St Matthias and Dr Bell's CofE VA Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 20/01/2005 Inspector Name Patricia Chapman

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Aberdeen Park Nursery Setting Address 143 Highbury New Park London N5 2LJ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Aberdeen Park Nursery

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Aberdeen Park Nursery Address 143 Highbury New Park London N5 2LJ

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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

Aberdeen Community Nursery opened in 1973. It is run by a parents and staff management committee. Staff work as a collective, with members of staff taking the lead in certain key areas. It operates from the ground and first floor of a large Victorian house, consisting of 4 playrooms, children's bathrooms, outside play area, kitchen, office and staff facilities. The nursery is situated in the London Borough of Islington, and serves the local and wider community. There are currently 24 children on roll. This includes 5 funded 3 year olds and 11 funded 4 year olds. Children attend both full time and part time. At present there are 2 children attending with special needs and the group supports 6 children with English as an additional language. The group opens 5 days a week, 48 weeks of the year. Session are from 08:00 to 18:00 hours. Five full time and 2 part time staff work with the children. Five of the staff have early

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Information about the setting

years qualifications and two staff are currently on training programmes. The setting receives support 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?

The standard of education offered at Aberdeen Park Nursery is of high quality and the children are making very good progress towards the Early Learning Goals. The leadership and management of the nursery is very good. The staff work as a collective and have assigned to each other roles and areas of responsibility. Staff meet regularly to monitor developments in each area and develop strategies to improve practice. Staff regularly attend training to develop their teaching skills. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff's knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals is very good. Curriculum planning is centred on the staff's knowledge of children's individual interests and level of understanding. Staff work well as a team and support each other to develop teaching practice. They encourage the children's increasing knowledge and skills through a range of interesting and challenging activities both in and out doors. Staff interact with the children well to

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How effective is the nursery education?

support the children's learning across the curriculum. The organisation of the accommodation, resources and routine of the day supports children to extend their own ideas and experiences in a creative and independent way. Staff use observations of the children's skills to monitor and extend their progress in the six areas of learning. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are highly involved in the running of the nursery. Parents skills are frequently contributed to support teaching and physical improvements within the nursery. Parents receive regular feed back about their children's progress. Parents have opportunities to be involved with their children's learning and children are able to select books to look at with their parents at home. The setting plans to improve information for parents to support their childrens learning, by indentifying the next stage of learning in the children's developmental records.

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What is being done well?

• the support given by staff to extend children's learning while centering on the children's individual ideas and interests • the organisation of resources and routine of the day to encourage the children to be independent learners • the use of the garden area to develop the children's learning across the curriculum • the strategies used by staff to encourage the children to behave in a positive and co-operative way and understand the effect their actions have on their peers

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• The identification of the next stage of children's learning across the six areas of learning and the sharing of this information with parents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

progress since the last inspection has been very good. The group were required to continue the development of opportunities for children to link sounds to letters of the alphabet.Children now have frequent opportunities to do this when listening to stories, in music sessions, group times and when writing names & simple words. Staff frequently support the children's understanding of the sounds of the letters of the alphabet while they; look at books, engage in music activities, write and draw.

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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 The children form co-operative and meaningful relationships with adults and peers and show increasing confidence in their environment. Staff support the children's independent learning well and children are able to talk confidently about their personal experiences and ideas. Children behave well and have an increasing awareness of their own and others needs. They are able to take turns and use resources in a co-operative way

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good The children demonstrate a growing enjoyment of books and are learning that print carries meaning. They use tools for early writing and are encouraged to make stories up about their own drawings. They show an increasing vocabulary and are able to retell stories well. They discuss and clarify their ideas with increasing confidence.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children show an increasing ability to problem solve while engaged in a range of activities. They enjoy number rhymes and talk about the sequence of stories and events. Children often count reliably up to ten and beyond. Older children are able to calculate using simple addition and subtraction. They sort by size, shape and colour. They are able to follow rhythm patterns while enjoying music activities.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good The children show interest in the world in which they live, ask questions and identify features which are important to them. They use the garden area frequently to discuss the features of insects, plants and trees. They make good use of technology to support their learning. Children talk about places they have visited and are encouraged to use their second language to sing songs at group time.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good The children move with increasing confidence and enjoy well planned music and movement sessions. Children handle tools and equipment with safety and increasing control to support activities such as drawing, cutting and model making. They use water dispensers independently through out the day. They have good opportunities to develop their physical skills in the outdoor area and wellington boots are provided so they can enjoy the outside environment in wet weather.

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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 The children respond well to a varied and sensory environment both indoors and outdoors. They are encouraged to make up stories and to express their own ideas while using a wide range of resources. Children express themselves creatively during music sessions. They have good opportunities to draw and paint and are encouraged to use resources in a creative and imaginative way.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • The use of information gathered from observations to identify the next stage of children's individual learning across the six areas of learning and share this information with parents.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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

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