Fareacres Pre-School & Day Nursery - South Woodford

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 20/02/2004 Inspector Name Jennifer Liverpool

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Fareacres Day Nursery Setting Address 1 Chelmsford Road South Woodford London E18 2PW

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Fareacres Pre-School Day Nusery Address 1 Chelmsford Road South Woodford London E18 2PW

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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

Fareacres Pre-school opened in 1991, and has been under new ownership since 2003. It operates from five base rooms in a converted house in a mainly residential area. The property is in close proximity to transport facilities, schools and shops. The pre-school serves the local area. There are currently thirty five children from three months to four years on roll. This includes four funded three-year-olds and one four-year-old. Children attend for a variety of sessions. None of the children attending at present has been identified with special educational needs. All children speak English as their first language. The group opens five days a week all year round. Sessions are from 08:00 am until 18:30 pm. Twelve part/full time staff work with the children. Over half the staff team have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. One staff member is currently working towards an NVQ level 3. A specialist drama teacher attends weekly and organises

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Information about the setting

drama classes for the children. The setting receives support from a mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP). The pre-school provides a school drop off and collection service for the children attending local schools.

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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?

Children are making generally good progress through the stepping stones towards the early learning goals. They are confident in their surroundings and they are keen to try out a range of activities. Children are forming good relationships with each other, and they relate well with staff. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of most areas of learning, though lack confidence particularly in mathematics and in teaching children writing skills. Staff effectively promote personal, social and emotional development through being positive role models, giving children praise and encouragement and planning a range of worthwhile activities that encourages children to co-operate with each other. Relationships between staff and children are excellent and they offer good support, though at times staff are not effectively deployed to fully support children's own initiated play.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Written assessments are carried out regularly and are used to inform planning. Leadership and management is generally good. The management team and staff work well together and they are supportive of each other. Staff regularly undertake training to update their knowledge and skills. On occasions the management deployment of staff does not always meet the needs of children effectively. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Staff provide valuable information about the provision and curriculum. Staff value parents and carers assistance on outings, and their support in fundraising events. Staff tell parents and carers about their children's progress in general terms, but their records are not always shared on a regular basis.

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What is being done well?

• Children are happy to attend and are keen to learn. • Staff treat children with warmth and respect and they have excellent relationships with them. • Staff effectively promote personal, social and emotional development by acting as positive role models, using praise and encouragement, and giving clear explanations to promote positive behaviour. • Effective use of regular visits within the curriculum give children good opportunities to learn about their local area.

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What needs to be improved?

• the programme for communication, language and literacy to provide more opportunities for more able children to practice writing their names;

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What needs to be improved?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • the programme for mathematical development to ensure older children are given opportunities to calculate and use their mathematical ideas to solve problems writing planned activities and daily routines; • the programme for knowledge and understanding of the world through ensuring that regular activities are provided to enable children to explore and investigate how and why things work.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school has made generally good progress in addressing the key issues from the last inspection. Staff have reviewed planning and assessments, which includes all of the six areas of learning, methods for targeting groups of children, and it is used to inform future curriculum plans. Rooms are now organised for groups of children according to age and abilities to ensure that suitable activities are beneficial to their learning. The provision for out door play equipment has been increased and children are now gaining confidence in using a range of outdoor equipment on a daily basis.

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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 making very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. They are keen to try out new activities and they concentrate for a period of time on their self chosen activities. Children cooperate well together as they participate in activities, and they have good friendships with each other. Independence skills are well promoted and children are developing good self help skills. Staff give praise and clear explanations, which promote positive behaviour.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress in their communication, language and literacy. They are encouraged to talk about their own experiences at group times situations. Staff use good questioning techniques and children are responsive. A good range of books are available and children demonstrate good book handling skills. The range of writing materials are widely accessible, though less emphasis is given on helping older children to practice writing their own names.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children are making significantly weak progress in their mathematical development because of the quality of teaching. Staff incorporate counting skills in other activities such as art and crafts, and children can reliably count up to 10. Planned activities enable children to develop an awareness of mathematical patterns. At times staff do not always maximise opportunities to develop children's mathematical understanding, and some aspects of mathematics are not well covered in plans.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Children are learning about the common features of their environment through regular visits as seen in plans, and they find out about living creatures as they hunt for bugs outdoors. They explore the use of water through suitable activities, and they experience model making with commercial products. Computers are recently included in the programme. Too few opportunities for investigation seen in plans.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making generally good progress in their physical development. The use of outdoors is now a daily feature, though not always seen in plans. Children are showing good control and agility as they run freely outdoors, and they use a varied range of equipment and apparatus that challenges their abilities. Children handle a good range of small equipment appropriately and competently. They show increasing confidence as they fit complex construction pieces and handle scissors.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are making very good progress in their creative development. They are developing good painting techniques from a range of suitable activities on offer. Children use their imagination freely during role play and they invent their own games and situations when playing in the home area. They experience handling different textures when using malleable materials, though less emphasis is placed on helping children to experience a variety of responses from what they see, taste and smell.

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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

• provide more opportunities for more able children to practice writing their names using correct upper and lower case letters; • provide regular opportunities for older children to calculate and use mathematical ideas to solve problems within planned activities and daily routines; • enhance the programme for knowledge and understanding of the world through planning activities that enable children to explore and investigate how and why thing happen at first hand experiences.

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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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