Wheelock Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/11/2004 Inspector Name Susan, Helen Spencer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Wheelock Pre-School Setting Address Hancock Hall Crewe Road Sandbach Cheshire CW11 3RT

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Wheelock Pre-School Address Hancock Hall, Wheelock Methodist Church Crewe Road Sandbach Cheshire CW11 3RT

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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

Wheelock Pre-school has been based in the Methodist school rooms for some years. The pre-school is run by a parents' committee and has appointed a person in charge to manage the day-to-day running of the pre-school. There are 20 places, with five sessions in the mornings, 09:15 - 11:45, and three on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons 13:00 - 15:30 depending on demand. The group has exclusive use of two activity rooms and is also able to use the large hall and kitchen and toilet areas. There is a stable group of six staff, five of whom hold relevant child care qualifications and the sixth is undertaking training. There is also a relief staff member who is able to cover for emergencies or sickness who has recently started a training course. There are 38 children on roll with 23 funded three year olds and no funded four year olds. The pre-school staff have experience in caring for children with special needs

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Information about the setting

and for whom English is an additional language. The pre-school staff receive support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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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?

Wheelock Pre-School offers high quality nursery education. Children make very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff have a secure understanding of all areas of children's learning. They are enthusiastic and work well together as a team to produce interesting and varied activities. They make good use of a broad range of child accessible resources. Staff's interactions with children are very effective and their warm relationships with children promote well the children's confidence, independence and social skills. Staff have high expectations of behaviour, and are good role models, using praise and encouragement effectively. Plans based on previous learning ensure children are offered experiences in all areas of learning and make clear what they are expected to learn. Assessments are completed, although they could be more closely related to the early learning goals.

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How effective is the nursery education?

The leadership and management are very good. Staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities and work well together to create a relaxed, happy learning environment. Monitoring and evaluation is an ongoing process. A strong commitment to staff training and development enables ongoing improvements, and all staff are clearly committed to the continual improvement of the care and education of funded children and the further development of the provision. Partnership with parents and carers is very good. Parents are well informed about the pre-school's provision, how it is organised and the learning opportunities provided for their children. Staff are able and willing to share information with parents on their children's progress, and parents on request can access their child's development records, although a regular programmed feedback has not been established. Parents are encouraged to join the pre-school's committee, and all are

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How effective is the nursery education?

invited to share in the pre-school's activities.

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What is being done well?

• Children are happy, confident learners; they form good relationships with each other and adults. They work harmoniously together, take turns, share and are considerate to each other. • Children have a good well-developed vocabulary, which is, for example, used effectively during their role play. They enjoy books and love stories, maintaining attention at story time, and often anticipating what will happen next, while also responding intelligently to questions. • Lots of practical activities develop well the children's counting skills and their ability to solve simple problems. • Children enjoy discussing their environment. They gleefully explore colour and texture, alongside their use of and manipulation of tools and equipment.

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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 All energetically engage in physical activities, developing well their co-ordination and spatial awareness. • Staff have a secure knowledge of the areas of learning and a clear understanding of how children learn. They work well as a team and complement each other, giving high priority to nurturing children's social development, while ensuring the children's very good behaviour.

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What needs to be improved?

• the linkage of assessments to the early learning goals and the sharing of this more regularly with parents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the pre-school has made very good progress in responding to the key issues identified. The first key issue focused on improving the information given to parents. The pre-school now has a helpful prospectus, which explains the routines, practices and the six areas of learning. The weekly planning is now displayed for all parents. The pre-school was also asked to build parents' contributions concerning children's attainment and progress into their assessment records. Having introduced a key-worker system, parents are now encouraged to talk to staff about their child's development. The third key issue was to ensure the assessment system was manageable and used to inform future planning. Key workers all now meet regularly to discuss progress and use this information to inform the ongoing planning.

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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 happy and confident. They are interested in the activities, show excitement and are motivated to learn. They enjoy their independent play, and also respond warmly and positively to time spent with adults on individual tasks. Their behaviour is of a high standard. Children can concentrate, are quiet when they need to be, understand the importance of listening, but actively contribute during discussions at group time.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are competent communicators with good vocabularies. They can confidently talk within groups, in response to questions from staff, and to negotiate with peers during play. Children love stories, know how books 'work', and that print carries meaning. They are developing an understanding of the letter sounds, for example, those that make up their names. Children are good mark makers, while some are starting to write their own names.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children can accurately count and recognise numbers up to five, and many to ten and beyond. They meaningfully use these skills, for example at snack times when counting the cups and breadsticks. They are clearly developing their concept of more or less, and are able to solve simple problems. Children recognise shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles, and use size and positional language confidently and appropriately, while many are able to sort items by size, shape and colour.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Through planned activities and conversations with adults and visitors, children are developing a good knowledge of the world they live in. They are aware of weather changes and their impact on the environment, especially as winter approaches. Children talk freely about significant events both in the pre-school and at home and are able to differentiate between past and present. They enjoy using technological toys, and many exhibit good design and making skills using a wide range of resources.

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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: Very Good Children show increasing dexterity in the use of small tools and equipment as they manipulate dough, cut with scissors, draw with pencils and crayons and use paint. They show a growing sense of spatial awareness and control, and energetically use a range of wheeled vehicles. They enjoy the climbing frame and take great delight in throwing and catching balls. Children move spontaneously and confidently as they copy actions to songs and rhymes.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children freely express their ideas using a wide range of media and materials. They know their colours well, correctly identifying the colours of a rainbow, and gleefully note changes when they mix two colours together. They give full flight to their imaginations during role play, for example, as doctors tending the dolls and when using the mobile telephones. They enjoy joining in songs and rhymes and delight in exploring sounds and rhythms using a variety 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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to linking assessments more closely to the early learning goals and then sharing them more regularly with parents.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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

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