Clifton Village Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 06/10/2004 Inspector Name Marilyn Ashley

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Clifton Village Nursery Setting Address Community Centre Towngate,Clifton Brighouse West Yorkshire HD6 4HS

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Clifton Village Nursery

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Clifton Village Nursery Address Community Centre Towngate, Clifton Brighouse West Yorkshire HD6 4HS

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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

Clifton Village Nursery pre-school playgroup, was established in 1975 and is managed by a voluntary committee. It Is situated in a rural location in the village of Clifton close to the town of Brighouse in Calderdale. The group is accommodated in Clifton Community Centre and shares the premises with other community groups. The site is adjacent to St Johns C of E Junior school. Most of the children attending are from the surrounding area. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, during school term time from 09:00 to 15:00 and caters for children from ages 2½ to 5 years. There recurrently 46 children on roll and 39 are funded three year olds and four year olds. There are no children attending with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional language. There are five members of staff working with the children all of whom have appropriate chilcare qualifications. Teacher support is provided by Kirklees Early

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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?

Clifton Village Nursery provides good quality provision overall which enables three year old children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff are sensitive to children's needs, form good relationships with them and have high expectations of their behaviour. They plan interesting activities linked to the stepping stones and know what children should learn from them. They track children's participation in activities and observe their learning, but group size sometimes limits children's progress and challenge. Records are being developed to monitor children's development towards the early learning goals and the use of the information to inform future planning. The staff support children's learning but do not evaluate effectively the routines and organisation of the environment to maximise children's learning and developing independence. This limits children's learning opportunities, particularly in

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How effective is the nursery education?

mathematics and literacy. Children's physical development is well planned, but planning for outdoors does not encompass the six areas of learning, which limits children's learning. Visits and visitors are planned but the local area is not used sufficiently to foster children's knowledge and understanding of its features and people. The Leadership and management of the playgroup is generally good. The leaders are well organised and they develop the committed staff team through a collaborative approach. There is a commitment to improving the quality of the nursery education through networking and professional development. There is not yet a rigorous system to monitor and evaluate effectively the quality of teaching and learning. Partnership with parents is generally good. Good relationships are formed and staff are supportive of families' needs. Information is shared regularly, but parents involvement in their children's learning and records of achievement is not developed

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What is being done well?

• Children behave well and are considerate of others. Staff are good role models and have high expectations of children's behaviour. • Children form good relationships with each other and staff. Staff provide a stimulating and secure atmosphere and are sensitive and responsive to children's needs. • Children's physical development is promoted well. They have many opportunities to move with increasing control and coordination and to use their imaginations when moving to music.

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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 • Children have a good range of opportunities to explore colours, materials, textures and objects using all their senses.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities to write for a purpose and to explore, represent and record numbers in everyday play • the monitoring and evaluation of the organisation and planning of the provision to maximise children's learning opportunities and to support their developing independence • the involvement of parents in their children's learning and records of achievement • the planning of the outdoor provision to cover all six areas of learning and the use of the local environment.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made since the last inspection. Staff have introduced a number of new approaches to enable children to become familiar with the shape and sounds of letters and to have increased opportunities to write their own names, some with correctly formed letters, which was a key issue in the last inspection. A self registration system has been introduced to enable all children to find their names. Attractive place mats, made by the children themselves, are used to draw children's attention to the initial sounds of their names and those of their friends. A mark making table, with children's name cards accessible and mark making equipment in other areas of provision give children the opportunity to use writing in their play. Staff encourage children to develop their emergent writing skills and link sounds to letters, particularly at the mark making table. Planned opportunities for children to extend their emergent writing skills in play,

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What has improved since the last inspection?

particularly the more able, are not exploited sufficiently. Opportunities to write for a purpose in everyday play activities and role play situations, both indoors and outside, are not maximised. Staff have developed the learning intentions of focussed activities, linked to the stepping stones, which was the second key issue. Staff have developed and are continuing to develop the planning through training, support and networking. They plan clear learning intentions and differentiation in focussed activities, linked to the stepping stones. Children's participation in activities and their progress is tracked and observed. However, the grouping of children, for example in the baking activity, is often too large to ensure children's individual progress and challenge.

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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 Children share, take turns, behave well and are becoming considerate of others. They form good relationships with each other and with staff who are sensitive to their needs and growing confidence. Children are motivated and join in enthusiastically in activities such as baking. They choose activities and resources and take care of their own personal needs such as toileting and washing their hands, but opportunities to further develop their independence are not exploited sufficiently.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children respond with enjoyment to stories, songs, rhymes. They talk confidently to adults and in a group. They handle books well. Children explore writing but planned opportunities to write for a purpose in everyday play activities and role play are not exploited sufficiently. Children are beginning to explore sounds, recognise their first names and link sounds to initial letters, but planned play opportunities for the more able to extend their emergent writing skills, are insufficient.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children recognise shapes and recreate patterns well. They use mathematical language in their play, such as bigger and more than when comparing. They count and recognise numbers to 5 and join in rhymes enthusiastically. However, everyday play opportunities to explore and represent numbers are insufficient. Children measure their heights and hands, but opportunities to use weighing and measuring in other activities such as baking are missed. Everyday opportunities to solve problems are limited.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore living things such as animals and food through interesting activities. They design and build confidently using a range of construction, but opportunities to find out how things work are limited .They explore and describe materials and objects using all their senses. They learn about themselves and how they grow and stay healthy. Interesting visitors such as the oral hygienist encourage children to find out about other people, but the use of the local environment is limited.

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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 use their imaginations in movement to music. They move with increasing coordination and control and consideration for others. They discuss the importance of staying healthy. Children handle tools such as knives when preparing snack with increasing confidence and control. Children develop their balancing and climbing skills but access to the outdoor area is limited by the grass surface. Planning for children's learning opportunities in the six areas of learning outdoors is limited.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore colour, texture and materials and express themselves freely and imaginatively. They enjoy singing songs, listening to music and exploring instruments to make their own sounds. Children move to music with enthusiasm. They respond well, using all their senses, to experiences such as exploring peppers. Planned opportunities to use their imagination and freely develop and extend their learning through role play, both indoors and outside, are not exploited sufficiently.

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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

• develop a rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the organisation of the daily routine, equipment, staff deployment and planning to ensure children's learning opportunities and developing independence are maximised • develop the opportunities for children to write for a purpose and to explore, represent and record numbers, in everyday play activities, to ensure the progression and challenge of all children • further develop the involvement of parents and carers in their children's learning and records of achievement • develop the planning of the outdoor provision to cover all six areas of learning and the use of the local environment, its features and people.

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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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