Portland Kindergarten Limited

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 07/01/2003 Inspector Name Gill Ogden

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SETTING DETAILS

Setting Name Portland Kindergarten Limited Setting Address 33 & 35 Tentercroft Street Lincoln Lincs LN5 7DB

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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

Portland Kindergarten was established in 1990. It is privately owned and runs from two, next door, converted houses in Lincoln city centre and serves people living and working in the local area. The kindergarten has sole use of one building and shared use of the first floor of the other which is only used for morning sessions for pre-school-age children. The enclosed outdoor play area serves both premises. The kindergarten is registered to care for 52 children between birth and five years. The children are organised in groups of under-2s, 2-3 years and 3-5 years in different rooms. Although the group provides full day care, children are funded between the hours of 9.10am. and 12.10pm. and 1.45pm and 4.45pm. In the 3-5 year group at the moment there are 14 three-year-olds and 3 four-year-olds of whom 7 three-year-olds and 3 four-year-olds receive funding. All the children speak English as their first language and none of the funded children have special educational

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Information about the setting

needs. Three regular, full- time staff work with the funded children and they all have appropriate qualifications. Support was received from a teacher through the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership after the last inspection.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Portland Kindergarten offers a nursery education where children can enjoy learning through a range of activities. Children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in all the areas. They make particularly good progress in personal, social and emotional development. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff relate well to the children, offering them constant encouragement and support to achieve. They are actively involved with the children throughout the session and pay particular attention to their behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of the early learning goals and are beginning to use planning and evaluation well. The management and leadership of the kindergarten is generally good. The owner is a strong leader and has high expectations of both staff and children. The owner and supervisor work well together and are aware of the strengths and weaker areas of the provision. The partnership with parents is

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How effective is the nursery education?

generally good. Parents are provided with appropriate information about the kindergarten including information on the curriculum. Some opportunities are missed to further encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning.

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What is being done well?

There is a commitment to improving the quality of care and educational provision. Children are happy, confident and behave well. They enjoy the learning opportunities offered to them. There is a strong emphasis on personal, social and emotional development. Good use is made of the local community and the city and children are developing a good understanding of differing cultures. Outdoor play and activities are given a high priority.

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What needs to be improved?

- staff's knowledge of the foundation stage in order to improve opportunities available to enable children to further develop mathematical and specifically calculating skills. - opportunities for children to freely access information and communication technology. - continued increasing of staff's knowledge of the foundation stage to improve their confidence in planning, monitoring and assessment.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Good progress has been made on the key issues from the last inspection. Staff are developing more confidence in planning, monitoring and evaluation although systems for these are not yet fully developed. Parents feel that they have good information and access to staff and records.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development. They behave well and understand the boundaries that have been set for them. They make friends and are developing an understanding of the community they live in. Children are developing their abilities to become independent learners.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy. They enjoy singing and joining in with stories and are developing writing skills through a variety of activities. They are confident to ask questions of staff and spend a lot of time in conversation with each other and staff.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in mathematical development. They talk about shapes, sizes and are developing a concept of quantity and capacity. However, children's understanding addition and subtraction is limited.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children's learning in this area is generally good. They enjoy exploring natural objects and are able to talk about what they are seeing and doing and help to take care of the group's pets. They are developing an understanding of their environment and the cultures and beliefs of the people. Children's skills with information and communication technology are not developed to their full potential.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in physical development. They play outdoors, go for walks or move to music indoors each day and they enjoy it very much. They have good manual dexterity when handling small pieces of equipment. They also understand the importance of hand washing.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. They use their imaginations in role play, art and craft activities. They are extending their musical knowledge and enjoy singing and moving to music.

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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

- increase staff's knowledge of the foundation stage and skills to offer more opportunities for children to develop their mathematical skills in general and in calculating skills in particular. - increase opportunities for children to freely access information and communication technology. - continue to increase staff's knowledge of the foundation stage to enable them to become more confident in planning, monitoring and assessment.

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