The Wye Valley School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 31/03/2003 Inspector Name Marie Thompson

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SETTING DETAILS

Setting Name BRIGHT FUTURES PRE-SCHOOL GRP Setting Address KIMPTON VILLAGE HALL ANDOVER HAMPSHIRE SP11 8NU

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of BRIGHT FUTURES PRE-SCHOOL

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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

The Bright Futures Pre-School is located in Kimpton Village Hall, Kimpton, near Andover. The group is run by an elected committee and has membership to the Pre-School Learning Alliance. The Pre-School has been situated at these premises for two and a half years, previously located at Little Shoddesden, for twenty years. The Pre-School serves the needs of the families in the surrounding area. It is an area of little ethnic diversity and this is reflected in the intake of children. The Bright Futures Pre-School takes children between the ages of two years to under five years old. There are currently 27 children on the register. There is not a waiting list at present. Ten of the four years old and 6 of the three year olds receive funding. At the time of the inspection there were no children with special educational needs or for whom English is an additional language. The Bright Futures Pre-School opens

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Information about the setting

Monday 1:00 - 3:15 pm, Tuesday - Friday 9:15 - 12:00 pm, term time only. Four staff work across the ages; two of whom hold appropriate qualifications in childcare; the other two members of staff are currently completing qualifications in childcare. The Bright Futures Pre-School benefits from an enclosed play area and the opportunity to take walks in the local countryside.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals with particular strengths in personnel social & emotional development, and understanding of the world around them. Bright Futures Pre-school provides a good range of opportunities for children to play and learn. Children are confident in engaging in conversation and interact well with staff and each other and are active in their own learning. Quality of teaching is generally good. However the limited knowledge of the early learning goals by some staff and lack of detail in the planning results in missed opportunites to extend and support children's learning effectively using the activities provided. Staff make good use of opportunities for spontaneous learning, acting as good role models, offering children praise and encouragement and supporting them in their learning. There is a good system of assessment in place which reflects

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How effective is the nursery education?

children's progress on the stepping stones. Although there are currently no children with special needs there is a system in place for identification and support. Children behave well and are sensitively supported by staff. The pre-school has a good range of equipment to cover all aspects of learning however opportunities for large apparatus play are limited. Organisation of resources are good although the book corner does not attract or sustain the interest of the children. Leadership and management are generally good, the manager has developed an effective working team committed to ongoing staff development. The staff team are all new since the last inspection and only the manager has completed her NVQ III qualification , but all are committed in extending their learning in the foundation stage. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are supportive of the nursery and comments received show that parents appreciate the information exchanged on their

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What is being done well?

Children's personnel, social & emotional development is generally good, children speak clearly and confidently as a result of the support given by the staff who have an interest in the children's play and conversations. Children have an awareness of differences in others and show concern for each other. Staff make good use of the local environment and spontaneous learning opportunities for child lead activities to further the children's understanding of the world around them. Staff work well as a team, offering a range of activities and resources to support children's learning. The manager has implemented an assessment system which identifies children's progress on the stepping stones and allows staff to plan the next step in all six areas of learning.

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What needs to be improved?

planning to identify learning out-comes and organisation of staff to maximise the learning opportunities from the activities provided; the provision of more opportunities for children to use calculation, through practical activities and to extend children's understanding of text and rhyming sounds; the provision and planning of opportunities for children to benefit from gross motor physical activities; more opportunities to extend creative play in model building & design.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school have made progress on the improvements identified at the last inspection, they have reviewed planning and children are now given the opportunity to recognise words and letters by sound and are supported in writing their own name. Planning still lacks learning out-comes and opportunities to extend children’s learning are missed. Training for all staff on the Foundation Stage and early learning goals is in progress and this will help ensure staff are clear about what children will learn from activities and a system for recording children's progress and development is now in place and is comprehensive and reflects the stepping stones.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. Children speak confidently and clearly supported by the interest staff display in the children's play and conversations, have an awareness of differences in others and show concern for each other. They are developing independence and are actively involved in their learning.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress with younger children using emergent writing for a variety of purposes, more able children are writing their names and simple sentences supported by staff giving phonic clues. Children access books and can re-count familiar stories and join in familiar songs & rhymes. Staff miss opportunities to extend knowledge of rhyming words or meaning of text.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress with many children counting beyond 10 and staff make effective use of worksheets and work books to extend individual children's understanding. Children talk about and name shapes and use mathematical language to discribe position and size. There are less opportunities to support children's understanding of calculation and problem solving in everyday situations.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. The pre-school makes good use the local environment for the children to learn about growth and change. The children readily relate events significant in their lives and develop a sense of community from visits to the pre-school by "people who help us". The nursery introduce children to other cultures and religions by celebrating festivals and religious events from many cultures.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. Music and movement session are regularly planned and the children develop good fine manipulative skills using tools, pencils and scissors. The pre-school has limited access to large play apparatus and planned activites that develop gross motor skills.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. Children have the opportunity to explore colour shape and form with free painting at the easel, children also explore three dimensional shape with playdoh and select colours and textures for cutting & sticking activities. Children are involved in and develop imaginative play in the home corner, playing with the dolls and with the small world toys. There are limited opportunities for children to design and make models.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered appropriately: Y

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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

Evaluate and improve planning to include learning out-comes; Consolidate and extend children's understanding of calculation, meaning of text and rhyming words through practical and everyday experiences; To provide activities to extend physical and creative play opportunities;

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