Pitter Patter Ltd

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/11/2004 Inspector Name Susan, Helen Spencer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Pitter Patter Ltd Setting Address 36 Warren Drive Wallasey Merseyside CH45 0JS

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Pitter Patter Ltd Address 36 Warren Drive Wallasey Merseyside CH45 0JS

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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

The Pitter Patter private day nursery is owned by Ms Colquhoun. It opened under her ownership in 2001 and operates from a large converted semi-detached house in Wallasey. Each age-group has a dedicated room and all children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The setting opens from 07.30 to 18.30 Monday to Friday and is open all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. It is registered to care for 50 children. There are currently 68 children aged between three months and four years on roll and they attend for a variety of sessions. Sixteen children receive funding for nursery education.The nursery supports children identified as having special educational needs and who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 17 staff, of whom 15 work with the children. All permanent staff who work with the children have an early years qualification. The setting receives

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Information about the setting

support from a teacher 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 provision for nursery education at Pitter Patter private day nursery is good. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in mathematical and physical development and generally good progress in the other four areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff are very caring and fully involved in children's play, which helps develop their language and confidence particularly well. Planning is good and linked well to the national guidance, though some activities are over directed by staff. This limits children's ability to be independent. Music sessions are very well led and thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Staff challenge the children frequently, e.g climbing the rope ladder or writing their own name. Multi-cultural resources do not feature prominently enough amongst the otherwise good displays. Stories are read well but better questioning would involve the children more.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Staff assess children's learning well. They observe and note children's progress. Specific activities are set up frequently and the results are noted in the child's profile. Staff know the children well and use their knowledge to make activities challenging for the more able. The leadership and management of the nursery are generally good. Parents like the owner's 'hands on' style. She has built a good team who work very well together. She wants the nursery to improve even further and sends staff on courses frequently. Her informal monitoring has not identified the minor weaknesses in teaching. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents think very highly of the nursery and the caring staff. They feel well informed about what their child is learning and are able to support at home, e.g. learning lines for the Nativity play. A regular questionnaire asks for parents' views and parents feel that they can talk to a

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How effective is the nursery education?

member of staff at any reasonable time. The recent parents' evening was well received and very informative.

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What is being done well?

• Children are very confident because staff make them feel welcome and safe. • Children have a growing awareness of usefulness numbers and use the language of mathematics in their play. • Staff encourage children to use a broad vocabulary to describe things they see. • Children join in music activities enthusiastically because staff join in too. • Outdoor play is planned well to give children a variety of experiences.

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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 • The partnership with parents is promoted very well.

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What needs to be improved?

• the activities in art are which are sometimes too strongly guided by staff • the opportunities to extend children's learning in role play and story • the use of resources for technology and the promotion of multi-culturalism.

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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 Both staff and the group greet children warmly on arrival and this encourages them to leave their parents willingly. Children are very happy, friendly and open because relationships with staff are very positive. The wide range of activities encourages children to be curious about the world around them. Children have too few opportunities to demonstrate their independence and ability to choose between activities. They behave very well and are learning to share.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children speak very well and share their thoughts and ideas freely. They use a wide vocabulary, often using phrases and short sentences. Children listen attentively to stories and recall details well. They handle books sensibly and retell the story from the pictures. They use pencils with improving accuracy and a few already write their own name recognisably. Children's mark making skills are not developed as rapidly as they might because no materials were available in the home corner.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children recognise the basic colours and use this knowledge to sort things into groups. They count by touching five objects and sometimes more. They chant numbers to ten and have an idea of bigger numbers than this. Children recognise and name flat shapes in games and also point them out around the room. In their play they are starting to use mathematical words to describe objects, e.g. the size of the play dough sausage is big or small, the car rolls down the ramp a long or a short distance.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are curious about the world and this is fostered well by a range of topics about nature. They use their growing vocabularies to describe what they see, e.g. they describe the ice melting fully. They talk freely about where they live and where they went on holiday using good words which describe places. They know that they are older now and use words like old and young to describe people and objects. Children have few opportunities to learn about other cultures and how machines work.

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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: Very Good Children move around the room and the outdoor space with good control. Their dancing is very lively and this activity is led very well. On the climbing frame children show great determination to climb the rope ladder and a few achieve this difficult skill. They slide and swing with enthusiasm and ride around on tricycles and scooters safely. Children handle tools, pens and pencils well and with improving accuracy. They know to be careful with scissors.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy playing in the home corner. They give roles to each other and use objects to support their imaginary play. Their play and language development are enhanced by very good involvement of adults. Children know a good range of songs and sing joyfully. They also join in with the actions and sometimes play instruments whilst singing. Children love to draw and paint but get too few chances to express themselves because art and technology activities are too teacher directed.

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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

• provide more opportuntites for children to express their thougthts and feeling through art activities • involve children fully at story time by extending their understanding of ryhme and print through quality questioning • improve the quality and use of technology and multi-cultural resources • provide regular opportuntites for children to 'mark make' in a purposeful way during their role play.

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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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