Highfield Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 16/03/2005 Inspector Name Hilary Murden

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Highfield Nursery Setting Address Drewry Road Keighley West Yorkshire BD21 2HB

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Keighley Kiddicare Address 33 Barlow Road Keighley West Yorkshire BD21 2EU

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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

Highfield Nursery is a new neighbourhood initiative nursery managed by Kiddicare, a voluntary organisation which has been operating in the area since 1975. The nursery, located in the Highfield area of Keighley, opened in April 2004 within the Highfield Community Centre to serve primarily the needs of lone parents within the local Sure Start area. The nursery has a separate entrance within the centre. There are four rooms in use by the children. Each room has a separate outdoor play area which is easily accessed from inside. There are currently 55 children on roll, including 12 funded 3 and 4-year-olds. Four members of staff work with the older children, including two qualified staff and an assistant and a trainee who are both working towards childcare qualifications. The nursery provides full day care and sessional care each weekday from 07:30 until 18:00 all year round with the exception of bank holidays.

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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?

Highfield Nursery provides good quality educational provision. Children make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world and generally good progress in the other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good with very good aspects. The new staff team is gradually developing knowledge of the early learning goals. Planning provides reasonable breadth and balance of activities and shows what children are expected to learn. Staff show a genuine interest in what children have to say and extend learning through good interaction and encouragement to be purposefully involved in activities. Very good relationships with children help to promote confidence and good self-image. Staff manage behaviour well through positive strategies and consistent expectations. A systematic approach to using observations of children's learning to

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How effective is the nursery education?

inform planning has yet to be fully established. Leadership and management is generally good. Although recently opened, the nursery benefits from experienced senior management. Staff work together well with good team spirit and enthusiasm. The room leader provides a very good role model for less experienced staff. There is a real commitment to improving the educational provision through ongoing staff development, vocational training and training for qualifications. A system of monitoring and evaluating the provision is gradually being developed. Partnership with parents is generally good. The nursery has very good relationships with parents. Staff are friendly and supportive. Parents are provided with good information about the nursery and the educational provision through the handbook, displays of planning and newsletters. There are formal and informal opportunities to share information about children's progress, although individual records are not

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What is being done well?

• Personal, social and emotional development is prioritised. Children are confident, independent, and excited about learning. • Mathematical skills and knowledge are promoted through a wide range of practical activities. • Children's curiosity and interest in the natural world develops through first hand experiences and visits to places of interest. •• There are good opportunities for children to appreciate their own culture and those of other people through relevant topic activities. • Staff are enthusiastic in their work with children. They show an interest in

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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 what children have to say and support learning through good interaction and encouragement to be involved in activities.

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What needs to be improved?

• planned opportunities for children to link sounds to letters in names and objects and further encouragement to write for different purposes • the range of outdoor activities, particularly to enable children to have more experience of balancing in different ways • the use of observations to inform planning about the next stages of learning and to share with parents on an ongoing basis.

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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 take part in activities with excitement, enthusiasm and confidence. Familiar routines help children to feel secure. Behaviour is good most of the time; children learn to work together and to share and take turns. Children have very good relationships with staff. Independence is encouraged through choosing activities and by helping with tasks such as setting tables. Children are able to appreciate diversity of cultures as they celebrate festivals through appropriate topic activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children express their ideas and thoughts well in discussions and role play. Stories are listened to carefully; children anticipate events and help to retell familiar stories. Books are central to topic planning, helping to develop children's interest and enjoyment. Insufficient time is spent in linking sounds to letters in a progressive way. Although children experiment with writing, provision is limited to encourage writing for a wide variety of purposes in different activity areas

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently in activities and routines, for example, cutting and counting Velcro strips. They recognise numbers on the computer and in books. Number rhymes are used effectively to help children to work out answers to 'how many left now? The older children solve problems with numbers as they think about how many chairs are needed for all the children. Awareness of size, shape, position and capacity develops through practical activities such as exploring playdough, sand and water.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Understanding about the natural world and the environment is promoted very effectively through visits to places of interest and first hand experiences linked to topics. Curiosity is stimulated through activities such as searching for mini-beasts and making a worm farm. Children enjoy using construction and design resources for their own purposes. They recall events with increasing awareness of things that have happened. Children learn about the place they live in through simple map-making.

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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 enjoy outdoor play which is mainly for recreational purposes. They run around with good control and awareness of space. Occasionally they use the large sports hall for activities such as 'the parachute'. Children have limited experience of balancing due to a lack of challenging equipment. They use bats and balls with good hand eye co-ordination and ride wheeled toys with good skills. Small equipment and objects, such as scissors and playdough tools are handled with increasing control

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children's sensory responses are encouraged through a wide range of creative activities, many of which reflect different cultures, such as making chapattis. They experiment with paint and design materials for themselves. Displays of observational drawings and paintings show children's very good use of colour and shape. Although children enjoy singing familiar songs, they have insufficient experience of using musical instruments to develop understanding about different sounds and rhythms.

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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 planned opportunities for children to link sounds to letters and to write for different purposes across the areas of provision • extend the range of planned outdoor activities, particularly to provide children with more experiences of balancing and to show how new skills are introduced • develop a systematic approach to recording observations of children's responses to learning and use the information as a guide to planning and to share with parents on a regular basis.

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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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