Earlyworld Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 23/02/2004 Inspector Name Jane Elizabeth Roberts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Earlyworld Stafford Court Setting Address Earlyworld Stafford Court Stafford Court,Stafford Park Telford Shropshire TF3 3BD

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Earlyworld Ltd Address Collina House, Holsworth Park Oxon Business Park, Bicton Heath Shrewsbury Shropshire SY3 5HJ

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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

Earlyworld Stafford Court opened in 1999. It operates from the first floor of premises sited on a business park close to Telford town centre. The nursery serves the local and wider community. There are currently 156 children from three months to five years on roll. This includes 28 funded three-year-olds and 10 funded four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs, and who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week all year round. Sessions are from 08.00 until 18.15. There are 35 part time and full time staff working with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. Four staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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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?

Earlyworld Stafford Court provides generally good education and children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff have a good understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Assessment of children's individual development is used effectively to move them on to the next stage. Staff know how to identify children's special educational needs and how to help them progress, but planning for children with English as an additional language is limited. Three and four year old children behave well in response to the sensitive support of staff. A wide range of resources and activities support children in all six areas of learning in planned and spontaneous activities, which encourage children to become independent learners and respond to challenge. However, older children's personal independence is not fostered in all situations. The leadership and management of the setting is generally good. Effective team

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How effective is the nursery education?

work between management and staff ensures good communication and contributes to the smooth running of the setting and the children's learning. Staff are encouraged to continue further training. Pre-school staff contribute to the curriculum and take responsibility for the detailed assessment of the children's progress. The monitoring and evaluation of the setting's provision for nursery education needs to be developed to benefit the education of all children. Partnership with parents is very good. Staff work hard to ensure that parents are kept well informed about their child's progress. Parents are made to feel welcome and staff take time to speak to them and work closely with the families. Information provided for parents is informative and useful. The foundation stage is explained clearly in a booklet and the activities provided for the children are explained. Advice is offered to parents on how to extend these activities at home. Parents comments

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What is being done well?

• Activities provided by the staff are purposeful and well planned enabling three and four year olds to be confident, show interest and curiosity and encouraging older children to develop into independent learners. • Children show confidence in planned and spontaneous activities involving simple mathematical problems. • Language and literacy is organised effectively which results in most children making good progress in pencil control and mark making. • Children have many opportunities to learn about the world and explore how other people live.

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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?

• opportunities for four year olds to develop personal independence • planning within the foundation stage curriculum for children with English as an additional language • monitoring and evaluation of the management of the setting to benefit the provision for nursery education.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting was asked encourage children to link letters and sound and to form letters correctly. They were also asked to extend the range of multi-cultural resources to include books about different cultures and beliefs. Very good progress has been made. All children are able to link letters with sounds, for example they recognise the letters which begin their names and there are many examples of progression in mark making and using writing as a means of recording and communicating. Resources which reflect other cultures and beliefs are varied and interesting, for example children use books confidently to explore other cultures and find out how people live. There are planned projects to look at other cultures and festivals and opportunities within imaginative play and creative activities and stories for children to freely explore how other people live

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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 All children are developing confidence and show interest and curiosity. Older children are developing into independent learners for example, initiating activities which involve what they have learnt about African life. They show independence in most areas and are able to choose confidently from a broad range of activities. They behave well and most can share and take turns and be considerate to each other.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy listening to stories and looking at books for pleasure and to find out facts. They can talk about their experiences with staff and each other, using a wide vocabulary. All children can link letters to their names and older children can recognise most letters. Three year olds are making good progress in pencil control and mark making and older children enjoy opportunities to form letters or make marks during play activities.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are able to learn about numbers through a range of planned and spontaneous activities. Most children are able to count up to ten in everyday contexts, for example, in the board games they play. All children recognise shapes well, show confidence solving problems and using shapes appropriately for tasks, for example, in junk modelling. Older children respond to challenging mathematical problems such as balancing the right amount of fruit in a basket to carry on your head.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore the world through topics and activities. They are observant, question well and recall what they have seen in the natural world and can also care for animals. They have a sense of the past and show interest in the lives of people they know and understand the differences in people's lives around the world. Children use everyday technology confidently and older children negotiate simple programmes on the computer. They construct objects well using a wide variety of materials.

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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: Very Good Children are developing a good awareness of a healthy life style, they enjoy exercise and can move with confidence. Most children have good spatial awareness. All children can negotiate, balance and move in different ways and directions within a comprehensive physical development programme both indoors and outdoors. Children enjoy using musical instruments. All children are progressing well when using different tools, and four year olds are demonstrating increasing skills.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good All children enjoy singing and moving to music and learn new songs confidently. They are able to experience playing a range of musical instruments and can tap out simple rhythms. They are able to express and communicate their ideas clearly using their imagination through a wide range of props provided. All children use a wide range of creative materials very well and older children use paint to express themselves creatively.

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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

• Provide more opportunities for four year old children to develop personal independence. • Provide more planned opportunities for children to progress within the foundation stage for children with English as an additional language. • Develop the monitoring and evaluation of the management of the setting to benefit the provision for nursery education.

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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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