether conkers sink or float in the water tray: they look at the colours of autumn leaves. In topic work they learn about the natural world; during a topic on pets a hamster was in the setting for the children to see. Children use the computer very confidently to support their learning. They are beginning to learn about different cultures and beliefs, for example, Chinese New Year.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Some children use soft play resources to climb and balance, but not all the children have enough good opportunities to develop their large muscle skills or show an awareness of space. Children use the outside area to run, move and use wheeled toys, but are only outside for short periods of time. They enjoy using malleable materials, such as sand, water, and playdough. They use tools such as scissors, paintbrushes glue spreaders and the mouse with skill and good control.

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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 very good opportunities to explore colour, texture and shape. They can paint freely at easels each session, and have unlimited access to interesting collage materials. Musical instruments are provided for children to play with and explore. They have very good opportunities to respond to experiences and express their ideas using their imaginations. They enjoyed going on a 'Bear Hunt' in the garden. They have access to good resources such as the home corner and dressing up clothes.

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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

• ensure the daily planning is clear and easy to follow and indicates what children are expected to learn. Base the planning on the stepping stones towards the early learning goals to ensure all areas of learning are sufficiently promoted • increase parent's opportunities to be well informed about their children's achievements and progress and to share what they know about their children's learning with the setting.

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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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