Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd

Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd

EY296922 Unique Reference Number 22 November 2006 Inspection date Angela Margaret Ellis Inspector

p.1

Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd

Community Room, Tuel Lane, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 2ND

p.1

Setting Address

01422 316227 Telephone number v.hulme@btopenworld.com E-mail Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care, Out of School care Type of care

p.1

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

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 satisfactory. 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 satisfactory.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Hopscotch Tuel Lane Ltd is a private organisation, managed by a non-profit making worker’s co-operative. It opened under the new management in 2004 and operates from the Community Room on Tuel lane in Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax. The group are open each weekday from 07.45 to 17.45 for 49 weeks of the year and offer a range of sessional and out of school childcare options. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There is currently 57 children aged from 2 to 11 years on roll, of whom one child is in receipt of funded nursery education.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group employs five staff, four of whom, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is working towards a qualification.

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

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children stay reasonably healthy because staff generally follow appropriate health and hygiene guidelines, policies and procedures. Systems are in place to record when toys and resources have been cleaned. Children are reminded to use soap and paper towels after using the toilet. However, children are insufficiently learning about the importance of personal hygiene through well-established daily routines. For example, staff inconsistently remind children to wash their hands before and after eating. This means that children's health may be compromised by the spread of bacteria.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children learn about healthy eating as they have discussions with staff about the food they eat. A good variety of healthy snacks are offered to the children, which they clearly enjoy. Children choose from different fruits and express preferences for either apple, banana or raisins. Children confidently choose what they would like to drink at meal times and they readily access drinking water at other times during the sessions when they are thirsty. Staff are well-informed about children's individual dietary needs and take these into account to ensure they remain healthy.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a varied range of activities which contribute to their physical development. Daily physical activity sessions allow children to have develop their gross motor skills for example, they enthusiastically learn to balance with the use of stilts and develop their co-ordination by riding wheeled toys and playing ball games. Outings to the local park take place to access more challenging large equipment.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children have free access to a varied range of toys and equipment; these are appropriately organised to ensure children can safely and independently select from the low level storage. Children are cared for in a suitably safe environment, where many policies and procedures are in place to protect children.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children in the out of school club are learning how to keep themselves safe, for example, during the sewing activity, staff talk to the children about the safe use of sewing needles. However, teaching children how to keep themselves safe is inconsistently reinforced by some staff in the playgroup. Children are learning the procedures for emergency evacuation, because staff regularly practice the procedure with them.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are appropriately protected because sufficient staff hold a first aid qualification. Staff have a suitable understanding of child protection issues and local procedures to protect children. Management has a clear understanding of vetting procedures and employs staff who has relevant experience, knowledge and skills in caring for children.

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

p.3

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Most children are happy and settled in the playgroup because they are cared for by friendly staff who are interested in them, giving them praise and encouragement. This helps them feel at ease in the setting. Their independence is promoted as they freely move around the environment and make choices from the suitable range of activities and resources available. Those who are new to the playgroup settle well because staff are sensitive towards their individual needs. The routine of the playgroup gives the children a structure to the session and they enthusiastically join in with story time and some children confidently stand up and sing an action song or rhyme to the group. For example, a child chose a toy spider from the puppet bag and sang 'Incy wincy spider'.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children in the out-of-school provision are very familiar with the comfortable routine. They settle quickly into their self-chosen play and confidently take part in activities. For example, they make use of the dressing up clothes and use their imagination in their play. The older children are very supportive of the younger ones and help them with threading a needle and tying a knot at the end of the thread, during the sewing activity. This gives the helpers a sense of responsibility and raises their self-esteem through pride in their assistance, whilst allowing the younger children to gain confidence.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

A very small number of children present are in receipt of funded nursery education and evidence shows that the quality of teaching and children's learning is satisfactory. Staff have a suitable knowledge of the Foundation Stage and use a reasonable range of teaching methods. For example, many different paint and malleable mediums such as exploring glitter paint are offered to encourage children's creative development. A suitable understanding of how individual children learn at their own pace is demonstrated by staff. Children are enabled to follow their own personal interests, however, there are less resources within some areas of play to enable children to practise writing for a purpose. The planning of activities and experiences provided satisfactorily cover the six areas of learning. There are basic systems in place for assessing children's learning. However, they do not always clearly identify how individual children are

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

progressing through the stepping stones towards the early learning goals, in order to inform staff to plan effectively for their learning.

p.4

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children experience a sense of belonging in the setting. Many photographs are displayed allowing children to see themselves in context in the group and that they are valued and respected by staff. Wall displays such as. 'We are all friends' allow children to see differences in a positive manner. Children learn about being part of a local community, for example by being involved in holding fund raising events and inviting local workers, such as the lollipop man to talk about the road safety. This means that children are becoming aware of wider society. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

p.4

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 Suitable age-appropriate furniture is available for the younger children for sitting comfortably when reading or resting when tired. This meets children's physical and emotional needs and helps to effectively promote their well-being. Older children have their physical needs suitably met as there is some age-appropriate furniture for them to relax in comfort after school and they can easily access a homework table if they wish.

p.4

Helping children make a positive contribution

Children learn to consider others and relationships between the children are generally good. Snack and meal times are social occasions where the children chat happily to each other. Staff promote good manners and help children to develop their social skills. For example, children learn to sit sensibly at the lunch club. Some children display challenging behaviour at times, although, the staff team are consistent in their approach to dealing with the behaviour in a positive manner. As a result children respond generally well and are starting to learn what is expected of them.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are welcomed into the group and are appreciative of the small friendly setting. They are provided with detailed information regarding the provision and staff take the time to regularly chat to them regarding their child. Staff find out about individual children's needs, for instance when settling in younger children who are new to the setting. This is essential for continuity and consistency of care and the child's emotional well-being. However, it has been identified that the group has failed to meet a regulation with regard to the systems in place to record a complaint from parents.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents in relation to nursery education is satisfactory. Parents are provided with books which record children's achievements. However, they do not clearly inform parents of their child's progress through the stepping stones through to the early learning goals. Parent's views are regularly sought regarding the provision and they are encouraged to participate in the setting, where they can experience their child's learning first hand.

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from dedicated, qualified staff who are committed to attend training to further raise the quality of the service they provide. Staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities and effectively implement routines to give children a suitable range of experiences. This includes a balance of structured as well as spontaneous activities. The presentation of the activities and resources enable children to initiate their own play and learning sufficiently well.

p.5

Organisation

The required policies and procedures to protect children, promote their well-being and support them to develop their potential are in place and most have been updated in line with regulations. All the required records are available, however, the adult registers are inconsistently kept up to date. The nursery meets the minimum ratio of staff to children which enables staff to interact with the children giving appropriate support and encouragement. This helps children to feel secure and confident in the nursery environment.

p.5

Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. Some staff have received more training to deliver the Foundation Stage Curriculum than others and this is demonstrated in their reasonable knowledge, understanding and delivery of it. Therefore children make satisfactory progress

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 through the stepping stones towards the early learning goals. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

p.5

Improvements since the last inspection

Satisfactory progress has been made since the last inspection. The registered person now complies with the conditions of registration for sessional day care. A knowledge of the requirements of the National Standards means that children's needs are met through reasonably effective organisation and appropriate steps are taken to protect children, promote their well-being and support their development.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

Some progress has been made to develop and implement the planning systems by covering all the areas of learning and identifying next steps for learning. However, it is not clear how the next steps for children's learning are identified because the children's records of achievement insufficiently identify how children are progressing through the stepping stones to the early learning goals. Therefore the systems for monitoring individual children's progress continues to be ineffective.

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 satisfactory. 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

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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 all staff consistently reinforce a hand washing routine, before and after handling food in order for children to learn about safe hygiene practices and to minimise the risks of cross infection

p.6

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 • ensure all staff consistently encourage all children to learn how to keep themselves safe • improve knowledge and develop systems for the recording of complaints, in line with regulations • ensure that the arrival and departures of staff, children and visitors is consistently recorded

p.6

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): • develop staffs knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage Curriculum and clearly identify how children are progressing through the stepping stones through to the early learning goals • provide resources within other areas of play to enable children to practice writing for a purpose.

p.7

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

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