Unity Primary Academy

Scamps Pre School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Scamps Pre School

Unique Reference Number 141113 Inspection date 06 July 2006 Inspector Janet Armstrong

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Scamps Pre School

Setting Address Spetisbury Hall & Slopers First School, Spetisbury, Dorset, DT11 9DF Telephone number 01258 452107

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E-mail

Registered person Scamps Pre-School Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Scamps Preschool opened in 1997. It operates from a classroom attached to Spetisbury Hall and Slopers First School, set in the village of Spetisbury, approximately three miles from the town of Blandford Forum. The preschool is run by a committee of parent volunteers and provides full day care for 16 children from aged two to under five years. The preschool is open Monday to Friday, term time only from 09.00 to 15.30. They

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 are registered to receive the government funding for three and four-year-olds. There are currently 28 children on roll, of whom 27 are funded. The preschool supports children who have special educational needs. The accommodation consists of a classroom, of which the preschool have sole use of. They have access to kitchen and toilet facilities and use of the school hall. They also have access to the school outdoor play areas. The preschool employs a qualified manager who holds NVQ level 3 in childcare and education. She is supported by five members of staff, of whom two hold a recognised childcare qualification and two who hope to start training later in the year.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's health is promoted well. Children learn positive hand washing practices through regular daily routines. They independently wash their hands after messy play, using the toilet and before mealtimes. They have access to liquid soap and paper towels to support them, and although supervised, use the facilities unaided. Children know they wash their hands "to get rid of the germs". Staff follow effective procedures to support children's health. The environment is cleaned daily and staff monitor all areas to ensure they are clean and enable children to explore freely. Different coloured cloths are used for the different cleaning tasks. This helps to reduce the risk of cross contamination. Staff follow clear procedures when changing nappies. Children's privacy is respected and appropriate procedures are followed to help reduce the risk of the spread of infection. All the necessary

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Helping children to be healthy

documentation and records are also in place to support children's health. Two staff are first aid trained, with at least one present at every session. They follow clear procedures and recording for the safe administration of medication and management of accidents. A clear written sickness policy is in place and shared with parents to encourage infectious and unwell children to be excluded to help reduce the risk of the spread of sickness. Not all children's records of information have been updated to include written parental permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment. This compromises children's well-being. Children's healthy lifestyle is promoted well. They are provided with a range of healthy snacks on a daily basis that include a savoury offering of sandwiches, toast or crumpets along with organic fruit, such as strawberries, cucumber, apples, bananas, Satsuma and fruit salad. Milk and water are provided at snack times and

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Helping children to be healthy

children are able to help themselves to drinking water throughout the session. Parents are requested to support the setting's positive approach through providing healthy options in their children's lunch boxes. Snacks and lunch are served on plates and children are taught good table manners. Appropriate procedures are followed to inform staff about children's individual dietary needs. However, there is no system to record the discussions with parents detailing how to manage any allergies, food intolerances or medical needs in an emergency situation. This compromises

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 children's health. Children's physical development is promoted well. Regardless of the weather children have daily opportunities to become physically active and let off steam. Indoors, they enjoy structured physical activities in the school hall using a range of gym equipment. Children wear their coats and Wellington boots on rainy days and enjoy running around outside, jumping in the puddles and using ride on toys.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. A safe and secure environment is provided for children to play and explore safely and freely. All the necessary precautions have been taken to reduce potential hazards. For example, there are no exposed electrical points, the school hall and outdoor play areas are safe, hazardous substances are stored out of reach and children can visit the toilet safely. The front door is locked to provide a secure environment and a register records those children and staff present each day, although actual times of children's arrival and departure are not clearly identified, nor are all visitors asked to sign in. The premises, furniture, equipment and play provision is in a good state of repair and well maintained. Yearly written risk assessments are completed to enable management to identify any concerns. Staff complete informal daily risk assessments to enable them to identify and address any potential hazards as they arise. Accident

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

records are monitored on a regular basis to ensure that all areas continue to be safe for children to use. Clear procedures are followed to promote children's safety when on outings. Higher ratios of staff are maintained. Children are taught to stay with a named member of staff and they are clearly identified with a sticker containing the preschool's phone number. They learn how to cross the road safely and about stranger danger. Throughout the sessions, children are taught safe practices to enable them to make a positive contribution towards their own and others' safety. They recap regularly on the preschool's golden rules and learn why they need kind hands and feet and use kind words. They learn to use scissors safely, to tidy up as they go and not to run indoors. Fire drills are practised regularly with the children. This enables them to follow appropriate procedures for the safe evacuation of the premises in an

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

emergency situation. A collection book and password system ensures that children are collected by named and authorised persons only. Staff have a good awareness and understanding of child protection issues to enable them to follow appropriate procedures should they have a concern about a child in their care. This helps to protect children from harm.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children have high levels of confidence and settle quickly into the sessions, leaving their parents with ease. They have formed positive relationships with each other and with staff, whom they readily seek out to extend and share their play experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Staff interact naturally with the children, who respond well to the positive input they receive. They have good personal independence and move around the playroom making free choices throughout the session. They have free access to a range of play provision to support their interests and ideas. The play room has been set up to provide children with access to a good range of activities to support their all-round development. For example, a quiet book area, creative messy play area, tabletop and floor activities and role-play. Although, not all resources are readily available to the children to support them in their imaginative play whilst using the home corner. The setting offers care for children in the term of their third birthday. Children under the age of three receive positive levels of support from staff to promote their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

self-esteem and confidence. Staff have attended the Birth to three matters training and they use this framework loosely to plan and support younger children's development. Although it is not currently used to enable them to plan or record younger children's development and progress effectively. Nursery education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a good knowledge of the early learning goals and steps within and support children's learning well. They interact naturally with the children and support the children's creative and physical development effectively. Staff challenge the children's understanding through good use of questioning and sharing of information and provide children with a safe environment in which to share their views and ideas comfortably. For example, in a group discussion, children confidently share their views on rainbows and thunder. One child reliably informs the others 'that thunder is when the clouds bump together'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

However, staff do not provide children with sufficient challenges to extend some aspects of the children's mathematical development. Children respond well to the clear instructions and expectations they receive from staff to enable them to benefit from the activities offered. Children's learning is supported through a range of situations, such as one-to-one, small groups, adult led and child-initiated activities. This enables staff to promote the range of individual learning needs of those present. Medium and short-term plans work well to identify an interesting range of themes and activities that clearly link to the early learning goals and steps within to inform staff. However, there are no long-term plans in place to show whether a broad and balanced curriculum is provided over the period of the year. Children's records of assessment contain written observations that are supported by photographs and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

samples of the children's creative and mark making skills. These are supported by tick lists that are shared with the school to identify at a glance what stage children are at. Whilst this information enables staff to monitor and support children's progress and development, it does not successfully provide a clear picture for parents of children's progress through the steps, as observations are randomly grouped together and are not always clearly linked to the steps within the six areas of learning. Children have good self-confidence and self-esteem. They enter the sessions confidently leaving their parents to join the group. Positive relationships have been formed with others, whom they actively seek out to extend their play and share their ideas. Children learn to manage their own behaviour well through clear boundaries and support from staff. They have good personal independence as they make free

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 choices and move around the play room independently. They see to their own toileting needs unaided, pour their own drinks at snack time and dress and undress themselves for physical activities in the hall and for outdoor play in the rain. They use their language well to communicate to negotiate with others, sharing their thoughts and opinions. For example, when building the train track they negotiate as to which piece is needed next, "we need a round piece next" states a four-year-old to his friends. Children enjoy books in a range of situations. They access the book corner independently and retell familiar stories to themselves. In group situations they listen quietly to the stories read, showing a good awareness of the speaker, as they listen and answer questions relating to the book appropriately. They learn to link sounds to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

letters through familiar rhymes and songs and recognise the sound their own and other children's names start with through regular routines. Children have regular opportunities to mark make. They have independent access to a range of resources where they freely draw pictures, learn to hold a pen correctly and form recognisable letters to write their own names and routinely label their work. Children have good counting skills and use their knowledge of numbers to count in their play. They build towers using bricks, counting each one as they go. A member of staff draws around them on a large piece of paper and the children measure the results to identify how tall they are using large building bricks. At registration time they confidently count up to 14 to identify the number of children present. They learn to recognise written numbers to correspond with this number. A four-year-old identifies that one and four together represents 14. However, there is limited

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

evidence to show that children are sufficiently introduced to solving simple number problems and calculation on a regular basis. Children learn shape, space and measure through a range of activities where they recreate patterns using the cups at snack time, measure themselves using large bricks and learn about concepts, such as big and little etc. Children have many opportunities to explore and investigate. For example, in an adult led activity, children explore texture and colour through mixing dried pasta and rice with different food colourings. A four-year-old uses a sand timer, "the sand falls to the bottom, it takes a long time, but when it is finished, you swap over" he informs me whilst waiting for his go to play with the trains. Children explore the effects of magnets and move around the play environment to test which items it attracts. In the past, they have experimented using ketchup, vinegar and bicarbonate

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

of soda to recreate a volcano and watch the effects. Children have regular opportunities to build and design, where they set up the train tracks together, build towers and vehicles using a range of construction equipment and complete a range of different puzzles. Children use modern day technology with confidence. For example, a three-year-old uses a children's tape player. She knows which buttons to press to operate play, stop, eject and change tapes. Planning shows that children use a tape recorder to explore the sound of their own voice. Children have a good introduction to the local environment through a range of interesting activities, such as wildlife, life cycles of frogs and butterflies, visiting a farm and looking at animals. They are appropriately introduced to a range of cultures and beliefs that include looking at the lifestyles and clothing from other countries, food tasting and celebrating Diwali,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Chinese New Year and Hanakaah, as well as more typical Western festivals. Children show good spatial awareness as they negotiate around furniture and others at play to access the different areas available to them indoors. They show developing

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 control and co-ordination of their bodies as they dance and make controlled movements in line with the commands on the children's tape. They use a range of equipment with increasing control and co-ordination, where they learn to balance along low beams, climb on apparatus and jump off a low horse. They use ride on toys with confidence and skill and use the pedals to propel themselves in and around the available space outdoors. Children have good opportunities to develop their hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Outdoors in the rain, children use different sized paint brushes to dip into the puddles and make marks on a large blackboard. They use a range of tools to dig and pour sand, they use tap-a-hammer to bang in small nails and create pictures, and use sewing tools and resources with

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

one hand. Children have free access to art and design materials to initiate their own creative ideas and express themselves. Children access this area independently and throughout the session use scissors, Sellotape, card and string to make a sword, a telescope and a crown. They have regular opportunities to explore media and materials through the many adult-initiated and structured creative activities, such as sponge and free painting, collage, cutting and sticking and baking. Children enjoy singing familiar rhymes and songs and join in with the words and actions. They access musical instruments to explore sound and rhythm and work together to create their own music. Children use their imagination well in small world play and role-play. They act out familiar and imagined situations in the home corner, as they shop and make 'custard soup'. However, not all role-play resources are easily accessible to the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children to enable them to initiate and extend their imagination.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children have an appropriate introduction to their local environment. They visit local places of interest within the village and local town. For example, they enjoy local walks to the park, church, regularly use the school facilities, visit a local farm and have enjoyed bus rides to the supermarket. They are introduced to diversity through regular access to play provision, such as books, dolls and puzzles and participate in planned activities to raise their awareness of the wider world in which they live. Children with special educational needs are supported well within the group. The co-ordinator works closely with parents and other professionals to promote children's development. Children are well behaved. They learn the golden rules to enable them to get along in group situations. They learn to share, take turns and show care and consideration for others through consistent boundaries and positive role models from staff. Children's

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Helping children make a positive contribution

spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Partnership with parents is good. Staff have a good awareness of children's individual needs through the written information they gather from parents. Daily discussions enable both parties to be kept informed and up-to-date which helps to provide children with a sense of security and continuity of care. Parents receive a useful written prospectus about the setting's aims, the early learning goals and how parents can become involved to support their children's learning. Regular newsletters keep them informed of any relevant issues and a notice board details the planned

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 activities. This enables parents to make informed choices about the quality of care and education their children receive. Appropriate systems are in place to keep parents informed about their children's progress. This is achieved through daily informal discussions and yearly formal opportunities to enable those parents whose children are leaving to see their children's records of assessment. All parents are able to access their children's assessment records throughout the year. Excellent systems in place encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning. A 'home share' system encourages children to take home preschool activities. Written instructions to parents provides them with information on how to support their children and encourages them to record the outcome. A 'written activities at home'

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Helping children make a positive contribution

newsletter informs them of themes, what their children will be learning each term and how parents can support this at home. There is a written complaints policy and procedure is in place that reflects current legislation, although Ofsted's current address and telephone number has not been updated.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Good use has been made of the play room to provide children with a warm and welcoming environment. Children have been provided with different areas in which to play to promote their learning. They have free access to a good range of interesting activities, especially art and design. This promotes children's independence and self-esteem. Staff work very well together as a team. They are effectively deployed and play a positive role in the children's learning. They are cheerful, approachable and share tasks and responsibilities to support each other and the children. All the necessary documentation, consents and records are in place to promote children's safety and general well-being. Although, not all systems effectively support all areas of children's health and learning. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Leadership and management is good. There are clear procedures in place for the

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Organisation

recruitment and vetting of new staff to determine their suitability and keep children safe, although, the written policy does not fully support this. Self-evaluation has been completed and has enabled management to identify their areas of strength in detail and how this impacts on the care of the children. However, weaknesses and areas for improvement have not been identified to enable the setting to maintain and continue to build on its good standards. The nursery education is effectively evaluated to enable management to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the activities provided and the impact this has on the children's learning. Staff feel well supported and are encouraged to attend regular training courses to obtain child care qualifications and update their skills and practices. Yearly appraisals enable management to identify the staff's strengths and weaknesses and support their ongoing effectiveness. There are clear detailed induction procedures in place to

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Organisation

ensure new staff are well informed of their roles and responsibilities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider agreed to ensure all staff are aware of child

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 protection procedures to follow. This has been addressed successfully to promote children's safety. Since the last inspection staff have attended child protection training. They have a clear awareness of child protection issues and what action to take should they have a concern about a child in their care.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • further develop the current systems in place for obtaining information from parents regarding the management of individual dietary needs, such as allergies and food intolerances and ensure written parental permission to obtain emergency medical advice and treatment is in place for all children • further improve the systems for planning and recording younger children's progress, for example, in line with the Birth to three matters framework

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • further develop planning to ensure it provides a broad and balanced curriculum over the period of a year • reorganise children's records of assessment to clearly identify the progress children are making through the steps in all aspects within the six areas of learning that can be shared with parents

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • extend the opportunities for children to calculate and solve simple number problems on a regular basis.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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