Priory Park Pre-School

Priory Park Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Priory Park Pre-School

511089 Unique Reference Number 30 November 2006 Inspection date Alison Large Inspector

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Priory Park Pre-School

Community Hall, Upper Brook Drive, Locks Heath, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 6PT

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E-mail

Priory Park 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?

Priory Park pre-school is a committee run group. It opened in 1991 and operates from one room in a community building in the Locks Heath area of Hampshire. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open weekdays on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 09:15 to 11:45 and 12:15 to 14:45 each weekday during term time only. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 54 children from 2 years 9 months to 5 years on roll. Of these 48 children receive funding for nursery education. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties or disabilities, and is also able to support 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 nursery employs seven members of staff. Of these six hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children talk about how to keep their bodies healthy and they recognise the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet. They have their snack as they access the ‘café’ style snack table. Children confidently make choices from a range of fruits and other healthy options, provided by staff, which helps develop their understanding of healthy eating.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children’s health is well promoted as most staff have relevant first aid training and implement effective hygiene procedures to minimise the risk of infection, for example when preparing snacks and responding to accidents. However the accident and medication records have not been maintained as required, which could put children's health at risk. Children follow good personal hygiene routines helping to prevent the spread of infection and independently wash their hands after using the toilet and after messy play.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children recognise the benefits of vigorous exercise and enjoy daily opportunities to participate in activities indoors and outdoors, developing their co-ordination and skills, for example playing with balls, hoops, climbing frame and wheeled toys.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children move freely and in safety around the learning environment, both inside and out, because staff pay high attention to ensuring risks and hazards are minimised and children’s safety is promoted. Children show a good understanding of safety issues and group boundaries, for example, they know they cannot access the toilet area without a staff member being with them. Staff's good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues helps to ensure children are protected from harm and neglect. They know how to implement local child protection procedures and have the required policies and documents in place to safeguard children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children move confidently around the environment, both inside and out, making their own choices about their play. Space is well organised and used effectively to allow children opportunities to be active, engage in physical activities, table top and floor activities and to enjoy opportunities to relax and share books in a comfortable environment with cushions.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children access a very good range of play equipment and resources, some of which is accessible to the children. The learning environment is bright and stimulating, welcoming to both children and adults, which enhances children’s learning and increases opportunities for them to be independent and develop self-esteem, for example as they notice their creative work displayed.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at pre-school. They arrive happy and confident and quickly settle into the routine making their own choices about their play and become familiar with their surroundings and the daily routine. Children are interested in activities and involved in their learning. Practitioners know children well and talk to them about their family and what they have been doing at home. This interaction, and the implementation of a successful key person system, helps to secure relationships between children and staff developing a strong sense of trust.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Younger children develop very good communication skills as they contribute to group discussions and become competent learners, for example they self-select activities such as writing materials helping to increase their manipulative skills. Children enjoy opportunities to express imagination through role-play and telling stories and experience a range of media and materials encouraging them to explore their senses. Staff recognise the value of play in a child’s development and introduce a range of experiences, enabling all children to learn to play and work together in large and small groups as well as independently.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good individual progress because practitioners have a secure understanding of how children learn effectively. They adapt their questioning techniques, according to the age and ability of the child, and implement a varied range of teaching methods to introduce an exciting range of activities and experiences to all children. Practitioners encourage children to lead their own learning and this is successfully achieved by a well developed routine, with a good balance of child and adult initiated activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are eager to learn and concentrate well showing good perseverance with activities. They co-operate and negotiate roles, for example when acting out their imagined ideas in role-play and value one another’s ideas. Children listen with great excitement to stories and take an active part. They confidently search for items beginning with the same sound and notice letters in familiar words. Children independently use a range of tools and materials and freely access a variety of resources from the writing station, which they use to represent their own ideas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain confidence in using numbers and compare the weight and size of objects as they predict how many baubles it will take to fill the jug. They confidently use good mathematical language, for example, children calculate how many baubles they can fit in the net and what sized jug they need to put them in.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Effective use is made of time and resources to provide children with opportunities to engage in physical activities, including climbing, riding wheeled toys and explore creativity using a wide range of media such as paint, glue, water and sand. They learn about themselves and their families through discussion and topic work and talk about their local community and the wider world as they prepare their Christmas nativity and learn their songs for the parents presentation.

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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 Practitioners observe and monitor children’s progress regularly in a variety of different ways but evaluation of planning and activities does not give individual targets for children to work towards each half-term. Realistic expectations of children and good individual knowledge helps them to consolidate their learning before moving onto the next stage. As a result, the curriculum is tailored to ensure effective support and sufficient challenges are provided to help children achieve their individual potential.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. All children are welcomed and play a full part in the pre-school because practitioners value each child as an individual. Children are extremely confident and show good self-esteem responding well to continual praise and encouragement. They know what is expected of them and confidently talk about group rules, helping to develop a very good understanding of the difference between right and wrong. Children work together co-operatively, for instance by negotiating turns when using the computer. Children learn about themselves and the wider world through planned activities and discussions, for example they learn about a variety of cultural festivals, helping them to understand and value the similarities and differences between themselves and others.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from good relationships and working partnerships with parents, which contributes to their well-being and the relationships they develop at pre-school. Secure links are in place between home and pre-school and parents are encouraged to share what they know about their child when they begin the group. Flexible settling in arrangements and the implementation of a successful parent rota helps to ensure parents are involved and practitioner’s value parent’s comments and suggestions using these to enhance the provision for children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. Parents receive information about topics and are encouraged to support their child in bringing in items from home linked to the theme of the week. Children’s individual progress and achievements are discussed and shared through informal chats with the child's key person. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their child’s learning and extend this into the home. Children’s learning is significantly enhanced by the contributions parents make and the secure links in place between home and pre-school.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Leadership and management is good. Children’s care and learning is enhanced by the effective deployment of staff and good leadership and management of nursery education. Staff are knowledgeable about the foundation stage curriculum and are experienced in working with pre-school aged children, which impacts on the organisation of the group and the achievements children make. Policies and procedures are implemented effectively to successfully promote children’s care and well-being. However, some of the information has not been updated to keep parents informed of any changes. Staff work well as a team and have clearly defined roles and responsibilities ensuring the session runs smoothly. Staff recognise the strengths of the group

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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 and identify areas for improvement, although evaluation of activities does not inform the planning, to enable children to reach their full potential. The pre-school place importance on training and provide very good support to staff. This helps ensure all staff contribute fully to the group and successfully promote positive outcomes for children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the setting were asked to strengthen procedures for inducting new staff and volunteers; and further enhance staff development and training opportunities through in-service/external training and other means; to update/improve documentation regarding the complaint procedure, register for children and staff, and key information for parents. The pre-school now have good procedures for inducting staff, and high priority is given to staff attending training, to further enhance their skills. Documentation has been updated and improved so parents have access to relevant information and procedures are checked regularly to keep them updated. This ensures the pre-school has improved the sharing of information to keeps parents informed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last nursery education inspection the group were asked to provide opportunities for children to recall past and present experiences and begin to differentiate between past and present. The pre-school have ensured the children are given opportunities to discuss events and have a photo album containing family members and other activities which they can access independently. This has ensured the recommendation has been met.

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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):

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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 • ensure accident and medication records contain parents signed acknowledgement for each entry • ensure policies and procedures are reviewed and kept updated

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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): • improve the system to monitor and evaluate daily activities, ensuring planning is informed so children are able to reach their full potential

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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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