Nursery Education Inspection Report

ST JAMES PARK ROAD NURSERY

Inspection Number: 1151461

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SETTING

1.)   MAIN FINDINGS OF THE INSPECTION

2.)   KEY ISSUES FOR ACTION

3.)   SUMMARY OF JUDGEMENTS

4.)   CONTENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME

• The strength and weaknesses of personal and social development
• The strength and weaknesses of language and literacy
• The strength and weaknesses of mathematics
• The strength and weaknesses of knowledge and understanding of the world
• The strength and weaknesses of physical development
• The strength and weaknesses of creative development

5.)   PLANNING OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME

6.)   QUALITY OF TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT

• The strength and weaknesses of teaching and assessment
• The strength and weaknesses of equality of access and opportunity
• The strength and weaknesses of the learning resources and accommodation

7.)   PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

8.)   IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN

© Crown Copyright 2000
OFSTED reports 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.

INSPECTION OF NURSERY EDUCATION INSPECTION REPORT

182 Winchester Road
Shirley
Southampton
Hants SO16 6UG

ABOUT THE INSPECTION

St James Park Road Nursery is a private day nursery, situated in the urban area of Shirley in Southampton. The nursery serves a range of families from the locality, as well as overseas medical staff, on secondment to the nearby hospital for long and short-term posts. First established in May 1976, the nursery is registered to accept a maximum of 24 children each day, aged between two and five years. There are 71 children currently on roll, of whom 24 are funded three-year-olds and 22 are funded four-year-olds. None of the children has identified special educational needs and none is learning English as an additional language. There is little cultural diversity within the group, at the present time; although the nursery has regularly supported children from a range of different cultures in the past.

The nursery meets in a large, Victorian building, opposite St James Park in Shirley. Opening times are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., 51 weeks per year. There are nine staff who work in the group, the majority of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications. There have been no significant changes since the previous OFSTED inspection in February 1998.

The local Early Years Partnership has not yet provided support from a qualified early years teacher.

click here to return to top of page
 

St James Park Road Nursery is a happy, well-established group, where high standards of care and education are maintained. Children are likely to achieve the desirable learning outcomes, in all six areas of learning, by five years of age. Personal and social development is a strength of the provision. Behaviour management is good and children are well-behaved. Staff actively foster good relationships between all cultures, as children are encouraged to share and to take turns. The daily programme includes an appropriate balance of independent, small-group and whole-group learning opportunities. Children engage eagerly in set tasks and persevere well to complete them. Activities and resources are appropriately arranged to promote self-selection and children's personal independence skills are developing well.

The programme for language and literacy is strong and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Children's speaking, listening, early reading and writing skills are effectively promoted. Planned, daily group times afford interesting opportunities for speaking and listening. Role-play areas are permanently set up and rotated well. The group has an impressive array of fiction and non-fiction books, which they display attractively, although there are no comfortable cushions or chairs to encourage children's spontaneous use of this area. Children confidently recognise their names and are making good progress in learning to write them correctly. A writing table provides daily opportunities for writing and drawing, although there are no writing materials in the role-play areas to support these skills.

The mathematical provision is very good. Staff make good use of mathematical language during play and planned activities. The range of mathematical equipment is good and is used well to teach a wide range of mathematical concepts. Children know a good range of mathematical games, songs and rhymes and can recognise and understand numbers to 10 and beyond. Practical activities feature regularly and incorporate appropriate opportunities for learning about problem-solving and number operations.

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is effectively promoted. Regular discussions take place about home-life, the environment and some of its features. Children are able to explore a range of media, including living things, natural and made objects. They record their findings using simple charts, art and crafts. They satisfy their natural curiosity through encouragement to question how and why. The range of design and technology materials is good and children enjoy access to information technology to support their learning.

The group makes very good provision for promoting children's physical development. Activities promote whole body control, co-ordination and spatial awareness. Fine manipulative skills are also promoted well. The range of large and small physical play equipment is good and includes opportunities for climbing and balancing. Staff encourage children to master tools, objects and malleable materials in a safe, controlled manner.

Children's creative development is promoted well. Planned activities, using a wide range of materials, enable children to explore sound, colour, texture, space, shape and form. The group now provides more opportunities for children to choose and select materials for themselves and craft activities are more child-led. The imaginative programme ensures that all children's senses are effectively stimulated. Art, music, dance, stories and role-play are included regularly and promote children's skills of listening, observation and imagination.

The planning of the educational programme has significantly improved since the last inspection and is now very effective. New plans have been devised which cover the six areas of learning, include resources, learning outcomes and evaluations. Good priority is given to the key areas of personal and social development, language and literacy and mathematics. Staff deployment is planned and works well in practice. The keyworkers ensure that the children access a good balance of learning opportunities in appropriate group sizes.

The quality of teaching is good and the new assessment system is now working well. Teamwork is excellent. Staff have a good knowledge of the desirable learning outcomes. They interact well with the children and teach very effectively. A good balance of learning opportunities is offered daily for all age-groups. Assessment records are clear; they relate to the six areas of learning and include comments for future planning. Informal, effective, daily monitoring and six-monthly staff appraisals ensure that high standards are maintained.

Equality of access and opportunity is good. Girls and boys are treated equally in all areas of learning. There are no children on roll learning English as an additional language, although staff have experience of supporting such children. The group's policies include reference to the DfEE 1994 Code of Practice for the Identification and Assessment of Children with Special Educational Needs. None of the children on roll has identified special educational needs.

The accommodation is used to good effect, to cover all six areas of learning. Resources are sufficient for all areas of learning and they are rotated well to provide stimulation and challenge. Resources are also suitable for children with special educational needs and for those learning English as an additional language.

The group has a strong partnership with parents. A range of comprehensive information keeps them well informed about the educational provision and enables them to play an active part in their children's learning. They enjoy regular access to their children's assessment records, to which they are encouraged to contribute observations of their children's learning at home.

The nursery has made good progress in addressing the three key issues from the previous OFSTED inspection in February 1998. These related to planning, creative development and assessment records.

click here to return to top of page

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but the following points for development should be considered in the action plan:

Provide writing materials in the home corner, for example for making 'shopping lists' or 'appointments', to support children's early writing skills. Encourage more spontaneous use of the book corner, for example by making it more comfortable.

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues or points for development 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.

click here to return to top of page

D. OUTCOME AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE INSPECTION

Taken overall, the quality and standards of the educational provision are acceptable in promoting the desirable outcomes for children's learning. The action plan should show how the provider will address the key issues or points for development within 12 months of the inspection.
 

Personal and social development is a strength of the provision. A calm, happy atmosphere pervades the group. Children are given firm guidelines for behaving well; they are developing an understanding of right and wrong and their behaviour is good. Children work co-operatively together at the different activities. Adults successfully involve them in the sharing process, for example gently suggesting that it might be nice to allow another child to have a turn.

The daily programme enables children to care for the environment, living things and the resources. Objects on the display tables are handled carefully, children regularly feed the resident gold fish and tend their growing plants. The children are kind and sensitive to one another, regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs. Good opportunities are taken for exploring the full range of emotions and feelings, for example as they react to opposing sweet and sour tastes at snack-time, and as they discuss the braille book, or the home-made book of different objects to see and to touch.

Planned activities include regular cultural and religious experiences. As well as Christian celebrations, such as Easter and Christmas, the children enjoy learning about Chinese New Year, Diwali, making Happy Eid cards, face-painting and handing out sweets for 'Holi'. Children concentrate and persevere well, for example at the writing table, mathematics table or creative table. Staff gently encourage them to complete set tasks and to work well independently, where appropriate.

All areas of learning are attractively presented and clearly labelled. Staff actively encourage children to use their initiative and to select resources for themselves. They also have free access to the activities in the different rooms, with the keyworker ensuring that they access a good balance of learning opportunities. Their personal independence skills are nurtured appropriately, as they take themselves to the toilet, take turns to hand out the biscuits, and hang up their coats and name-tags. Overall, children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately.

There is a strong programme to promote children's language and literacy skills. 'Circle time' is used particularly well as a whole-group activity, for promoting skills of speaking and listening. Each child has a turn to speak, as a toy animal is passed around the circle. Everyone else listens very attentively to their news, for example about a new baby in the family or a holiday that they have enjoyed. Well-labelled areas of learning and display-tables, for example of 'lava', 'fossils', 'crystal', 'fir-cones' and 'shells', help children to extend their vocabulary and to recognise familiar words, such as 'table', 'chair', 'books', 'clock'.

Role-play features daily and is very well supported by interactive staff. They encourage children's make-believe games with toy crockery and pretend food, in the two-storey playhouse; they use home-made puppets and props to re-enact a familiar story, such as 'The Three Billy-Goats Gruff', in the 'Quiet' room. The nursery has an impressive range of fiction and non-fiction books, including home-made books, dual-language books and books written in braille, which are displayed at child-height. These are used daily in planned activities, although the area generally lacks comfort and few children access the books spontaneously.

Planned activities enable children to recognise their own names and letters of the alphabet by shape and sound. Each child finds their name-tag on arrival and places it on their peg with their coat and bag. Numerous alphabet friezes adorn the various room walls and children are confidently identifying letter shapes and sounds. Appropriate extension activities are introduced for older children, such as finding words with the same beginning sound. Children also regularly practise writing their names correctly. Staff encourage them to sound out each letter as they write and appropriate, additional support is given to younger children, as required. Staff encourage the exploration of specific features of the English language, such as alliteration, poetry and syllables at planned whole-group times. Children enjoy poems, such as 'This Little Girl is Ready for Bed, Upon the Pillow She Lays Her Head'. Opportunities for writing and drawing are available daily at the writing table, which is well-stocked with a wide range of writing and drawing materials although there are no writing materials in the role-play areas. Children make their own books, such as 'Our Animal Book' which they decorate with their drawings and early attempts at writing, for example about a pet hamster called 'Sophie'.

The mathematical provision is very good and all aspects of the mathematical programme are promoted well. Staff make very good use of mathematical language at all activities. At the creative table and at the water tray, they encourage discussion about the different sized containers. At floor play activities with building blocks they discuss and make different mathematical shapes. Good attention is given to extending activities for the older children. Pattern-making is regularly introduced as children thread shapes onto laces, print with shapes, and build construction towers, for example of four green blocks and five yellow blocks.

Staff make good use of everyday objects, such as building bricks, plastic animals and playdough, for teaching mathematical skills of counting, sorting, matching and ordering. Children also learn to sequence, for example with picture cards of the life-cycle of the frog. The nursery provides a wide range of number games, such as dominoes, number puzzles and board games. Children have a wide repertoire of number songs and rhymes, which staff include regularly. Children confidently record number in their individual mathematical workbooks. These are graded appropriately to take account of different age and ability groups.

Daily activities incorporate number to 10, problem-solving and number operations, such as addition and subtraction. Children enjoy making towers with coloured bricks, counting the number of bricks and recording the number on paper. They fill containers with different amounts of water in the water tray and count how many objects sink or float. Staff use incidental opportunities well for adding on and taking away. They count the number of balls at the dough table to find out how many there are 'altogether'; as children leave to go home, or to have their lunch, they count how many children are 'left'; making towers of five bricks, they count how many 'more' are needed.

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is effectively promoted. 'Circle time' is a valuable tool for promoting discussion about homes and families. Children also take turns to set the date, and calendars are introduced to explain significant events from the past. Themes, displays and photographs provide an interesting and informative glimpse of the local environment and some of its features. Southampton is contrasted as the old and new town; nursery photographs bear testimony to the passage of time, and local events, such as the Southampton Balloon Festival, are well-documented.

Display tables of 'Interesting Objects', resident pets, such as the goldfish and tactile plastic toys, provide ample opportunities for exploring living things, natural and made objects. Staff interact well to encourage children to observe similarities, differences, patterns and change, for example when adding water to dry sand and coloured food dye to the water tray and when planting and growing tomato plants. Simple experiments, such as 'sinking and floating' enable children to question why things happen and how things work. Children record their findings appropriately, for example using pictorial charts of the toy car, plastic boat, feather and dolphin, that they use in their experiment.

Design and technology opportunities are good. Children can select from a wide range of materials and tools, such as plastic and cardboard tubs, craft resources, tape, scissors and glue, which they use imaginatively to create different models. They also have access to information technology, such as a computer and programmable toys, to support their learning.

The group has a very good programme for promoting children's physical development. Staff plan an imaginative programme of physical exercise, which successfully promotes children's whole body movements, control and co-ordination. Children are familiar with a wide selection of ring games and action rhymes, such as 'Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Touch Your Toes'. Obstacle courses provide different challenges as children climb and balance across pretend hazards, such as 'water pools' and 'bridges'.

A good range of large and small physical play equipment, including balancing and climbing apparatus, is provided daily, indoors and outdoors. Particularly good use is made of small manipulative equipment, such as construction pieces, magnets, threading shapes and laces, to develop children's small muscle control and hand to eye co-ordination.

Staff rotate the range of tools, physical play materials and malleable materials, effectively. At the playdough table, for example, children learn to roll, cut, mould and shape dough of different textures and fragrance, using a wide range of tools, carefully and skilfully.

Children's creative development is promoted well. Their capacity to explore sound is complemented by a range of stimulating activities, such as making music with bottles filled with different volumes of water, making musical instruments and listening to different styles of music. Practical activities are used well to encourage the exploration of colour, texture, shape, space and form in different dimensions. Games using shape cards help children to learn a wide range of shapes. Adults pay due attention to the abilities of the different age groups and offer the more challenging shapes to the older children. Where clues are needed, they are readily offered, for example about counting the sides, to help to determine the name of the shape.

Staff make good use of the creative resources to stimulate all children's senses. In the 'Wet' room, the children kneaded dough of different textures and fragrances. In the water tray, they experimented with different coloured food dye and large and small containers. Pictures in their home-made books encourage them to stroke the picture of the parrot, made of brightly coloured feathers, and to look at and to feel, the shiny foil snake and frog.

Art, music, dance, drama and stories all feature regularly in the creative programme. Planned art activities and free-painting are offered daily. Songs, rhymes and poems are introduced daily and children know them well. Action rhymes and ring games take place regularly. Story-time also features daily and is supported well by role-play props, such as puppets. Children's imaginations have free reign in the many role-play and small world resources on offer each day. The range of creative media, including musical instruments, is sufficiently wide to enable staff to rotate it regularly. More emphasis is now placed on encouraging children's own imaginative responses as they use the materials and tools to express their ideas and feelings.

click here to return to top of page

The planning of the educational programme has significantly improved since the last inspection and is now good. Staff work well together to identify and develop a list of ideas. The yearly plan details the three terms and this is then broken down into half-termly and then weekly plans. The plans now relate to the six areas of learning, giving good priority to the three key areas of personal and social development, language and literacy and mathematics, through the provision of daily planned activities and resources for these areas of learning.

Learning objectives are now very clearly stated; for example 'the hand printing activity teaches principles of mixing colour, colour recognition and will enable children to make predictions and to record their findings'. Adult deployment is planned in advance and works well in practice; the staff support all rooms and all areas of learning effectively. On arrival, the children go to their keyworker and then have complete freedom of choice in selecting activities and resources. The keyworkers are responsible for ensuring that their key children access a good balance of learning opportunities, in appropriately sized groups and this also works well in practice.

click here to return to top of page

The quality of teaching at this nursery is good. Assessment has improved since the last inspection, with the introduction of new assessment records. Staff regularly undertake relevant training and disseminate information to the 'team', to ensure that staff knowledge of the desirable learning outcomes remains secure. Staff deployment is planned and effective. Teaching methods are good with staff supporting all areas of learning very well. Particular attention is given to promoting children's personal and social skills and to the teaching of language and literacy and mathematics, for example at the writing table and at the mathematics table. Children of all ages and abilities are suitably encouraged, with activities adjusted appropriately to take account of individual needs. Behaviour management is good and the children behave well. Staff interact well, for example to encourage children to question and to learn during activities, such as story-time when they ask what a baby fox and a mummy fox are called.

The balance of learning opportunities is good. Creative activities are now more child-led and planned work now takes account of children's own imaginative responses. New assessment records have been introduced under guidance from a local National Vocational Qualification Assessor. These now cover the six areas of learning and provide observational notes for future planning. The educational provision is effectively monitored through informal daily observation and six-monthly staff appraisals. Regular staff training is undertaken.

Equality of access and opportunity is good. Staff encourage boys and girls in equal measure. The keyworker system is effectively operated to ensure that all individual needs are met. Staff know the individual children well and adjust activities appropriately; this meets the needs of the different ages and abilities well, particularly in the key areas of language and literacy and mathematics.

There are no children on roll who have identified special educational needs, although the group's policy has regard to the 1994 Code of Practice. There are no children currently attending who are learning English as an additional language, although the group has previous experience of supporting such children.

The accommodation is used well to provide an interesting and stimulating forum for learning and play. Resources are plentiful and are sufficient to support all six areas of learning. Good use is made of the indoor accommodation. The children access three rooms, which are attractively set out to offer a wide range of educational and recreational challenges. The 'Wet' room includes sand, water, playdough, construction, the climbing frame and a rocking horse. Staff actively encourage children to learn through play, while using these media. They rotate resources in the sand and water and add new fragrances and textures to the dough. In the 'Quiet' room, the children enjoy books, stories, puzzles, floor toys and games, singing, dancing and music-making. The 'Work' room encourages the use of the Wendy house, dressing-up, painting, model-making, drawing and writing, table-top games, cooking and eating. The nursery also benefits from a small, but well-equipped and well-planned, outdoor area, which is used for growing plants and physical recreation; it also has a toilet and kitchen facilities.

Staff rotate the resources well, and provide a sufficient range of resources to meet all children's needs, including those of children with special educational needs and children learning English as an additional language, for example multi-cultural pretend food, books, puzzles, dolls, dual-language books, books written in braille, tactile and visual objects.

click here to return to top of page

The nursery has a strong partnership with parents and carers, which enables parents to play an active part in their child's development. Parents receive a wealth of helpful information about the educational provision, for example via the prospectus and the noticeboard, where they can find information about the topic for the term, the week's theme and what will be covered.

The new assessment records keep parents well informed about their children's attainment and progress. The group actively encourages parents to contribute observations of their child's learning from home. Daily verbal exchanges with staff also reassure parents about their child's progress.

Parents are invited to join in with activities, but as many are working this is not always possible. They do, however, have opportunities for contributing items from home for specific projects or displays.

click here to return to top of page

The nursery has made good progress in addressing the three key issues from the previous OFSTED inspection in February 1998. In the first key issue, they were asked to revise planning. The nursery has made good progress in this area. An effective new planning system has been introduced, which covers all six areas of learning, learning resources, learning objectives and observations, which are appropriately used to plan future learning goals. In the second key issue, the group was asked to extend the creative programme, to enable children to choose their own materials and to express their own ideas. The nursery has made good progress with this key issue. More creative materials are now readily available and planned activities are now more child-led, which enables children to express their own creativity. In the third key issue, the nursery was asked to introduce a system of recording children's attainment and progress and to share this with parents. They have made good progress with this issue. A new assessment recording system is in place which keeps a regular check on children's progress and which staff use appropriately to inform future plans; parents are now actively encouraged to contribute their observations to these assessments.

The improvements made have had a very positive impact on the provision.

click here to return to top of page