NURSERY INSPECTION REPORT

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education 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 Stage. 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.

Lydney Playgroup opened in 1965. Lydney is in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. The playgroup is situated in the grounds of the local primary school. Children who attend are representative of the local community. The pre-school leader is supported by three other members of staff, who all hold appropriate early years qualifications. The overall management rests with an elected parents' committee. During the spring and summer terms the playgroup runs from 9.00am until 12.00 noon on five mornings each week. During the autumn term there are four sessions with none on Tuesday. The group follows the school's term times, opening approximately 39 weeks of the year. Children join in the term of their third birthday. There are currently 26 on roll, with a maximum of 24 accepted at any one session. There are 6 funded four-year-olds, and 18 funded three-year-olds. A small number have special educational needs, all speak English as their first language. The group use a large hall with toilets. Outdoors, there are grassed and paved areas. Staff receive advice from a teacher advisor through the Gloucestershire Early Years Partnership.

The provision is acceptable and of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early leaning goals in all six areas of learning. Teaching is very good. There are very good relationships between staff and children. Very good personal support is given to all children. The staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They use good questioning techniques and effectively encourage children's language development and confidence to speak in front of the group. Those with special educational needs are well supported. Assessment procedures are good. The planning needs minor refinements to make full use of this assessment information, especially for the three-year-olds. Daily plans are effective overall, but they do not show the learning intentions in terms of the stepping stones. Consequently, the main teaching focus is not quite as sharp as it could be on the days with the mixed age group. It is however, very clear in the rising fives' group. The leadership and management of the committee and the play leader is very good. Roles and responsibilities are well defined. An effective development plan is in place and there is a common understanding of how to improve the group, even though it does not yet have a quality assurance scheme in place. The partnership with parents and carers is very good and contributes well to children's learning. Parents serve on the committee, help in the group and raise funds for new equipment. Staff, parents and carers have good informal daily contact and there is a real sense of community in the group. There are strong links to the school and the Opportunity Group that all share the same site.

All six areas of learning are well promoted, with children's personal and social skills especially well developed by all staff. Staff model language well and effectively encourage children's listening and speaking skills. The group is well managed by the committee and well led by the play leader. Teaching, especially of the 'rising fives', is very good, they are well prepared for the transfer to school. The partnership with parents is good and supports children's learning effectively.

the daily planning to make full use of the assessments ; the learning intentions for the three-year-olds to ensure these are fully linked to the assessments and the appropriate stepping stones rather than the early learning goals.

The progress since the last inspection is generally good. The teaching of mathematics has developed well. The play leader undertook some additional training in this area and has led staff in actively engaging children's interest and confidence in the area. The promotion of early writing and children's knowledge of the letter sounds has also been developed. They are now so enthusiastic and confident that both areas are strengths of the current provision. The Gloucestershire assessment scheme has been introduced and this ensures that all children's progress is fully recorded. Evaluations are written of the rising fives group session and these are well used to plan subsequent activities appropriately. However, the assessments of the three-year-olds are still not fully used in planning.