Hereward Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/11/2004 Inspector Name Catherine, Louise Sample

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name John McNeill Opportunity Centre Setting Address Odstock Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 8BG

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name John McNeill Opportunity Centre 2753567 1015731

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name John McNeill Opportunity Centre Address Odstock Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 8BG

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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

John McNeill Opportunity Centre opened in 1979. It operates from its own premises in Salisbury. There are three main play rooms and additional areas, including a gym and a room for parents. There is a fully enclosed outside play area. A maximum of 40 children may attend at any one time. The centre is open 5 days a week during term time from 09:30 to 12:00. There is an optional lunch club from 12:00 to 13:00. The centre also opens occasionally in the summer holidays. There are currently 55 children aged from birth to 5 years on roll. Of these 26 receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area including Dorset and Hampshire. The centre caters mainly for children with special needs. The centre employs 23 staff. 12 of the staff have relevant professional or early years qualifications. The centre receives support from education and health professionals and from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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?

John McNeill Opportunity Centre offers good quality nursery education which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. The staff have a good relationship with the children; asking them questions to make them think and giving them lots of praise. They manage the children's behaviour well. They reinforce the ground rules, give clear explanations of why behaviour is unacceptable and reward good behaviour with praise and encouragement. The provision for children with special needs is excellent. The staff have attended a variety of relevant training such as Makaton and the Picture Exchange Communication System and have experience in this field. They offer the children plenty of support and praise and enable them to take part in all activities. The planning covers most areas of learning, however, not enough activities are planned to support some aspects of Maths. The range of resources

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How effective is the nursery education?

that are freely available to the children is limited and,therefore, does not fully meet the needs of all the children. The leadership and management are generally good. There is a strong team spirit and staff work well together. They have daily briefings and ongoing discussions about the children and related issues. The centre is committed to improvement and the manager and the person in charge discuss areas for development. There is inconsistent evaluation of the nursery education which makes it difficult to monitor how effective it is. The partnership with parents is generally good. The parents are given good quality information about the centre and it's provision. They are encouraged to share what they know about their children and staff suggest ways in which they can support their learning at home. The parents have limited opportunties to see the records of their children's progress.

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What is being done well?

• The staff use effective teaching methods to help children with special needs to make progress. Staff have attended a variety of training such as Makaton and the Picture Exchange Communication System and have relevant experience. They offer the children 1:1 support where required and give them plenty of praise and encouragement. They enable the children to take part in all activities. All of the children with special needs have a detailed Individual Education Plan which is regularly reviewed and their progress is tracked on an ongoing basis. The centre has a close working relationship with other agencies involved in the care of the children. • The children have good opportunities to explore sounds and musical instruments. They have frequent opportunities to use musical instruments, regular music therapy and they sing daily. They have a wide repertoire of

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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 songs and enjoy joining in. Parents are offered the opportunity to attend specially arranged parent and child music sessions. • The children are encouraged to communicate in a variety of ways. All children are taught basic signing and several children use picture cards to communicate. Many older children are confident speakers who speak up in group situations and initiate conversations. All the children enjoy listening to stories and have frequent opportunities to look at books.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to explore a wide range of media and materials • the planning for practical activities to encourage an interest in number problems • the availability of resources.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

There has been generally good progress since the last inspection. The key issues at the last inspection were the positioning of displays to ensure that they were visible to the children and the labelling of displays to ensure that text was clear. The centre has plenty of large and colourful displays of the children's work that are clearly visible to the children. Most are displayed above the children's reach. A large frieze has been positioned at child height close to the door where children queue to go into the foyer so that they can see it very clearly. All displays are labelled with text that is clearly visible. Text is always written in black pen on white card to ensure that it stands out.

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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: Generally Good The children are generally curious and have a positive approach to new experiences. The older children display good levels of concentration. Most children separate confidently from their carers and have good relationships with the staff and other children. The children are effectively supported in dveloping appropriate patterns of behaviour. The children are learning to be independent but they are not consistently given the opportunity to develop their skills.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good The children are able to communicate in a variety of ways, including signing and picture cards, and are able to connect ideas and describe what they are doing. Many older children are confident speakers who speak up in group situations and initiate conversations. All the children enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. The older children are beginning to write recognisable letters and some can write their names but they have limited access to mark making materials.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The children use number names and number language in their play and willingly attempt to count in the correct order. Older children can confidently count up to 8. The children are interested in shapes and have many opportunities to learn about them. The older children can talk about why shapes are different. The planning does not offer sufficient practical activities that encourage the children to take an interest in number problems and basic calculation.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good The children have good opportunities to explore objects and living things and use construction activities daily. They also use a computer on a daily basis and have regular access to simple technology. They observe changes in growing plants and in the seasons. They are learning about the cultures and beliefs of others by finding out about festivals. The children have limited access to resources that reflect positive images of other cultures and beliefs.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The children move freely with pleasure and confidence. They are encouraged to move in a variety of ways and most have a good sense of space. The children show increasing control over a variety of large and small equipment which they use daily. They are learning about the importance of good hygiene practice and most are aware of their own needs. They have restricted opportunities to use tools, for example, scissors which may limit their progress.

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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 The children are learning about colours and textures and have opportunities to take part in a variety of planned art activities. They enjoy daily singing sessions and have a wide repertoire of songs. They have daily opportunities to use musical instruments and have regular music therapy. They enjoy using their imaginations in role play. The children have adult led opportunities to explore with their senses. They have limited opportunities to freely explore a wide range of media and materials.

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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 the opportunities and availability for children to freely explore a wide range of media and materials • develop planning to increase the frequency of practical activities to encourage an interest in number problems • increase the availability of resources to ensure that the needs of all the children are met.

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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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