INSPECTION REPORT
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Name
of setting:
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Winyates
Playgroup
|
|
Setting
number:
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585115
|
|
Address:
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St
Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church, Winyates Way
Redditch Worcestershire |
|
Postcode:
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B98
0NR
|
|
Person
responsible for the day to day management of the setting:
|
Julie
Skipp
|
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Position:
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Playgroup Leader
|
|
|
|
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Name
of RgNI:
|
Vicki
Rewhorn
|
|
RgNl's
registration number:
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25791
|
|
Date(s)
of inspection:
|
01/03/2001
and 02/03/2001
|
|
Inspection
number:
|
1160853
|
The
inspection took place as part of a national programme of inspection of
the educational provision for three- and four-year-olds. It was commissioned
by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), a non-ministerial department
of central government.
About
the inspection
The
purpose of the inspection is to assure government, parents and the public
that funded nursery education is of an acceptable quality. Inspection 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 Stage1. 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.
1 The
period from age three to the end of the reception year in primary school
is described as the Foundation Stage.
CONTENTS.
IMPROVEMENT
SINCE THE LAST INSPECTION
WHAT
THE SETTING NEEDS TO IMPROVE
OUTCOME
AND RECOMMENDATION FOR THE TIMING OF THE NEXT INSPECTION
HOW
GOOD IS THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION?
HOW
WELL THE CHILDREN ARE LEARNING
Overall
quality of learning
Communication,
language and literacy
Knowledge
and understanding of the world
HOW
WELL THE CHILDREN ARE TAUGHT
HOW
WELL THE SETTING WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS
WHAT
THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT
Winyates
Playgroup opened in 1976 in Redditch, Worcestershire. It is accommodated
in St Gregory’s Church and shares the use of the hall with other community
groups. The group is managed by an elected committee of parents and opens
from 9.15 am to 12.15 pm, Monday to Friday, for 37 weeks a year. Social
Services register the playgroup for 30 children aged from two years, six
months to five years. Currently there are 46 children on roll. Nine of
the 36 three-year olds and five of the ten four-year-olds are receiving
funding. There are no funded children who speak English as an additional
language, but the group caters for children with special educational needs.
A
total of eight staff work with the children throughout the week, with five
being present at each session. Three of the staff have relevant childcare
qualifications. They also have the support of an advisory teacher from
the early years partnership. Children attend from the local area and they
are from a mixture of social and economic backgrounds.
At
Winyates Playgroup both three and four-year-olds are making good progress
towards most early learning goals in all six areas of learning. Children
are confident and generally well behaved, with staff setting clear rules
so that they understand right from wrong. Teaching is good overall. Staff
use their knowledge of what children already know when planning future
activities, but some staff are insecure in their knowledge of the early
learning goals and the stepping stones for learning. This results in a
lack of challenging activities in the areas of knowledge and understanding
of the world and creative development. Relationships with parents are satisfactory,
but they are given little information about the early learning goals and
their children’s progress.
IMPROVEMENT
SINCE THE LAST INSPECTION
Overall,
satisfactory progress has been made since the last inspection. Staff now
encourage more interaction during storytelling and more discussion during
‘talk times’; consequently children’s vocabulary is being extended more
regularly. Children now register themselves as they enter the group in
the morning and they are effectively learning to recognise and match their
own names. Staff have introduced checklists to record children’s attainments
in each of the six areas of learning and these are passed on to local schools
when children move into mainstream education. However, these do not refer
to the early learning goals and they do not show children’s progress along
the stepping stones. The parents’ prospectus has been reviewed and details
of the six areas of learning have been included to provide parents with
more information about the educational provision. However, parents still
receive limited information about the educational provision and the early
learning goals.
Children’s
personal, social and emotional development is well fostered; children are
confident, keen to join in activities and generally well behaved.
Provision
for communication, language and literacy is good. Children are developing
good communication skills and early writing skills are suitably introduced.
Children’s
mathematical learning is developed well through practical activities and
daily routines. Children’s imagination is fostered appropriately through
a variety of media.
Good
progress is being made in physical development, with children using a variety
of large and small equipment daily.
WHAT
THE SETTING NEEDS TO IMPROVE
Staff
knowledge of the early learning goals, the stepping stones for learning,
special educational needs (SEN) and the Code of Practice on the Identification
and Assessment of Special Educational Needs.
The
challenges provided for children in the areas of knowledge and understanding
of the world and creative development.
The
information given to parents about the early learning goals and their children’s
progress.
OUTCOME
AND RECOMMENDATION FOR THE TIMING OF THE NEXT INSPECTION
Taken
overall, the quality and standards of the educational provision, and the
progress children are making towards the early learning goals, is good.
The action plan should show how the provider will address the key issues
or points for consideration within 12 months of the inspection.
It
is recommended that the next inspection occurs within two to four years.
HOW
GOOD IS THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION?
HOW
WELL THE CHILDREN ARE LEARNING
The
quality of children’s learning overall is good, and they are making good
progress towards most early learning goals in all six areas of learning.
They are confident and they show a keen interest in their activities, which
are suitably planned to build on their previous knowledge. Generally they
behave well and they are learning right from wrong. Good progress is being
made in communication, language and literacy through well-planned activities
and effective teaching. Children are forming good relationships with each
other and they negotiate appropriately with each other during activities.
However, children are not being challenged sufficiently in all areas. They
do not regularly select from a variety of tools to assemble and join. Children’s
physical development is good; they are developing all physical skills in
daily activities.
Personal,
social and emotional development
Children’s
progress in personal, social and emotional development is good. Children
confidently enter the playgroup each day; staff welcome children and provide
good support for shy, less confident children. All children are enthusiastic
and keen to join in activities. They are learning to sit well at register-time
and they concentrate appropriately, answering to their names and putting
up their hands. They select resources and activities freely from those
provided for them and they are learning to work well independently. Children’s
confidence is further promoted with staff encouraging them to do little
jobs, such as giving out the biscuits. They are developing good self-esteem
through staff praising them suitably for achievements; occasionally children
are awarded with gold stars for something particularly well done. Good
relationships are being formed between the children. They wait patiently
to take their turn at activities and they share resources, for example
when playing with the dough. Children’s behaviour is generally good; staff
set positive, consistent rules and children are learning right from wrong
suitably. All children are learning to respect their own and other beliefs
and cultures through appropriate festival celebrations. Children’s personal
independence is effectively promoted; children go to the toilet independently
and they appropriately wash their hands after messy activities.
Communication,
language and literacy
Children’s
learning in communication, language and literacy is good. They listen and
interact well with staff and other children during all activities and discussions.
They are developing a wide vocabulary through good teaching in topic work.
During the inspection children described the smell of leeks as “oniony”
and “like dinner”. They are beginning to use good imaginative language
in a variety of role-play situations, such as the ‘doctors’, ‘home corner’
and ‘cafe’ and they negotiate appropriately with each other. During register
times children relate their experiences well to staff. Each morning all
children are learning to recognise their own names appropriately when they
register, by matching their name cards to a wall chart. They are beginning
to recognise a range of simple words such as ‘table’ and ‘chair’, which
suitably label equipment. Children competently name the initial letters
of their names and during planned activities they are learning to name
letters by shape and sound. Staff supervise children looking at books in
the book area so children follow the text appropriately and all children
show a good awareness of print reading from left to right and from top
to bottom, and of story narratives. Children practise writing their own
names during one-to-one activities with staff and they are learning to
form letters correctly. Most children attempt to write their own names
on pieces of work.
Children’s
mathematical development is good. All children are learning to count during
daily activities, both planned and routine. They competently count the
number of adults present at register time and when they play with dough
they accurately count the number of ‘cakes’ made. During the inspection
four-year-olds correctly calculated that they needed to cut out ‘two more’
to make ten altogether, showing a good awareness of addition and subtraction.
Children sing number rhymes and songs such as ‘Five Currant Buns’ and ‘Five
Speckled Frogs’, and they competently use their fingers to illustrate number
value. Staff provide good support to children during all activities; children
are learning to calculate how many cans of water they need to fill the
bucket and they use the appropriate mathematical language. Children are
learning to name shapes well when they thread beads and they are beginning
to recognise and recreate mathematical patterns. They accurately describe
quantity when they play with dough, calculating if they have enough for
what they want to make. All children are learning to sort, match, sequence
and put resources in order during practical activities.
Knowledge
and understanding of the world
Children’s
learning in knowledge and understanding of the world is good overall. All
children are learning to explore and investigate through a range of planned
topics. They are learning to recognise seasonal changes and weather patterns
each day and they record their observations suitably on a chart. They explore
living things such as different animals, and learn about where they live,
in hot or cold climates. They appropriately use and explore a variety of
natural materials such as leaves, shells and dried flowers in art and craft
activities. All children are becoming familiar with technology through
using a computer to support their learning. During planned topics, children
welcome visitors from the community and they are learning the purpose of
some environmental features. Children are learning to design and build
using recycled materials and construction toys, but they have a limited
range of tools to select from to join and assemble materials.
Children’s
physical development is good. They are developing all physical skills appropriately
in planned daily activities and they are learning through a balanced programme
of both structured and recreational opportunities, using a wide range of
large and small equipment. Children move confidently and imaginatively
in planned movement activities, for example when they move like different
animals. They are developing a good awareness of space when they join in
ring gamed such as ‘Farmers in the Den’, and they show a good awareness
of space and others when they play on large equipment indoors. They are
learning to travel over, under, around and through a large climbing frame
and staff supervise them well to ensure that they increase their skills
appropriately. Four-year-olds competently hold pencils and use scissors
correctly and three-year-olds are given extra support so that they increase
their skills suitably. Children learn about healthy eating and keeping
healthy in topic work.
Children’s
progress in creative development is good, overall. All children use a wealth
of colours and textures in their art and craft activities and they are
learning to work in both two and three dimensions; they paint and draw
well from observation and they enjoy making models and puppets. They use
a wide variety of materials in their activities. However, children have
a limited range of tools and materials to select freely and this provides
little challenge to children who learn more quickly. All children use their
senses well in planned and routine activities; children tasted noodles
during Chinese New Year and they all smelt and touched the leek for St.
David’s Day. Good imagination is shown by the children in role-play areas,
during storytelling and when they dance to a variety of music. All children
are learning to sing songs well from memory and occasionally they accompany
their singing using musical instruments appropriately.
Children’s
spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately.
HOW
WELL THE CHILDREN ARE TAUGHT
The
quality of teaching is good overall and children are progressing well in
all areas of learning. Staff plan a suitable, interesting curriculum for
both three and four-year-olds and effectively use their knowledge of what
children already know when planning future activities. Overall, staff group
children appropriately for activities. They employ effective questioning
techniques so children think for themselves and they explain clearly to
children so that they understand what to do in activities. Good priority
is given to the three core areas of personal, social and emotional development,
communication, language and literacy and mathematical development and children
are making good progress towards early learning goals in these areas. However,
not all staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and the
stepping stones for learning and they do not provide a challenge for children
who learn more quickly in the areas of knowledge and understanding of the
world and creative development. Staff continually observe and assess children’s
progress and keep records in the six areas of learning. However, these
records are not based on the early learning goals. Staff know their responsibilities
and they interact well with the children, for example when playing with
the dough. They provide good support for children as necessary. However,
staff knowledge of SEN and the Code of Practice is insecure and they are
unsure of planning for identified children. They set positive, consistent
rules so children understand right from wrong and generally good behaviour
is shown by the children. Good use is made of the accommodation and staff
rotate all equipment effectively and use all available resources well.
HOW
WELL THE SETTING WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS
The
partnership with parents is satisfactory. They are effectively encouraged
to be involved with their children’s learning by sending in items from
home relating to the current theme and by supporting fundraising events.
Staff comment on children’s response to learning on the back of their work;
this is valued by parents and they continue learning at home. There is
a good rapport with parents and staff try to relay information about children’s
progress through daily conversation. However, this is not effective and
parents usually only see assessments when their child leaves to move into
mainstream education. A noticeboard in the hall provides parents with weekly
information about topic work and staff have added brief information about
the six areas of learning to the parents’ prospectus. However, parents
receive limited information about the educational provision and the early
learning goals.
WHAT
THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT
In
order to improve the quality and standards of the educational provision,
the setting should:
Increase
staff knowledge of the early learning goals and the stepping stones for
learning. Use this knowledge to provide more challenges for children who
learn more quickly in the areas of knowledge and understanding of the world
and creative development;
Increase
staff awareness of SEN and the code of practice, in order to cater appropriately
for identified children;
Provide
further information for parents about the early learning goals and how
their children are progressing towards these goals.
The
provider or manager must draw up an action plan within 40 working days
of receipt of this report showing how the key issues or points for consideration
detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available
to all parents, and to the Local Education Authority if required. An evaluation
of the action taken will form part of the next inspection.
(c) Crown Copyright 2001. This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.
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