Canon Palmer Catholic School

St Eval Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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St Eval Pre-School

102862 Unique Reference Number 29 November 2006 Inspection date Leoarna Mathias Inspector

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St Eval Pre-School

Lincoln Row, St Eval, Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 7TR Setting Address

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E-mail

St Eval 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?

St Eval Pre-school has been running for approximately 30 years. It operates from its own purpose built premises within St Eval RAF airbase. The pre-school serves the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 27 children on roll including 12 children receiving funded nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting can support children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term time. Sessions are from 09.15 hours until 11.45 hours and from 12.45 hours until 14.45 hours.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The RAF employs six members of staff work with the children, all of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification. The setting 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 are developing a good understanding of what it means to be healthy. They access a good range of healthy items for snack, and drinking water is readily available throughout the session. They are given consistent encouragement for washing their hands after toileting and before eating. They access regular outdoor play with both planned activities and freely available resources that successfully promote the development of their physical skills. As a result they move confidently around all parts of the setting, negotiating obstacles with ease. Similarly their manipulative skills are also promoted through the accessibility of appropriate resources, and as such, even the youngest children can, for example, pour their own drink at snack time. Documentation systems that ensure children's medical needs are well known to staff are in good order, for example, by making all staff aware of the special dietary needs of some children.

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Helping children to be healthy

All staff are first aid trained, minimising the risks to children in the event of an emergency, and staff also ensure that children are cared for in a hygienic environment, further minimising the risk of cross infection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in an orderly and spacious environment which is carefully planned by staff to maximise children's free use of space. Toys and resources are in good order, and high ratios of staff to children mean that children are well supervised at all times. Staff do not always ask visitors to record their presence with sufficient promptness, which can at times limit security. However, staff do monitor overall access to the provision closely, and employ good systems for ensuring that children are only collected by adults known to the group. Risk assessments are carried out regularly, as are fire drills, which are then recorded and evaluated, further promoting children's safety in an emergency. Finally, staff are clear about their child protection responsibilities, attending regular training in this area. Only minor amendments are necessary to bring the child protection policy fully in line with requirements of the National Standards.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are warmly welcomed upon arrival, and settle quickly into the routines of the setting. Effective key working ensures that all children are well known to at least one member of staff, and children gravitate readily to staff for praise, guidance and comfort. The Birth to three matters framework has been successfully integrated into the planning for younger children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children have a positive attitude to their learning, joining in group conversations with enthusiasm, and responding well to opportunities to problem solve. Staff are quick to praise children for their achievements, and as a result, children are proud of their own progress, for example, when solving a number problem or helping to tidy

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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 up. Children persist with adult led and self chosen tasks for good periods of time, such as when using a matching and sorting programme on the computer, or making Christmas decorations. All children are becoming increasingly aware of their own needs and the needs of others, and are able to use good manners with very little prompting from staff. They enjoy opportunities to perform tasks for others, such as giving out snack items. The children follow the group's agreed codes for behaviour well, relishing the opportunity to climb up the reward chart.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children are making at least good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. Children use language readily in their play, engaging both each other and staff in conversations where they can explore vocabulary. Children learn in a print rich environment, and even the youngest children have a good awareness of the letter of the week and the words that begin with that sound. They are also increasingly able to recognise letters and words in print, finding their own names upon arrival. They listen well at story time, but do not readily access books for themselves. They do, however, receive frequent small group and one to one support for the development of their handwriting. Children use numbers accurately and spontaneously during their play, as well as being given plenty of adult support for the development of their understanding in this area, for example, through encouragement to think

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

about concepts, such as 'one more' and 'one less'. Children have regular opportunities to use the local environment to promote their sense of place, for example, by going on an autumn walk to collect natural objects. When taking part in activities that promote their designing and making skills, children are encouraged to express their own ideas, and access a good range of resources with which to carry out their ideas. They regularly access information technology resources, and are developing a good sense of the passage of time, as a result of staff's sensible use of the egg timer and daily teaching around the calendar. Children participate in meaningful projects that promote their understanding of other cultures and beliefs. A good range of resources is available for children to explore media and materials, such as sand, water, and playdough. Children sing songs regularly, and although they do not independently access role

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

play and dressing up resources as frequently as they might, children are encouraged by staff to express their ideas and opinions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff team have a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum, and are able to readily adapt the Cornish Footsteps activity programme to meet the needs of the children in their care. They use this knowledge to successfully differentiate their teaching for younger and older children, and to ensure that all receive plentiful small group and one to one support for their learning. Staff also use successful teaching strategies, such as posing questions that encourage to think, regularly across the session. Although some opportunities to promote children's use of some of the available resources are not taken up, staff do otherwise provide children with a broad range of experiences at each session. They are also skilled in supporting children who wish to pursue an activity to its natural conclusion, by ensuring that there is a sensible balance between session structure and flexibility. Children's ongoing progress is carefully

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

observed and monitored by staff, and this is measured against individual plans with appropriately set termly learning targets for each child. Finally staff make good use of time and space, and deploy themselves well, so as to maximise children's access to adult support for their learning.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered. Staff achieve this through a number of strategies. For example, they ensure that key working systems give them detailed knowledge of each child in their care. Similarly, staff encourage children to be aware of their own needs and the needs of others, giving them access to a good range of resources that promote difference and diversity in our society. Children with special educational needs are given effective support from an experienced practitioner, and older children have regular trips over to the primary school that they will go on to attend, giving them a greater appreciation of the community they are part of, and further support in managing their own behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents access very informative notice boards, that give them plenty of detail as to the work of the group. They also receive a thorough prospectus, and are obliged to sign to say that they have familiarised themselves with the prospectus. Parents are able to build relationships with their child's key worker, and this allows for a useful exchange of information about the child's welfare and educational progress. Finally, the group regularly surveys parents to ensure that their needs are being continuously met.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The pre-school meets the needs of the children for whom it provides. Children enjoy good levels of care as a result of high ratios and effective staff deployment. Appointment and vetting procedures ensure that staff are appropriately checked before working directly with children, and there is good support for accessing training. As a result, staff are confident in their roles. Policies, the operational plan, and other documentation systems are in largely good order, with only minor amendments to the complaints policy and procedure required to bring it fully in line with the requirements of the National Standards.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the group is good. Throughout each session the whole team demonstrates high levels of responsibility, commitment and proactivity; they are well qualified and bring a positive attitude to their work. Staff training is readily facilitated, and regular appraisals assist in determining the professional development needs of each staff member. The play leader is proud of her team, and together they are growing in their ability to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. They are also working to build stronger relationships with the neighbouring school in order to ensure children enjoy a smooth transition between the two settings.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the group were asked to improve the safety of floor mats, to update the Special Educational Needs policy, to improve the structure of the afternoon session to increase the levels of support available for children's learning, and to develop staff's skills in evaluating the teaching they deliver. The floor mats have now been made safe. The Special Educational Needs policy is now in line with recent legislation and the requirements of the National Standards. The structure of the afternoon sessions has been improved to provide children with

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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 a more stimulating learning environment. Staff have begun to be able to evaluate their own teaching and learning support, while recognising that more can be done in this area.

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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. 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 the presence of visitors is clearly recorded • ensure that the child protection policy, the complaints policy and the complaints log fully comply with the requirements of the National Standards

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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 develop strategies for evaluating teaching to further ensure that children access all parts of the curriculum

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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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