Shephall Green Infant and Nursery School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 22/05/2003 Inspector Name Lilian Barbara Willcocks

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Widey Court Preschool Setting Address Widey Court ( off Trewithy Drive) Crownhill Plymouth Devon PL6 5UB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Widey court Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Widey court Pre-School Address Widey Court ( off Trewithy Drive) Crownhill Plymouth Devon PL6 5UB

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and 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 of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and 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

Widey Court Pre-School opened in 1984. It is run by a committee of parents. The group operates in a purpose built, single storey building, located in the grounds of Widey Court Primary School. The premises consist of an entrance hall and separate cloakroom, one large and one smaller playroom, a separate kitchen, toilets and an office. There is an outdoor play area at the rear of the building. The group provides sessional care for 26 children aged from 3 to under 5 years. Currently there are 65 children on roll. This includes 43 funded three-year-olds and 22 funded four-year-olds. Morning and afternoon sessions are available, Monday to Friday. The pre-school supports children with special needs. There are no children currently attending who speak English as an additional language. The majority of children come from the local community. There are nine staff who work with the children, all of whom have an early years' qualification. The supervisor and deputy both have a

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Information about the setting

level 3 qualification. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. It receives support from a mentor from the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. The pre-school holds the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership Kite Mark and is currently working towards accreditation with the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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How good is the Day Care?

Widey Court Pre-school provides good quality care for children. There is a consistent and well qualified staff team who work well together. Good staffing levels are maintained and there is a key worker scheme in place. The staff demonstrate a strong commitment to ongoing training opportunities. The purpose built premises provides a safe and secure environment for the children.

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How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 There is an excellent outdoor play area. Effective arrangements are in place for ensuring the safety of the children when they arrive and depart. The group provides a broad range of activities, which support the children’s progress towards the early learning goals. Staff actively promote equality of opportunity and all children are included in the activities. A wide range of resources is available to support the activities. There is a good partnership with parents and an effective key worker system in place. A range of information systems enable parents to be kept fully informed of events in the pre-school. All the necessary documentation is in place, which is required for the effective running of the pre-school.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the transitional inspection, the provider agreed to confirm arrival and departure times for staff and children, devise a policy for lost or uncollected children, ensure children have access to fresh drinking water, review the behaviour policy to include procedures for dealing with bullying and amend the complaints policy to include contact details for Ofsted. These actions have been satisfactorily completed.

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What is being done well?

• There is a consistent and well qualified staff team. (Standard 2) •• A broad range of activities are planned to promote the children's learning towards the early learning goals. (Standard 3) • Children have access to a varied range of resources. (Standard 5) • The premises provide a safe and secure environment. There is an excellent outdoor play facility. (Standard 4) • There parnership with parents is good and parents are regularly informed of events at the pre-school. (Standard 12)

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What needs to be improved?

• clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the committee in supporting the pre-school.(Standard 12)

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Outcome of the inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 12 ensure the committee members are clear about their roles and responsibilities in supporting the pre-schhol and monitoring the standard of care provided.

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Widey Court Pre-school provides a generally good standard of nursery education and children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Progress in the areas of mathematical, physical and creative development and knowledge and understanding of the world is very good. In personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy, children are making generally good progress. The strong and supportive staff team have a good knowledge of the early learning goals and plan an interesting and varied program of activities to promote children's learning. The key worker system is used effectively to meet individual needs, but recording of observations and assessment is not sufficiently detailed in order to identify extension activities to challenge more able and older children. There is generally good leadership and management of the pre-school with strong emphasis placed on teamwork and support, however the committee do not have an

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How effective is the nursery education?

effective role in monitoring the quality of the nursery education. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are appropriately informed of events and provided with all policies. Parents are happy with the liaison and quality of the provision. The manager is planning to extend the partnership with parents and encourage more participation in their children's learning through a parents’ day.

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What is being done well?

• Staff's clear understanding of the early learning goals, combined with secure and effective relationships, results in children enjoying activities, which engage and sustain their interests and efforts. • Children make very good use of the local environment. The staff use both the building and resources effectively to develop children's understanding of the world in which they live. • Children have a very good knowledge of number, shape and size, which is developed through many varied, practical activities. • Children have good control of their bodies, moving confidently and safely when climbing, dancing and playing. They use small tools competently and independently when writing, drawing and making things. • Children's imagination and creativity is stimulated and used to great effect when making things, enjoying music, dancing and representing ideas and feelings.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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What needs to be improved?

• Use of assessment and observation to inform planning in order to set challenges to extend more able children. • Information provided to parents about their child's learning and progress. • The role of the committee in developing and monitoring the educational provision for children's learning. • Opportunities for children to freely access reading books. • The organisation of the session to ensure children do not become distracted whilst waiting for activities to begin.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Improvement since the last inspection is generally good. There were three key issues, which have all been addressed. The pre-school has made positive changes to the planning to ensure this is now effective in all areas of learning. There has been good development for the promotion of equal opportunities in both general topic work and through some that are more specifically focused, such as the topic of 'Festivals'. The staff team have explored improvements to assessment procedures, but this is not effective enough to extend and challenge more able children.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Personal, social and emotional development is generally good. Children are confident and motivated. They are developing independence and good self-care skills. Children form kind and caring relationships with others in the nursery and understand the difference between right and wrong. Behaviour is generally good, but there are occasions when children become distracted where they are not engaged sufficiently by larger group activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Communication, language and literacy is generally good. Children speak confidently, listen to others respectfully and use reading and writing in a variety of interesting and meaningful ways. However, use of reading books is insufficiently encouraged whilst children wait for activities, or at group story time.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Mathematical development is very good. Children are able to say and use numbers confidently and are able to count reliably up to 10. They are starting to use numbers to solve problems and add and take away. Children are gaining a good understanding of shape, size, position and quantity, through lots of interesting, practical activities such as making cakes, weighing, sorting and matching toys.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Knowledge and understanding of the world is very good. Children confidently relate their news about things that have happened to them and their families. They have a good understanding of their own cultures and beliefs and those of others. Children have gained a very good knowledge of the world around them from the many interesting and different topics covered in the pre-school. Good use is made of information technology toys and equipment.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Physical development is very good. Excellent use is made of all the building, especially the outdoor area, to develop children's ability to move confidently and safely and use large and small equipment with good control. Children have a good awareness of health issues, which they learn about through topics and discussions in naturally occurring situation, such as safety in the sun and snack time.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Creative development is very good. Children are very well supported in their knowledge and use of music by the pre-school’s access to a music specialist, who visits regularly. Children use their imagination and creativity effectively when making music, dancing, designing and making models, and in role-play. They have access to a wide variety of materials to express ideas and experiences in pictures and models.

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and 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 observations and assessment of children's learning are effectively used in planning in order to set sufficient challenge for more able children; • involve parents in their children’s learning by providing more information about their child’s progress towards the early learning goals; • define the role and responsibility of the committee for monitoring and evaluating the quality of nursery education provision.

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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 Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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