Thorngumbald Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 23/06/2004 Inspector Name Marian Bvumburai

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Thorngumbald Pre-School Playgroup Setting Address Village Hall Main Road, Camerton East Riding of Yorkshire HU12 9NG

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Thorngumbald Pre-School Playgroup 519718

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Thorngumbald Pre-School Playgroup Address Village Hall Main Road Thorngumbald East Riding of Yorkshire HU12 9NR

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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

Sessional Day Care/ Voluntary Run by a committee

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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 children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development. In the areas of communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world, physical development and creative development children are making generally good progress. There are significant weaknesses in the area of mathematics. In some cases, the presentation of resources does not foster children's natural curiosity as learners or encourage them to make choices. The quality of teaching is generally good which ensures that children are making acceptable progress in all areas of learning. Staff plan a range of direct teaching activities for children but documented short term planning is unclear because staff seem unsure of how to record this. Staff plan their time so that most of it is spent working directly with the children. This has a positive impact on the children's feeling of security which helps them to

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How effective is the nursery education?

become confident learners. Staff continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of the foundation stage through use of the guidance and the group has sought help from the Local Authority. All four supervisors including the manager hold the required level III in Childcare qualification, and have the necessary experience. The partnership with parents and carers is good and staff show respect and understanding of the role of parent's in their child's learning. They discuss the child's progress with the parent, and parents can also access their child's progress record, referred to as 'profile'. Policies and procedures are displayed on the notice board, kept in a plastic folder for parents to look.

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What is being done well?

• Staff give priority to nurturing children's personal, social and emotional development • Children are happy, confident, able to form very good relationships with peers and adults, and show interest in learning new things • Staff develop good relationships with children encouraging them to behave well • Staff plan a range of adult directed activities • Relationships between staff and parents are good. • Opportunities are provided for parents to discuss their child's progress formally at open days in addition to regular verbal feedback. • Staff in supervisory roles hold the relevant childcare qualifications and

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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 necessary experience.

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What needs to be improved?

• Presentation of resources, for example, the book area is not inviting to children, there are no visual aids such as alphabet and number lines to encourage extended learning. • Opportunities to explore and investigate a range of equipment to learn how things work, for example, provision of more opportunities for children to use information technology • Systems for monitoring and providing support for all staff who are involved in short term planning, to ensure effective delivery of children's intended learning and keep a well recorded planning file.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The group have made acceptable progress and now make long-term plans for the educational programme to ensure that the educational programme is balanced over the year. However, short/medium term planning is poorly recorded. Children's progress is assessed more regularly and recorded in brief detail. Staff regularly speak with parents and encourage information sharing. Children are given more experience of music making and encouraged to experiment with sound.

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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 are confident and eager to take part in activities working well independently or part of a group. They respond positively to staff and peers, develop good social skills and behave well. For example, one 4 year old girl had made a pretend birthday cake for her friend who was due to become 4 years old. She asked the supervisor to introduce her to me so that she could tell me about it. They are secure, making them confident and eager to learn.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good They use language well for a variety of purposes and they can initiate conversations with persons other than those they know well. For example, they confidently spoke to me about the party they were arranging. However, children are not drawn to looking at books due to book corners being uninviting. Adults were observed to instruct children to sit down and look at books.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Staff provide limited opportunities for children to extend their learning in counting items and number recognition. For example, children were arranging a party and taking orders for buns, no resources were provided to encourage counting or sizes. More able children have too few spontaneous and planned activities to reinforce their mathematical ideas and there are limited opportunities for them to solve simple problems such has addition and subtraction.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to experiment and explore, for example, a four-year old child who was painting was observed mixing yellow and blue paint to get his desired colour. He said he wanted to paint with green. Children learn about their own traditions and those of others, fostering positive attitudes towards other cultures and lifestyles. More able children have insufficient opportunities to explore and investigate the use of information technology.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Staff plan a range of adult directed activities which provide children with some physical challenges. However, more able children cannot access a range of one handed resources to repeat and refine their fine motor skills on a daily basis. Children move confidently with control and agility but have too few opportunities to move to music or access outdoor play areas to develop their large motor skills.

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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: Generally Good Children are encouraged and provided with sufficient opportunities to see, feel, touch and taste, smell as well as experiment. They express their feelings through speech, painting, imaginative play and physical play, for example, dance and imitation of different animals. Children are provided with opportunities and a range of instruments to explore sound independently or collaboratively.

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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

• Improve the presentation of the book corners in both the three and four-year-old areas, making it inviting to children and, therefore, encouraging them to make an independent choice and develop their interest in looking at books, and promoting understanding that print carries meaning • Ensure staff use spontaneous every day activities to reinforce mathematical ideas and practical activities are used to promote understanding of numbers, counting and use of mathematical language •• Increase opportunities for children to observe, explore and investigate how things work with regard to information technology, and improve system for short term planning, recording and monitoring effectiveness.

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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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