Trinity College of Music

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 13/09/2004 Inspector Name Jan Healy

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Magic Box Pre-school Setting Address Wellow Village Hall Wellow Bath BA2 4ET

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Magic Box Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Magic Box Playgroup Address Wellow Village Hall Wellow Bath BA2 4ET

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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

Magic Box Playgroup opened in 1996. It operates from the village hall in Wellow, a village south of Bath, serving the local rural area with children attending from Wellow, Peasedown St John and nearby villages. There are currently 18 children from 3 to 4 years on roll. This includes 18 funded 3 year old children. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The group opens from 09.15 to 14.45 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays term time only. There are currently five staff working with the children, with more than half holding an early years qualification. to NVQ two and three. The group receives support from a teacher/mentor.

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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 Magic Box Playgroup the provision is acceptable and of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals and very good progress in personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy and physical development. Teaching is generally good. Children are confident and share a warm relationship with staff, who are familiar with the Foundation Stage of learning, and plan reasonably well to cover the six areas of learning. Children's progress and concerns are recorded and plans are written to ensure children's learning is progressed. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and involve children in ensuring rules are maintained. Children are provided new experiences and are taught in a variety of ways. Resources are used to explain and experience diverse cultures.Some activities are too adult directed. Leadership and management are generally good. Staff share a good relationship

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How effective is the nursery education?

providing a pleasant atmosphere. The leader is enthusiastic, enhancing the quality of staffs' work, who provide a stimulating learning environment. Children's learning is observed and is used to help staff plan their next stage of learning. The effectiveness of curriculum planning is generally good as there is little provision to ensure children have the opportunity to observe and recognise numerals and monitoring methods has not picked up the groups weaknesses. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents and staff share a successful relationship. A prospectus helps to provide parents with relevant information about the provision. They have access to information about the role parents can play within the group. They are kept informed about staff training and are invited to participate, and about their child's progress or concerns, and are requested to make a comment on their child's written reports. They are informed about the foundation stage of

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How effective is the nursery education?

learning and their expertise is utilised.

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What is being done well?

• Children show an avid interest in living things and are able to recognise that creatures have similarities and differences. • Children play eagerly and with confidence. • Children are well encouraged to recognise sounds in their environment and role-play with their peers.

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What needs to be improved?

• More independence for children to self select their toys and resources

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What needs to be improved?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • Opportunities to recognise numerals in their environment.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made since the last inspection. Strategies to allow children opportunities to use their high levels of confidence and competence to promote their initiative have been given consideration by staff, who were involved in devising an action plan. However, children's independence is still being curtailed by children being unable to be self sufficient and self select their chosen activity. Staff provide opportunities for children to explore colour and texture to extend their experiences, but children have limited access to natural materials. Staff now ensure that there is accurate use of upper-case and lower-case letters when labelling displays.

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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 enter the group with confidence, enthusiasm and can concentrate quietly. Some children take the lead during play and can speak in a familiar group. They respond well to story time, joining in with repetitive refrains, and can take turns during board games. Children are aware when the action of another is wrong and are beginning to understand that there are other cultural and secular beliefs.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children interact well with peers and are able to negotiate. They listen to instructions responding appropriately. They can memorise nursery rhymes and join in with action songs with clear and understandable speech. Children are beginning to use vocabulary well to describe shape and use nouns, verbs and adjectives to describe what they are doing. Children are able to say the initial sounds of letters with some able to spell their name.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children can count reliably up to ten everyday objects and recognise the spoken names of numbers. They are beginning to use phrases such as 'more than' and less than'. They engage in practical activities to 'add' and 'take away'. Children are able to compare patterns with some being able to sequence. They are able to describe position and can use a calculator, but lack opportunities to see numbers as labels in their environment.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children listen and respond to taped music and can recognise their favourite characters in television programmes and sounds in their environment. They show an interest in living things and are able to recognise that creatures have similarities and differences. Children are able to construct and adapt and change a range of objects. They are able to use programmable toys and use a computer without adult intervention. Children lack opportunities to experience playing with natural materials.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children play eagerly and with confidence. They engage in musical movement and can climb, slide, balance, skip and hop. They are confident when throwing, catching and kicking a ball. They have an awareness of their own and others' space and can stand in line and wait their turn. They are beginning to competantly use scissors, glue sticks and paint brushes , they are gaining knowledge about being healthy through the healthy eating topic.

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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: Generally Good Children recognise primary and some secondary colours and experiment with shape and space. They employ a range of material and are developing skills in using scissors and mark making tools. Children recognise sounds in their environment and role play with their peers. Children draw pictures about their experiences and move to rhythm and music. Some craft activities are rather more adult directed than necessary so children's freedom to express their imagination is limited.

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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 are more able to self select their toys and resources to increase their independence, especially in creative activities, including access to natural materials. • Ensure children have opportunities to recognise numerals in their environment.

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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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