Poperinghe Pre-School

Poperinghe Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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EY221396 Unique Reference Number 21 March 2007 Inspection date Carol Patricia Willett Inspector

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Community Complex, Princes Marina Drive, Arborfield, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 9NN

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E-mail

Poperinghe Pre-School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, 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?

Poperinghe Pre-school opened in 1979, the pre-school moved to its new premises within the Arborfield Garrison Community Centre in March 2002. It is managed by a parents committee.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school has sole use of the premises, which includes four large playrooms for the children. The children also have access to a large hall on site and three outside play areas. The pre-school caters for children of service personnel and children from the local community.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to care for 75 children from two years to under five years. There are currently 90 children on roll. This includes 69 funded three and four-year olds. The setting has systems in place to support children with special needs and currently supports children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 08:45 until 14:45. Children attend for a variety of sessions or for full day care until 14:45.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 22 members of staff who work with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level II or III. The manager is supernumerary and holds a level four childcare qualification. She is working towards a foundation degree and the deputy is working towards

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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 a level four qualification. Several other staff are currently on training programs to increase their qualifications. The pre-school receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. They are a member of the Preschool Learning Association.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Staff have a good understanding of health, hygiene and nutrition which effectively promotes children's good health. Children play and learn in a clean, well maintained environment as staff have put very effective procedures in place to ensure the premises, toys and equipment are in a clean and suitable condition. Staff check the premises daily before the children arrive and clean the toys regularly. Tables are wiped with antibacterial spray before and after snacks and lunch.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are developing well in independence and in self care skills as staff encourage and support their development. Children freely use the toilets and many of the them can put on their coats for outside play. They take off their shoes and socks in the hall as the join in with music and movement dance sessions. They learn about personal hygiene through regular daily routines as staff gently remind them to wash their hands after the toilet and before eating. Children get tissues for their noses and throw them in the bin after use. They put on aprons to protect their clothes when painting.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children learn about being healthy as they are given healthy snacks. They have a piece of fruit with toast or crumpets at snack time. Children do not have choice at snack time as staff select the fruit for them. Children’s health and dietary needs are met because the staff work closely with parents to ensure they have a good knowledge of individual needs. Staff use snack times to develop children's social skills. Children develop good manners as they wait for all the children to have their food before they can eat.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision for children’s physical development is very good. Children enjoy a wide range of activities which contribute to their good health and which help them develop their physical skills. They enjoy playing in the fresh air and enthusiastically explore the range of apparatus and ride on toys which are available in the outside play areas. They practice pedalling skills as they skilfully manoeuvre wheeled toys and enjoy throwing and catching balls. They particularly enjoy Diddy Dancing with an outside dance teacher and they join in with interest and enthusiasm as they move in time to the music like skateboards, tractors and aeroplanes. They run, hop and skip with increasing skill, developing their coordination and control over their bodies. Children manipulate a wide range of construction toys and tools such as rolling pins and cutters, paint brushes and pencils to develop their fine motor skills. Children develop in confidence as they

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Helping children to be healthy

use the equipment and resources due to the consistent support and close supervision of the staff.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play and learn in a warm, bright, welcoming, safe environment which is well maintained. They have access to four large classrooms which staff organise very effectively to support children's development and play. The rooms are zoned in line with the six areas of learning and

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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 can move freely between the rooms for freely selected work times after the midmorning snack. They can also freely access the outside play areas during this time.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff greet children and parents warmly on arrival. They ensure the rooms are set up ready for when the children arrive so they feel welcome and secure. Displays of group collages, children's work and photos of children at play are put on the walls to provide a welcoming, child friendly environment and develop children's sense of belonging. Children have named coat pegs and drawers for their belongings within their base rooms which develops their sense of belonging and personal space. Children freely access a wide range of good quality, age appropriate toys and play materials. This ensures they can make good progress to the early learning goals.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff follow good health and safety procedures so children stay safe. They check the premises daily both inside and out to ensure all hazards are removed and resources are safe for use so the children can play safely and confidently. The entrance door is kept locked to protect the children whilst they are on the premises and good procedures are in place when children are collected. Children develop confidence and awareness as they take part in regular fire drills which are logged. They develop an understanding of their own safety as staff use daily experiences to develop children's understanding, such as using tools including scissors safely, sitting on the chairs correctly and not running inside as they might hurt themselves or others.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children stay safe in the preschool as staff are experienced and suitably vetted. They supervise children closely at all times. Staff have a good understanding of the policies, procedures and documentation in place to protect children including child protection and if a child is uncollected or lost.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children receive good quality care and are very happy, developing confidence and good self-esteem as they benefit from the warm, caring attitudes of the staff. They are well-motivated to participate and supported to learn by the enthusiastic interested staff team who provide a stimulating range activities to maintain children's interest and enthusiasm. Children know the routine well and they are comfortable and co-operative and play well with the resources. Children make good progress to the early learning goals as staff have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and they plan a varied range of activities that support the children's development across all areas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children join in with enthusiasm and are very cooperative responding well to changes in the session routine as staff are enthusiastic and interested. Children confidently engage staff and each other in conversation and are eager to share what they know. They show excitement as they look at the frogspawn and can tell staff they become tadpoles and frogs. They confidently tell adults that the plants are outside as they need water and sunshine to grow. They discuss their families and experiences as their communication skills are well supported by interested, caring adults and especially during show and tell sessions. They develop an awareness of their own and other cultures, for example, one of the children asks if they can sing happy birthday to her mum who is helper for the day.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's personal social and emotional development is very good. They form good friendships and offer hugs and support to each other. They behave well and are very cooperative as 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 line up to go outside and come back in again. They care about each other and happily share resources and help each other to complete games on the computers showing their friends how to make the screen change and where to click with the mouse, for instance. Staff introduce them to systems where they learn to regulate their own behaviour as they share resources using a timer to enable other children to share the use of the computers and the large cardboard boxes which they make into dens and hiding places.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a good knowledge of mathematical concepts. They confidently use mathematical language and problem solve through planned activities and daily routines, for example, they count the number of children at group times and talk about the date and weather. They spontaneously use mathematical language in play as they count items on the computer screen and items in books. Children have generally good opportunities to develop their creativity and imagination as they paint pictures using a variety of painting techniques and make models using recycled materials. The role play areas however, are not used to full effect to ensure children develop across all areas of learning for example there are no appointment diaries or pens in the baby clinic role play to enable children to practice emergent writing. The children show good imaginative skills as they enthusiastically join in with Diddy Dancing matching

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

actions and movements to the music. They participate and actively engage in the stories read to them by staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop thinking and learning and develop new skills as the staff demonstrate a good variety of teaching methods and skilful questioning techniques. For example when children get overexcited and make a lot of noise when listening to a story the member of staff asks calmly "is this an indoor or outdoor noise" which quickly calms the situation as the children respond. They model the correct use of resources such as scissors to enable children to use them safely.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff use their knowledge of the children and their observations to plan for the children's development. There is inconsistency in the recording of evidence to inform children development records. Evaluation of activities does not consistently effectively identify children's achievements or the next steps in learning in the different rooms.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are comfortable and confident in the preschool and develop a sense of belonging as staff greet them and their parents warmly as they arrive. Children develop good self esteem as staff are kind and caring and show interest in them encouraging and praising all their efforts. Some of the children's work is displayed in group collages and displays on the walls which develops their sense of belonging and self esteem. They like to see themselves in the photographic displays in their base rooms and proudly point out pictures of themselves.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. They learn about their own and other cultures through planned activities and visitors into the preschool. For example, one of the parents comes into make gingerbread men for Red Nose Day and staff explain why they collect money. Staff provide images and written words for children from different cultures as several children are from Ghurka families. Staff praise and encourage the children teaching them to care about each other and learn respect through their own actions as they act as good role models. Staff are very knowledgeable about their roles as special needs coordinators and how they work to support the children with additional needs. They demonstrate good skills as

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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 they manage children with difficult behaviour. They keep up to date as they attend local meetings and attend training specific to the role and support and advise staff within the setting.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well as staff show respect and have high expectations of good behaviour. They use distraction well and give children clear explanations. This ensures children learn right from wrong and are aware of the rules. Staff enable children to learn to negotiate and solve their own problems when they deal with disputes calmly explaining and talking to the children, using a timer to negotiate over the use of popular resources such as the computers and large cardboard boxes. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement to develop positive behaviour. Consequently, children develop respect for each other. They can share and take turns as they use resources, such as when sharing out the playdough and using the tools provided. They learn to play together and negotiate their roles when playing with the large cardboard boxes. Children develop friendships and choose to sit next to them at snack time and play together.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnerships with parents are very good. Children benefit from the strong relationships as parents and staff work very well together through the parent committee. Staff develop good relationships with parents which they appreciate. They provide many positive comments in the questionnaires the manager and committee provide to assess the provision. They particularly like the friendly caring staff and the wide range of activities the staff provide. Staff provide parents with a wide range of useful information about the policies and nursery education in the prospectus, notice boards and regular newsletters. Children's needs are effectively met as parents share useful information prior to their child starting at preschool. This is not recorded to ensure staff have a good sense of children's starting points to inform planning. Parents support children's learning as they have access to the policies and planning for nursery education.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

They are able to contribute to children's learning through offering their skills and through the provision of items to support topics and themes. They gain insight into their children's learning through the well supported parents rota. Staff and parents share information informally on a daily basis and are always available should parents wish to discuss any concerns or issues. They have opportunities to comment on the children's achievement records which are freely available for parents to view. The staff plan opportunities for formal meeting where parents discuss the children's progress though staff report these are not always well supported.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The leadership and management of the preschool is generally good. The committee, parents and staff work very well together to provide a caring, stimulating environment to support children's learning and play. Children settle well and are happy in the preschool as they relate well to caring, interested staff. They know the routine and adapt easily to the changes during the session as they are carefully supported at all times. There are very effective systems in place to ensure staff are suitable to care for the children. Staff work very effectively as a team and they are well deployed to ensure ratios are met at all times. They are aware of their roles and responsibilities and very supportive of each other which provides a caring relaxed environment for the children to play and learn. Staff with role responsibility undertake further training and attend local meetings to ensure their knowledge is up to date and to improve their practice so

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Organisation

children are safeguarded. Staff performance is reviewed annually and is used to assess training needs of the staff and preschool. All staff are committed to updating their knowledge and skills to improve the provision for the children's care and learning through training. Several member of staff are currently on training programs with the manager working towards a foundation degree and the deputy to a level four childcare qualification.

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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 Children play and develop in safety and comfort as staff organise the setting effectively. They plan and provide an interesting range of activities both inside and out using the Foundation Stage, stepping stones, observations of the children and children's achievement records to ensure children make good progress to the early learning goals. There are generally good systems in place to monitor most aspects of the provision though children's achievement records do not consistently reflect children's capabilities. The evaluation of activities is not consistent across all the playrooms and these are not always used effectively to plan for children's individual learning. A comprehensive range of policies, procedures and documentation are in place to promote the care, welfare and education of the children and manage all aspects of the provision.

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Organisation

These are regularly reviewed to ensure they contain recent changes. Overall, the provision 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 preschool were required to improve the number of staff with first aid training and further develop child protection policies and procedures to include a statement if allegations are made about staff members. The preschool have taken good steps to address the issues and now all staff complete first aid training and the child protection policy has been reviewed and updated to include a procedure to follow in the event of an allegation of abuse against a member of staff. These actions ensure children's welfare is safeguarded.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery education inspection identified further improvement was needed in several areas and the preschool has made good progress to address all the issues in physical and creative play and access to books which has improved the opportunities for children development. Staff include physical development in their planning and have engaged an outside dance teacher who has very good skills which ensures children's make progress in their development through a planned program of music and movement sessions. Staff provide good opportunities to access the outside play areas and plan activities to further develop the children's physical skills. Children are encouraged to look at books on a daily basis and there are information books available throughout the rooms and are often linked to the themes and activities provided so children learn to develop links in learning. Craft activities are freely available in the room for creative

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Improvements since the last inspection

development which children can freely choose to use during part of the session and this is set up so children can have free access to a range of materials to develop their imaginations and creativity.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The preschool were required to produce a development plan to prioritise the development of the preschool. The staff produced a three year plan covering all areas in the preschool for development including the premises, staff training and development, and resources and documentation which has systematically been completed and reviewed to show how the preschool continues to develop and evolve for the benefit of the children. For example, there are plans to create an sensory garden for outdoor play and a play area with fixed equipment with a safety surface which is currently awaiting approval by the landlord of the premises. Parents are more involved in children's learning as they come in to help on a voluntary basis and send items in to support topics as they receive information in newsletters and are able to see the plans which are displayed in the base rooms. These measures overall have improved the environment and provision for children's learning and development

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 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

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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 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): • further develop healthy eating practises to enable children to have a choice at snack time and ensure drinking water is freely accessible to the children at all times

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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 systems for monitoring children's records and evaluation of planning to ensure consistency in practice and ensure staff use effectively in planning for children's next steps in learning • further develop partnerships with parents with regard to opportunities to comment and contribute to children's progress records

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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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