Greys Education Centre

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 30/10/2002 Inspector Name Jane Peter

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SETTING DETAILS

Setting Name Bradford Abbas Pre-School Setting Address Village Hall Sherborne Dorset DT9 6RF

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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

Bradford Abbas Pre-School opened in 1967 and is managed by a committee of parents. It is housed in a modern village hall next to the primary school and serves the village and surrounding rural area. The main room of the hall is used for pre-school purposes. There are two sets of toilets. There is a kitchen that children do not access. Physical play is provided in the hall or in the playground at the front of the building. The children also have access to the computers that belong to the primary school. The pre-school opens from nine am to twelve pm on four weekday mornings, for 39 weeks in the year. Children are accepted from the age of two years nine months until they start school. There are currently 15 children on roll, including four funded three year olds and three funded four year olds. None of the funded children have special educational needs or use English as an additional language. There are five members of staff, four of whom have appropriate childcare

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Information about the setting

qualifications. The present leader and deputy have worked in the setting for some years. They attend all sessions and aim to work to a ratio of one adult to six children. Parents also help in the group on a rota basis. Staff work closely with the reception teacher from the adjacent school and are able to draw upon the help and advice of a qualified teacher in the Early Years Development and Child Care Partnership.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Bradford Abbas Pre-school offers good quality provision which helps children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. Staff communicate well with the children and effectively promote self confidence, self esteem and independence. The staff show commitment and enthusiasm and this positively influences the children's learning. However, children have limited opportunities to work independently, selecting resources for themselves and extending their own activities. The plans have some weaknesses. They don't have enough detail about what children will learn at pre-school and they are not broad enough to ensure the children have an interesting variety of activities across all areas of learning. The staff sometimes record their assessment of what the older can do, but this isn't done for all children and is not done as often as it should be. This means that the plans are not based on what the children need to do next to

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How effective is the nursery education?

move them on in their learning. Leadership and management is generally good. Committee members are becoming more aware of their roles and responsibilities and are putting procedures in place to assist the pre-school staff. The play leader manages the setting effectively and motivates staff well. Lack of available time and support has affected the quality of planning and assessment however the staff have a clear commitment to providing the care and education of all children. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are provided with good quality written information about the setting and feel able to speak freely to staff. However, lack of formal assessment affects the information given to parent's about their child's progress throughout their time at the group. Parents are not given the opportunity to consent to information being passed to the local school, in relation to their child's

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How effective is the nursery education?

achievements. Instead, they are informed that it happens.

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What is being done well?

Children develop good relationships with staff and other children. They are confident, cooperative, well behaved and independent. Staff communicate well with children. They effectively promote listening skills, for example when playing an animal sounds game and encourage the children to speak confidently. A well resourced and attractive role play area promotes imaginative play and social development.

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What needs to be improved?

Planning, assessment and evaluation to support the different stages of individual children's development and to ensure all children receive a balanced curriculum. Organisation of resources to enable children to make choices and extend activities themselves. Staff's knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Opportunities for indoor physical play have been increased. Opportunities for children to practice maths and pre-reading skills are now offered regularly.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress. They build good relationships with staff and other children within the pre-school e.g. Children helped each other pack toys away, without adult direction. They are confident, well behaved and independent. Children are unable to develop their independence fully as there are limited opportunities for them to select resources and work independently.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress. They are confident to share experiences with others and are beginning to use language effectively, to negotiate and interact with others. They listen well and this is being developed through imaginative activities e.g. A staff member described an object and children tried to guess what it was. Some children understand that print carries a meaning and all children enjoy stories and songs.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress. They can competently say and use numbers up to five with some children confidently counting beyond that. They are beginning to recognise numerals and show an interest in practical maths activities. Opportunities to consolidate and extend this learning are often missed in everyday routines such as calculating how many cups are needed at snack time and then counting them out.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children's progress in knowledge and understanding of the world has significant weaknesses. Children are gradually developing a sense of time and place but experiences to actively develop this are not included in the session plans. The children have opportunities to become familiar with computers when using the primary school's equipment. Opportunities to explore, investigate and design are lacking. Planning for this area of learning lacks depth, imagination and variety.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress in this area. Physical play opportunities are varied. The children enjoy physical play and show an interest in what is planned. They move confidently, with control. They are developing an understanding of good hygiene practices .g. Hand washing after going to the toilet and before snacks. Opportunities for promoting an understanding of health, such as talking about the fruit at snack time or how they feel after running, are missed by staff.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress. They enjoy the varied and interesting role play area e.g. pretending to be mums who are taking their poorly babies to the doctor. They show an interest in music and can sing simple songs from memory. Various creative experiences are offered over time but opportunities to select their own materials and work without significant adult guidance and direction are 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 an effective observation and assessment system that records each child's stage of learning and is used to inform planning for their next steps. Develop planning that links with the stepping stones, so that each child has access to regular, varied activities that support and extend their learning, particularly in relation to knowledge and understanding of the world..

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