Nursery Education Inspection Report
STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL
Inspection Number: 1131747
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INSPECTION OF NURSERY EDUCATION
INSPECTION REPORT
| Name of setting: |
Stepping Stones Pre-School |
| Setting number: |
519425 |
| Address: |
Village Hall |
| |
Nursery Lane |
| |
Fairwarp |
| |
Uckfield |
| |
East Sussex |
| Postcode: |
TN22 3BD |
| Person responsible for the day-to-day management of the
setting: |
Mrs Pam Uings |
| Position: |
Supervisor |
| Name of Inspector: |
Ivy Elsey |
| RgNI's Registration number: |
28729 |
| Date(s) of inspection: |
5/7/99 and 6/7/99 |
| Inspection number: |
1131747 |
The inspection took place as part of a national programme of inspection of
the educational provision for four year olds. It was commissioned by the Office
for Standards in Education (OFSTED), a department of central government.
NURSERY EDUCATION INSPECTION REPORT
ABOUT THE INSPECTION
The purpose of the inspection is to identify
strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of
educational provision and help children to achieve the Desirable Outcomes for
children's learning on entering compulsory education, (ie by the age of five).
It is also to ensure parents and the public that nursery education funded by the
state is of an acceptable quality. The 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.
Stepping Stones Pre-School is a committee run group which originally opened in
Fairwarp Village in 1981. Since 1997, two afternoon sessions have been added to
the three mornings and are held in Maresfield Village Hall just two miles away.
This is run by the same committee and is for the children who will be starting
school in the new school year. There are twenty-eight children attending during
the course of a week, aged between two and a half years and five years of age.
Seven of these are four-year-olds and all are funded. The children come from a
very rural area and live mainly in the two villages. There are no funded
children who have special educational needs, or who do not have English as their
first language.
There is a supervisor and deputy who attend all sessions and three other members
of staff who attend on a part time basis. Three members of staff have relevant
qualifications. There have been no significant changes since the previous
inspection.
The strengths and weaknesses of the educational provision provided
A very good range of activities is offered at the Stepping Stones Pre-School.
The children are likely to achieve the desirable learning outcomes in all six
area of learning by the time they reach five years of age. Children's spiritual,
moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately.
The personal and social development of the children is well fostered. Excellent
opportunities are offered for children to learn to work together in a variety of
groups, to begin to choose and control their own learning activities, and to
become aware of a variety of cultures represented in society. Staff promote
appropriate behaviour. The children respond well and behaviour is good.
The programme for language and literacy has some good features and promotes the
desirable learning outcomes overall. Good opportunities for children to improve
their speaking and listening skills are provided. They enjoy books and stories
and are beginning to understand writing. Children are becoming familiar with
letters and sounds, however, there are insufficient plans to increase children's
vocabulary.
Mathematics is well taught. All the aspects are offered and adequate priority is
given to this area of learning. Children are becoming aware of mathematical
language and ideas; they are confident with sorting, matching and shape.
Counting is well used.
Knowledge and understanding of the world is well taught in general. Staff are
particularly good at taking opportunities as they arise to extend children's
exploration and understanding of the natural world around them. Children
experience activities and learning from members of the community. Good resources
for information technology are available in the classroom, including a child's
computer. Children are achieving well.
The programme for physical development is good and is supported by excellent
facilities available near to the pre-school in the local recreation ground,
where both large equipment and good space for vigorous play exists. Children's
skills with the use of small tools and equipment, such as pencils and scissors
are well promoted.
Creative development is excellent. Good resources allow children to explore many
different materials in their pictures and models. They have quality music
teaching from a visiting parent. Good use of a tape recorder to help children to
differentiate sounds and well planned ideas to extend children's other senses
are well programmed.
The planning is carried out with regard to the desirable learning outcomes in
all six areas of learning, and promotes these overall. However, these do not yet
show how children will be grouped or staff deployed. There is insufficient
planning for vocabulary extension. Staff suggest strategies to improve this.
Teaching in the pre-school is good. Staff relate well to the children, they
organise the programme with regard to the requirements of the scheme, and
provide a good balance between child-initiated and teacher-led activities. A
very good assessment scheme has been introduced and good use is made of the
information gained to inform planning. Staff promote equal opportunities well,
and the provision for children with special educational needs is well informed.
The resources and accommodation are good; they support the delivery of the whole
curriculum and are used effectively. The monitoring of the work of the group is
effective in that the staff are aware of the areas for which development is
required.
The partnership with parents is strong and supports the work of the group. A
strong parents' committee works for the pre-school. It raises money and offers
help when there is a need; they are extremely supportive of the work in the
group.
The progress with the action plan arising from the last inspection has been
satisfactory overall. The key issues required the pre-school to review the
programme for mathematics, to improve the planning of the programme for
learning, especially relating to extending the children's vocabulary and helping
children to have greater understanding of how things work and what they do, and
to improve the assessment of the children by sharing observations with parents.
There is still a need for further development of the planning of some learning;
the other areas are no longer key issues.
In order to improve the quality and standards of the educational
provision, the setting should:
Build on the good work in planning which has been established to show how
children will be grouped and staff deployed. Find strategies which will ensure
children have the opportunity to extend their vocabulary.
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.
A. QUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL PROVISION
| Personal and social development |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Language and literacy |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Mathematics |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Knowledge and understanding of the world |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Physical development |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Creative development |
Promotes the desirable outcomes |
B. CHILDREN'S SPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IS
FOSTERED APPROPRIATELY.
C. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE ACTION PLAN IS SATISFACTORY
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.
It is recommended that the next inspection occurs within two to four years.
The strengths and weaknesses of
personal and social development
Personal and social development is well promoted, and children's spiritual,
moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately. The children
are confident and secure, and staff demonstrate interest and respect for their
contributions and ideas, promoting self-respect satisfactorily. A calm but firm
atmosphere and the established routines and ethos of the group ensure that
children are aware of appropriate behaviour. Behaviour is generally good.
Relationships in the group are good, these are supported by a good
staff-to-child ratio and committed staff involvement. Sensible rules are
enforced and explained well, and these promote the children's awareness of right
and wrong. For example, during the inspection, staff reminded some children that
in their pre-school everyone walks nicely because then nobody gets hurt, the
children responded straight away.
Staff require the children to share and to take turns appropriately, for example
while playing a 'lotto' type game, a child was asked to wait her turn to be
'caller'. Children are able to work well together in both teacher-led and
self-chosen groups, such as when playing with the toy cars and when playing a
'ball aiming' game. The children accept that they will help to tidy away toys
and equipment and that they will treat these carefully. They learn to care for
the environment when they frequently walk to the local recreation ground,
through forest land.
Planning and photographs show that the children have many opportunities to learn
about and appreciate many other cultures and beliefs. For example, they have
learnt about the Chinese New Year, Diwali and the Mardi Gras. At the time of the
inspection, they were learning about Independence Day and thinking about the
American way of life. The children regularly visit the local church. They
occasionally arrange the flowers, and are making a picture with dried flowers to
be exhibited in the church. They celebrate, Christmas, Easter and birthdays
regularly.
Children are able to show feelings; for example, the excitement and joy of
knowing where the teddy bear was hiding in a story book.
During the session, children took the initiative to sharpen their pencils when
they needed to and to empty the full container when necessary. They concentrate
and persevere with difficult puzzles and when doing their writing. At the start
of a session, the children select their own activities. They demonstrate
independence in both self-chosen and teacher-led tasks frequently and staff
promote independence in personal routines of both hygiene and skills, such as
helping staff at milk time.
The strengths and weaknesses of
language and literacy
The programme for language and literacy promotes the desirable learning outcomes
overall. Many activities give the children practise in listening; these include
regular registration, 'show and tell' sessions and story-time. Children are
encouraged to talk about their experiences and they are eager to share these.
For example, one child told everybody about his grandad's old car.
Role-play is encouraged by the staff who support these aspects, joining in
without removing control of the plot from the children. One child dressed as a
police officer and directed the parking of the toy cars. There is a weakness in
extending the children's vocabulary. Staff do not plan sufficiently to ensure
that this happens.
Books are used frequently. Regular story times are provided and children
participate in these with great pleasure. Children are aware of the correct way
to use books; they are encouraged to take books home regularly to share with
parents and carers. Good use is made of name cards which children find as they
arrive and 'post ' in a box, and also used for their places for milk. Labels of
familiar things, such as 'door', 'table', 'chair', are placed around the hall
which also promotes the children's ability to recognise words. Children are able
to recognise letters of the alphabet by shape and sound. They were able to say
the 'curly c' was the beginning of 'Catherine', 'cow', 'cat' and 'close'.
Children are learning about patterns in words through repeating familiar rhymes.
Writing materials are freely available and children show that they are beginning
to be aware of writing for a variety of reasons. Children are writing their
names with appropriate use of upper and lower-case letters and now write their
names on their pictures.
The strengths and weaknesses of
mathematics
The programme for mathematics is good throughout. Significant progress has been
made since the previous inspection. All areas of weakness have been fully
addressed. Mathematical language is introduced appropriately; for example,
'more' and 'less' were used when children were displaying the number of boys,
girls and adults present on the day. Children can describe many shapes and
showed skill in making up patterns with shapes.
Matching and sorting are well promoted by the use of proprietary games. During
the inspection, the children were playing a matching 'lotto' game which required
them to look closely at the images to find the match. They are able to count to
ten and beyond, and counting is used frequently during a session. They know and
enjoy number songs, for example 'Ten Milk Bottles' was sung during the
inspection. They are able to recognise the numbers to ten; they found the number
of certain objects and posted them into the appropriate numbered 'post boxes'.
Practical problems are occasionally used, such as asking the children to find
the correct number of beakers to match with the correct number of seats. There
are frequent activities to make the children aware of addition and subtraction,
such as working out how many children there are altogether from a chart on the
wall and also during the course of singing number rhymes.
The strengths and weaknesses of
knowledge and understanding of the world
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world is generally good.
Children are encouraged to talk about their experiences and are eager to
participate in the discussion. The past visit of a police officer with his car
was a topic during the inspection. Discussion on the new schools that the
children would be moving to was another. Staff are good at picking up the
children's comments and encouraging them to say more; for example, the child who
spoke about his grandfather's car was encouraged to talk about what it is like
to ride in it.
Excellent opportunities to explore features of living things, natural and made
objects are provided and well planned. The children examine similarities and
differences, patterns and change in the seasons especially during their walks to
the recreation ground through the forest. They grow vegetables and flowers
noticing the changes during the growing season. Sand and water play is offered
daily and children have many working toys for them to use in the discovery of
the properties of these. They have visited a farm to watch a cow being milked
and how they are looked after. The children talk about what they have observed
and sometimes record them by picture or on a chart.
Good opportunities are available for children to question why things happen and
how things work; for example, a child had been trying to work out why a pump
with a tap on it took water up, he decided that the pump had a way to 'suck' the
water up first.
There are a number of opportunities provided to make constructions of one sort
or another, such as blocks from which a large 'castle' was built. Playdough is
used regularly and children are beginning to become skilled with the cutting
tools. During the inspection, the children made sandwiches which required
spreading and cutting.
There is a child's computer in the hall and children showed a good level of
skill in operating a tape recorder to listen to sounds. They could find the
appropriate place on the tape.
The strengths and weaknesses of
physical development
The programme for physical development is good. During the inspection, children
were practising for their sports day, They ran and moved confidently with a
great deal of skill and enjoyment, well aware of the other children.
There is a good selection of large and small equipment in both halls. These
include climbing frames, wheeled toys, ball and hoops. New mats have enabled
greater use of some of this equipment. During suitable weather, the children are
taken to the local recreation ground where a secure area allows the children to
use the climbing apparatus. Photographic evidence shows the children using most
of these. The children have regular use of a ball game which uses a ball to
'stick' on to a target, they showed skill when using this. Staff make
suggestions of what children might try and give them plenty of encouragement to
extend their skills.
The children are also well supported to develop their skills with small tools
and to practise using equipment such as pencils, scissors and construction kits.
At the time of the inspection, children were using knives carefully to make
sandwiches.
The strengths and weaknesses of
creative development
The provision for creative development is excellent. Children explore sound with
tapes. Good use is made of imaginative play, and the pre-school provides a good
range of resources, techniques and stimuli for the children. A display of
treasured work included pictures in paint, collage and dried flowers.
Three-dimensional work showed articles made from papier mache, clay and wood.
Texture is explored by using materials such as feathers and straws.
Plans show that the children learn to use their senses. They chopped fruit and
used this to make milk shakes and tasted 'foods from the world'. They regularly
use 'smelly' bags which contain nice and nasty smells from onions to perfume.
There is a regular music lesson, when a music teacher helps the children to
develop their pitch and rhythm, and another adult visits the pre-school
regularly to give experience of dance. Children use a wide range of resources to
express their own ideas and feelings.
The strengths and weaknesses of the overall planning of the educational
programme
The planning of the programme is undertaken with reference to the six areas of
learning although there are weaknesses in some areas. Personal and social
development is given a high priority, and good emphasis is placed upon the other
key areas of mathematics and language and literacy except with regard to
developing children's vocabulary. Staff communicated ideas of how this could be
improved. Plans promote children's learning well in all other aspects of these
three areas of learning. Activities to promote these key areas appear daily in
planning and are also part of established routine.
No notes of staff deployment or the grouping of the children are made, but these
are known through custom, routine and close teamwork. A new system of planning
has recently been introduced, and staff regard this aspect of the pre-school as
still developing.
The strengths and weaknesses of
teaching and assessment
Teaching is generally good and has some excellent features. The staff are aware
of the requirements of the six areas of learning, and they use their knowledge
in planning the programme. They work in close liaison with the local school and
the headteacher is very supportive of the group. Teaching promotes the desirable
learning outcomes well. The deployment of staff is good and the children are
grouped appropriately. They work with each member of staff at different times
and experience a range of suitable groupings, ranging from story-time as a whole
group to paired and individual work.
Some good questioning is used in some areas, for example mathematics, and staff
interact well with the children. They are able to explain clearly and
relationships are warm. Staff share the children's feelings and experiences with
empathy and interest, for example when a child was anxious with regard to his
new school.
There is an excellent balance between child-initiated and teacher-led
activities, and children have good opportunities to become independent. A
reasonable balance between the six areas of learning is achieved, although one
aspect of language and literacy does not receive enough attention in detailed
planning of the programme. Personal and social development receives good
emphasis, supported by routines and ethos established in the pre-school, and the
children are generally well behaved. Language and literacy and mathematics are
both taught satisfactorily and children are likely to achieve the desirable
learning outcomes in these areas.
Assessments covering all six areas of learning have been undertaken. The staff
make good use of this information to plan parts of the programme with reference
to the achievements and needs of all the children in the group, particularly in
the areas of language and literacy and mathematics. The assessments are filed
with pieces of the children's work and have become an excellent record of
achievement.
Resources are good in all areas and are used effectively overall. The monitoring
of the programme, as carried out, is effective and the staff are continually
assessing resources to add to, or replace, as is necessary. Monitoring is
largely informal, but does involve contact between group staff and senior staff,
as well as with the parent committee. There is also close liaison with the local
school to which the children will go. Staff are aware of current training
courses and have attended some relevant training since the last inspection.
The strengths and weaknesses of
equality of access and opportunity
The programme offered is available to both boys and girls equally, and observed
activities and practice do not support obvious stereotypes. The staff have
understanding of the 1994 Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment
of Special Educational Needs, and of the outside agencies concerned. They also
work in close liaison with the local school and can ask for help and advice if
it is needed. Although there are no children whose first language is not
English, the observed practice of the staff would suggest that they would be
supportive and use suitable strategies to help any children in this position to
have full participation.
Staff use assessment to plan for individual needs in all aspects of children's
learning. Children are able to progress at their own pace in all areas of
learning, including language and literacy and mathematics.
The strengths and weaknesses of
the learning resources and accommodation
Resources and accommodation are good and are used well to support the learning
of all the children.
The resources available are sufficient to support the teaching of the whole
curriculum. They are stored well and sufficient equipment is available to all of
the children at each session. There are no inappropriate resources or
deficiencies. Resources for personal and social development are used well. A
good range of books is freely available and writing materials are used
effectively to support the teaching of language and literacy together with some
good proprietary made display materials. Staff use proprietary equipment and
everyday opportunities well in the teaching of mathematics. The resources for
knowledge and understanding of the world are good and used effectively,
particularly the outdoor area. They also use outside agencies, such as the
police and firefighters, well. The local village environment is exploited well
especially the allotment area. There are planned visit to places of interest,
for example, Gatwick Airport. The equipment for physical development is varied
and suitable and is used well to develop the children's skills. Creative
development is well resourced and good use is made of art and craft materials. A
large selection of musical instruments is available and used on a regular basis.
Staff have to store all equipment away each day and have developed good
strategies to ensure that during sessions children have the maximum
accessibility. The group has a useful range of resources to support the teaching
of children with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional
language. The indoor accommodation at both venues consist of one large, light
and airy hall and a smaller room which is very good for small group work. The
staff work hard daily to display work done by the children and to set up
interest tables. Fairwarp has a secure outdoor area which is used well. Children
grow plants. They also use the local environment for regular walks, and the
local recreation ground is used effectively for children to run freely and use
the equipment. There is no outdoor area at Maresfield.
The strengths and weaknesses of the partnership with parents and carers
The partnership with parents and carers supports children's progress towards the
desirable learning outcomes well. Relationships between parents and carers are
warm and welcoming. There is an excellent handbook for all parents, which gives
information on all aspects of the pre-school arrangements and policies. It also
includes information regarding the desirable learning outcomes.
Parents and carers have sufficient opportunities to be aware of their children's
progress, and staff are available to discuss children's progress at the
beginning and end of each of the sessions. Parents also have some worthwhile
opportunities to be involved with their children's learning, and there is a rota
of parents who stay at the group to help. They also help on the regular outings.
The group is run by the staff in partnership with an elected committee, which
ensures that parents are able to contribute to the children's learning.
Parents are encouraged to be involved with their children's learning and
assessment by sharing the staff's observations and assessment, and contributing
their own observations. This is a development since the previous inspection.
Records, are passed to the local school when the child moves once agreed with
parents and carers.
Implementation of action plan
The progress with the action plan has been satisfactory overall.
The key issues arising from the previous inspection relate to the development of
the programme for mathematics, extending plans to give more details of how
children are to be grouped, how children's vocabulary is to be extended and to
improve their understanding of why things happen and how they work. The
pre-school were also required to encourage parents to contribute to assessment
and to provide opportunities to view their children's progress.
The pre-school has established a programme for mathematics which refers to all
aspects of learning in this area. Children are now confident and are progressing
well. The progress made with this issue has been good.
Parents are fully informed of their children's progress and opportunities have
been introduced to give them regular access to the children's records. Some
aspects of this are still done informally depending on the parents' wishes, but
all information is sent home at the end of the year.
Staff have worked hard to produce new plans and these are progressing well.
Children are now encouraged to think about why things happen and how things
work. There is a need for further development to show how children will be
grouped and to help extend children's vocabulary. Staff expressed ideas of
strategies that they could use to help the children learn and understand new
vocabulary. This remains a key issue for further development.