Delamere School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 09/06/2004 Inspector Name Heather Morgan

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Westhill Nursery Pre-School Setting Address West Hill House Braunton Devon EX33 1AR

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Anne Garland and Ruth Garland Address West Hill Nursery West Hill House, West Hill Braunton Devon EX33 1AR

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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

West Hill Nursery Pre-School opened in 1960. The purpose-built nursery is in the grounds of the proprietor's home. It is an open-plan building, consisting of three adjoining rooms. There is also a small, enclosed outdoor play area. The children who attend the nursery come from Braunton and the surrounding area. There are currently 33 children, aged from two to five years on roll. This includes seven funded three-year-olds and nine funded four-year-olds. At present, there are no children attending who have identified special educational needs, or who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens five days a week during school term times only. Morning sessions run from 09:00 to 12:00 midday and shorter afternoon sessions from 13:00 to 15:00 are offered to younger children. At present, these only run on Monday afternoons. The setting also offers a parent and toddler group on Monday afternoons.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is a privately owned, family business and both of the owners work with the children, one on a part-time basis and the other full-time; both hold relevant early years qualifications. Four other staff work with the children, two of whom hold relevant early years qualifications and the other two are working towards one. The nursery has access to the Foundation Stage Advisory Team.

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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?

West Hill Nursery Pre-school provides good quality nursery education. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. They make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy, mathematics and physical development. The quality of teaching is generally good. The manager has a generally good understanding of the early learning goals and plans a varied range of activities that support children's progress. Some staff are less familiar with aspects of the Foundation Stage curriculum and although they interact well with children and question them appropriately, some opportunities are missed to develop children's understanding through practical experiences. Children have good opportunities to choose freely from resources and to initiate their own play both indoors and

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How effective is the nursery education?

outdoors. Staff observe children and record their achievements, although, at present, the assessment records are not closely linked to the stepping stones and do not clearly demonstrate how children are progressing towards all the early learning goals. Staff know the children well and meet regularly to evaluate activities and plan future sessions, although not all activities have clearly defined learning objectives that build on what children can already do. Leadership and management are generally good. The manager oversees activities and is a good role-model for staff. They have a strong commitment to improvement but the appraisal system has not identified the need for all staff to improve their understanding of the nursery education curriculum. There is a very good partnership with parents. They are well-informed about the activities of the group and how their children are progressing. They have regular

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How effective is the nursery education?

access and contribute to their children's assessment records and are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning in a variety of ways.

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What is being done well?

• Parents are encouraged to get involved in their children's learning in a variety of ways. • Staff are calm and consistent in their management of children's behaviour. • Children are happy and settle well at the nursery. • Staff offer children a wide range of resources and activities at each session, which supports their progression in all areas of learning.

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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?

• all staff's awareness of the Foundation Stage curriculum and how children progress along the stepping stones towards early learning goals in each of the six areas of learning. • children's opportunities to learn, develop and practise skills through practical experience, particularly in the areas of mathematics and aspects of communication, language and literacy. • assessment procedures, to ensure that records demonstrate children's progress and development along all the stepping stones and that this information is used effectively to plan activities that build on what children already know and can do.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery has made generally good progress in addressing the two key issues raised at the previous inspection. They have introduced an appraisal system which is used effectively to support staff development and identify some training needs, although these have not related directly to delivery of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Very good progress has been made in ensuring that children have free access to a wide range of resources to support their creative development and they regularly choose interesting and varying materials to express themselves freely through art, music and role-play.

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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 confident, settled and well-motivated. They enjoy choosing and using resources independently and enthusiastically participate in new activities. They are developing a good sense of fair play as they share and take turns. Their behaviour is good and they are developing an awareness of the consequences of their actions. They play well together and show care and concern for others.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers and use their developing vocabulary appropriately when describing what they are doing or recalling previous events. They participate in regular adult-led activities to promote their awareness that print carries meaning and to develop their handwriting skills. They enjoy group story times but rarely choose to look at books independently during free play. They do not regularly practise writing for a variety of purposes, for example to enhance their role-play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are developing an awareness of numbers and can count small groups of objects and recognise the corresponding numerals. However, they do not regularly practise or use their number awareness in practical ways to solve simple problems involving basic number operations. They have a good awareness of a variety of mathematical concepts and use appropriate language to make comparisons of size, shape and position.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have a good awareness of the natural world and features of their own and the wider environment through an interesting and varied range of themed activities. They are developing a good awareness of the passage of time and recognise the familiar routines of the nursery and the cycle of seasons throughout the year. They are familiar with many aspects of the local environment and talk about their journey between home and nursery. Children use technology well to support their learning.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move safely and confidently around the nursery, carefully negotiating obstacles and using a ramp to access the outdoor area. They have opportunities to use equipment such as a slide and wheeled toys during free play activities but do not frequently participate in activities that specifically support their individual development, based on what they can already do. Children use a wide range of tools and materials with good dexterity and increasing safety, for example scissors.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have good opportunities to explore and experiment with a wide range of resources, introducing different textures, colours and shapes. They use their imagination well in role-play and when using small world resources. They make up and act out stories, using resources appropriately to enhance their play. They enjoy creating and comparing sounds with a range of musical instruments.

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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

• Ensure that all staff understand how children progress along the stepping stones towards the early learning goals in each of the six areas of learning, and provide children with regular opportunities to develop and practise skills through practical experience. • Develop assessment procedures to ensure that records demonstrate how children are progressing along the stepping stones in each area of learning and use the information effectively to plan activities that build on what children already know and can do.

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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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