Nursery Inspection Report

How effective is the Nursery education?
At The Paragon School provision is of high quality. Children are making very good progress in all six areas of the curriculum of the foundation stage.

Teaching is very good and staff work very well as a whole school team. Staff have good knowledge of what the children should be learning and plan an exciting variety of activities to cover all areas. Planning is working well and is well linked to the stepping stones of the foundation stage and to assessment. Work is made different for older children and they are well challenged. The school is able to support children with special needs; there is a school special needs coordinator and staff have attended training on special needs. The excellent child:adult ratios ensure they support children very well. Staff manage children's behaviour in a very consistent way and behaviour is very good. There are very good resources to support the curriculum and time is used well to provide a wide curriculum.

Leadership and management is good at all levels and staff meet regularly to discuss their work. Their work is well monitored with formal appraisals and targets are set. There are development plans in place for future improvement. These include plans for developing the outside area. All staff are very committed to the welfare of the children and attend courses regularly to extend their teaching knowledge.

There is a very good parental partnership. Parents feel well informed about progress. They are able to come to parents' evenings and are sent a progress report at the end of each term. Parents are involved with the curriculum as they are able to send in artefacts for topics and help their children with early reading. However, there is no information on the foundation stage of the curriculum in the school prospectus.

What is being done well?
The very positive ethos within both rooms. The way that children come in happily and settle well to their chosen activities.

The all round good progress that children are making in the foundation stage and indeed into the national curriculum. This is achieved by providing exciting activities such as visiting the local garden centre and cafe before setting up a role play cafe area in the room.

The area of knowledge and understanding of the world. The school grounds are used well to promote this. For example, provision of a 'secret garden where children can experience sensory plants. The children have excellent knowledge on such tonics as Antarctica which is supported by good role play in their Arctic station or igloo.

The way that staff throughout the school work as a team and support one another in their work.

• The very good behaviour of the children and the consistent way that staff manage behaviour.
• Provision for language and literacy where staff are extending children's language very well all the time.
• The good all round teaching which is the reason why the curriculum is working so well.
• The very strong and positive leadership and management of the school which allows children to develop their individual personalities and talents.

What needs to be improved?
The inclusion of information about the foundation stage of the curriculum in the school prospectus

The children's opportunities to write for a purpose, for example in the role play areas.

What has improved since the last inspection?
At the last inspection recommendations were made for staff to link the plans more directly with the curriculum for under fives. They were also asked to provide more differentiation in their plans for different ages and abilities. It was also suggested that a short break be introduced in the afternoons on days when physical education was not timetabled.

Plans are now closely linked to the foundation stage curriculum, often using the language of the stepping stones. Work is made more challenging for four year-olds and children go outside each afternoon for physical play on wheeled toys or to play active ring games.

Therefore progress since the last inspection is very good.

Summary of Judgements

Personal, Social and Emitional Development
Judgement: Very Good

Communication, Languate and Literature
Judgement: Very Good

Children are given very good opportunities for discussion and express themselves well. Their vocabulary is extended all the time with the excellent general knowledge of the staff which is being passed on to the children. Children show good phonic knowledge and are beginning to build words. They are able to read and write simple words and the well labelled environment facilitates this. Sometimes, however, there is not enough opportunity to use their own writing for a purpose.

Mathematical Development
Judgement: Very Good

Children have good opportunities to count and recognise numbers. They are beginning to understand simple addition and subtraction through the use of number rhymes, counting themselves and working on the number line. Mathematical language is used all the time in discussion as they, for example, talk about how their hyacinth has grown or about comparisons on size of feet. They are encouraged to solve simple problems and good displays are used to enhance their mathematical knowledge.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Judgement: Very Good

Children have excellent first hand experiences to enhance learning. They investigate the expansive grounds around the school and use their senses in their 'secret garden'. They grow plants from seeds and visit local shops. They also visit a garden centre with a cafe to experience buying seeds or a snack for themselves. There are good investigation tables provided where children can observe a birds nest as they feed birds outside. They also learn of many other cultures as well as their own.

Physical Development
Judgement: Very Good

Children have very good opportunities to move freely and with control. They climb and balance in the gym and ride wheeled toys outside. A specialist teacher takes them for physical education lessons and staff spend time each day playing physical ring games with them. They are encouraged to think about being healthy, the importance of washing hands and using tissues. They are showing developing skills with small tools and malleable materials.

Creative Development
Judgement: Very Good

Children enjoy their art work such as bubble printing or free choice painting. Their paintings of their mums and of penguins show skill and flair. They have a specialist music teacher who takes them for work with percussion and tuned instruments so they are able to explore sound. They sing with great enthusiasm and help their teacher to make up new verses for songs. They enjoy role play in their cafe and respond well to expressing themselves in many ways.

Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered appropriately? Yes

Outcome of the Inspection
The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

What the Setting Needs to Do Next
(Key issues or points for consideration for improvement in nursery education)

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following:

• Include information on the foundation stage of the curriculum in the school prospectus.