Bedford Infant School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/03/2004 Inspector Name Jane Wakelen

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Madginford Pre-School Setting Address Madginford Hall Egremont Road, Bearsted Maidstone Kent ME15 8LH

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Madginford Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Madginford Pre-School Address Madginford Hall Egremont Road, Bearsted Maidstone Kent ME15 8LH

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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

Madginford Pre-school was registered in 1985. It operates from the village hall, with use of an additional small hall, kitchen, cloakroom and outdoor area in a residential area of Maidstone. It is adjacent to the local library and primary school with a parade of shops within walking distance. There are currently 37 children aged from two to five years on roll. This includes 23 funded three and four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports one child with special needs and one child with English as an additional language. The group opens five mornings a week during school term time only. Sessions are from 09:00 to 12:00. There are eight staff working with the children. At least half the staff have an early years qualification to NVQ level 2 or 3. Two staff are working towards obtaining their NVQ level 2 qualification . The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and

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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?

Provision is acceptable and of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the Early Learning Goals. They make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development. The quality of teaching is generally good. The staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and stepping stones and use this knowledge to plan children's next steps from regular assessments. Staff record assessments under the six areas of learning, which is then used to inform the planning. However, planning does not reflect all activities on offer to the children or show how adults will differentiate the activity, to provide sufficient challenge, particularly in aspects of literacy and mathematics. Opportunities are missed to extend children's language and knowledge through ineffective questioning. Staff work well as a team, providing an excellent range of activities, although not always extending this to outdoors.

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How effective is the nursery education?

The leadership and management of the pre-school is generally good. The supervisor works alongside the committee to ensure an effective partnership, keeping them informed about events in the nursery. The supervisor and deputy have been particularly effective in developing a committed staff team who show motivation and enthusiasm in their roles. All staff are encouraged to attend training to update their skills and knowledge. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are encouraged to join the committee and become involved with the pre-school on a rota basis, helping out during the sessions. Parents are kept regularly informed about their child's progress through the keyworker and assessment records. Parents receive a newsletter informing them about forthcoming events and invited to offer their skills or knowledge to support the topic work in the pre-school.

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What is being done well?

• Relationships between staff, children and their parents is good. These help children become confident, independent learners, with high self esteem. • Children are motivated to learn which is encouraged by adults providing appropriate resources, to support and extend their learning. • Children are offered an excellent range of activities, promoting the six areas of learning. • Staff have a good knowledge of the early learning goals which is reflected in the planning and assessment records.

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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 • children's use of number and letters, to be able to name letters and numbers and opportunities to form both correctly • the use of recyclable materials to construct, build and assemble and make comparisons between two objects, looking at similarities and differences • the planning to reflect all activities that are offered to the children, how they can be differentiated, with staff using effective questioning to extend their vocabulary.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

There were three key issues arising from the previous inspection. All three issues have been addressed, although one remains part of the key issue from this inspection. Staff were requested to monitor children's progress in activities, ensuring they cover all areas, giving particular attention to activities to improve children's ability to recognize letters by shape and sound. They were to assess children's progress towards all six areas of learning and plan the next steps. Staff now record children's progress into the foundation stage booklet, under the six areas of learning. They then use this assessment to plan the child's next steps in their development. These next steps are shown to parents on a termly basis. Letterland has been adopted, after consultation with the local school, to improve children's letter and sound recognition. The third issue was to ensure all staff had a secure understanding of the Code of

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Practice 1994 on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs. One staff member has now completed all three modules of the Senco training and has filtered this to the other staff members. They have all seen and read the documentation and have an understanding about identifying children with special educational needs. A new policy and procedures have been written to ensure correct procedures are implemented.

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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 make very good progress in this area. They form good relationships with staff and their peer group, helping to raise their self esteem. They are beginning to develop an understanding about others feelings through group work and stories. Children show interest and excitement during child-initiated play and share their observations and experiences with friends in small and large groups.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. They listen and respond to stories, showing good concentration and are beginning to listen to sounds of words and choose words which rhyme. However, they are not sufficiently encouraged to notice print, or the sounds of letters. Children are beginning to use writing for a purpose, such as lists in the role play area, but are not encouraged to form letters correctly, for example when writing their name. Children are confident communicators.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. They count up to ten using number rhymes to reinforce sequencing. Children are able to name 2D shapes, colours and order shape by size. Children are beginning to recognize numbers, but are given little opportunity to understand the concept of quantity. Children count during routine activities such as snack time, and look at 'one more' than. The potential to use 3D shapes and make comparisons is not sufficiently exploited.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. They learn about the natural world, using magnifying glasses to explore and make observations. They learn about other's beliefs and festivals through books, practical activities and topic work. Children use rice, sand and water to develop an understanding of their properties using tools, toys and utensils for different purposes. Children have limited opportunities to construct and assemble using 3D objects and recyclable materials.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. Children use a variety of large equipment, such as stilts, bikes and a parachute to learn skills in balance, spatial awareness and co-ordination. They are able to travel through, over and under obstacles learning how to control their bodies. Children develop their fine motor skills using resources such as scissors, pens, and threading beads, together with tools for the dough, such as cutters and rolling pins.

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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 make generally good progress in this area. Children use their imagination in the role play area, dressing up, having picnics and playing detectives. They listen to pre-taped stories and act out the story using their imagination. They have regular opportunities to use a variety of collage materials to create an end product, use a variety of equipment such as glue and staplers. Children enjoy using musical instruments, but the quality of learning depends on the adult interaction.

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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

• increase children's awareness of print, the sounds of letters and words and the opportunities to write and form letters. Including opportunities to access a number line at all times and to write numbers and match objects to the number to understand quantity • improve the use of resources to enable children to construct, build and compare using 2D and 3D objects, including recyclable materials, observing differences and similarities • improve the planning to reflect all activities that are offered to the children, how activities are differentiated and ensure staff use effective questioning to promote children's language and knowledge.

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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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