Meadowgate Academy

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 22/03/2004 Inspector Name Jean Ainsworth-Smith

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Hurley Pre-School Setting Address Hurley House Kempsford Road Kennington London SE11 4PB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Hurley Pre-School 1000974

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Hurley Pre-School Address Hurley House Kempsford Road London SE11 4PB

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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

Hurley Pre-school is a registered charity and is managed by a committee which is made up mainly of parent/carers. The pre-school operates from purpose built premises arranged over three floors in a block of flats, situated in a residential estate. The premises comprises of open plan play rooms, children's toilets and washing facilities, kitchen, office, staff facilities and an outdoor play area. There are currently 51 children aged from 2 to 5 years on roll. These include 26 funded 3 year olds and 7 funded 4 year olds. The setting currently supports a number of funded children who speak English as an additional language. There are no children with special educational needs. Children attend full time or on a sessional basis. The group is open 5 days per week for 50 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 09.00 to 11.30 and 13.30 to 16.00. Full day care is available from 09.00 to 16.00. Eight full time and four part time staff work with the children. Six have qualifications

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Information about the setting

in early years. Two staff are currently on training programmes. Hurley Pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership pre-school teacher and inclusion information officer. The group is located in Sure Start Area 6 and serves the local community.

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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?

Hurley Pre-School offers high quality provision, which helps children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is very good. The staff have a good knowledge of the early learning goals. They plan an interesting and appropriate range of activities to help children learn. There is a good range of equipment, which the staff use well to support children's progress in all areas of learning. The children behave well in response to the high expectations and support of the staff. Activities are well managed and many are differentiated according to the ages of the children. Although the quality of teaching is very good overall, staff sometimes miss opportunities to interact with children as they participate in physical play in the playground. Good methods of observation and recording are used to check and record the children's progress towards the early learning goals. The staff help children who

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How effective is the nursery education?

speak English as an additional language to join in the full range of activities and several of them are able to act as interpreters or translators if necessary. There is a special needs policy to ensure that all children have equal access to the curriculum, although this needs expanding to make it a more useful, workable document. Leadership and management are very good. The manager regularly monitors and evaluates the quality of the provision. There is a good staff team, who have a range of nursery qualifications. There is an effective key worker system in place and the staff meet weekly to discuss the children and to plan the curriculum. There is a strong link with the community. The partnership with parents and carers is very good and contributes to the children's progress towards the early learning goals. Parents are well informed about their children's learning. They know that they may regularly discuss their children's

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What is being done well?

• The children are happy to come to the pre-school; relationships between the staff and the children and their parents are good, which contributes to the children's learning. • The staff work together well as a team. They are well motivated and are well deployed to enable the children to learn. • The children enjoy listening to, and discussing, books and stories. There is a good selection of different books available for them and everything in the preschool is labelled to encourage them to understand the meaning of print. • There is a wide range of resources available to encourage the children's development in all areas of learning.

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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 • The children are given, and use, opportunities for spontaneous mathematics in the environment. They are keen to take advantage of opportunities to count and recognise numerals.

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What needs to be improved?

• the special education needs policy, to make it a more useful, workable document for the pre-school • further opportunities for staff to interact with children as they engage in physical play in the playground.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made very good progress since the last inspection. Through the use of parent-made and commercially produced story sacks, parents have become increasingly involved in their children's enthusiasm for, and use of, books. This initiative has progressed to producing songbooks, introducing an arts workshop and forming clubs for the children. These have all contributed to a very good parent/pre-school link.

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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 The children are happy to come to the pre-school and they relate to and interact well with the staff. Their behaviour is good and they are well mannered and polite. They are very independent and their concentration is good. They are able to take turns and to share. Staff encourage them to think about the difference between right and wrong, and the effect of their actions upon others.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good The children are very good at taking turns when speaking and they are encouraged to listen when others are speaking. Their vocabulary is extended well. They are encouraged to sound out words and to read labels, captions and books. They are encouraged to write for a variety of purposes. They enjoy books and stories.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children enjoy counting in many different contexts, clearly enjoying and benefiting from self-set and adult-directed challenges. They can recognise and name numerals. They work with shapes and use prepositions correctly to describe position. They use every opportunity for spontaneous mathematics in the environment.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good There are many opportunities for the children to make investigations first hand. The children are able to find out and talk about past and present events. There are resources available for them to design and make a variety of different items and they are able to use different forms of information and communication technology.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good There is a good range of large and small equipment, both inside and outside. This encourages the children to practise their large and small motor skills. The children are aware of the need for safety when using the equipment. They are also aware of the need for exercise and a healthy diet.

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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: Very Good There are good opportunities for the children's imaginations to be fostered. They become very involved in role play and other forms of imaginative play, often including the staff in their play. They like to paint, often mixing their own colours. They are able to sing different songs, as well as to play a range 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 improving the following: • expand the special education needs policy to make it a more useful, workable document for the pre-school • continue to develop opportunities to interact with children in the playground, in order to further enhance their physical play outside.

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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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