Jellie Tots Pre-school

Jellie Tots Pre-school

Inspection report for early years provision

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Jellie Tots Pre-school

507790 Unique Reference Number 20 November 2006 Inspection date Lindsay Ann Farenden Inspector

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Jellie Tots Pre-school

Rivermeads Hall, Staines Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5JA Setting Address

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E-mail

Jellie Tots Pre-School 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?

Jellie Tots Pre School has been operating pre the Children Act 1989. It operates from a large community hall in Twickenham, Middlesex. A maximum of 26 children may attend at any one time. The Pre School is open everyday from 09.15 to 12.15 during term time only. All children share a secure enclosed outside play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 33 children aged 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 17 children receive funding for nursery education. The Pre School serves the local area. The Pre school currently supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs five staff. Three staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff are working towards a qualification. The Pre School receives support from the local authority.

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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 thrive because staff follow good procedures and practices which meet the children’s physical, nutritional and health needs. Children are encouraged to become increasingly independent in their personal skills. Children automatically wash their hands with liquid soap, after using the toilet and messy activities.

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Helping children to be healthy

To avoid the risk of infection, staff use effective procedures during nappy changing and ensure all equipment and the premises are clean at all times for children to play in.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from healthy snacks of a selection of fruits and raisins. This helps children develop a fondness of fresh fruit and healthy eating habits from a young age. Staff work closely with parents to ensure children's individual dietary needs are known and these are taken into account at snack time. During the summer children grow vegetables and fruit in the garden, such as potatoes, runner beans, corn on the cob and strawberries. These are cooked on the premises and children have them at snack time. This helps children develop an interest in foods and where they come from.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff organise snack time very well. Children can choose when they want to have their snack and a drink, at any time during the session. This encourages children to think about their own bodily needs and means that their play and learning is not interrupted during the session. It is a very sociable occasion, where children have discussion between themselves and the member of staff who sits with them. Children choose what fruit they would like and older children cut their fruit up. The more able children pour their own drinks of water or milk. This further supports children’s self help skills.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children’s health and welfare are protected well because several staff hold a first aid certificate and the first aid box is well stocked. For continuity of care parents are notified of any accidents and have provided consents in relation to medication and emergency treatment. Children who are infectious do not attend the nursery, thus preventing the spread of contagious ailments.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop their physical skills, balance, co-ordination, when playing in the garden and from indoor experiences. Children enjoy manoeuvring cars, bikes, and ride on toys around the garden showing a good awareness of space and safety. Children develop eye and hand co-ordination as they throw kick balls and play bat and ball games. Children are competent when using the climbing frame, going up the steps and sliding down the slide. Children have opportunities to balance as they walk along balancing beams and move their bodies as they crawl through barrels. Children very confidently move their bodies in different ways, as they march, crouch, hop, and skip to music.

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Helping children to be healthy

Through the activity programme staff provide good opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills and eye and hand co-ordination. For example, painting with brushes, using glue sticks, threading, joining construction materials together and cutting with scissors.

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Helping children to be healthy

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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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children benefit from a well organised spacious environment where they can move around and play safely. Children have easy access to a good range of play resources and equipment, which are of good quality and appropriate to their age and stage of development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well safeguarded because staff undertake daily risk assessments of the premises and the garden. This reduces potential hazards and ensures children play in a safe environment. Staff ensure the environment is of an appropriate temperature and for children’s safety all radiators are covered. There are good security systems in place for the children’s arrival and departure, which includes staff supervision of the entrance door and ensuring the door, is secure when parents leave. The garden gate is locked once all the children have arrived to ensure they can play outside safety and to prevent unwanted visitors.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The risk of accidental injury is reduced because staff organise themselves well. The children are very well supervised at all times both inside and outside of the building. This means that children’s safety is given top priority. Children are helped to learn to keep themselves safe. For example, there is a picture of the taps in the cloakroom, which shows them they must not turn on the hot tap. Children discuss the picture themselves and decide they will only use the tap with the blue dot, so they do not hurt their hands.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The risks to children are reduced on outings, as staff follow good procedures and have a understanding of the health and safety requirements. For example, they take a mobile phone and a first aid box out with them. They do a risk assessment of the roads and transport used and of the place they are visiting, before taking children on the outing. Children are helped to learn about road safety through discussions from the road safety officer and activities. For example, the plastic zebra crossing is set on out in the hall and with the help of staff they learn to stop and look both ways before crossing.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All fire protection equipment is fitted appropriately, such as the fire blanket in the kitchen and the fire extinguishers. However the smoke alarm in the kitchen is not in working order. Children and staff practise the emergency evacuation procedures. This helps children become familiar with the routine, so they can leave the building quickly and safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected because most staff have attended child protection training and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child. This gives top priority to the children’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. All children arrive at the pre-school happy and eager to participate in the activities provided. Staff welcome children as they arrive with smiles and friendly comments, which help children feel welcome and quickly settle. New children are well cared for, with staff ensuring they know children’s individual needs and interests through discussion with parents when they first start.

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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 Close and caring relationships between staff and children increases their sense of trust and helps them develop a strong sense of self worth. Staff join in with children’s play and help them with various activities, whilst also leaving children to play freely if they wish.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are aware of the experiences and activities that younger children need. Some staff have attended Birth to three matters training and adapt everyday planned activities to ensure children have lot of opportunities to explore and learn through play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have lots of opportunities to communicate through pretend play, singing, shared stories and music and movement. They use their imaginations very well as they dress up and play at being doctors and nurses in the role play area. Staff ensure that younger children have a wide range of exploratory and sensory experiences. For example, as they prepare the garden to grow vegetables and fruit. The creative activities are organised so that children can explore many different textures, such as corn flour, jelly, play dough and various painting and craft materials.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children enthusiastically choose from a good range of stimulating play resources and activities, which supports their learning in all areas of the early learning goals. They quickly link up with friends and are very eager to learn, displaying a high level of involvement at the chosen activities. They play well together and take turns with popular resources and when playing board games. Children enthusiastically participate in tidying up, whilst music is played. Children are developing good self help skills as they use the toilet independently. They confidently put on and take off dressing up clothes, which assists them in dressing skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children communicate well, using language to share their thoughts and ideas. They speak confidently with their peers and adults. They openly ask and answer questions at circle times and during play with each other. Children enjoy looking at books, holding them the correct way up and turning the pages. They avidly listen to stories and confidently respond to questions about text and pictures. Children visit the library to choose and look at books and listen to stories read by the librarian. This extends children’s healthy interest in books.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff provide good opportunities for children to mark make for a variety of purposes. For example, children pretend to write lists as they talk on the telephone at the writing table. Children learn that writing and words have meanings as they made books. Children hold pens and pencils effectively and enjoy drawing around their hands and recognisable pictures. The more able children are able to write their names, forming recognisable letters. Children are helped to recognise their own names, as they pick up labels with their name on it as they arrive.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop mathematical thinking through play. For example, in the garden, numbers are put on the fence representing parking spaces and children are encouraged to park their bikes in the space, which has the same number on their bikes. Children enjoy playing board games which encourages their counting skills. Children are keen to count objects as they play and more able children confidently count up to 12 and know various shapes and colours. Children develop an awareness of measurement as they count

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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 spoonfuls of ingredients when making play dough and during cooking sessions. They enjoy learning about volume and capacity when pouring water and sand using the same and different size containers. Children like doing puzzles, matching and slotting in puzzle pieces. Staff sit with children and offer good support, making suggestions of how they can match pieces and shapes, extending children’s mathematical thinking.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff provide good opportunities to learn about living things. For example, pet rabbit, guinea pigs and tortoise are bought in to the nursery, which children are able to observe, stroke and take turns in holding. This helps children learn to treat animals with kindness. Children explore mini beasts and look for spiders' webs in the garden. Children learn about a sense of time and life cycles as they as they plant seeds and plants, water them and watch them grow and produce flowers and vegetables.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have opportunities to play with programmable toys and enjoy playing with calculators, noticing they make different number, as they press the buttons. Staff are planning to provide children with a computer with a range of programmes to support their learning in the near future. Children learn about people who help us, through visitors to the nursery, such as the road police officers. Staff provide children with real life experiences, such as going on a bus to the library and posting cards they have made in the post box.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s creative experiences are fully enhanced, as they explore colour, shape and texture through a very wide variety of activities. Children are given excellent opportunities to create their own designs independently, using tools, scissors, tape, glue sticks, paper and a wide variety of craft materials. Children are fascinated, as they add water to flour and powder paint, to watch and feel the change of texture to make play dough. Children then mould and roll play dough and use cutters to make shapes. They have good opportunities to use the play dough imaginatively, as they make hats and put bandages around their hands and wrists. Children very much enjoy painting at the easel with brushes, using a variety of colours, sometimes mixing them together to create new colours.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children like playing in the role play area, extending their play on first hand experiences, such bathing dolls in water, drying them and wrapping them in towels and doing the washing up.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Planning is thorough and covers all six areas of learning and is topic based. Staff undertake meaningful observations on children which then used to record children’s developmental profiles. Staff know the children well, which helps them enjoy and achieve. During the sessions staff go over to the children, help them, play with them and supports them in their learning through encouragement and some questioning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The partnership with parents is good. Children benefit significantly from the positive relationship staff have developed with parents. The parents receive good information about the setting and children benefit from staff actively seeking information from parents, when their child first starts. This ensures continuity of care and ensures children’s individual needs are met and helps them to settle into the pre-school. Parents volunteer to help out in the pre-school and get

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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 involved in fund raising and join in planned events such as teddy bears picnic with their children. Children benefit from staff actively seeking information from parents, when their child first starts. Staff are very friendly towards the parents and exchange information briefly when they bring and collect their child. They are made aware that they can discuss their child’s progress at any time with their child’s key worker and at parents' meetings during the year. Parents' notice boards and regular newsletters keep parents well informed of activities and events at the pre-school. The polices and procedures are always available to parents and they are informed of how to make a complaint.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well and staff support children in helping them to share and take turns and show consideration for each other. For example, children learn to play as a team and co-operate with each other, when playing games with the parachute. The staff use lots of praise to reinforce positive behaviour and acknowledge their efforts achievements. This contributes to children’s high levels of self esteem and confidence. Staff provide good role models to children, by talking to them at their level in a quiet and calm manner. Staff offer children lots of individual support during the sessions and ensure they are kept constantly occupied. This helps to prevent children displaying any challenging behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

All children are welcomed and play a full part in the pre-school because staff value and respect their individuality and the family context of each child. Children are beginning to learn about other cultural celebrations. For example at Chinese New Year they made noodles and ate them with chop sticks. They develop positive attitudes about diversity through a good range of play resources and books reflecting positive images of culture and gender, which are fully integrated into every day play. There are some posters portraying positive images of disability, but children have few opportunities to access toys in this area. Children develop a good awareness of their local community when visiting the library, local shops and visitors to the nursery, such as police officers. Children's the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with special needs are given good support to help them make progress. Staff work closely with the parents and seek advice from other professionals when setting meaningful targets as part of individual educational plans. Staff work closely with the children’s teacher before they leave, to help children with special needs have a smooth transition into school.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children play in a large hall which is transformed by staff into a child centred environment. The staff are well deployed and show a good understanding of their role of supporting children with activities. Most of the staff are qualified and attend training courses to keep them updated with changing childcare practices. The operational plan, polices and procedures are used effectively to promote the safety, welfare and care of the children. All legally required documentation is in place which contributes to children’s health and wellbeing and is regularly reviewed. The recruitment procedures ensure staff undergo appropriate checking systems to make sure of their suitably to work with children. The key worker system works well and ensures children’s needs are met through getting to know their initial needs and observing and monitoring children’s learning.

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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 Leadership and management is good. The manager is a good role model and ensures staff are aware of the Foundation stage curriculum and provides a varied range of stimulating well planned activities. This enables children to make good progress in all the early learning goals. There are regular staff meetings organised to discuss planning and evaluate the education provided. Staffing levels are well maintained and employed effectively throughout the pre-school. The manager works directly with the staff team, so is able to observe their performance and monitor the quality of teaching. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Recommendations and actions made at the last inspection have all been met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the required documentation has improved. A complaints policy and illness policy has been devised and shared with parents. The child protection policy now include procedures in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. To safeguard children permission to seek emergency medical treatment has been requested

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Improvements since the last inspection

Key issues made at the last inspection have been met. Systems have been put in place to improve the planning of activities and the observations of children's development. Staff now attend regular training to continually improve the standards of education for children.

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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): • ensure smoke alarms are kept in working order

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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 • increase range of play resources that promote positive images of disability

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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 questioning to children to further help them to think and learn during play actvities

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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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