St Mary's Osterley Playgroup

St Mary's Osterley Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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St Mary's Osterley Playgroup

EY272624 Unique Reference Number 25 January 2007 Inspection date Jennifer Devine Inspector

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St Mary's Osterley Playgroup

St Mary's Osterley Parish Centre, Osterley Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 4PW

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E-mail

St Mary's Osterley Playgroup 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 satisfactory. 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

St Mary's Osterley Playgroup is managed by an elected parent committee. It opened in 1970 and operates from a new purpose built community hall adjacent to St Mary's church in Isleworth in the London borough of Hounslow. A maximum of 26 children may attend at any one time. The playgroup is open each weekday from 09:30 to 12:30, term time only. All children share access to a secure outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 34 children from two to under five years on roll. Of these 18 children receive funding for nursery education.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The playgroup employs six staff, of which five staff hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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 Playgroup is a member of the Pre School Learning Alliance and receives support from the Hounslow Early Years team.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children's health is promoted as the premises are maintained to a high standard of cleanliness. Children are encouraged to wash their hands at appropriate times. However, their health is compromised as they share bowls of soapy water to wash their hands before snack times, which increases the risk of cross contamination. Effective policies and procedures are in place to manage accidents and to administer first aid and medication, thereby helping to ensure children are well looked after.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy snacks that are healthy and nutritious; these include fresh fruit, crackers and plain biscuits. Children can help themselves to fresh drinking water throughout the morning and have a choice of milk or water at snack time. Children's independence is encouraged, as they are able to pour their own drinks and help slice up the fruit. They are learning about the importance of healthy eating when they participate in cooking activities such as making healthy sandwiches or pizza. Children's individual dietary requirements are well known by staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are developing a positive attitude to physical exercise which is thoroughly enjoyed on a daily basis. There are opportunities for free flow of play between indoor and outdoors. Children are developing their coordination and skills when steering tricycles around obstacles or when climbing and sliding on the indoor climbing frame.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The staff provide a warm welcome to the children and parents in the mornings. Parents bring their child into the playgroup to settle them and make sure they feel secure. The setting is clean and has designated areas to display some of the children's artwork. Children move freely around the environment because staff pay attention to ensuring the environment is free from any dangers by conducting daily risk assessments of the setting. The indoor climbing frame and trampoline are well protected by the use of safety mats to prevent serious injury if children fall. The entrance to the playgroup is kept locked which ensures children cannot leave the premises unseen by staff. Children are always supervised when going to the toilet as it is situated away from the main playgroup room. Good organisation of space means that children can move around freely, safely and comfortably. Children are confident to choose from a wide range of

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

available resources and can be active when playing on the climbing frame, can spend time engaging in table activities or floor play and they can also relax and share books in a comfortable area with cushions and soft chairs.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is adequately safeguarded as most staff have a satisfactory knowledge of child protection matters. They understand the signs the symptoms a child may exhibit that could indicate a concern and know to report such concerns to the supervisor.

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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 satisfactory. Children enjoy their time at playgroup. They arrive happy and confident and most children settle into the playgroup routine. Staff are close by to help new children separate from their parent, gently encouraging them to play and explore their surroundings. Staff know the children well and have built up secure trusting relationships with them and their families. Children play well and are interested in the wide range of activities available. Younger children are generally well supported in their play and development. Staff having a satisfactory understanding of how to use the Birth to three matters framework and use it to guide their planning for this age group. Staff are aware of individual children's needs and provide appropriate support where needed, particularly for new children settling who are getting used to the routines.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children benefit from a generally well planned curriculum because staff have a sound understanding of the Foundation stage. However, the plans do not clearly indicate the learning intentions based on the early learning goals and does not show how activities can be adapted for different abilities of children. This impacts on children's progress for further challenge. Staff observe children's progress and record next steps of learning on their individual files. Staff use this information to plan the forthcoming curriculum. Staff are deployed well within the setting and close by to offer support and guidance to children when needed. Most staff are able to pose appropriate questions to make children think and develop their vocabulary further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have developed good relationships with each other and familiar adults. They show kindness towards each other as they play together, learning to share and take turns. They have good opportunities to independently select resources and confidently pour their own drinks of water.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident and express their needs effectively. They communicate well as they play together. Children thoroughly enjoy sitting in the book corner and listen intently to an adult reading a story. They understand how to look after books, carefully turning pages one at a time. Staff are highly skilled in providing a well resourced book area. They take time to ensure that books are displayed each week which represent the theme. Story time is well organised as children are divided into small groups dependant on their needs and this ensures all children benefit. Children enjoy using a wide range of pens, pencils and papers to practise their mark making or writing skills either in the writing area or around the playgroup, such as when making lists in the home corner.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children show an interest in counting and are beginning to use numbers confidently when singing number rhymes or when counting how many children are in. Children are beginning to use mathematical language when covering topics on positional language such as under, on and beside. Children demonstrate their understanding when playing a game of placing teddy under, on or beside the table or chair.

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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 have a broad range of experiences which helps them to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world, through planned themes and projects such as looking at the life cycles of frogs. Children have generally good opportunities to develop their understanding of information technology and confidently use the computer being able to follow a simple programme.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have fun painting and sticking and they explore different media such as sand, water and play dough. They are developing their fine motor skills when they use a range of tools and resources such as paintbrushes, scissors, pencils and play dough implements. They have fun using musical instruments and enjoy dancing or singing to music. Children thoroughly enjoy the well equipped home corner where they can experience a variety of role play situations and learn to play together, negotiating roles.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children benefit from being cared for an emotionally warm, child friendly environment where staff are kept well informed of children's individual needs. Children's confidence develops through having the opportunities to make choices and through the respect and care shown to them by staff.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff give children clear, consistent boundaries, they praise them and celebrate their achievements which helps to build their self esteem. Children's behaviour is generally good. They play amicably together and are encouraged to take turns and be kind to each other. Children are learning to respect toys and equipment as they help to tidy up at the end of activities. Children are learning about the world they live in as they access resources that promote positive images of diverse cultures. They also learn about various traditions and celebrate festivals in the local and wider community. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from the friendly interaction between staff and parents. Parents are made to feel very welcome and can approach their key worker at any time. Suitable information such as regular newsletters are available which keeps parents informed about the playgroup.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents whose children receive funded nursery education is satisfactory. At the beginning of the new term parents attend a meeting where the Foundation stage curriculum is presented, together with an information booklet. If children start the playgroup later on in the year the supervisor discusses the Foundation stage individually. Parents are not encouraged to share what they know about their child's development on admission and this hinders staff having a starting point for planning individual activities. Information is displayed on the parents notice board about the topic or theme being covered which enables parents to continue learning at home. Staff have developed profiles of each child which contains examples of children's work and progress information. Parents can access these profiles regularly and they are provided with an annual report on their child's developmental progress.

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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 satisfactory. Daily routines are well organised to ensure all children attending have time and opportunity to take part in all activities. All staff have a sound understanding of the National Standards, which they are committed to applying through out the playgroup. The staff team work very well together, they are positive, motivated and dedicated.

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Organisation

There is satisfactory recruitment and vetting procedures in place, although no checks are carried out to determine an applicant's medical suitability to work with young children.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of nursery education is satisfactory. Children benefit from a staff team that works well together to deliver an interesting range of activities and play experiences. The supervisor is committed to making improvements in the quality of teaching and learning by developing systems for staff appraisals and actively encouraging staff to attend further training to develop their knowledge and skills.

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Organisation

Most records, policies and procedures which are required for the safe and efficient management of the provision and for the children's well being are in place. However, attendance records do not accurately record the times of children's arrival and departure, which compromises children's safety.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the quality of care was judged as inadequate. This was due to the group not notifying Ofsted of a change of the committee, which is the registered body and therefore the group were in breech of the National Standards. There was no robust recruitment procedures in place for recruiting and vetting new staff. Also staff did not have a sound understanding of Child Protection procedures. The playgroup have made improvements in all areas. The committee has had all required checks undertaken and satisfactory recruitment procedures are in place. However, there is no system for checking the medical suitability of new staff. Most staff have now attended Child protection training which ensures children's safety and well being.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The playgroup has made improvements to the nursery education since the last inspection. Staff have increased their knowledge of the Foundation stage of learning by reading the curriculum guidance thoroughly and then discussing together as a staff team. Individual play plans have been implemented for staff to record their observations of children's development and staff then discuss how activities can be adapted for individual learning needs. Outdoor play is now included in the planning and children have free access to the garden for most of the session, which benefits children's physical and health needs.

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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

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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 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 satisfactory. 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 satisfactory.

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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 time of children's arrival and departure are clearly recorded • improve recruitment procedures to ensure persons are medically suitable to work with young children • improve methods of hand washing to prevent the spread of infection.

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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 short term planning methods to clearly indicate the learning intentions based on the early learning goals and ensure that it clearly identifies how activities can be adapted for individual children • devise a system to establish children's starting points so that staff can build on their existing knowledge (applies to care also).

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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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