Kilnsea Pre-School

Kilnsea Pre-School (Under 5's)

Inspection report for early years provision

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Kilnsea Pre-School (Under 5's)

148661 Unique Reference Number 17 November 2006 Inspection date Sheila Collins Inspector

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Kilnsea Pre-School (Under 5's)

Maiden Place Community Centre, Lower Earley, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 3HE

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Setting Address

0118 935 2394 or 07754847967 Telephone number

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E-mail

Kilnsea Pre-school (Under 5's) 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?

Kilnsea Pre-school Playgroup opened in 1990. It operates from the Maiden Place Community Centre in Lower Earley in Berkshire. The pre-school meets in the main hall and also have use of an additional room, kitchen and communal toilets. The group serves the needs of families in the area and the intake reflects the local community.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group is registered for 44 children aged between two and five years. Currently there are 54 children on roll. Of these children 52 are aged between three and five years. This includes 39 children in receipt of nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school currently supports children with learning difficulties and children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 group opens five mornings a week during school term time. Sessions are from 09.30 to 12.00 and afternoon sessions take place on a Tuesday and Thursday between 12.30 and 15.00.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is run by a committee. Eight members of staff work with the children. Of these staff, four have early years qualification to NVQ level 2 or 3. One member of staff is working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. As the centre has other users, the staff accompany the children to the toilets but once there they encourage the children's independence in their self–care skills. The children know to wash their hands after using the toilet and staff give gentle reminders to those who forget. During the session, in the hall the children use a communal bowl with anti-bacteriological soap in the water, to wash their hands after messy play and before snack. The children learn good hygiene procedures from the staff during everyday routines, for example, cleaning the tables before snack and mopping up spillages.

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Helping children to be healthy

There are three staff members who hold a current first aid qualification. This benefits the children because any minor incidents such as bumps and falls are dealt with appropriately by competent staff. Staff know the children’s individual medical and dietary needs. All relevant documentation is in place to support children’s well being.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are able to help themselves to a drink of water at any time, if they wish. Snack time is a social occasion with staff and children sitting together at tables. However as the children line up to takes turns to wash their hands, some children sit for some time waiting for the others to join them. The children have healthy snacks which they help to prepare, for instance spreading their own bread and they pour their own drinks at snack time.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children take part in a range of physical activities, which promote all round healthy development. Indoors, they freely access activities on a daily basis, such as crawling through the tunnel and taking turns on the trampoline. They benefit from planned group sessions such as exercising to 'Sticky Kids' tapes with obvious enjoyment. Outdoor play is limited due to problems with the area available.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The children are cared for in an environment that is welcoming. Staff are vigilant to ensure all aspects of the children's safety. They undertake daily checks, to ensure that the children can play freely and safely. The staff explain to the children why they can not go into the store cupboard or the kitchen. The children take part in evacuation drills and staff record these appropriately. The children understand why they practice drills and are able to describe what would happen in a real situation, for example, the fire engine would come.

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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 an excellent and wide range of resources, which promote all areas of their development. They select activities during free play time from the resources put out by the staff at the beginning of the session to make the environment welcoming for the children. Resources for self selection are housed on a trolley. However, this is under used by the children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are well deployed in all areas ensuring the children are protected and safe at all times. The staff have a good working knowledge of safeguarding the children, which further ensures the children's welfare. All the required procedures and documents are in place.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enter the pre-school and separate from their parents and carers happily. They are confident, forming good relationships with their peers and adults. They approach staff for help with ease and invite them to join in their play. Staff spend a lot of time chatting with the children and extending their play, for example, in the role play corner. The children take part in planned activities as well as free play and choose activities from those set out when they arrive. They involve their friends in these which leads to overcrowding at some activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The children are interested in the activities on offer and are busily occupied throughout the session. They interact well with each other and adults and are learning to be independent. They generally behave well and are responsive to simple instructions from adults, for example, to line up quickly and quietly.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy stories and songs. Most are confident speakers and engage in conversations with their peers and adults. They are happy to share information about events in their lives. They show an interest in books and share these with their friends, carefully turning pages and showing each other the pictures. They have good opportunities to practice their emergent writing skills on a daily basis at the mark making table and in the role play area where they take down telephone messages, write lists and write the children’s names in the register. They are encouraged to write their names on their work and have opportunities to see their names in print.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children help count at registration time and have opportunities to use simple calculation in everyday situations, for example, at snack time. The older children can confidently count to 10 and beyond. The children recognise shapes and use language to compare shape, size, position and quantity, for example, bigger and smaller when playing with the cogs; longer and shorter when rolling the play dough and front, back and middle when lining up. They have good opportunities to practice their pre-maths skills when piecing together puzzles and pouring own drinks.

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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 Christmas and other festivals. They are learning about their environment and explore the autumn leaves and cones using magnifying glasses. The children are becoming competent in their use of technology and use the computer with confidence. They use a good range of programmable items in their play, including key boards, cameras and telephones. They

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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 bring their own experiences into their role play, for example, pretending to take photographs using the mobile phones.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children use a variety of equipment to encourage physical development and self confidence. They use a range of tools, such as glue spreaders, knives and pencils, confidently and with dexterity. They negotiate space effectively and show an awareness of others. They have opportunities for physical play on a daily basis within the hall using resources such as the tunnel and the trampoline, but outside play is limited. The children join in group physical sessions, for example, exercising to tapes which both they and the staff obviously enjoy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children recognise basic colours and are developing an awareness of the use of colour when they sing the rainbow song using themselves to represent the colours through the clothing they are wearing. They also bring in items from home for the show and tell time, which correspond with the colour of the week. They have the opportunity to use a variety of materials of different textures and are able to create their own work as well as to take part in the adult led activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff 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. They do not pressurise the children into taking part in the planned activities if they do not wish to. They ask children appropriate open-ended questions, which extend the children's learning and understanding. They have good knowledge of the way children learn and the Foundation Stage curriculum. Planning covers a wide range of activities for the children, and these are specifically linked to the early learning goals. However, there is limited planning for children's outdoor learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The system for recording the achievements of the individual children is in place. Staff use notes to make observations on the children at activities, which are given to their key workers for recording in the individual children’s files. Although staff know the next steps for individual children's learning and discuss these regularly at staff meetings, these are not recorded.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The staff know the children well and their individual needs. They have ongoing discussions with parents about their child's needs. The individual care and individual requirements of all children are taken into consideration during the sessions and children who have learning difficulties or disabilities are integrated well within the group by both staff and other children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children learn about the wider world through a range of different themes, celebrating different festivals and using resources which reflect positive images of diversity. A visual time table is in place which covers the daily routine which all children can see. Children do not get sufficient warning when it is time to tidy up. Some children are helpful, while others carry on playing or go straight to the book corner and get out a book to read.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children generally behave well. They sort out minor problems themselves with staff on hand to support if needed. They share and take turns, for example, when using the computer.

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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 The staff praise and encourage the children for their efforts and achievements throughout the sessions, which builds on their self esteem and confidence.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

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. Parents receive good information about the pre-school, the Foundation Stage Curriculum and early learning goals covering the six areas of learning. The parents help in the pre-school on a rota basis if they are able, so are directly involved in their child's learning environment. They have the opportunity to talk with their child's key worker and discuss progress records at this time. If they are unable to help on rota, they see their child's records and talk with staff at a convenient time. The parents receive regular newsletters and are consulted about changes to be made, for example to the sessions. The notice boards provide parents with current and up to date information and copies of the policies and procedures are available for parents to read.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. The children benefit from the good organisation of the pre-school. Staff work well together as a team and are flexible within their work. Staffs with extra responsibility have good knowledge of their roles. There are good procedures in place for the recruitment and checking of staff, which safeguards the children. A key worker system is in place which benefits the children in maintaining consistency and continuity of care.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. Children benefit from the good organisation of the pre-school. Strengths and weaknesses of practice are accurately identified and the staff and committee take action to develop or negate these, for example, the pre-school is looking for ways to extend the outdoor provision to further enhance the children's care and educational experiences.

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Organisation

All the required documentation is in place including policies and procedures. However some policies do not contain up to date information and the complaints log is not in a confidential format.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The group have made good progress since the last inspection. At the last care inspection, one recommendation was made which was to ensure that the complaints procedure is displayed. The group have put this into place and have displayed it on the notice board alongside the Ofsted Parents Poster, which ensures that parents know how to make a complaint if they need to.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last education inspection, three recommendations were made. These were to provide opportunities for more able children to begin to write their name independently; to increase staff knowledge of the early learning goals and to continue to develop the recording, assessment and evaluation system in place to ensure children's individual progress is recorded, to help

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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 identify what children need to learn next, to enable them to make progress towards the early learning goals. The children benefit from the staff's increased knowledge of the early learning goals which has been implemented. Each staff member has their own copy and take part in in-house discussions at staff meetings, as well as external training.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The development of the recording, assessment and evaluation systems is ongoing. Since the inspection, the pre-school have used different formats which have been introduced by the Local Authority; the most recent being currently evaluated and this has been brought forward as a recommendation at this inspection.

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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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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 procedures for snack time • review the arrangements for tidy up time • review the policies and procedures to ensure that all the information is updated and to ensure that the complaints log is in a confidential format.

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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): • continue to evaluate the system in place for planning and assessment to include children's outdoor learning and the next steps for individual children's learning.

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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 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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