Chalfont St Giles Pre School Playgroup

Chalfont St Giles Pre-School Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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Chalfont St Giles Pre-School Playgroup

EY290564 Unique Reference Number 02 October 2006 Inspection date Patricia Joan Latham Inspector

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Chalfont St Giles Pre-School Playgroup

Chalfont St Giles Cricket Pavilion, Crossleys, Bowstridge Lane, Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, HP8 4QN

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E-mail

Narcot Pre-School Playgroup Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of 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

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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.

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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?

The Chalfont St Giles Pre-School Playgroup, formally known as Narcot Lane Playgroup, opened at these premises in 2004. It operates from two rooms at the Cricket Club in Chalfont St Giles and serves the local area. There is an outside area available for children’s use. The group opens Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during school term time. Sessions are from 09:15 until 11:45.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 20 children on roll, 13 of whom receive nursery education funding. The group has procedures in place to support children with disabilities or who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are four staff employed to work full time with the children, two of whom have level 3 qualifications. Two others members of staff are employed as relief for emergencies.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Staff follow good hygiene practice to maintain children’s health. They keep all areas and resources that children use clean, and exclude children with any infectious illness, to minimise cross infection. Children are aware how to keep themselves healthy, knowing that they should wash fruit before eating it. Staff are trained to deal with medical emergencies and record any accidents that occur. However, they do not note all necessary information regarding the child involved.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children receive healthy snacks and regular drinks to maintain their health, staff gain information regarding any allergies children may have and meet all dietary requirements. Staff plan activities to raise children’s awareness of healthy eating, such as introducing them to a variety of fruit.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have regular opportunities for outdoor exercise to maintain their physical well-being. When weather allows, staff present a range of activities in the outside area to enable children to benefit from lots of fresh air. Staff use a gazebo in hot weather to provide shade and children are given sun hats. Staff also provide a range of activities and resources to enable children to develop necessary physical skills.

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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 safe and welcoming environment. All exits are secure and staff supervise children closely to ensure they remain safe. There is a clear procedure in place when children arrive and are collected, and staff are always aware of which adult is taking a child home. Staff carry out a risk assessment of all areas before children arrive, to ensure there are no hazards, and have a clear safety policy in place when they take children off the premises.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a wide range of good quality resources to support their learning and play. These cover all areas of learning and are regularly checked and cleaned by staff. Staff prepare activities in advance of children arriving, so that the room appears welcoming and children can begin play immediately.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s welfare is safeguarded as staff have a clear policy in place to refer any concerns regarding children’s care to the relevant authorities. Staff undertake relevant training and there is a staff member designated to ensure the appropriate procedure is carried out.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at the playgroup and are achieving well. Staff follow a daily routine, which provides consistency and promotes a sense of security for children. Children settle well into the group and are confident when approaching staff for assistance or support with their play. Staff meet children’s individual care needs and offer children lots of praise 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 encouragement. They talk to the children and listen carefully when children tell them about their interests and what is happening to them, such as going on holiday or who their best friends are.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching is good. The only children receiving nursery education at present are three years of age, and they take part in interesting, well-planned activities to enable them to achieve well in all areas of learning. Children concentrate well when completing tasks, and are developing personal independence as they choose their activities and manage their own toileting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are becoming skilful communicators and are developing early writing skills as they draw and paint. They understand that words carry meaning, enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. Staff encourage children to talk about themselves and their interests, which promotes language skills; children are extending their vocabulary, such as learning the names of differing fruits.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children show confidence in counting and recognising low numbers, and have opportunities to practise mathematical skills through fun activities. For example, they measure their feet and compare them to the size of differing dinosaur’s feet. Children are gaining an understanding of basic shapes and can repeat patterns whilst threading coloured cotton reels and completing jigsaws.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff encourage children to be inquisitive and examine things around them. Children hunt for insects and examine worms using magnifiers. They learn about their local community and people who live in it, staff arranging visits to the fire station and inviting adults into the group, such as a bee keeper, to explain to the children what they do. Children also learn about our diverse society by taking part in activities linked to various cultural festivals, such as Chinese New year. Staff provide resources to develop children’s basic understanding of information technology, for example children take their own photographs of some activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s creativity is promoted and they have the opportunity to explore many differing mediums such as clay, paint and sand. They enjoy taking part in imaginary play, using toy diggers and tractors in compost and playing in the home corner. Children listen to music, or sing along to song tapes at circle time and take part in planned activities for dance and musical movement. They create models from a variety of materials; whilst exploring mini beasts, children make egg box caterpillars and pipe cleaner butterflies.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff provide activities to develop children’s physical skills and children can climb, balance and steer objects competently. They are able to use large and small objects skilfully and have a growing awareness about how their bodies grow and stay healthy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff link activities into interesting themes and plan activities to enable children to learn as they play. They support children with disabilities, or who use English as an additional language, liaising closely with parents and other professionals. Staff use resources wisely, threading ribbon through the outside fencing to make a number line. They adapt daily routines, such as snack time, to incorporate several activities. For example, talking about their focussed learning activity

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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 for that day, or explaining about the fire drill soon to take place. This, however, results sometimes in circle time taking too long for the young children attending. They can become bored and difficult to engage.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff make frequent observations of children’s achievements and transfer these on to a progress record at regular intervals. The recordings are linked into the Foundation stage stepping stones and clearly identify children’s progress. The records are shared with parents and the school, or nursery, that children move on to.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered. Children are learning to respect each other, sharing resources and helping each other as needed. They are gaining knowledge of other cultures by taking part in practical activities, such as making lion masks for Chinese New Year, as well as learning of their own culture. For example, children decorate egg shapes at Easter time. Staff ensure all children are included in activities and give lots of praise and rewards for their achievement. However, staff do not always respond positively in all situations, and this could result in children adopting negative attitudes. Children are learning to adopt the group’s rules that apply, such as wearing an apron for painting or helping to tidy away before snack. Staff manage children’s behaviour well and give clear guidelines to help children play well together.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff have sound procedures in place to support children who have individual needs and their high staff ratio enables them to offer a good level of care.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. They are kept regularly informed about their child’s progress and have access to their child’s records. Parents receive good information regarding the educational provision, regular newsletters, and have access to all the policies and procedures that staff follow. They are aware of how they can raise concerns and their input to the group is valued by staff.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The playgroup is well organised and staff work well as a team. They maintain a high ratio and deploy themselves effectively to support children’s learning. Staff follow established policies and procedures which help maintain children’s health and safety. There is a clear procedure followed when new staff are appointed and staff records are kept in an organised manner. Staff regularly evaluate the provision and make improvements as needed.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of the nursery education are good. Staff plan the curriculum to cover all areas of learning and provide daily activities with specific learning aims. They meet regularly as a team and evaluate the activity plan to ensure it remains effective. Staff extend their knowledge through attending relevant training courses.

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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 Staff maintain all documentation in an organised manner. They obtain all necessary information and keep it secure to maintain confidentiality for children. All required records are maintained and shared with parents, although some lack necessary detail.

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Organisation

Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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.

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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.

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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): • ensure accident records contain all necessary children's details • ensure staff' respond sympathetically at all times to promote children's self esteem.

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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): • ensure staff use their good observations and records of children's achievements to plan activities which are appropriate for the age and learning ability of children attending.

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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

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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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