Our Lady's Pre-School

Our Lady's Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Our Lady's Pre-School

229189 Unique Reference Number 14 November 2006 Inspection date Shirley Delaney Inspector

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Our Lady's Pre-School

Our Lady's Parish Hall, East Meadway,Tile Cross, Birmingham, B33 0AU Setting Address

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E-mail

Our Lady's Pre-school Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day 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?

Our Lady's pre-school opened in 2001; it operates from the community hall of Our Lady's Catholic Church. It is situated in a residential area close to retail businesses, in Kitts Green, Birmingham. A maximum of 38 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The Nursery is open each weekday from 09.15 to 15.30, during school term time only. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 53 children on roll, aged from two years to under five years. Of these 30 children receive funding for early education. Most of the parents whose children attend the nursery live in the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs seven members of staff, all of whom hold an appropriate early year’s qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare

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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 Partnership (EYDCP) support teacher. The setting has achieved a silver award quality framework award. The setting is run by a management committee.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children’s health is effectively promoted. Children develop good personal habits as they follow bathroom routines, washing and drying their hands independently after toileting. They further develop their independence skills as they select protective clothing for messy play activities.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from being cared for in clean and well maintained premises. Their health is generally promoted well, as the staff implement the health and hygiene procedures in place. For example bathrooms are cleaned twice a day following children’s routine use. Changing mats are cleaned following nappy changes and tables are cleaned before children’s snack times.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children develop a good awareness of how a healthy diet and physical exercise contribute to a healthy lifestyle and staff work well with parents to ensure children’s dietary needs are met. Care is taken to provide children with a healthy choice of a fruit option at snack time. Children know that milk is a healthy option when given a choice of squash or milk, stating that milk makes their bones and muscles strong. Children’s interest in healthy food is natured through inclusion in tasks such as cooking activities and planting food. For example, they grow tomatoes, beans, herbs and pumpkins. Fresh drinking water is freely available throughout the day enabling children to help make an independent choice.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children develop a good awareness of their bodies. They talk about and name their joints such as wrists, knuckles and elbows. They are able to tell adults how their joints allow them to move their bodies. Children describe how their elbows enable them to move their arms; wrists allow them to move their hands; and their knuckles make their fingers move, which allows them to bend their fingers and helps them pick things up. Children enjoy taking part in regular physical play opportunities. When using the outdoor play space, they have opportunities to develop their physical skills whilst running and playing with a range of toys. They make proficient use of tricycles, tandem bikes, scooters and pushchairs, which help develop their skills in peddling, pulling and pushing. Children enjoy using large equipment such as climbing frames which enable them to practise skills in climbing, balancing, crawling and sliding.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are learning about aspects of personal safety through discussions with staff about safe practices. For example, staff remind children about not running across the room when going to the bathroom, to prevent trips and falls. On trips in the local area they talk about and practise road safety. Fire drills are completed regularly with children, which helps them to become familiar with the process for evacuating the building safely in the event of an emergency. These activities reinforce and develop children’s awareness of safe practices.

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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 Children benefit from being cared for in secure premises where attention is paid to promoting their security and supervision. Access to the building is well supervised, parents gain entry at arrival time after which time the door is locked. Visitors are met at the door and given entry once their identity is established.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s safety is promoted well, as risk assessments of all areas of the building are completed each half term. The organisation of play space in each room allows children adequate space to move around safely. Routine checks of the outdoor play area are completed daily before children have access. Good consideration is given to maintaining toys and resources in safe condition. Staff bring broken toys and equipment to the attention of the manager and they are discarded.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a clear understanding of their role in relation to child protection. Children’s welfare is generally promoted as staff are aware of signs of child abuse. They know who to report their concerns to and the procedures to be followed. However, the child protection procedure has not been updated in line with most recent information to ensure children’s welfare is comprehensively promoted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children develop a sense of trust and security as they are looked after by key members of staff. The key worker system helps staff to learn about the particular needs of each child, within their key work group. Children separate well from their parents and carers on arrival at the nursery and settle into the routine of the day, hanging their coats on pegs and making their way to the mats for registration and focus activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are offered a wide variety of play opportunities. Importance is placed on providing children with a wide and varied range of play and learning experiences which encompass all areas of learning. Staff support and interact positively with children in their play and facilitate their learning effectively. There is good attention paid to developing children’s communication skills and to encouraging children to show kindness and consideration to others and work together. As a consequence many of the children develop strong attachment and friendships with their peers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are given freedom to explore and have opportunities to independently access a wide range of resources. Staff provide a stimulating environment for the children and provide children with choices. The stimulating, accessible resources promote children's ability to further develop their independence.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are making clear progress towards the early learning goals. One member of senior staff has the main responsibility of the task of formulating plans for children’s learning. Other staff have regular input on a weekly basis. At the weekly meeting staff put forward suggestions and ideas on how to deliver play and learning opportunities for the children. Plans completed detail learning intentions for children, linked to stepping stones and early learning goals. Plans are very well organised and provide staff

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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 with clear information about goals for children and clear guidance about their roles as practitioners. As a consequence the staff confidently and effectively assist and facilitate children learning. Thorough detailed plans also help the staff to be increasingly familiar with the foundation stage curriculum. Activities are evaluated and staff observe and record children’s attainments. Information collated through observations’ is used to complete children’s progress/assessment records. Information gained from evaluations and assessment is used to inform future plans for children’s learning. Plans are organised to ensure that all children have the same experiences and opportunities to cover all areas of learning regardless of their pattern of attendance. Plans are also differentiated to meet the needs of the children; this ensures that

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children are sufficiently challenged in their learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have access to books which they learn to handle with care. Their interest in books is developed through routine times of the day when they share a book as a group. They also benefit from planned periods during the sessions to look at books on an individual basis. Children have good opportunities to see words in the environment through labels and signs displayed around the room. Most children recognise their names at registration and many identify initial word sounds.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have opportunities to explore features of the local environment. For example, they take part in outings to the local shops when following themes of learning about their local community; and take part in routine visits to the local library. Their interest in nature is developed through involvement in activity such as growing seeds and plants and activities linked to introducing children to the lifecycle. For example, they are able to watch chicks hatch and grow, and learn to feed and care for them. Children have access to and make use of electronic equipment, such as the tape recorder and torches. They make use of information technology through access to computer equipment which is set up and available to them at all times. Developing their awareness of information technology and how things work. However, the furnishing housing the computer equipment does not enable children to sit comfortably whilst

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have good opportunities to use their senses through access to play materials such as sand, water, mulch and play dough. Children enjoy singing rhymes and songs and join in associated actions enthusiastically. Children use their imagination, for example when they dress up in dressing up clothes and act out the roles of doctors, nurses and receptionists when the role play area is set up as a doctor’s surgery.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s develop a good awareness of mathematics. They are familiar with and sing number songs. Many children count from 1-10 and above, and some children recognise numbers. Children have good opportunities to see numerals and shape in the environment. They use a number line routinely to count and indicate the number of children in their group. Their interest in numbers and shapes is well sustained and supported by staff, who talk to children routinely about numbers and help children to observe and recognise shapes around them in the nursery environment. Children learn about the properties of shapes for example, some children are able to tell the staff how many sides a circle, square and triangle have. Many children are able to identify the shape of objects and items around them. For example, children tell the staff that the clock, table and water trough are all a circle shape, and the door is a rectangle.

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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 Children receive lots of encouragement from staff to co-operate and work together as a team. As a consequence children learn to show consideration for other children and learn to work well in both large and small groups. For example, they work together to carry storages boxes and replace them on the shelf at tidy up time. They enjoy large group activities such as ring games and work well to keep the circle intact and participate in the activity. Children’s behaviour is well managed and this results in a calm caring environment. As a result children are able to maintain appropriate levels of concentration. Children sit well at group times. For example, they sit quietly at group focus time and story times. Children are purposefully occupied due to the organisation of space and resources which promotes their choice from a wide range of play

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are well behaved and respond to requests staff make of them, they are aware of the routine and know what is expected of them; for example children are keen to help to tidy up toys after they have finished playing with them. Children sit as a group when requested, such as at story times. Throughout the day children are often praised. Their confidence and self-esteem is well fostered. Individual children are selected on a rota basis to take on the role of ‘today’s helper’ and given particular responsibilities such as selecting the toys to be set out on the mat. All children receive praise for their achievements, when they are being helpful, for sharing and displaying kindness to other children. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children develop awareness of their local community through, outings in the local area and have opportunities to use local means of public transport. For example, they make journeys on the bus to the library. Children have access to a good range of resources and activities that promote positive images of disability, race and culture, which assists in promoting children’s understanding of diversity and the wider world. They acknowledge and join in activities associated with cultural and religious celebrations such as Harvest Festival and Diwali. However, the background and cultural differences of the children within the group are not always sufficiently acknowledged to enable all children to feel fully valued.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are able to share information about their child and their wishes are respected. They have good access to information regarding policies and procedures, as some information is included in the parents’ prospectus and full documents are made available to parents in the reception area. Verbal information is exchanged with all parents ensuring that they are kept well informed about their children’s care. This promotes consistency of care for the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from the effective sharing of information between parents and staff to enhance their learning. There are good processes in place to keep parents well informed about the learning programme. Information about the Foundation Stage curriculum and in particular the six areas of learning are provided to parents in the parent’s prospectus. Parents also have access to information about how play and learning experiences provided in the nursery enable children to work towards the early learning goals. Photographs reflecting activities children take part in and written explanation of how this promotes specific areas of development are displayed

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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 for parent’s information. Regular newsletters provide parents with information about the themes being covered in the group and give them suggestions on how they can promote their child’s learning and understanding through engaging them in play and learning experiences at home. Parents are kept informed of the progress their child makes in the group through discussion with staff and attendance at parents evenings twice a year. Parents are also provided with an ‘all about me’ book and an end of year report. This provides them with information about their child’s progress and achievements over the year.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Documentation is generally well organised, as required documentation relating to staff, parents and children’s information is in place and stored securely. Policies and procedures underpinning the care provided in the group are in place. However, the child protection and complaints procedures require updating in order to vigorously promote children’s care and welfare. All staff working with the children are appropriately qualified, and the required adult to child ratio's are maintained.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management of the nursery education is good. There are procedures in place to identify staff training needs, and managers work alongside staff and offer support. Training is made accessible to staff through the organisation of in-house training and by accessing external training courses. To improve the quality and standard of the nursery education the setting has taken action to address the recommendation raised at the previous inspection. Completion of the quality framework document has enabled them to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. The management team share a commitment to continually reviewing and improving learning for children. They strive to identify new ways of providing children with learning experiences and take on board guidance and suggestions from outside agencies who offer the group support. They are also keen to gain and share ideas with other

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Organisation

groups to enhance their provision for funded education.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous care inspection the group had two recommendations to improve practice: To ensure that records of fire drills include times and the number of children and staff present; Ensure that the fence is made safe. Since the last inspection fire drills completed have included the length of time it took to evacuate the building and how many staff and children are present during the fire drill. The fencing surrounding the children’s outdoor play space is now securely intact. Action taken to meet the previous recommendations has improved children’s safety and security.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous funded education inspection there were no key issues raised, but an aspect for consideration was agreed: Develop opportunities for more agile children to develop their skills in climbing, crawling, scrambling and swinging. An action plan was drawn up which resulted in the refurbishment of the outdoor play space. Large equipment was installed over a new soft surface and children now have the opportunity to make use of this equipment to develop their large physical skills and improve their dexterity.

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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

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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): • update documentation to include current revised guidance for child protection and complaints procedures.

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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): • review the equipment in place to support children’s use of the computer • improve procedures for valuing children’s home languages to help children settle and feel welcome in the setting.

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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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