Amington & District Pre-School

Amington & District Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Amington & District Pre-School

218085 Unique Reference Number 01 December 2006 Inspection date Christine Holmes Inspector

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Amington & District Pre-School

Amington and District Pre School, Amington Band Room, Sharpe Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B77 3HY

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Setting Address

07980 1721547 Telephone number Landline 01827 53879 E-mail Amington and Districty Pre-School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Full day care, Full day care Type of care

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Setting Address

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?

Amington and District Pre-school Playgroup opened 30 years ago. It operates from a large hall in the Band Rooms in Amington, Tamworth. It serves the local area which includes new, large housing estates. A maximum of 32 children may attend the group at any one time. The group opens five days a week during school term-times. Sessions are from 09:30 until 11:30 from Monday to Friday and from 12:30 until 15:00 Monday, Thursday and Friday. The group also operates a lunch club each day from 11:30 until 12:30 and a before and after school club from 08:00 until 09:00 and then from 15:15 to 17:00.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 43 children on roll. Of these 22 receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are five permanent staff and one volunteer who work with the children. Four staff have early years qualifications. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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. Children are cared for in clean well-maintained premises. Staff effectively implement health and hygiene procedures. Good emphasis is given to promoting children's understanding of the importance of staying healthy through daily routines and activities. Children sing songs about the importance of washing their hands and brushing their teeth. Posters are displayed which remind children to put their hand over their mouth when they cough, wash their hands after using the toilet and to put the tissue in the bin when they have wiped their nose. This contributes to developing children's self-help skills and minimising cross-infection. Clear effective procedures are in place to manage accidents, medication and sick and infectious children, further safeguarding the children's well-being.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's individual dietary needs are met effectively as these are discussed in detail with parents. Meal times are sociable occasions. Lunch boxes are provided by parents and perishable contents are stored appropriately in the fridge. Healthy snacks such as fruit are provided. Fresh drinking water is available throughout the day and children are reminded to take regular drinks. This helps to ensure children remain well-hydrated which contributes to them staying healthy.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy daily physical exercise. Planned activities provide children with the opportunity and challenge to stretch, twist and bend, jump, hop and balance. They enjoy using equipment such as bikes, scooters, hoops and bean bags. These activities contribute to children's physical development. The addition of a new outdoor play area is currently under construction.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children and parents receive a warm welcoming into the setting. Staff are on hand to greet them and a stimulating range of age-appropriate toys and resources are set up prior to their arrival, presented at a suitable level to encourage independence and development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children show a good understanding of potential hazards and what they can do to keep themselves safe. They know why they need to push their chairs under the table after snack and they know if they run around the room they may fall. Taking part in regular emergency evacuations helps them to become familiar with the evacuation procedures. Staff receive training on health and safety issues and are very conscious of children's safety. They effectively implement the procedures to manage access to the building. This ensures children are kept safe and secure. The risk of accidental injury is reduced because staff make ongoing checks of the premises which effectively identifies and minimises potential hazards.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Good emphasis is given to safeguarding children. Staff have recently attended training which has helped them to develop a clear understanding of their role and responsibility in ensuring children are safeguarded. Whilst there is written information available to staff and parents to inform them of what to do in the event they are worried about a child's welfare, it is not fully

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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 reflective of the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children benefit from being cared for by enthusiastic and caring staff that develop warm, positive relationships with the children in their care. As a result children are settled and happy to leave their parents confidently. All Children develop a sense of belonging. They know which group they sit with at snack time and what they will be doing after they help to tidy away. Children are actively involved in a broad range of planned and spontaneous events and activities which promotes their sensory, creative and imaginative development. They are confident to explore, investigate and make decisions as they choose different areas of play. Children express delight and enjoyment as they sing and make actions to rhymes. They use musical instruments to make quiet and loud sounds and learn how to use their hands as instruments to clap and keep in time with each other. Staff are interested in what children do and say and spend time

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

asking relevant questions such as 'what are you making?', 'where do you think this book came from? This helps to extend children's thinking and give children time to talk about what they see and do.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage and a good understanding of how young children learn and make progress. Planning links clearly to the stepping stones and provides clear guidance for staff to ensure a wide range of activities and experiences are provided for all children. This helps to extend children's learning in all areas. Children's progress is monitored effectively to inform teaching and planning. Staff regularly observe the children throughout the session which helps them to understand what children can do and where they might need additional support. Staff use good methods to gain and then maintain children's interest by sitting with them and giving support when needed. They talk positively to children at all times and ask questions that help children to think about what they are doing. Good emphasis is given to providing opportunities for children to practise

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

self help skills, such as snack time, when children pour drinks and serve the snacks. Behaviour is managed well and this results in a calm and caring environment for children. Consequently, children are making good progress towards the early learning goals.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate a developing enthusiasm for knowledge and learning which facilitates their development in all the six areas of learning. Children are genuinely interested in what they are doing and have fun in all that they do. They are eager to ask questions such as 'where does honey come from?' They think hard to remember the name of the musical instruments and to guess what the member of staff is looking for. Large groups of children initiate their own activity, such as sitting on the mat, pretending to take the register with their pencil and paper, whilst other children make shapes from the small bricks proudly saying 'this looks like a H'. Children also show interest in early maths. They show awareness of patterns, for example, one child recognised that the clip boards held by staff had the same pattern and shape. Language such as big and small is often used by the children to describe size. Children enjoy counting 1,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

2, 3 before starting to sing their songs and are eager to count how many leaves and fish are

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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 on the wall display. Some children are able to recognise numerals on the calculator and use their fingers to represent the number they have counted. However, daily routines which could provide practical opportunities for children to solve simple number problems are not fully utilised. Children develop good exploration and investigation skills as they learn about change, such as watching the changes that take place when cooking a scrabbled egg and watching ice cubes melt. Their understanding of technology is enhanced as they competently take photos with the digital camera of their completed work. They join and build for their own purpose and play imaginatively. One child constructed a garage for his 'thunderbird' plane, complete with opening doors to the front and windows to the side. However, children are not always able to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

access natural materials and materials that have been recycled to practise their design skills or develop their creativity.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are valued as individuals and treated with equal concern. They are encouraged to feel they are contributing towards many aspects of the daily routine such as helping to clear away the toys and helping to serve the snack at snack time. Staff have a good understanding of equality issues. They effectively support children with learning difficulties and disabilities and they work well in partnership with parents and other agencies which helps to ensure children's individual needs are met. Children have opportunities to play with toys which reflect positive images of diversity and a variety of cultural festivals are celebrated throughout the year. This helps children become aware of the wider society.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are well behaved and are developing a strong sense of right and wrong. Staff are very good role models and use effective methods to promote positive behaviour so that children understand what is expected of them. Children understand consistent rules and boundaries. They show a good understanding of what they can and cannot do. They can communicate, for example, that it is 'nice to share' and they are confident in the agreed boundaries of the setting. For example, a child tells another child they will have to wait their turn. Children also develop consideration and concern for others. They ask about their friends if they are not present in the group and staff encourage children to remember to make friends with children new to the group. This promotes children's self-esteem and helps to make them feel valued. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Staff have regular discussions with parents who feel very comfortable in approaching them to tell them about any changes to their child's circumstances. A wide range of written information is available to parents regarding the settings policies and procedures and child care issues. This contributes to children's continuity of care and provides support to parents regarding such issues as toilet training, behaviour management and starting school. Partnership with parents and carers of children who receive nursery education funding is good. Parents receive useful information about how the Foundation Stage curriculum helps to promote their children's development and progress. Meetings are arranged with parents to discuss children's progress and what to do to move them to the next steps of learning. This partnership helps to foster children's progress in all areas of development. Whilst

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Helping children make a positive contribution

the setting has a complaints procedure which is shared with parents it does not include the

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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 new requirement to keep a complaints log to provide parents with information about previous complaints.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Overall the needs of children are met. Children are cared for by a well-established staff team who are suitably qualified and have a wealth of child care experience. They are committed to improving and developing their practice and undertake on-going training which has a positive impact upon children's care and welfare. Suitable recruitment procedures are in place which ensures that staff are appropriately vetted and continue to be suitable to work with children which helps to ensure children are safeguarded.

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Organisation

Space and resources are well organised to provide appropriate care and effectively promote children's development and learning. Children move freely around the open plan hall and can choose between different areas of play and take part in a variety of interesting and stimulating activities.

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Organisation

All required documentation is in place and all records are stored confidentially. Policies and procedures are effectively implemented to support children's good health and safety. However, the written policy statement relating to the child protection and the complaints are not fully reflective of practice or up-to-date. This does not ensure parents are fully informed of how the setting operates.

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Organisation

The quality of the Leadership and Management of the nursery education is good. Staff are enthusiastic and work effectively as a team. They plan a good range of activities to provide a rich and stimulating environment which enables children to make good progress. Evaluations are made of the sessions to identify weaknesses and make improvements.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the group agreed to review and amend all policies and procedures, specifically the complaints and equal opportunities policy. Whilst there has been a review made of the polices this has not been effective in ensuring that the complaints and the child protection written policies are fully up-to-date and reflective of practice. Therefore, this is a recommendation of this inspection. At the last inspection the group also agreed to review the process for the monitoring and recording of children's development. There has been much improvement in this area. Staff now discuss children's progress in their weekly meetings and make purposeful daily observations of what children can do. This information is recorded in children's progress record and used to inform planning. This helps staff to identify children's next steps in learning. As a result, children are making good progress.

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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. The provider is

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Complaints 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 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 the complaint procedure and ensure the written child protection policy reflects the procedure that would be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse being made against a member of staff or volunteer.

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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): • use daily routines to provide more practical opportunities for children to solve simple number problems and provide a wider and more accessable range of resources to support children's creativity and design skills, such as natural materials and materials that have been recycled.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) 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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