Bishops Hull Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 03/12/2004 Inspector Name Gill Moore

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Robin Nursery School Setting Address Sway Youth Centre Station Road, Sway Lymington Hampshire SO41 6AB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Robin Nursery School Committee 1088997

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Robin Nursery School Committee Address Sway Youth Centre Station Road Sway Hampshire SO41 6AB

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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

Robin Nursery School is a committee run group and was re-established in 2001. It operates from a community building in the rural village of Sway, close to Lymington. Children attend from the local and surrounding area. The nursery uses one main room, kitchen and toilet facilities and an enclosed outside play area. There are 27 children from 2 years to 5 years on roll. This includes 12 funded 3 year olds and 3 funded 4 year olds. At present there are no children attending with special educational needs or English as an additional language. The nursery opens Monday to Friday 09:15 - 15:00 during the school term, although at the time of the inspection are only open for morning sessions until 11:45. Children may bring a packed lunch and stay until 12:30. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The committee employ a qualified manager who is overall responsible for the day to day running of the group. In addition 4 staff work on a part-time basis with the

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Information about the setting

children, 2 of whom have a recognised early years qualification, and 1 who is currently working towards a qualification. The nursery have made strong links with the local primary school. The nursery school is a registered charity.

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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?

Robin Nursery School offers high quality nursery education where children make very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and stepping stones and plan a well-balanced range of activities and experiences in each area of learning. Staff know individual children well and develop secure relationships with them. They plan for their individual key work groups; building on children's existing skills and adapting their teaching methods to ensure activities are pitched at the right level. This enables children to develop at their own rate and be provided with effective support and sufficient challenges. Effective systems are in place to support children with special educational needs. The routine and deployment of staff is effective in most aspects of the session, and a good balance of adult and child initiated activities are provided across most areas of

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How effective is the nursery education?

learning. Leadership and management are very good. Clear communication takes place between the committee, staff and parents, which ensures the aims of the group are fully reflected in practice. Staff pay high attention to monitoring and evaluating the educational provision and the impact this has on children's progress towards the early learning goals. They know their strengths and act on their own evaluations to continually make improvements. Effective systems are in place to monitor teaching and identify where training is required. The partnerships with parents are very good and parents and staff establish effective informal channels of communication. Parents complete an initial assessment of their child, helping staff to identify the skills their child has already developed. Staff keep parents informed about topics and activities through daily discussions, regular letters and information displayed on the notice board. Parents are encouraged to be

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How effective is the nursery education?

involved in their child's learning in many different ways.

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What is being done well?

• Teaching is of a high standard and staff adapt their approach to suit children's individual needs, which has a positive impact on how children learn. Staff use open questioning to encourage children to think and solve their own problems, for example when building and constructing models using construction equipment and a range of tools. • Staff plan focused activities and experiences for their individual key work groups. They are clear about what children are expected to learn and how this relates to the stepping stones. Staff make regular observations and assessments of children's achievements, through focused activities during this time and through their self-chosen play in the second half of the session. This enables staff to ensure skills and concepts are consolidated and identify

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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 next steps for their individual learning. • Children display high levels of confidence and independence. The structure of the session enables many opportunities for independent learning, which ensures children play an active role in their own development. Children respond well to the continual praise from staff and show good self-esteem. Consequently, they develop very good relationships with staff and their peers and their behaviour is very good. • Dedicated staff work well as a team and clear roles and responsibilities are defined. Regular meetings are held; both with the committee and staff team, to ensure effective communication takes place and actions identified as needing developing are addressed. The key worker system is implemented effectively to ensure continuity for children and helps to establish

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What is being done well?

relationships between staff and parents. • Strong links are in place between nursery and home. Parents are invited to make contributions to children's records of achievements and informally discuss their child's progress with their key worker. Parents are provided with suggestions of activities to try with their child helping to support and extend children's learning.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of time and deployment of staff, to make the most of all learning opportunities, particularly in relation to outside play and snack time • opportunities for children to independently access a range of media and materials and to express their imagination through art and craft activities • opportunities for parents to receive written information about children's achievements and progress and next steps for development.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery school have made very good progress since the last inspection. They were asked to extend opportunities for children to learn about a range of religious and cultural events. Curriculum plans now include how a variety of festivals and celebrations from a range of cultures are included into the educational programme. Staff ensure that children learn about different religious events each term, for example this month the children have been learning about Hanukah and Festival of Light. Children use information books to learn how people celebrate these festivals and engage in practical activities, such as making menorah's and hats. The nursery school were also asked to ensure that staff and children know the aim and purpose of any worksheets used and that these are suitable ways to enhance, assess or record learning. The group make little use of worksheets now, although some are still used to consolidate children's learning and record their achievements,

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What has improved since the last inspection?

particularly in relating to mathematical development and communication, language and literacy. Staff ensure they record the reason worksheets are used and how this

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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 relates to the stepping stones. These are used as evidence of children's progress and included in children's individual record books.

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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 interested in activities and show a positive approach to learning. They concentrate well and negotiate sharing and taking turns. Children's independence is well promoted in most areas and they choose their own activities during the second part of the session. Children are confident and develop positive relationships with staff and their peers. They are considerate to one another and older children help the younger ones, for example by carrying their chair to the table.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children listen and make suggestions to discussions during key work time. They learn about letters and sounds and bring in items from home beginning with the letter of the week. Children recognise that print carries meaning and use notebooks and pencils to take customers orders when playing in the pizza café. They are taught how to form letters correctly and some children are able to copy and write their own name. Children enjoy exploring a range of fiction and non-fiction books.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children benefit from individual support to help them develop the concept of number and comparisons between two groups of objects. They solve problems of shape and size as they complete puzzles and build and construct models using different sized nuts and bolts. Children explore weight and capacity through activities such as cookery and floating and sinking objects in water. They count confidently and correctly select the appropriate numerals to represent the number of children present.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children talk about their families and excitedly recall experiences in and out of nursery. They look at similarities, differences and how things change through planned activities, such as planting bulbs, making air balloons and noticing what happens when the air is let out. Children learn about their local environment and the wider world through nature walks, train rides and topics about countries and a range of cultures. Children skilfully make models and enjoy using the nursery computer.

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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 develop good co-ordination as they ride bicycles, some with stabilizers, and practice throwing and catching balls and beanbags. They develop their understanding of spatial awareness through planned obstacle courses and music and movement sessions. Children learn how to keep their bodies healthy through nursery topics, and enjoy a visit from the dentist to talk about their teeth. They learn how to correctly use scissors and tools and show confidence in using these during activities.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children express excellent imagination as they engage in role-play in the pizza café. They enjoy negotiating roles and acting out their imagined and real experiences. Children have daily opportunities to participate in adult-led art and craft activities and enjoy doing so. They learn how to mix paints, print with a range of objects and have planned opportunities to use a varied range of media and materials. Children talk about the feel of the cotton wool and the smell of the dough.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • evaluate and improve the use of time and deployment of staff to make the most of all learning opportunities, particularly in relation to outside play and snack time • increase opportunities for children to independently access a range of media and materials and to express imagination through art and craft activities.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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