Nursery Education Inspection Report
TEMPLE GROVE SCHOOL
Inspection Number: 1141710
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INSPECTION OF NURSERY EDUCATION
INSPECTION REPORT
| Name of setting: |
Temple Grove School |
| Setting number: |
525350 |
| Address: |
Temple Grove |
| |
Heron's Ghyll |
| |
Uckfield |
| |
East Sussex |
| |
|
| Postcode: |
TN22 4DA |
| Person responsible for the day-to-day management of the
setting: |
Mrs Jenny Lee |
| Position: |
Head of School |
| Name of Inspector: |
Ivy Elsey |
| RgNI's Registration number: |
28729 |
| Date(s) of inspection: |
30/11/99 |
| Inspection number: |
1141710 |
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.
Temple Grove is an independent school for boys and girls aged from
two-and-a-half to thirteen years of age. The school, which was founded in 1810,
moved to its present site in 1935, the pre-prep department opening in 1982. The
site at Heron's Ghyll, is in a rural position on the edge of the Ashdown Forest
in East Sussex. The main school is housed in a large country house in the
extensive forty acre grounds and the pre-prep department meets in a
purpose-built block. At present, one hundred and forty-two attend the school,
with fifty-four attending the pre-prep, thirteen of whom are funded
four-year-old children. There are no funded children who have special
educational needs or for whom English is an additional language. The school
operates during term-time from 8.30 am until 3.30 pm. Four teachers work with
the pre-prep department with two support staff, all of whom have relevant
qualifications. There has been one change of staff since the last inspection in
December 1997. Staff have attended courses since the last inspection.
The strengths and weaknesses of the educational provision provided
A good range of activities is offered in the pre-prep department at Temple Grove
School. The children are likely to achieve the desirable outcomes in all six
areas of learning by the time they reach five years of age. Children's
spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well fostered.
The programme for personal and social development of the children is good.
Children are given opportunities to learn to work in a variety of groups, to
begin to choose their own learning activities and to become aware of cultures
present in society. Staff give opportunities for visitors to talk to the
children and to enhance their learning, they are hoping to extend this aspect of
their programme. Staff promote good behaviour, and the children respond well.
The programme for language and literacy is very good. Good opportunities are
offered for children to improve their skills in speaking and listening, they
enjoy books and stories and are beginning to read and write with confidence.
Children are familiar with letters and sounds.
Provision for mathematics is good. Staff take many opportunities to encourage
children to count and record numbers. They are encouraged to solve problems and
to become aware of number operations. Mathematical language is used confidently
and children are able to recognise shapes. Priority is given to this area of
learning.
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world is good. The last
inspection identified the need to develop the curriculum to give younger
children more opportunities in the use of technology. The children now use the
computer with confidence and enjoyment. Children are encouraged to explore the
features of the environment of the setting and to sometimes record their
findings. They learn about the area in which they live and have visitors from
the community to learn more about the outside area.
The programme for physical development is good. Children have regular
opportunities to develop their skills on the large apparatus in the adventure
playground. They use the main school's gymnasium and the swimming pool during
the summer months. Children's skills with the use of tools and equipment such as
pencils and scissors are well promoted. The last inspection identified a need to
develop woodwork, this is now an established activity in the setting and
children are using small tools in this area.
The provision for creative development is good. Children's work is well
displayed and valued. Specialist teaching in music and the regular experience of
listening to suitable music enhances their enjoyment and understanding. There is
a variety of materials for the children to explore and good use is made of
these. Dance and role-play are a regular part of the children's experience.
The detailed planning of the programme is carried out with regard to the
desirable learning outcomes and promotes these overall. The last inspection
identified a need to include details of what the children will learn from the
various activities. This need has been addressed and plans now show this aspect
clearly. This ensures there is focussed learning. The need to plan for younger
children to use the computer has also been added to the general planning, and
children now receive regular times in this area of development.
Teaching and assessment in the setting is generally very good. Staff have a
secure knowledge of the desirable learning outcomes and use their knowledge in
their planning and teaching. Staff relate well to the children and use their
understanding to provide good learning experiences. The balance between
teacher-led and child-initiated activities is satisfactory. A suitable
assessment scheme is in operation and use is made of the information gained to
inform the planning of the programme particularly in the areas of language and
literacy and mathematics. Staff promote equal opportunities and the
understanding of how to provide for children with special educational needs is
well informed.
The resources and accommodation are very good and support the delivery of the
whole curriculum very effectively. The monitoring of the group is effective in
that the whole staff consider regularly where there are areas for improvement.
Monitoring is done at staff meetings and informally at the start and end of each
session.
The partnership with parents and carers is very good. The parents are involved
with the children's learning and educational activities and are given
opportunities to learn about their children's progress. Staff hope to build on
this to include more of the parents.
The setting has made good progress in implementing the action plan drawn up in
response to the issues raised in the previous inspection. Staff drew up a clear
plan identifying targets and have proved successful in implementing these.
There are no significant weaknesses to report, but the following points
for development should be considered in the action plan:
Expand the variety of outside speakers.
Continue to build on support and interest from home to include more of the
parents.
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 GOOD
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 in the pre-school is good, and children's
spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately.
Continual praise, interest and respect for children's contributions and ideas,
promote self-respect and confidence well. A calm, warm atmosphere and the
established routines and ethos of the group ensure that the children are aware
of appropriate behaviour. Behaviour is good.
Relationships in the group are good, and these are supported by a good
staff-to-child ratio and committed staff involvement. Sensible rules are
enforced and explained well, these support the children's awareness of right and
wrong. For example, during the inspection period, some discussion took place as
to 'why we can share pencils and not try to take one being used by another
child'.
Staff require the children to share and take turns appropriately, for example,
while waiting to write 'f' and later '10' on the blackboard. Children are able
to work together in both teacher-led and self-chosen groups, such as when
playing with the building bricks. The staff encourage children to help tidy up
at the end of a session and ensure that the equipment will be treated carefully.
An understanding of the care of living things is promoted. The children help to
look after their pet guinea pig, cleaning it, feeding it and growing its food.
Positive images of a variety of cultures are present, and plans show that the
children have learned about many cultures and beliefs. Visits from people within
the community enhance the children's experiences and staff hope to extend this
facility. A number of religious and cultural events is celebrated during the
course of a year, for example, Christmas, birthdays, Easter and Hanukkah.
Members of the group share feelings sensitively as was shown during discussions
between the children. They showed great joy at a video programme that they were
watching.
Children are encouraged to concentrate and persevere well, for example,when
working on the computer. They can focus on activities for reasonable periods of
time. Opportunities to choose equipment and to initiate activities are good, and
the children respond well and use their time constructively. They demonstrate
independence frequently in both self-chosen and teacher-led tasks and staff
promote independence in personal routines. Children collect others' choice of
drinks and then hand these round; they change for outdoor activities and are
independent in personal routines, with regard to hygiene.
The strengths and weaknesses of
language and literacy
The programme for language and literacy is very good and promotes the desirable
learning outcomes well overall. Many activities give children good practice in
listening, including registration and 'story time'. During the inspection
period, topics discussed included the forthcoming Christmas play, and the 'Pudsey
Bear' breakfast that they had the week previously.
Vocabulary is introduced and extended well during the course of the sessions
mainly during conversations. A display showed that children have recently
focussed on 'opposite' words. Role-play is programmed frequently and staff
encourage this aspect of the children's development. For example, the children
helped to make up the Christmas play.
Books are used frequently and there is an extensive range of good quality books
from which the children can choose. They are aware of how books work and all the
children are reading extremely well. The displays are well labelled and the
children have helped with these, both in their own writing and on the computer.
The children's trays are named and the children can recognise their own name and
that of the members of the group. They recognise letters of the alphabet by
shape and sound and they are able to sing the alphabet.
Suitable activities, including making a list of the choice of drinks and regular
work on the computer, promote children's use of the letters, and work in the
children's books support this observation. Children write their names correctly
on their work.
The strengths and weaknesses of
mathematics
The programme for mathematics is good. Mathematical language is promoted
regularly. For example children were using 'more than', 'bigger than', and
'longer' during the course of the day. Work displayed, and the records show that
children are learning about shapes and their names. The making of patterns is
included in the programme and includes threading and making patterns with
magnetic tiles, and the children are achieving well.
Matching and sorting are promoted and children can sort by colour and shape, for
example with commercially produced equipment and with natural materials such as
leaves. They are able to sequence and order in everyday routines. Counting is
practised daily and children are able to count to ten and beyond.
The children sing many number songs such as 'Five Little Pussy Cats' and 'Ten
Fat Sausages' and use their fingers to indicate the number represented in the
song. They are able to recognise the numbers and to record them; for example on
worksheets and on the blackboard. Children are beginning to solve problems. For
example, a child was estimating and then discovering how many small bottles of
sand it takes to fill a larger vessel. Number operations are used regularly; at
the time of the inspection children were able to work out how many children were
present when two were away from the pre-prep.
The strengths and weaknesses of
knowledge and understanding of the world
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world is good. Since the
last inspection, staff have reviewed their planning to allow all children
regular use of the computer.
Children are encouraged to talk about their experiences and participate well.
The school 'Christmas fair' and the 'Pudsey' breakfast were topics discussed
during the inspection. There are good opportunities to learn about their
community with visiting speakers from the area. These have included the police,
a dentist and an animal inspector. The extensive grounds offer learning about
the countryside and the animals that live there. Children learn how to grow
flowers and vegetables and grow some to feed their pet. There is a regular
gardening club held. Children see the changes in nature and keep records of
visiting birds; they collect seeds and plant them for the following year.
Displays show that children are encouraged to sometimes record their
observations.
Planning and photographs show that children question why things happen and how
things work; for example, they have had opportunities to discover why some
things float and some sink. They have also investigated the properties of
magnets.
A number of good opportunities for children to make constructions is provided in
the course of a week. They use, for example, scrap materials, dough, clay and
construction kits. There were examples of work on display showing a train and
houses from the Holy Land, which the children had made from scrap materials.
Good use is made of the computer and children show considerable skill when using
the programs. A tape recorder is sometimes used for children to tell their
stories and also for exercises in listening to sounds.
The strengths and weaknesses of
physical development
The programme for physical development is good. A large range of suitable
equipment is available for use in the pre-prep; this includes beanbags, balls,
and wheeled toys. Suitable balancing and climbing equipment is available in the
adventure playground and this is used very regularly and with confidence. The
children wear boiler suits when the weather makes it necessary. Staff
spontaneously offer support and encouragement to the children in these
activities. The children are able to use the gymnasium in the main school and a
heated swimming pool is used weekly from May until the end of September. Dance
is timetabled regularly.
Children are offered good experience with malleable materials such as dough and
clay; they use small equipment such as scissors and pencils with good control.
They have regular use of construction kits and woodwork is now offered on the
programme, when children learn to use tools safely. There is a cooking club
which further encourages personal safety and control.
The strengths and weaknesses of
creative development
The provision for creative development is good throughout. Excellent displays
show that children experience expression using materials such as paint, fabric,
and dough. The provision of woodwork as an additional activity, as identified in
the previous inspection, has been addressed and the children now do this as part
of their creative experiences. They are given good opportunities to create
individual drawings and paintings and learn techniques in areas such as printing
and collage. At the time of the inspection there was a good display using autumn
leaves and colours.
Children explore sound with the use of tapes which encourage them to recognise
sounds from their own experience to find the source in a 'bingo' type game. They
are encouraged to listen to music daily at 'assembly time' and to comment on the
music that they have heard.
Other senses are used during the day, for example, children smelt the Christmas
cakes that they had made, and had experienced the difference in texture between
the cake mixture and the smoothness of the marzipan. At other times they had
considered the scents of various flowers and vegetables that they had grown.
A specialist teacher gives regular music lessons and children use instruments
during this time. Dance is offered weekly and photographs showed the obvious
enjoyment during these activities. Imaginative play and role-play are encouraged
and the children used their ideas to help in the planning of the Christmas play.
To enhance the children's creative development, there have been visits to the
pre-prep by artists.
The strengths and weaknesses of the overall planning of the educational
programme
The overall planning for the setting is good. The group has long, medium and
short-term written plans. All curriculum plans are clearly related to the six
areas of learning and are effective in promoting the desirable learning
outcomes. They give due priority to personal and social development, language
and literacy and mathematics. The detail of what children should be expected to
learn from the various outcomes of learning, as indicated in the previous
inspection, has been addressed and is now shown in the plans. This ensures there
is focussed learning. Different topics are programmed to ensure overall coverage
and photographs give evidence of past activities.
Regular timetabling for specific activities such as use of the computer and
listening to reading, ensures that all children experience these activities. The
staff evaluate the programme both informally at the start and end of each day
and at staff meetings. Activities are supported by good quality first-hand
experience and often followed up by the use of worksheets or children's own
recording.
The strengths and weaknesses of
teaching and assessment
Teaching and assessment is generally very good. The staff have good knowledge of
the desirable learning outcomes and use their understanding in the promotion of
learning experiences. There is also understanding of how children learn and the
need for them to practise newly acquired skills. The deployment of staff is good
and the children experience a range of suitable groupings, ranging from 'story
time' as a whole group to paired and individual work.
Some good questioning is used, for example when using a language computer
program, and staff interact very 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, in the excitement of the
forthcoming Christmas play and the fun at the 'Pudsey ' breakfast.
There is a satisfactory balance between teacher-led and child-initiated
activities, and children have opportunities to become independent. A good
balance between the six areas of learning is achieved. Personal and social
development receives appropriate emphasis, supported by the routines of the
group, and children behave well. Language and literacy and mathematics are both
taught well, and children are likely to achieve the desirable learning outcomes
in these areas. As the staff know the children well, they adapt activities to
meet children's individual strengths and needs.
Staff maintain informative records about children's participation and
achievements, these identify children's strengths and needs to inform future
planning. A time is set aside weekly to observe and assess the children and
daily 'tick' sheets help to ensure that the children's needs are met. Staff
regularly share information about children's progress with parents and carers
and incorporate any observations into the records.
The monitoring of the group is done both with informal discussions and at staff
meetings. The staff are aware of current training courses and attend those which
are relevant.
The strengths and weaknesses of
equality of access and opportunity
Girls and boys have good opportunities to take part in all activities. Staff
ensure that all children are involved. Through their records and knowledge of
the children, staff identify whether children are having broad and balanced
experiences or if they need encouragement to join in activities. They provide
sensitive support for all children. Planned activities and teaching ensure
equality of opportunity particularly for language and literacy and mathematics.
There are no four-year-old children with identified special educational needs.
The setting has a policy to support the Department for Education and
Employment's 1994 Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of
Special Educational Needs and can receive further help from the main school.
They are aware of the outside agencies who will give support in this area.
There are no children attending at present for whom English is an additional
language, but staff knowledge and appropriate resources would support such
children.
The strengths and weaknesses of
the learning resources and accommodation
Overall, the quality of resources and accommodation is very good and makes a
positive contribution to children's learning. All equipment is well stored and
easily accessible to the children. Resources for personal and social development
are available in all rooms with several 'home corner' areas and dressing-up
clothes to promote children's role-play activities and to give an understanding
of other cultures. There is an excellent variety of books which cover aspects of
factual information and a wide selection of fiction. Paper and pencils are
readily available. Good labelling, encourages reading and 'Big books' are
available for group work. These resources all support the teaching of language
and literacy well. Proprietary resources and everyday opportunities are used
well to support the teaching of mathematics. The resources for knowledge and
understanding of the world, such as magnets, magnifying glasses and a computer,
are good and used well. Physical development is well resourced with small
equipment and particularly with the adventure playground, which is used daily.
The use of the main school facilities allows children more experience to grow in
strength and agility. Creative development is a well-resourced area and good use
is made of art and craft materials. Musical instruments are available and used
regularly. Staff use everyday experiences and some proprietary equipment to
support children's development with their senses. The pre-prep has a range of
equipment to support the teaching of children with special needs and for whom
English is an additional language.
The indoor accommodation is bright and stimulating with excellent displays of
children's work. Equipment is available throughout the purpose-built unit and
there is space to allow all children to participate in activities. The very
extensive grounds are used very well to add a further dimension to the
children's learning. Overall, resources and accommodation are used very well to
support the learning of all children.
The strengths and weaknesses of the partnership with parents and carers
The partnership with parents and carers is very good. It has a positive impact
on promoting the children's attainment and the development of the desirable
learning outcomes.
Parents and carers are welcomed at the start and end of each day, when they are
able to share information on an informal basis. Parents speak highly of the care
given to, and the standard of education received by their children at the
pre-prep. They are kept well informed of what is happening in the group by an
informative noticeboard. Parents contribute to their children's learning by
hearing them read at home and, some, by actively running after-school clubs. The
pre-prep hopes to include more of the parents in such activities. At the time of
the inspection, parents gathered for afternoon tea, when mince pies, made
previously by the children in cookery club, were served by the children,
supported by parents. They share information, and this is added to the records
which are respected as confidential.
The setting's brochure is informative giving clear information explaining the
opportunities for the children. Reports are sent home three times a year and
regular meetings with parents are arranged. As most children move to the main
school after their time in the pre-prep, the records are passed on and
transition for the children is very easy.
Implementation of action plan
The setting has made good progress in implementing the action plan drawn up in
response to the issues raised in the previous inspection. The group was required
to incorporate into planning what children are expected to learn from various
outcomes of learning, to develop the technology curriculum for younger children
to include more use of the computer and other programmable toys and to include
woodwork into the programme.
The pre-prep has developed the planning system to include details of what the
children should learn from an activity. This has ensured that focussed learning
takes place. All children now have regular opportunities to use the computer and
are showing skill and enjoyment in this area of learning. Woodwork has been
included in the programme using good equipment to enable the children to achieve
well.