Great Shefford Under Fives

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

507899 Unique Reference Number 15 September 2006 Inspection date Melissa Cox Inspector

p.1

Village Hall, Station Road, Great Shefford, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 7DR

p.1

E-mail

Great Shefford Under Fives Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Great Shefford Pre-School opened in 1971 and operates from the village hall. The pre-school serves the local area and surrounding villages.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 30 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 22 children from three to five years on roll. Of these, 15 children receive funding for early education. Children attend a variety of sessions a week. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties or disabilities and also supports children who speak English as an additional language.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens four days a week during school term times. Sessions last from 09:30 to 14:45 on Tuesdays and 09:30 to 12:15 Wednesdays to Fridays.

p.2

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 Five part time staff are employed to work with the children. Two staff members have an early years qualification to NVQ level 3. One staff member is currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority.

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's health is promoted effectively by staff who demonstrate a good knowledge of the procedures for promoting health and hygiene. They give children opportunities to develop a suitable awareness about health and hygiene procedures through well established routines that include hand washing after using the toilet and messy play. Children's independence is encouraged, they are able to visit the toilets safely as and when they need, with gentle reminders from staff to wash their hands when they have finished. All necessary accident and medication books are in place and shared with parents when necessary.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children are beginning to learn about healthy eating. They are offered a good selection of snacks during the week, that include bananas, wholemeal toast or cheese and crackers. Children help themselves to the snacks from a plate on the table. Milk, water and juice are offered during snack time. Water is made available to children throughout the session. Children's healthy growth and development is being fostered as staff show a good understanding of their individual dietary requirements.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from fresh air and regular exercise, making good use of the indoor and outdoor environment. The nearby playground is used regularly by the children and they enjoy frequent walks around the village. Staff organise physical activities inside with children doing action songs, jumping, hopping and moving to music. Children take part in these with enjoyment and excitement as they jump around to instructions by staff when playing musical statues. They move freely and confidently elsewhere in the setting demonstrating good spatial awareness, for example manoeuvring big builder cars. They demonstrate their dexterity as they draw and write with pens and pencils.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are welcomed into a warm, friendly, happy and welcoming environment where they play safely. There is an excellent range of resources that are used well and which children access easily at all times. Resources are of good quality, well maintained and sufficient in quantity to ensure that all wishing to participate in an activity may do so. Children are well supervised by staff at all times, who take good measures in reducing potential risks around the building both inside and outside. Children learn to keep themselves safe. They remind each other to wipe their feet carefully on the mat in case they slip.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Written risk assessments are carried out by staff regularly. Detailed policies and procedures in place ensure that the staff are consistent in keeping children safe. There are clear outings procedures with parents attending when outings further away are undertaken. Visits to the

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 local school and park are taken regularly with appropriate staff ratios and possible risks are effectively reduced due to careful risk assessments. Detailed records are kept of fire drills completed, these are done at regular intervals through the year. The pre-school provides an effective security system to prevent unchecked visitors from entering the premises.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff understand their responsibilities for protecting children's welfare. All staff undertake training regularly to update their knowledge. They have clear procedures in place and have a clear understanding and knowledge about what to do in the event of having a concern about a child in their care.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are confident and happy as they leave their parents to play. All children enjoy themselves at playgroup and the activities offered are fun and enjoyable. There is a good balance between adult-led activities and free play. Children can select their own activities and staff have a good understanding of how to ensure children complete activities in their own time. Adults and children communicate well as they discuss what they are going to do and what they have done at previous sessions. Children have excellent concentration skills which include sitting enthralled when being told the story of 'The Billy Goats Gruff'. They clap with excitement and praise for the billy goat puppets when they have finished their story.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teaching motivates the children, so they are keen to learn and they make good progress. Activities and experiences are broad and effective. Children's individual written assessments are clear, and staff have a clear understanding about what stage children are in their learning. Staff have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage. They assess children's understanding and abilities accurately and use the knowledge gained to plan the next steps in their learning. This means that children's learning is progressive, building up from what they already know and can do.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children work well together as they play. They understand the concept of caring and sharing and as they play, this is reinforced. Staff know the children well and use questioning effectively to promote children's language and thinking. Children have confidence and freely express how they feel. Children concentrate well and listen carefully to instructions given to them by staff. For example, when making a new poster for snack time, children cut carefully around the food shapes listening to the directions given by staff.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children count confidently, calculate and use mathematical ideas within their play. Staff integrate mathematics extremely well into the daily routines and across all areas of learning. They pick up on spontaneous opportunities to promote this area of learning but also plan specific adult-led activities, which children thoroughly enjoy. For example, staff question children on how big their design with the big builder is, and whether it can stretch all the way across the room. Such activities are carefully matched to children's abilities and through effective questioning, children are challenged appropriately.

p.4

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 Children have good opportunities to design, construct and have regular use of the computer. Children are able to freely access the well resourced home corner where they dress up and act out plays based on their first-hand or imagined experiences. Children have a good understanding of the world around them and talk about what they have done during the session and on previous days. They discuss their trip on the bus during the World Cup and talk enthusiastically about the Newbury Show and what they hope to see. An interesting programme of outings in the neighbourhood and visitors to the pre-school expands their understanding. They visit the local park to enjoy the climbing equipment and have frequent visits to the local school to enjoy the outside area. Staff are unable to make use of the outside area. As a result, opportunities

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

for children to take part in spontaneous physical play are limited.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children arrive at the setting happy and confident. They are welcomed as they self register, and they eagerly look forward to the day's activities. Children are given clear guidelines, know the routines well and are sensitive to the needs of others, readily sharing toys and resources. Children's behaviour is excellent. Those with learning difficulties or disabilities are well supported in all areas and, due to this, they are able to achieve their full potential.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Children develop a positive attitude to others through varied images displayed around the setting. They receive good opportunities to visit the local community, as well as welcoming visitors from the community into the setting. Thus, further developing a secure knowledge of the wider world. This positive approach fosters children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents and carers are well informed by staff. They share relevant background information, play activities and discuss children's specific needs. Informative notice boards with relevant up to date business information and current project work are accessible to all parents. Children benefit from the open door policy and two way sharing of information, with opportunities for parents to speak to staff on a daily basis. Parents receive regular opportunities to contribute to the assessments made on their child and are encouraged to be involved in their learning through organised learning events for example, literacy or early mathematics skills. As a result, parents and carers have a sound understanding of their child's progress and are given good opportunities to be involved in their children's learning.

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from being cared for by well qualified staff. Trainee staff are inducted effectively and receive extremely good support during their training period. Emphasis is placed on training, with staff having individual targets for their personal development. All staff work together as a highly effective team. All legally required documentation is in place and readily available for inspection, although some policies require modification to reflect recent legislation, including the complaints and child protection procedure.

p.5

Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Leadership and Management are good. Effective systems are in place to ensure that staff plan a broad and effective curriculum and planning contains good detail regarding individual children. Both staff and the committee are committed to improvement, however whilst staff informally assess their own practice, there are no formal systems in place to systematically review the effectiveness of the education provision.

p.5

Organisation

Children's care is enhanced by the setting’s effective organisation. Staff observe children's development and learning and keep records that help them to meet their needs. Children's records are openly shared with parents. Staff understand and follow the settings policies and procedures to take appropriate steps to protect children, promote their well-being and support their development.

p.6

Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

The last Children Act inspection recommended that the pre-school further develop the equal opportunities and behaviour policies; and further develop the child protection procedures to show what would happen should an allegation be made about a member of staff. The pre-school has made the necessary improvements to the policies and procedures which ensures the ongoing safety of the children who attend.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

The last inspection of nursery education showed no significant weaknesses to report, but that consideration should be given to the planning to include evaluation and staff's involvement. In addition the group were asked to provide opportunities for children to use programmable equipment, such as computers. The group have purchased a computer for the children to use and children now have access to other equipment such as digital cameras and phones. Planning has been revised and all staff are successfully involved in planning. Evaluations are completed on all activities on a daily basis and staff carry this information forward to influence planning. As a result, activities are linked to the children's individual needs and staff are able to determine what they can do to improve on activities. Children now benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum based on what children can do, covering all areas fully.

p.6

Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

p.6

Complaints 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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.6

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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND 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 The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

p.6

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): • ensure complaints and child protection policies reflect most recent legislation

p.7

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): • provide more opportunities for children to extend their learning during spontaneous physical play • develop procedures to ensure staff are monitored and supported effectively and their practice is evaluated

p.7

The quality and standards of the nursery education

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

p.7

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

p.7