Upper Hopton Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 01/03/2003 Inspector Name Julie Ann Hemsley

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SETTING DETAILS

Setting Name Upper Hopton Playgroup Setting Address Croft House Mirfield West Yorkshire

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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

Upper Hopton Playgroup is a well established group that has been operating for many years and is managed by a voluntary committee. It operates from rooms within Croft House Community Centre, in the Mirfield area. The children are accommodated in one room, with adjacent kitchen, cloakroom, toilet and storage facilities. The children have access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area to the side of the building. The playgroup serves families in the local and wider community. The playgroup is registered for 26 children aged two years to five years and there are currently 36 children on roll. There are 20 three year olds and three, four year olds attending. Twelve of the three year olds and one of the four year olds receive funding. There are no children with English as an additional language attending the setting. There are children attending with special educational needs, however, they are not in receipt of funding. The playgroup is open Monday to Friday, between 9.30

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Information about the setting

am and 12 noon, term-time only. There are seven members of staff of whom six have attended an Introduction to Pre-School Practice training and three are currently training towards a further appropriate childcare qualification. The playgroup receive support from the Early Years and Childcare Partnership and the Pre-School learning Alliance. Good links have been established with nursery teacher of the local Nursery, Junior and Infant School.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Upper Hopton Playgroup provides a welcoming environment where children are happy, confident and mostly settled. Overall children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff work well as a team, they make good use of their time and resources. This results in them interacting very well with the children, providing support and being involved in their activities. Staff are developing a good understanding of the foundation stage, which enables them to plan a varied range of interesting activities. Most staff use children's observations, assessments to identify their progress and next stage of development towards the early learning goals. The information gained is used to plan future activities. This system is new and not yet fully implemented by all staff. Staff handle children's behaviour very well, providing a good role model. Leadership

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How effective is the nursery education?

and management is generally good. The group is managed by a voluntary committee, which is very supportive and strongly represented. Management and staff both attend training and use the information to evaluate and improve the nursery provision. Staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities resulting in the day to day operation of the setting working well. Management and staff are committed to improving the setting, the use appraisals identify the strengths and weakness of staff and the group are currently working towards a Quality Assurance Scheme. However, this is not fully completed or rigorous, resulting in some gaps in the curriculum and teaching. Partnership with parents is very good. They are actively involved in group, helping out and assisting in the smooth operation on a daily basis. Parents are provided with good quality information on the foundation stage and information on the activities. They are able to access their child's records and

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How effective is the nursery education?

contribute to their learning through the assessments and good interaction with staff.

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What is being done well?

Children's progress in personal, social and emotional development is very good. Most children are settled, they are happy, confident and familiar with the routines and have very good independence skills. Children are interested, excited and involved in the activities. Staff work well as a team and are involved in the activities of the children, they interact well with the children and good relationships have been established. Staff are supportive, for example towards newer, unsettled children, they provide good role models, resulting in the children behaving well. Children's early reading and writing skills are developing, they enjoy looking at books and concentrate well when listening to stories. They make marks and some children can write their own names. Children's progress in physical development is very good. They have very good co-ordination and control, using both large and small equipment with increasing skill. Children's opportunities to develop their physical

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What is being done well?

skills indoors and outdoors is good. Children are developing their counting skills, they show an interest in numbers and counting, for example through songs and rhymes and some children can count up to six. Some children are beginning to use mathematical language through play.

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What needs to be improved?

the system to effectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of the setting, including ensuring all systems implemented are effectively used by all staff; the opportunities for children to express themselves and use their imagination through music and dance; the challenges for more able children in knowledge and understanding of the world, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development;

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children's progress in personal, social and emotional development is very good. They are very interested, involved and excited to take part in activities. Children have very good independence skills, selecting from a range of activities. Children have established very good relationships with each other and adults and they behave well. They are familiar with the routines and are happy, confident and most are settled. Children that are new and unsettled are offered very good support from staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress. They are interested and enjoy looking at books, listen and concentrate well during stories. Children are developing their early writing skills, they make marks, some children can write their name and attempt to write for a purpose, for example making lists. Children's language and vocabulary skills are good, they interact easily in conversation with each other and adults. Opportunities for more able children to link sounds to letters is limited.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress. Children show an interest in numbers and enjoy joining in number rhymes for example 'ten green bottles' resulting in their counting skills developing well. Some children use mathematical language during play, for example big, little. Opportunities for more able children to access everyday activities to compare and solve simple problems is limited. Children enjoy and are interested in activities that involve shapes and they create simple patterns.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children make satisfactory progress. Children use materials well to create, build and design and some more able children join materials for a purpose. Children show an interest in using the computer, however, opportunities to use a range of equipment and programmable toys is limited. Children's awareness of other cultures is developing, however the knowledge of the more able children could be extended. Opportunities for more able children to examine, explore objects, living things is limited.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children's progress is very good. They have very good control and co-ordination, moving, under, over and around equipment for example. Children use well a very good range of large and small equipment, such as bikes, slides, mark making implements, construction with increasing skill and control. Their spacial awareness is developing well, they negotiate tunnels, holes for example. Children develop their physical skills both through indoor and outdoor activities.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress. They explore a good range of media, materials and textures, both in two and three dimensional form, for example, rice, dough and spaghetti. Children enjoy and join in with enthusiasm, songs and rhymes and show an interest in musical instruments. They express themselves and use their imagination well, especially through role play, art and design. The frequency of opportunity for them to use their imagination through music and dance is limited.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

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

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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

develop the system to effectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of the setting and ensure all systems implemented are effectively used by all staff; extend the opportunities for children to express themselves and use their imagination through music and dance; provide opportunities to challenge more able children in knowledge and understanding of the world, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development;

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