Sacred Heart Pre-School

Sacred Heart Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Sacred Heart Pre-School

Unique Reference Number EY318019 Inspection date 21 June 2006 Inspector Lisa Patterson

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Sacred Heart Pre-School

Setting Address Sacred Heart RC School, Heys Street, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, FY5 4HL Telephone number 07835711921

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E-mail

Registered person Sacred Heart Pre-School Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional 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?

Sacred Heart Pre-School is a committee run setting which operates from a purpose built classroom within Sacred Heart RC Primary School situated in Thornton-Cleveleys. There is a wide catchment area which is not exclusively for those children who will attend Sacred Heart school. The setting is open from 09.15 to 11.45 each morning and for afternoon sessions from 12.45 to 15.15 each weekday, except Fridays, during term time only. The facilities available for the children include

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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 a classroom, with adjoining toilets, and the school hall. Toilet facilities for disabled children are also available. There are currently 59 children on roll, of whom 34 are in receipt of government funding. The setting supports children who have been identified as having learning difficulties and those children for whom English is an additional language. There are currently seven members of staff employed who hold an appropriate child care qualification, two of whom work on a part-time basis. The manager and contact person holds a Level 3 child care qualification in child care and all other staff members are appropriately qualified. The setting receives support and guidance from the local authority partnership.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are healthy because staff use their knowledge from training and experience to maintain good hygiene standards. Hands and tables are wiped prior to the serving of snacks. All staff hold qualifications in first aid and food hygiene. Accident and medication records are in place and maintained to the required standard. Children learn about being healthy through regular reminders from staff about washing their hands, not eating food that has fallen on the floor and reminders to clean their teeth after eating buns they have decorated. Time is set aside during the sessions for children to enjoy quieter activities, such as reading stories and singing songs which gives them opportunities to rest. Staff are very aware of younger children's need for sleep and work with parents in providing for their requirements. Children enjoy physical activity during each session. They utilise the hall for using

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Helping children to be healthy

larger equipment, such as trikes and climbing equipment. If the hall is unavailable, children enjoy circle games and using the parachute in the classroom. The children enjoy fresh air and use the reception playground for outdoor activities, this ensures their physical development and motor skills are promoted. Snacks are, on the whole, nutritious and children are becoming aware of healthy eating. They remind staff about 'E' numbers in certain foods and are keen to tell the staff that milk makes you strong. There is a water cooler which is accessed independently by the children throughout the session which promotes their independence and increases their responsibility. Nursery Education Children are proficient in the use of small and larger equipment, for example, paint brushes, pencils and stampers; they handle these with increasing control. They are given opportunities to move about on climbing equipment, use sit and ride toys and a

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Helping children to be healthy

parachute which develops their control and coordination. Children are, for example, able to crawl underneath the parachute in a specified direction and draw circles, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, in the air with streamers.

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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

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a warm and welcoming environment. There is a daily risk assessment to ensure all areas are suitable for use by children. They are welcomed at the door by staff and are encouraged to talk about events at home while seated on the carpet. This increases their sense of belonging. Activities and resources are laid out prior to their arrival and staff are stationed at individual activities to offer guidance when required. This maintains the children's motivation levels. Safety measures are in place to ensure the resources and the physical environment are safe. Broken equipment is discarded and staff give regular reminders about staying safe, for example, don't run because you might trip and not to run on the parachute because they may get hurt. Children have learnt from this and offer the same instructions to their peers, for example, when a child was running her peer

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

reminded her that she might fall. Emergency escape procedures are practised regularly and evaluations are used to improve future practice, for example, by using hoops on a rope to keep the children together. This maintains the children's safety. Children are safeguarded because staff understand the procedure to follow should they have any suspicions of abuse. All staff members have received recent training and policies and procedures contain up-to-date information.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children experience a good range of play and learning opportunities which promote their all round development. They become settled and are happy in the setting and gain self-esteem through positive interactions with staff. Children are continually engaged in a broad range of planned activities and spontaneous events which are well used by staff to promote their learning. Children are offered a wide range of choices which allow them to make decisions, explore and investigate their environment, for example, during directed activities they are given a choice of paper and how many footballs they want to stick on. They relate well to each other and adults, including visitors and the staff show they are genuinely interested in the children by asking questions about both their free play and structured activities. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a good understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum, gained through

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

training, and this is well used to inform the planning process to ensure learning is promoted in all areas. The learning environment is stimulating and promotes independence through offering activities which are at an easily accessible level and are labelled with both pictures and words. Children's interest is maintained throughout the session through very good interactions from staff who reinforce their understanding and challenge their thinking. Staff are energetic, enthusiastic and

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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 motivate the children to learn through innovative and relevant activities, for example activities relating to the 'world cup' and using a teddy to help the children to listen to instructions. Regular observations and assessment are used to inform planning and to produce termly progress reports for parents. Records show how much progress the children have made and staff have a clear knowledge of their needs. Written planning does not, however, clearly show the different learning objectives, consequently the directed activities sometimes lack focus. The children are making good progress, based on their starting points, in relation to the stepping stones in all six areas of learning. Staff are fully aware of their individual learning styles and ensure specific needs are met, through, for example, offering

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

additional home links to children with English as an additional language. Children's understanding is continually challenged through questioning from staff. Planned and incidental activities are differentiated based on levels of understanding, for example, children identifying colours or shades of colours, depending on ability, during a carpet activity. Staff occasionally miss opportunities for using the physical environment and daily experiences to promote children's learning. Children enjoy their time at pre-school, they are interested in the activities on offer and relate well to staff and peers, asking questions and taking responsibility for their actions. They concentrate for extended periods in activities of interest to them, for example, making a bridge using pegs and acting out the story of 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. Children understand what is right and wrong and are beginning to understand the feelings of others, for example, when a staff member said she was

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

too scared to go underneath the parachute, a child went in for her. Children join in with rhymes and songs with gusto and are developing the skills to write their names and read language from books. They enjoy drama and change their expressions based on characters in the stories. Children have many opportunities for developing mathematical skills through the planned and non-directed activities, for example, counting footballs and deciding whether they have more or less pegs than their friend. They learn positional language through activities, such as the parachute. Children use all of their senses to explore their environment for example, smelling when the toast is ready, looking outside at the weather and deciding whether or not it looks like it will rain. They construct using a range of commercial toys and with boxes, and are learning about time through, for example, being given a five minute warning

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

before tidy up time. They have regular and independent access to a computer and various programmable toys on a daily basis. Children explore with a variety of media and materials and thoroughly enjoy using their imagination during role play, for example, children were pretending to be in the jungle and giving a full account of what they could see.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children with individual differences are well supported because staff work hard to understand their requirements, whether these be a learning difficulty or a cultural

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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 need. Key staff have a sound knowledge of issues surrounding children with learning difficulties, gained through training. This is well implemented in practice to ensure the children's needs are met. Books and activities are provided to ensure children experience differences in society. Children are included by, for example, home link books to develop language, involving children in carpet time plays and organising the setting to make activities accessible to all. Positive imagery on display is limited. Children are well behaved and relate well to peers, staff and visitors. Staff have high expectations of behaviour, manners are encouraged at all times and there is an atmosphere of mutual respect. Humour and explanations are used which places the responsibility on the child and increases their knowledge of the boundaries. Staff

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Helping children make a positive contribution

regularly praise and encourage children for good behaviour and a job well done, and a wide range of positive methods for managing behaviour are utilised, for example, a reward apple tree. Children learn to respect toys and equipment through helping to tidy away. Nursery Education Partnership with parents and carers is good. Children have their needs met because staff work closely with parents. They receive a wealth of information both prior to their child starting and during their time in the setting, including, policies, information about the curriculum, and ongoing information about activities on offer and achievement. They are actively welcomed into the setting at the end of the session and discuss their child's time. Parent's views are valued by the setting and they are fully consulted at all times. Parents are asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of the summer term, the results of which are used to further develop the provision. This encourages

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Helping children make a positive contribution

parents to be involved in the setting and enhances the learning opportunities for their child.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Recruitment and vetting procedures are robust and ensure staff are appropriately cleared prior to having unsupervised access to the children. The setting is well-organised and children, including those with disabilities, can freely access all activities. There is a clear routine with which the children are very familiar. This enables them to participate fully in the life of the setting. Continuity of care is provided by a well qualified and experienced staff team, which promotes children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff have a commitment to continual improvement and regularly attend training which is used to inform their practice. High staff to child ratios provide children with lots of individual and small group attention, which positively supports their care, learning and play. All required documentation is in place and completed appropriately. Confidentiality is maintained while ensuring documents are easily accessible when required. The

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Organisation

outings policy requires some updating in line with current procedures. Nursery Education

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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 of the nursery education contributes to children's progress towards the early learning goals. Supportive leadership and management enhances the levels of care and learning offered by staff. The manager acts as a good role model and is committed to maintaining a motivated and enthusiastic staff team in which all are working towards the same aim. She motivates the team through encouraging attendance at training and offering them responsibilities in line with their interests. Induction procedures for new staff are in place and staff are encouraged to identify training needs during the year. The effectiveness of the playgroup and nursery education provision is regularly monitored through staff meetings and through evaluating planning, this has lead to recent changes which are ongoing.

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Organisation

Areas for improvement are continually identified and addressed with the full staff team. Overall the provision meets the needs of the children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration. 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): • update policies to ensure they are in accordance with current procedures, with specific reference to the outings policy.

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The quality and standards of the care

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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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): • revise the written planning and assessment to ensure the identified next steps for learning are clearly indicated and provide clear learning objectives for activities • make more effective use of everyday events and displays to promote learning in information and communication technology, self-care skills, diversity, mathematics and language development.

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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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