First Base, Ipswich

East Hagbourne Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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East Hagbourne Pre-School

133715 Unique Reference Number 05 December 2006 Inspection date Sheila Collins Inspector

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East Hagbourne Pre-School

Main Road, East Hagbourne, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 9LR Setting Address

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E-mail

East Hagbourne 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?

East Hagbourne Pre-School was established in 1969. It meets in Hagbourne Village Hall and has the use of two rooms. There is an enclosed hard surfaced area outside for outdoor play. Children attending come from the village and surrounding area. The children attend for a variety of sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to care for a maximum of 32 children at any one time.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 41 children aged from two and a half to five years on roll. Of these children, 35 are aged between three and five years. They include 25 children in receipt of Nursery Education funding. The pre-school supports children with learning difficulties.

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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 The pre-school opens every week day morning during school term times. Sessions are from 09.00 until 12.00. Afternoon sessions are available on Thursdays when there is a lunch club and session from 12.30 until 14.30.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is managed by a committee who employ six staff. Of these staff, three including the Play leader hold appropriate early years qualifications and two staff are working towards NVQ level 3.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are becoming independent in their personal care. They learn good hygiene practises and clearly understand why they have to wash their hands after using the toilet, after messy play or before eating. They are becoming independent in their toileting, hand washing and blowing their own noses. They know the importance of being healthy and are aware that germs can make them unwell. The staff offer good support to younger children who need assistance in completing personal tasks.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are aware of the importance of healthy eating. They enjoy their fruit at snack time. Snack and meal times are sociable occasions with staff encouraging the children’s independence skills. Children use wipes to clean their hands before eating snack but not all dispose of these appropriately.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children’s individual health needs are known to staff and there is always a trained first aider on site, who is aware of the appropriate way to deal with any accidents, which further ensures the children’s health. Staff are aware of the appropriate way to record accidents and the administration of medication.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children take part in exercise daily and have opportunities for activities, both in and out of doors, which helps their physical development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The premises are welcoming and attractively laid out to create a child centred environment where children can play freely and safely. Staff minimise the risks of accidental injury to children through daily risk assessments and safety checks. The children have a good knowledge of safety issues and are beginning to take responsibility for keeping themselves and others safe, for example taking turns at the slide and waiting for others to go down before they start to slide. Their understanding of safety issues is extended as they practise evacuation drills and through reminders from staff, for example, to use equipment correctly. Fire drills are recorded in the diary but not in a designated fire log.

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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 The children use a good selection of resources and toys that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. They choose from those which are put out daily and can also self select from drawers in the small hall.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected by staff who have a good working knowledge of the signs of child abuse and the procedures to be followed. Clear policies and procedures are in place and staff are confident about the routes for referral that they would need to take to safeguard children in their care.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The children arrive and separate from their parents happily. They come in confidently and exchange greetings with staff. Children who are unsure receive a good level of support from the staff. They involve their friends in their play. They have good relationships with the staff and approach the staff with confidence for help and invite them to join in their play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are confident in their surroundings. They select the toys and resources they wish to use from the variety available, which are set out each day. However, there are not enough opportunities for them to be independent for example taking responsibility for their own work and belongings.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are interested and motivated to learn, joining in well at the activities and using their time at pre-school well. They receive praise and encouragement from the staff for their efforts and achievements, which builds their self-esteem and confidence. They sit and listen well at group times and respond confidently to their names. They concentrate well and become involved in the well-planned activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children engage easily in conversations with each other, staff and visitors. They use language well to communicate their thoughts and feelings. They enjoy listening to stories and predict what will happen next. The children see their names in print daily at snack time and can use their name cards to copy from if they practice writing their name. They practise their emergent writing and maths skills daily. They practise counting, adding and subtraction in every day activities such as the number of children at registration and the number of children at the snack table. They learn to identify numbers when opening the doors on the Advent calendar and when discussing the date each day. They use resources such as bears and animals to learn about sequencing and grouping. They are beginning to understand about mathematical language such as in front, and behind when lining up and full and half full when pouring water, sand or

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are learning about their own and other cultures through planned activities such as celebrating Diwali and Christmas. They show natural curiosity about their environment, discussing puddles and what they can see on the road and in the sky. Children are becoming competent in their use of technology and have opportunities to use a good range including the telephones and computers.

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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 enjoy and participate in a very good range of physical activities to assist them in developing their large and small motor skills. They balance on beams and use the slide indoors and can ride bikes, slide and run about in the outdoor area. They use a range of small equipment such as scissors, pencils and glue spreaders with dexterity and increasing control. They use different mediums such as sand, water and dough and enjoy craft activities such as making crowns and construction activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff are well motivated and enthusiastic, which in turn motivates the children. They are aware of how children learn and progress. They have good knowledge of each individual child’s needs and deploy themselves around the room to support the children, encouraging their play and joining in by invitation. The children have opportunities to join in with focussed activities but are not pressurised into taking part if they do not wish to.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The planning of the curriculum is linked to the stepping-stones for the early learning goals and to the developmental stages of the Birth to three matters framework. The system for recording the achievements of the individual children is effective and staff use assessments and evaluations of activities to inform the planning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Staff value the children highly as individuals. The children's needs are known to staff and all the relevant information to support this is in place. Children learn about acceptable behaviour and remind each other of the rules in place. They are given clear guidelines, know the routines well and readily share toys and resources. They have a positive attitude to each other and are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. The staff praise the children for their efforts and achievements which builds on their self-esteem and self -confidence. The staff are aware of the routes of referral should they have any concerns about a child.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children have access to a good range of play resources that reflect positive images of culture, gender and disability. They learn about the wider world through activities and celebrate festivals from different cultures. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. The staff know the children well and have good relationships with the children and their parents. They exchange information daily about the children and their achievements and work together to resolve any problems. Parents receive good information about the pre-school in the introductory leaflet. Detailed information is given about the six learning areas but neither the Foundation Stage nor Birth to three matters are specifically mentioned. Parents attend a session when their child starts where the Play leader goes through the areas of learning with them. Parents have access to their child's records when they help on rota or at any convenient time. Parents know that there are policies and procedures in place and appreciate the regular newsletters and information posters which keep them informed of events.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide.

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Organisation

There is a comprehensive recruitment and vetting procedure which ensures that staff are suitable to work with children. Effective induction and appraisal systems are in place for the staff.

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Organisation

The premises are well organised. Indoor space is laid out to maximise play opportunities for children. All the required policies and procedures are in place, to help maintain the children's well being.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. The play leader and staff evaluate the curriculum to identify strengths and areas for improvement, which ensures that the children are taking part in a full programme, covering all areas of development and learning. The good organisation and management enhances the children's care and Nursery Education.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection, the pre-school had two recommendations. These were to review children's hand washing facilities to ensure children have access to water of an appropriate temperature and to review policies for equal opportunities and child protection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The pre-school has discussed the temperature of the water and has put into place a system whereby in the toilet area, the children wash their hands in warm water using anti-bacteriological soap. Prior to eating snack, they use wet wipes. Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place including those for equal opportunities and child protection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last Nursery Education inspection, four recommendations were made. These were to improve the use of observation and assessment of children's progress to inform planning; the opportunity for children to do simple sums and count in every day activities; planning to include provision of activities to introduce children to the wider world and cultures and beliefs other than their own and the system to evaluate and monitor the provision of the early years curriculum. Since the last inspection, there has been a change of play leader and there is a revised system in place for the planning, evaluating and monitoring both of the children's progress and the curriculum. Children have good opportunities to count both at planned and spontaneous activities. There is an increased use of planning of activities to ensure that children's knowledge and understanding of the world is extended through topics and celebration of

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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.

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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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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

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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): • review the arrangements in place for snack time • implement a fire log

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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): • extend the opportunities for children to be independent and to take responsibility for their own work • extend the written information for parents to include reference to the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Birth to three Matters Framework.

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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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