Riverside Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 24/01/2005 Inspector Name Doreen Forsyth

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care, Out of School Day Care Setting Name Riverside Pre-School & Owls After School Club Setting Address The Mobile, Monkton Park School Sadlers Mead Chippenham Wiltshire SN15 3PN

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Riverside Pre-School & Owls After School Club 1023346

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Riverside Pre-School & Owls After School Club Address The Mobile, Monkton Park School Sadlers Mead Chippenham Wiltshire SN15 3PN

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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

Riverside Pre-School and Owls After School Club have been opened since 1992. They operate from a mobile unit within the grounds of Monkton Park Primary School in Chippenham, Wiltshire. The group has sole use of the building and there is an enclosed area for outside play. The pre-school mainly serves the local area. Riverside Pre-School is registered to care for a maximum of 18 children aged 2 to 5 years old. There are currently 26 children on roll, including 23 three and four-year-olds who are in receipt of government funding for nursery education. The setting supports children with special educational needs. The pre-school is open weekday mornings from 09:00 until 11:30 during school term times. The setting also provides after school provision and a lunch club. Four full- or part-time staff work with the children Two have relevant early years qualifications, one other is working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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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?

At Riverside Pre-School the provision is of good quality overall, children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children are making very good progress in mathematical development; this is a strength of the setting. Teaching is generally good. The experienced staff understand the early learning goals and plan a good range of activities that promote all areas of learning. Daily plans do not show how the needs of more able children will be met, and sometimes challenge is lacking for these children. Staff interact well with the children and question them skilfully. They promote good behaviour, but children do not learn appropriately to respect the resources provided or to keep their pre-school tidy. Keyworkers observe children's progress but do not use these observations to plan for children's individual learning or to identify gaps in the provision offered. Staff help children with special educational needs to progress well.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Leadership and management of the pre-school is generally good. Staff form a strong team and are aware of their roles and responsibilities. There is a committee that supports the staff. The committee encourages training and appraises staff development. The chairperson monitors the provision offered via feedback from parents and staff reports. Staff value the support of other professionals, using it to evaluate the provision for nursery education, but do not have systems in place at present to self-assess the setting's strengths and weaknesses. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents receive an information pack which outlines the curriculum. There is a parents' notice board and regular newsletters. Each year the pre-school holds an open evening. Parents are able to talk to staff and find out informally about children's progress. They do not have any opportunities to share what they know about their children's learning, or to

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What is being done well?

• Children's mathematical development is very good. Staff use mathematical language with the children constantly. They present children with activities that encourage their mathematical thinking and problem solving. • Staff interact well with the children, they question them skilfully and are interested in what they do and say. • Children have good opportunities to investigate different materials and to use programmable toys and resources to support their learning. • Children's imaginative play and development is fostered very well. Children enjoy role-play. Staff help children to make up imaginative scenarios and provide suitable resources to encourage their play.

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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?

• children's awareness of their surroundings, so that they learn to respect their toys and use them appropriately, and are encouraged to keep their pre-school playroom tidy • staff's use of the observations made on the children. Use the information gained from the observations to identify any weaknesses in the provision offered and to plan for children's individual learning needs, including those of children that learning more quickly • the partnership with parents, so that parents have planned opportunities to share what they know about their children's progress and to be involved in their children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the pre-school was set three key issues for improvement, they have made generally good progress in meeting these. The first was to develop planning to include what children will learn from their activities and to ensure that all aspects of basic provision are included in the programme, even if they are not related to a theme. The weekly planning is still based on a theme, but what children should learn from adult-led activities based around the theme are clearly shown in the planning, these are linked to each of the learning areas. Medium term plans show how all areas of learning are presented through the other daily activities. The second issue was to provide more opportunities for children to talk about past and present events in their lives; to explore living things and to make appropriate use of technology in knowledge and understanding of the world. At snack and circle times children talk to staff about their own lives, their families and events in their

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What has improved since the last inspection?

lives. Topic work is used to help children learn about their environment. Children have helped to plant some tubs outside the setting, but their learning about living things is still quite limited. Children have good opportunities to use programmable toys and information technology to support their learning. The third issue was to plan a programme of activities to ensure that children experience sound exploration and the imaginative use of music and dance. Children have a weekly session with musical instruments where they explore sounds and match sounds and rhythms to music. Music, movement and dance is part of the programme for children's physical development.

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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 enter pre-school happily and ready to learn. They are very confident. They concentrate well on their chosen activities and are learning to share and take turns. They understand what is right and wrong, and are learning that others have different needs and views. They have some opportunities to be independent. They can select and use their own resources, but have not learnt to look after the toys and to keep the setting tidy and safe. They need some help to follow pre-school rules.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children interact well with others and can speak clearly. They are able to express their ideas in words well. They enjoy stories and can retell or predict aspects of the story. Not all children can concentrate and listen yet. The setting has a good range of books but these are not arranged well to attract the children's attention. Many children can recognise their own names, some can write their names and other letters and words. They have opportunities to mark make freely in their play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good In their everyday activities children count confidently and recognise numbers. They solve simple mathematical problems and use mathematical language in their play. They describe shape. I was told the table I sat at was hexagonal. When playing with playdough, children weigh the dough, comparing its size and weight. They use construction toys, such as duplo, bricks or the train set, and games to problem solve. They sing number rhymes and songs that look at position such as the 'Hokey-Cokey'.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children have good opportunities to investigate different materials and objects and to use different materials to design and build with. In the water and sand tray children explore materials that float or sink. They use a good range of programmable resources, as well as the computer to support their learning. In topic work they learn about their own environment, but they are not learning well about the natural world. Children have some opportunities to learn about other's cultures and beliefs.

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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 The children are very confident climbers as they use the climbing frame freely each day. They have some opportunities to play outside and use bikes, slides and balls. They play ring games and take part in music and movement, helping them to learn a sense of space. Staff use the daily activities to help children be aware of the importance of staying healthy. Children use a wide range of tools such as scissors, glue sticks and pencils, and malleable materials with good control and co-ordination.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore colour, texture and form through different craft and paint activities. They have free access to interesting materials, but the paper provided for painting is quite small or is pre-cut which limits children's own creativity. They are very good at using their imaginations and enjoy using different areas of the setting, such as the climbing frame to create their own role-play scenarios. They sing songs from memory well and have regular opportunities to match sounds to music.

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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 children learn respect their toys and equipment and use them appropriately. Encourage children to keep the pre-school tidy so that they have a safe and attractive environment in which to learn • use the observations made on the children's progress in the daily planning, so that children are encouraged to move onto the next steps in their learning on an individual basis, and any gaps in the educational provision are identified. Ensure this includes planning for children who learn more quickly • provide parents with planned opportunities to share what they know about their children's learning with the setting and to be involved with their learning at home.

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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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