Princes Risborough School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 05/02/2004 Inspector Name Jennifer Fisher

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Tower Pre-school Setting Address Orpington Baptist Church Station Road Orpington Kent BR6 0RZ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Tower Pre-school Address Orpington Baptist Church Station Road Orpington Kent BR6 0RZ

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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

Tower pre-school is run by a board of Trustees appointed by the church, this includes parents of children attending the group. The pre-school is situated in the church premises in Orpington, very close to the High Street. The premises comprises of: one large and one smaller hall with kitchen and toilet facilities. There is no outdoor play area. The group operate from 9:20 to 12:20, Monday to Friday during term-time only. A maximum of 32 children aged between 2.5 and 5 years attend from the local community. Presently there are 19 children aged 3&4 years on roll, the group supports children with special educational needs and children for whom English is an additional language. There is a team of 7 staff, 4/5 of whom work at every session, depending on the numbers of children present.

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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?

Tower pre-school offers good quality nursery education. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children are making very good progress in personal, social and emotional development as well as mathematical, creative and knowledge and understanding of the world. They make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy and physical development. Teaching is generally good and staff use their knowledge and skills to plan a broad-based curriculum that includes a range of interesting practical activities and experiences. The challenge set for children is generally good, teaching for four year olds is very good. Support for children with special needs and English as an additional language is very good and staff continue to develop this area. Staff show positive and skilful management of behaviour and demonstrate a consistent approach. There is a very good range of equipment to cover all areas of learning.

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How effective is the nursery education?

The assessment of children's learning is generally good. It matches the stepping stones and staff use observations to complete assessment records. However, there are some gaps in linking children's learning to planning. Leadership and management are very good, much of the success of the group is due to the strong and committed manager, who has a sound knowledge of the foundation stage and a commitment to providing quality care and education for children. Staff work well as a team and are committed to improving services provided for funded children. Most staff participate in planning, but some have yet to fully develop their role of evaluating practice and assessment. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are well informed about the policies and procedures of the pre-school. They are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Personal, social and emotional development is very good, children are confident, sociable and have caring relationships with each other and staff, this underpins their learning in many areas. • Children's mathematical development is very good. Children employ a range of mathematical strategies during their play, including comparison, estimation, adding and subtraction. • Staff take lots of opportunities to link sounds to letters as a result children learn to recognise their own names and letter sounds and they can often

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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 spell them. • Staff work well as a team to provide a broad range of interesting activities, they provide good role models and a harmonious learning environment. • Strong leadership provides a shared ethos of good early years principles, the manager ensures a continual improvement through commitment to staff development.

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What needs to be improved?

• sufficient physical challenge for more able children 3/4 year olds • the dependence on worksheets; more opportunities for free writing • staff use of evaluation overall in their ability to link children's learning to planning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made very good progress since the last inspection. At the previous inspection two points for consideration were identified.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Planning now takes place on a daily basis to ensure that children have a broad range of music and movement activities, the children recently explored and participated in a Chinese new year dance. Children are making very good progress in this area.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Opportunities for solving mathematical problems are consistently included in the programme and this has become an integral part of the curriculum, children are making very good progress in their mathematical development.

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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 personal, social and emotional development. They are well behaved and form good relationships with peers and adults. They are interested and involved in their play, which helps them to progress in many areas. They are developing confidence, independence and many have competent self-help skills.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy. Many are confident and fluent speakers and engage easily in conversation with each other and with adults. They develop their reading skills well and absorb themselves in books and stories. Staff make good use of opportunities to teach children to link sounds to letters. There is a slight overdependence on worksheets and this limits the opportunities for children to freely explore writing for a variety of purposes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children's progress in mathematical development is very good. There are many good opportunities for children to learn from a range of interesting activities and experiences, this helps children to have an interest in mathematical activities. Many children confidently count to ten and above. They are developing an understanding of adding and subtracting, shape and numbers.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children's progress in knowledge and understanding of the world is very good. There are opportunities for children to learn about the natural world and features of the environment. They learn about the lives of others and enjoy visits from professionals in the community. Children confidently use a range of technical equipment including the computer.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in physical development. They show good hand/eye co-ordination and skilfully use a range of small and large equipment. Good use of the PE session helps children to be active and they learn to recognise changes in their bodies. They learn about the importance of hygiene and know why they wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. The provision does not always provide sufficient challenge for older, more able children.

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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: Very Good Children make very good progress in creative development. They express their ideas freely through a range of imaginative and complex role play activities. Children use a good range of media to express themselves and communicate ideas and feelings through art, music, drama and song.

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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 provision for physical development to provide sufficient physical challenge for older, more able children. • Provide more opportunities to develop free writing skills. • Improve the use of evaluation to ensure planning is linked to children's learning.

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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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