Beechwood Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 26/01/2005 Inspector Name Susan, Helen Spencer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Beechwood Nursery Setting Address Shady Lane Bromley Cross Bolton Lancashire BL7 9AF

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Plas Tirion Ltd Address Beechwood Nursery Shady Lane, Bromley Cross Bolton Lancashire BL7 9AF

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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

Beechwood Nursery is a long established provision located in the Bromley Cross district of Bolton, and set in one and a half acres of its own grounds which includes an outdoor play area. Formerly registered with Bolton BC Registration and Inspection Unit. Beechwood Nursery caters for 60 children between the age of birth to five years. The children are grouped according to age in Baby Care, Toddlers, Preppies , and Pre- School. it is operational for 50 weeks in the year, Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. Children attend from a wide catchment area in and around the Bolotn suburbs. The staff are all qualified in early years childcare (NVQ levels 2and 3)

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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?

Beechwood Nursery provides good-quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in mathematics and very good progress in all the other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff plan a good balance of activities both indoors and outdoors. Staff explain things very clearly and effective use is made of questioning to extend children's learning. Staff have good relationships with the children and they set high expectations of behaviour. Some staff are unsure about how to develop children's mathematical ideas and problems solving skills through the use of daily routines and practical activities. Leadership and management is generally good. The nursery benefits from the enthusiaism and commitment of the manager. Both the manager and deputy have worked hard to provide a stimulating learning environment for the children. There is

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How effective is the nursery education?

a strong team spirit and staff work well together. The manager has not yet developed procedures for evaluating the effectiviness of the educational provision and the monitoring of teaching and learning. The partenership with parents is very good. Parent are kept well informed about the activities planned in all areas of learning. They value the opportunity to share and exchange information about their child's progress on both an informal and formal basis.

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What is being done well?

• Relationships between staff and the children, and their parents are fostered well. This in turn develops the children's confidence and motivates the children to achieve well in their learning. •• Children are learning how to behave appropriately and they are beginning to understand the difference between right and wrong. •• Chidren's communication, language and literacy skills are promoted well. Staff value the children's conversations and effectively encourage conversations and questioning during activities and daily routines. • Children's physical skills are developing well through a range of well planned activities and challenges both indoors and outdoors. • Children's creativity is a strong feature of the nursery. They develop their imagination and ideas in a variety of different ways. Freedom of expression is encouraged and the children are able to make their own choices and decisions when selecting materials and textures for their collage and art

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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 the more able children to develop mathematical ideas and problem solving skills through daily routines and practical activities • the short term planning, particulary in the area of mathematics, to ensure the more able children are challenged appropriately • the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning •

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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 active in their own learning, they work well independently and as part of a group. They are confident and self esteem is fostered well by staff who are sensitive to their needs and know the children very well. They are learning to take care of their own personal needs, such as washing their hands and brushing their teeth after meals, Children learn to share and take turns and they behave well.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are develop their spoken language well. Children express their own opinions and relate experiences with interest. Children enjoy books, listen to stories and enthusiatically find words that rhyme together. Children recognise their first name and are beginning to write these correctly. Children also write for a purpose in the varied role play situations

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count and recognise numbers through well plannned activities. The more able 4-year-olds can count up to ten and above. Children use their knowledge of shape and colour to create symmetrical patterns and designs. Children are not sufficiently developing mathematical ideas to solve number problems such as adding and taking away.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children use the extensive gardens and outdoor play area to develop their understanding of the changing seasons. They observe and record the weather on a wall chart. They plant seeds and bulbs in the spring and rake up the leaves in the autumn. Planned activities help children notice casue and effect as they bake pizzas and cakes, observe how water turns to ice when frozen. Children make models from construction kits and are adept at fixing things together.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy using the outdoor equipment to develop their co-ordination and balance. The 4-year-old children are adept at riding and manoeuvring tricycles and scooters and can skillfully steer around corners. Children cut out shapes with scissors with increasing control and can use cutlery competently during mealtimes.

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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 enjoy their creative activities. They are able to mix their own paint and select their own materials. Children are encouraged to develop their own ideas and imagination through the varied role play activities and dressing up clothes. Children particapte enthusiastically in singing and there is a good range of musical equipment to distinguish between loud and soft sounds.

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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

• make greater use of practical activities and daily routines to develop the 4- year-.old children's skills in problem solving and calculation. • introduce a rigourous system to monitor and evalute the quality of teaching and learning.

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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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