Combe Pafford School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 18/01/2005 Inspector Name Caroline Bishop

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Peter Pan Playgroup Setting Address Copthorne Village Hall Copthorne, Crawley West Sussex RH10 3RE

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Peter Pan Playgroup 1031364

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Peter Pan Playgroup Address Copthorne Village Hall Copthorne Crawley West Sussex RH10 3RE

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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

Peter Pan playgroup is situated in the village hall in Copthorne, near Crawley in West Sussex. The children use a large room in the hall, and sometimes use the local outdoor play area which is next to the hall. The group takes up to 26 children between the ages of two and a half to five years at each session. It is open on weekdays from 09.15 to 12.00 during term time. There are 27 three- and four-year-olds children in receipt of nursery education funding on the register at present, and the group has experience of working with children who have special educational needs. There are 10 members of staff on the rota, 8 of whom have relevant training and experience. Children attending the playgroup come from Copthorne and surrounding villages.

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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?

Provision for nursery education at Peter Pan Playgroup is of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Most activities are well planned and organised. Staff work very well together to help children learn from their chosen activities. However, plans do not always give enough guidance for staff about what children need to learn next, especially for maths and physical activities, and do not show how activities can be extended to help more able children learn. Staff have enthusiastic and positive attitudes and provide a range of interesting activities which motivate children to explore and to be interested. Staff use good questioning techniques and support children effectively to extend learning, encouraging children to think and to try new experiences. Staff manage children well, giving clear guidelines for behaviour and encouraging consideration towards others. Staff know

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How effective is the nursery education?

children well and record some observations, but the new assessment system has not yet been completed to show each child's progress in all areas of learning. Leadership and management is generally good. The supervisor is committed to forming a strong team, who work well together and who contribute towards identifying new ideas and areas for improvement. Staff have positive attitudes to training and value the knowledge gained from courses which helps them to improve teaching. However, there is no system to regularly monitor the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and evaluate the impact on learning. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are welcomed into the group, are given useful information and are invited to attend meetings to find out how children learn from activities. Staff listen to what parents say and share information about children's experiences. Parents are given useful suggestions of activities to do at

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How effective is the nursery education?

home which enable them to support and continue their children's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Staff encourage positive attitudes to learning. They talk to children most of the time, encouraging them to demonstrate what they know, to talk about their experiences and to use their thinking skills. • Children are confident and are encouraged to make their own choices. They explore and experiment freely in their play, ask for things they need and follow their own interests, deciding to use pasta from another part of the hall to decorate their dough models and creating their own role play area based on a rabbit hutch, for example. • Self-expression is encouraged and children develop very good imaginative skills, expressing their own ideas fluently in a range of activities and using a range of vocabulary to describe their experiences.

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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?

• the detail in plans of what children are intended to learn, with particular improvement to plans for mathematics and physical development, and guidance on how to help more able children to make progress • the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

In the last inspection the group was asked to continue to monitor and review practice, including planning and assessment, and to give children more opportunities to record their own observations. Improvements since the last inspection are generally good. Staff regularly discuss general practice at staff meetings, identifying changes needed and making suggestions for new ideas These include recent changes made to planning and assessment systems which have had a generally good effect. However, monitoring of teaching has weaknesses as there is no system in place to evaluate teaching and staff get little feedback on strengths and improvements needed. Children now record more of their experiences, such as activities involving measurement and displays of artwork based on themes, and examples of children's recorded work are kept in their individual assessment files.

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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 Children are keen to take part in activities, concentrate and respond very well, especially during free play, and are confident as they explore and experiment in activities of their choice. Staff praise children's efforts, helping them to develop confidence and positive attitudes to experiences. Children show increasing understanding of the needs of others, are friendly and communicative and develop good personal independence as they make choices and learn to do things for themselves.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children express themselves fluently as they make up stories using dressing up clothes, and use a range of vocabulary to describe what they feel when exploring cornflour mix. They use a good range of games and activities to match and identify letter shapes and sounds and learn to recognise their names, and older children start to practise writing letters correctly. Children regularly use writing materials and are encouraged to make predictions and talk about stories as they look at books.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children show interest in numbers, counting confidently to 10 and beyond during free play, and respond confidently to problems as they add objects together. They use appropriate vocabulary talking about differences in shape and position when they are drawing, use measurement to record growth and explore capacity using different sized containers in water. However, plans do not show detail of what children are intended to learn, and teaching and learning rely too much on spontaneous situations.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children experiment with substances, predicting what might happen when mixing cornflour and what it might feel like, learn about growth in plants and where some animals live. They learn to practise and improve skills using a computer and become familiar with a range of software that successfully supports learning in other areas. Children design freely using construction equipment and dough. They build specific models and are encouraged to experiment and work out how to make improvements.

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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: Generally Good Children move confidently when using ribbons in response to music and using the balance beam, but they generally use equipment only if they choose to during free play. Plans do not ensure that all children do physical activities often or provide sufficient guide to teaching to help all children to improve skills using equipment. Children show increasing skill using a range of small objects, and improve their co-ordination as they practise using their hands to join, mould, draw and thread.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore colour and shape when doing hand printing and decorating models made from dough. They use their own ideas imaginatively as they make up stories and act out roles using dressing up clothes, and respond confidently to a range of experiences, such as making chalk drawings, watching their own reflections as they move in front of a mirror and identifying objects by touch. They explore sound using percussion instruments, learn a range of songs and move in response to music.

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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

• improve the plans to show what children need to learn next in each area of learning, and to show how activities can be adapted to help more able children continue to make progress • introduce a system to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning. Ensure that the newly acquired child development records are used to give a clear picture of each child's progress, and introduce a staff appraisal system to identify strengths and areas for development in teaching.

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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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