Yew Tree Community Junior and Infant School (NC)

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 19/01/2005 Inspector Name Carol Cox

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Primary Colours Day Nursery Setting Address The Trident Youth Hut Galmington Road Taunton Somerset TA1 5NN

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Primary Colours is a privately owned day nursery which has been in operation since 1999. It is based in a Portacabin in the Galmington area of Taunton and serves the local area. The premises offers a large playroom with kitchen and toilet facilities. There is a small well secured garden at the back of the building. The nursery opens five days a week all year round and is open from 08:00 to 17:45. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 40 children from 2 to 4 years on roll. This includes 13 funded three- and four-year-olds. There are eight childcare staff employed. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. 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?

Primary Colours Nursery provides good quality nursery education provision and children are making generally good progress in all areas. They are making very good progress in creative and personal, social and emotional development due to good relationships with staff and careful nurturing of independence and confidence building skills. The quality of teaching is generally good with some staff having a clear understanding and knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum. Activities are planned to cover all areas of learning, but the learning outcomes of some activities are not always clear, thus at times less confident staff are not sure how to help children progress. Staff maintain regular records of observations of children's attainments, however these are not used to identify next steps in learning for individual children, consequently at times more able children are not sufficiently challenged. Children have easy access to resources to support planned and freely

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How effective is the nursery education?

chosen activities. Children enjoy choosing activities and staff work closely with children. Staff talk to children about the effect their behaviour has on others and children are considerate of others and behave very well. The special educational needs coordinator has experience of supporting children with special educational needs. Leadership and management is generally good, there are regular staff meetings to discuss needs of the children and the nursery. There is no formal system to monitor the quality of education provided or to appraise staff and identify individual and organisational training needs. Staff record evaluations of some sessions and use these to improve future planning. Partnership with parents is generally good and staff give regular informal feedback about children's progress, however there are few opportunities for parents to contribute towards target setting for their children. Clear information about the

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How effective is the nursery education?

nursery and the foundation stage curriculum is made available.

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What is being done well?

• Staff have good relationships with the children and spend time talking and listening to individual children and positive approach to behaviour management. Staff give children time to complete activities and give warnings of tidy up time. Children choose activities and resources and are beginning to make choices about their own learning. • Children have opportunities to freely explore and experiment with materials to express themselves, consequently they are making very good progress in creative development. • Staff build good relationships with parents and good quality information is

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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 made available about the nursery education on offer. Parents are given regular informal feedback about their children's progress. • Staff record regular observations of children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of observation records to identify next steps in learning for children to ensure that all children are sufficiently challenged and make continuing progress towards the early learning goals • the clear identification of intended learning outcomes for planned activities to help less confident staff know how to promote children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the nursery have made generally good progress to address the key issues from the last inspection. Staff have acted on the key issues to develop assessments of children and to improve the range of resources available to extend children's use and knowledge of technology and computers. The assessment records now include clear and regular observations of children's progress through the stepping stones towards the early learning goals. At present these records are not clearly used to inform planning of future activities. The range of technology toys has been greatly improved, children regularly use programmable toys in their games and role play and a computer offers children opportunities to develop mouse and keyboard skills. The computer is also used to support learning and topics with a good range of programs.

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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 enjoy developing skills towards personal independence. They select resources, address their own personal needs and chose activities with appropriate support from staff. Children learn about their behaviour and how it affects others and generally behave very well. They are keen and eager to learn and are gaining confidence through their achievements. They form relationships with each other and adults and are beginning to learn and value different people and their lives.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children have opportunities to practice reading and writing skills in everyday situations. More able children can write their names and younger children demonstrate that they understand that marks have meanings and are starting to write. Children enjoy using books and all participate enthusiastically in story time. Staff help children link sounds with letters and use books to increase their understanding of the world. At times more able children are not encouraged to extend their writing skills.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use numbers confidently and younger children are helped to count using their fingers in rhymes and routine activities. More able children use mathematical skills in activities and are encouraged to make comparisons, simple additions and subtractions. Children recognise shapes and patterns in meaningful activities and staff help them develop positional language in construction, physical and small world play. More able children do not always use their skills to problem solve.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn about their world and the lives of others through speakers and visits to their local community. They talk about past, present and future events and are developing a sense of time. Children explore and experiment with a range of materials and tools and demonstrate good design and build skills. At times more able children are not offered chances to extend their knowledge, for example when playing with water staff do not introduce ideas if sinking and floating.

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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 enjoy physical activities and are learning to move confidently in different ways. They use large and small equipment and are developing a sense of spatial awareness. They learn about the importance of staying healthy and can explain how they can look after their bodies. More able children use small equipment competently in planned and free play activities. At times more able children do not always extend their physical skills.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy expressing themselves through freely chosen play activities. They develop language to communicate their responses to different senses and enjoy experimenting with materials and media. They enjoy singing familiar songs and accompany themselves with instruments. They use their imagination well in role play, which is well resourced to create different scenarios, for example children 'work' in an airport!

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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

• use assessment records to identify next steps in learning for children to ensure that all children are sufficiently challenged and make continuing progress towards the early learning goals • clearly identify intended learning outcomes from planned activities to support less experienced staff and ensure all children are appropriately supported and challenged in their 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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