William Cowper Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 08/12/2004 Inspector Name Sally Ann Hubbard

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name William Cowper Pre School Nursery Setting Address William Cowper Close Toftwood DEREHAM Norfolk NR19 1LT

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of William Cowper Preschool Nursery

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name William Cowper Preschool Nursery Address u/a u/a

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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

William Cowper Pre-school Nursery opened in 1984 and is run by a management committee. It operates from mobile premises on a self-contained site within the grounds of Toftwood Infants School in the village of Toftwood, which is near to the town of East Dereham. A maximum of 16 children may attend at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday, during term time, from 09:00 until 11:30 and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 13:15 until 15:00, extending to 15:30 during the summer term. Children have access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 35 children from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 14 children are in receipt of funding for nursery education. Children attend from the local area. The pre-school employs five staff. Three of the staff hold appropriate qualifications.

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How good is the Day Care?

William Cowper Pre-school Nursery provides satisfactory care for children aged two to five years. The pre-school ensures staff are suitable, well qualified and work together to meet children's needs. They organise space and resources well to provide a range of activities. The premises are welcoming, attractive, secure and suitable, however children do not always have dignity and privacy when using the toilet area. The pre-school has a good range of appropriate equipment and resources, some of which is accessible to children. Most of the required records are in place and available during sessions. Staff supervise children at all times and implement safety procedures to keep them safe and prevent accidents. Hygiene is positively promoted and there is an effective system for recording accidents but staff do not have permission to seek emergency medical advice or a method of recording when medicines are administered. Staff

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How good is the Day Care?

provide children with drinks and snacks, however these are not always healthy and nutritious. Staff have completed child protection training and are aware of the

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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 procedures to follow if they suspect a child is being abused. Staff plan and provide a good range and balance of activities to meet children's needs. Children are well occupied and enjoying themselves. Staff ensure all children are included in activities, however they do not have sufficient resources that reflect equal opportunities. Staff have a co-ordinator and a statement in place for special needs. They have regard to the Code of Practice and most staff have completed training. Staff know the children well and are kind and caring. Children generally behave well, and are given reminders about rules, however staff do not always provide good role models. Staff have sound relationships in place with parents, who form the committee

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How good is the Day Care?

responsible for running the pre-school. They have appropriate processes in place for sharing information on a daily basis.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are well qualified and work together as a team. They organise space and resources effectively to meet children's needs. • Staff interact well with children, they know them well and are kind and caring. It is a small group and staff are aware of and able to meet children's individual needs. • Staff supervise children well and implement safety procedures. They take positive steps to prevent accidents. • Partnerships with parents are sound. Staff communicate and share information with them on a daily basis.

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What needs to be improved?

• the dignity and privacy of children when they are using the toilets • the system for recording medication and seeking medical advice • the resources reflecting equality of opportunity • the provision of healthy snacks • the role models for children's behaviour.

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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

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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 4 Ensure children's dignity and privacy is maintained when using the toilet area. 7 Keep a written record, signed by parents, of medicines given to children and request written permission from parents for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment. 8 Provide children with healthy and nutritious snacks. 9 Improve resources that positively reflect equality of opportunity. 11 Ensure adults provide appropriate role models for children's behaviour.

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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?

The provision for nursery education at William Cowper Pre-school Nursery is acceptable and of good quality overall. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in personal social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy and generally good progress in all other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff are developing a sound knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. Plans are in place that cover all areas of learning and medium term plans have clear learning objectives. Staff have good relationships with children and interact well with them. They work with the children and participate in activities, but at times over direct children and do not give sufficient challenge. The environment is made attractive and welcoming to children and they are able to be self-sufficient when selecting resources. Staff make

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How effective is the nursery education?

assessments of children's progress, these identify the learning and next steps for development, however it is not clear how these next steps are incorporated into the future planning. Leadership and management is generally good. There is a strong management committee in place which has good relationships and communicates well with staff. Staff work well together as a team and have clear roles and responsibilities throughout the session. Staff appraisals are being developed and staff evaluate plans and daily sessions though discussion. The staff and committee show a commitment to improving the quality of care and education they provide. Partnership with parents is generally good. They are provided with a brochure giving detailed information about the setting and curriculum offered. Information is exchanged regularly and a home diary is used well, to convey important events, messages or achievements of children. Parents but are not always sure who they

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How effective is the nursery education?

should talk to about their children but state that they would approach any staff member.

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What is being done well?

• Children are very well settled and speak confidently in front of the group at registration time. They sit and concentrate well with activities and share things from home with staff. • Children are provided with good opportunities to develop their early writing skills. Everyday items around the room are labelled showing them that print has meaning. They learn to appreciate and enjoy books and learn about the author and illustrator with staff clearly explaining what they do. • Staff prepare the learning environment and make it attractive and welcoming to the children. They have very good relationships and interact well with

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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 children. • Staff work together well with each staff member having a clearly identified role for each session. They discuss and evaluate activities and sessions using this information to change future plans. • There are sound partnerships in place with parents, and staff exchange written information on a daily basis.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children in mathematical development, physical and creative development • the implementation of everyday activities, to ensure learning opportunities are not missed and they provide sufficient challenge • the use of assessments to identify the next steps for learning and to incorporate these next steps into the future planning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school had one key issue following the previous inspection and have made generally good progress towards addressing this. They were asked to ensure that all staff become familiar with the code of practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs and understand how to implement its requirements. Most staff have now attended training and they have appointed a co-ordinator who takes responsibility for special needs. They have regard to the code of practice and have a clear statement in place.

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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 are well settled and very enthusiastic to join in the activities. They have good relationships with staff, chattering and exchanging information. Children are learning to share and take turns, lining up patiently to wash their hands. Children generally behave well and are beginning to understand about appropriate behaviour. They have independence when self selecting activities. They learn about their own beliefs and those of others by celebrating birthdays and Christian festivals.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children show good use of language and are beginning to communicate well with adults and their peers, engaging in conversations. They have good opportunities to link sounds and letters, readily recognise their names, know the order of the letters in the alphabet and have examples of print around the room. Children handle books carefully and discuss the book cover. Children have opportunities to make marks in a variety of situations and some can form recognisable letters.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have good opportunities to count and use number in their everyday play and they are eager to demonstrate their knowledge. They learn about size and shape and use this language during activities, demonstrating that they understand. Children can recognise and name simple shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles and have examples displayed. However, they do not have sufficient opportunities to compare groups of objects and learn about simple number operations.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children can explore and investigate different objects and materials. They learn about and use ICT with the computer and battery operated toys. They have good opportunities to construct and make models with kits and create small world environments, in the summer months the outside area is used extensively. They gain a sense of time and place, discuss past and future events, look at where they live and have visits from people in the community. Children look at some festivals celebrated by others.

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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: Generally Good Children move around the room with confidence and begin to show awareness of space and others, stepping round or over floor activities. Children are encouraged to wash their hands, however they do not have sufficient opportunities to learn about health and bodily awareness. They use a range of small equipment with the dough and construction. Plans show that large equipment is available and used outside. Children use pencils and crayons with good control and manipulate the play dough well.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore different media and materials and enjoy the sand, paint and dough with glitter, however they do not always have sufficient opportunities to use their own ideas and imaginations in art and design. They sing songs at group time and sometimes do music and movement and play instruments. The role-play area is very well used and children show good use of imagination with adults participating and supporting well. Staff have a good discussion with children about use of senses.

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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

• Include sufficient opportunities for children in the following areas; mathematical development to compare groups of objects and learn about simple number operations. In physical development to learn about health and bodily awareness and in creative development to use their own ideas and imaginations in art and design. • Ensure learning opportunities are fully utilised when implementing activities and that they provide sufficient challenge. • Develop the use of assessments, to ensure that they identify the next steps for learning and incorporate these into the planning.

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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 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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