Focus School - Cambridge Campus

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/03/2005 Inspector Name Jan Leo

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Minster Lovell Playgroup Setting Address St Kenelms School Grounds Wenrisc Drive Minster Lovell, Witney Oxfordshire OX29 0SP

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Minster Lovell Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Minster Lovell Playgroup Address Wenrisc Drive Minster Lovell Witney Oxfordshire OX29 0SP

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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

Minster Lovell Playgroup opened in the 1970s. It operates from a portacabin within the grounds of St Kenelms Primary School in the village of Minster Lovell, which is approximately 5 miles from Witney and 15 miles from Oxford. The playgroup serves the local area and surrounding villages. There are currently 22 children from 2 to 5 years on roll, of whom 12 are in receipt of nursery education funding. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs but there are none who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five mornings a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09:00 until 12:00. Four members of staff are employed to work with the children and there is a daily parent helper. The staff are suitably qualified, experienced, or are undertaking early years training.

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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?

Minster Lovell Playgroup provides good quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development, mathematical development and knowledge of the wider world extremely well, and children make very good progress in these areas. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff work well as a team to settle and support all children and they praise and encourage raising children's self esteem. They value children's work and share achievements with the group to develop enthusiasm, and they link learning across the curriculum to make it relevant and reinforce understanding. Staff plan an interesting range of activities but retain some flexibility to accommodate changing circumstances. They are reviewing procedures for monitoring children's progress but do not currently challenge the more able

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How effective is the nursery education?

children fully. The leadership and management are generally good. Staff feel well supported and their training and development needs are met appropriately. New staff are inducted effectively to ensure consistency for the children and new committee members are welcomed to bring in new ideas. Committee and staff meet regularly to identify and address problems and areas for improvement, but they have no formal procedures in place to monitor the effectiveness of the provision and review practice regularly. The partnership with parents and carers is very good. Parents and carers find staff easy to talk to and they receive clear information about the group, its aims and the curriculum. They have opportunities to join the helper rota to get first hand knowledge of what children do and how they learn, and they receive information on how to continue learning at home. Informal systems exist for sharing information,

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How effective is the nursery education?

and staff are introducing formal procedures to record progress.

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What is being done well?

• Staff work very well as a team to support children, develop their confidence and self-esteem, and make sure they are enthusiastic about learning. The children eagerly move from one activity to another, showing interest in what others are doing, and contributing to play as equals. • Parents and carer contribution is valued highly. Staff welcome helpers and supply information on all aspects of the provision to ensure they know how to get involved in the activities and develop children's learning. Staff offer opportunities for parents and carers to train with them to ensure a consistent approach to learning. • Recruitment and induction procedures are well thought out and implemented. New staff undertake a trial with the children and their skills and qualifications

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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 are assessed to ensure they complement those of existing staff. The holiday period is utilised to allow sufficient time for familiarisation with policies and procedures, and current staff are reorganised to provide support and ensure consistency for the children. • The children are very sociable and confident. They choose what to do, select resources for themselves and mix well with all the other children, saying they have no special friends because 'they are all my friends'. • Children's mathematical knowledge and understanding is developing rapidly. Children enjoy using numbers and correctly recognise, match, and order numbers with little or no assistance. Some can easily identify when numbers are out of sequence and know which is missing if one is taken away. • Children show interest in everything around them. They investigate which car

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What is being done well?

speeds faster, compare and contrast animal characteristics and discover more about the natural world and other cultures.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of resources for children to choose from and learn the best tool for the job, to develop safety and correct handling of equipment, and opportunities for children to practice skills • the systems for monitoring children's progress to ensure sufficient challenge, the effectiveness of the provision, and for reviewing procedures • the opportunities for children to routinely mark or name their own work • creative freedom to enable children's individuality to blossom • behaviour management, to ensure strategies are followed through.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The playgroup was asked to improve the range of large equipment to support children's physical development, and to increase staffs familiarity with procedures to identify and address special needs. The group has now has a good range of equipment for pushing, riding on, jumping, climbing and balancing, and the staff ensure children have regular opportunities to use the equipment either indoors or out, depending on the weather. Children make good use of this equipment playing alone or with friends. The person in charge attended special needs training but has subsequently left the group. Her newly appointed replacement is taking up the post in April 2005. She has already completed part of the special needs training, and is planning to complete the course. Meanwhile, the staff have obtained one to one support for children with special needs and they work closely with the local special needs advisor and health

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What has improved since the last inspection?

professionals to develop suitable learning programmes and strategies which are very effective in including and developing children with special needs.

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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 show interest, enthusiasm, and perseverance, and eagerly participate in activities, exploring some aspects to find out more. They express their feelings confidently and are beginning to stand up for themselves when things appear unfair. They share ideas and interests with different groups of friends, showing concern for younger children and taking turns with resources. Children freely choose what to do and locate resources by themselves to develop their play ideas.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children and staff communicate freely using gestures, language and some signing to ensure all are included. Children follow instructions methodically to progress their own activities and to help others. They are beginning to recognise their names and are developing an understanding of the link between sounds and letters. Children enjoy mark making and some form recognisable letters correctly, but they are not routinely encouraged to mark or name their work.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have numerous opportunities to count and practice number operations throughout the day. They show interest in numbers and have a good understanding of mathematical concepts, using them freely in play to compare the shape of tracks, size of trains and number of carriages. Some children recognise numerals and can order them correctly from 1 to 10. Staff develop addition through practical activities and children enthusiastically join in and want more.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children participate eagerly in everything around them to learn more about the local environment and wider world. They confidently construct train tracks, puzzles and craft work, sustaining concentration to achieve the desired result. They use the computer, and other technological equipment, at will and competently navigate through programs following instructions and helping others. They talk freely about their home life and know what follows in the routine.

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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 move well both indoors and out to shuffle, climb, run, balance, crouch and cycle, some managing to go forwards and backwards. Children negotiate space to prevent collisions and avoid invading other people's space. They have regular access to a range of large equipment, which provides challenges at various levels, and they competently manipulate equipment to develop fine motor movements when completing pre-set tasks. Staff do not routinely show children how to use equipment correctly.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have daily opportunities to draw and paint to create individual art work to their own designs, but have little or no creative freedom when completing pre-set tasks. Children cooperate to perform impromptu musical recitals, keeping rhythm with instruments and singing along tunefully. They develop their own games on equal terms and play with friends for extended periods calling on their own experiences to extend ideas. Children express moods and opinions clearly.

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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 use of resources to develop children's skills, extend challenges for the more able children, and increase opportunities for children to develop their creative flair • develop systems for monitoring children's progress, the effectiveness of the provision and for reviewing procedures.

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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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