Rocking Horse Nursery (Southport) Limited

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 06/01/2005 Inspector Name Susan, Helen Spencer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Rocking Horse Nursery Setting Address 35 Norwood Avenue Southport PR9 7EQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Rocking Horse Nursery (Southport) Limited 4528589

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rocking Horse Nursery (Southport) Limited Address Rocking Horse Nursery 35 Norwood Avenue Southport Merseyside PR9 7EQ

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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

Rocking Horse Day Nursery opened in 1988 and was registered to the present owners in 2003. It operates from the ground floor of a detached property close to the centre of Southport. Outdoors, children have access to an enclosed garden with a range of climbing equipment. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday from 8.00am until 6.00pm all year round. The nursery serves the local area, with most children progressing to three nearby schools. There are 46 children on roll aged from three months to five years. This includes six funded four-year-olds and seven funded three-year-olds. Funded children are grouped together with one member of staff being responsible for them. Eight funded children attend at any one time. Two funded children attend full time, with the others attending for two or three days a week. There are no funded children who have English as an additional language.The nursery supports children with special educational needs. Nine staff

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Information about the setting

work in the nursery overall and they are all qualififed to NVQ level III. In addition, students undertaking childcare courses train in the nursery and staff receive support from the local early years partnership.

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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?

The quality of nursery education provided by Rocking Horse Nursery is effective in enabling children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. In personal, social and emotional development, communication language and literacy and physical development children's progress is very good. The quality of teaching is generally good, with staff having a good knowledge of the early learning goals and organising their planning and assessment procedures around them. Plans indicate how staff will try to meet the needs of all children in the group, providing appropriate support and challenge. However, information from assessment is not used to plan activities that build on what children know and can do. Activities during the transition time after lunch are not effective in meeting children's needs. Children with special educational needs are well supported and included in all activities. Good relationships are evident throughout the nursery and

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How effective is the nursery education?

children are well behaved. The leadership and management of the setting is generally good. Senior staff act as good role models and staff display enthusiasm and commitment. Staff appraisals help to identify training needs and staff access training, putting the ideas gained into practice. The nursery has recently completed the National Day Nursery Quality Assurance system, which has involved them in monitoring and evaluating all aspects of provision. There is a development plan in place that outlines how the setting will develop over the next year and staff use this to set targets to make them more effective. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Staff provide a wide range of information about the setting and children's learning and there are many valuable opportunities for them to be involved. However, although information is often shared informally, children's assessment records are not shared frequently and

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How effective is the nursery education?

information from parents is not used in completing these records.

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What is being done well?

• Children's personal, social and emotional development is well promoted, producing happy confident children. This supports their learning well. • Children are confident communicators. They enjoy rhymes and stories and this fosters an interest in books and recognising print. • Children show good use of imagination as they make up their own stories. They understand how stories are structured. • There is a good range of activities and resources to effectively promote children's physical development. • Good relationships between staff, children and parents help to support

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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's learning well. • Staff know children well and endeavour to meet their individual needs. • Children with special educational needs are well supported. • Staff act as good role models and they display commitment and enthusiasm.

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What needs to be improved?

• the organisation and monitoring of the transition time after lunch, to make if more effective in meeting children's needs • the use of information from assessment to inform the planning of activities • the frequency with which children's progress assessment records are shared with parents. and the use of information from parents in completing these records • the emphasis on developing children's understanding of addition and subtraction through practical activities • the provision of resources to support model making and children's use of technology • the provision for role play, to support learning effectively.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Progress in tackling the key issues identified from the last inspection is generally good. There is now greater provision of resources for helping children to learn about other cultures and disability. Staff have used materials from training days to implement a system for auditing play materials to ensure that are all of good quality. They have also assessed how effective the learning environment is in supporting children's learning. However, the transition time after lunch is still not effective in meeting children's needs.

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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 display interest in activities and they are happy and well behaved. They make choices about what they want to do and they concentrate and persevere at tasks. There are good relationships throughout the nursery and this supports learning well. Children's confidence is effectively promoted as they are given appropriate praise and encouragement, and they take pride in their completed work. They cooperate well, sharing and taking turns during games and activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are confident when expressing their views and ideas. They link past and present experiences as they talk about their holidays. They ask questions and enjoy learning new words. They love stories and rhymes and this fosters their interest in books and print around them. Both planned activities and routines provide good opportunities for children to recognise their names and other familiar words. They write their names on their work and their captions are on display around the room.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have good opportunities to recognise numbers. They count confidently to 10 and beyond. They use mathematics when they encounter problems during practical activities, for example, when they are laying the table for lunch. Creative work provides a sound introduction to pattern and shape. They measure as they record their height and weigh baking ingredients. However, there is too little emphasis on children gaining an understanding of addition and subtraction through practical activities.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children have valuable opportunities to explore and investigate natural materials. Visits locally help them to recognise features in their environment, and visitors identify roles of adults in the community. There are many good opportunities for children to learn about their own and other's cultures. Few resources are provided for model making and there is little opportunity for children to use technology in supporting their learning at present, although this is planned.

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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 move confidently around the nursery, both indoors and out. There are very good opportunities for them to climb, balance and develop control. Children's skills are developed as they learn to throw, catch and balance. They have valuable opportunities to learn about health and bodily awareness, through topic work and discussions. Children display dexterity as they use tools, construction toys and cutlery.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have been introduced to a range of creative techniques. They display good use of imagination as they make up their own stories. There are valuable opportunities for children to sing, listen and respond to music, and they explore sounds related to the weather. Staff provide many sensory experiences to promote children's learning effectively. Role play is available but is not extended to exploit all the possible learning opportunities.

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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

• reorganise and then monitor the transition time after lunch to ensure that it is effective in meeting children's needs • use information from assessment to inform planning to enable children to build on what they know and can do • share children's assessment records with parents more frequently and use information that parents share about their children's learning to contribute to those records • place greater emphasis on children's understanding of addition and subtraction through practical activities.

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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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