Petts Wood East Pre School

Petts Wood East Pre School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Petts Wood East Pre School

402791 Unique Reference Number 11 January 2007 Inspection date Claire, Alexandra Parnell Inspector

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Petts Wood East Pre School

Memorial Hall, Woodland Way, Petts Wood, Kent, BR5 1LA Setting Address

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E-mail

Kathleen Hardy 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?

Petts Wood East Pre School opened in 2001. It is privately run and serves families from the local residential area. It operates from a community hall in Petts Wood. The group has use of a large hall with kitchen and toilet facilities. There is an outdoor play area adjacent to the building which is used by children attending the pre-school for outdoor physical play and nature trails.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 30 children aged from two to five years, of whom eight may be under three years may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 09.15 to 12.15 during term-time only. There are currently 39 children on roll. Of these, 21 children receive funding for nursery education. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and those with 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 owner currently employs five members of staff, including a supervisor who holds an level 4 childcare qualification. Three other staff members have appropriate level 2 and level 3 qualifications. The remaining member of staff is currently unqualified. A minimum of four members of staff are present at every session.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The preschool are currently working towards the Pre-school Learning Alliance accreditation.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's personal hygiene is promoted well within the daily routine. Children have independent and supported access to the toilets and can use soap and paper towels independently to wash and dry their hands. They learn through discussion and demonstration to wash their hands after outdoor play, after messy play and before eating their snack. They are developing an understanding of the need to wash their hands as they explain to staff before sitting down for their snack. Children help themselves to tissues, wipe their noses and dispose of the tissues appropriately.

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Helping children to be healthy

Sometimes there is a limited protection for children from cross-infection. Although the snack table is cleaned before snacks start, children use a communal plate to take foods from, put their fingers in their mouths and then take more food from the plate. When other children sit at the table, the surface where previous children have eaten from is not wiped clean. However, children are encouraged to place their used cup on their name card for further use, to prevent cross infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Good systems are in place to promote children's ongoing health needs. Consent is sought for medication and administration is recorded appropriately. Any accidents that children may have whilst in the provision's care is recorded well and shared effectively with the parents at the end of the session.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to make healthy choices of food and drinks. They decide when to have a snack and drink due to the effectively run snack bar system. A good range of fruits and raw vegetables are offered to all the children as well as additional foods such as breadsticks. However, children do not always understand what is healthy for them as they are also offered a sweet biscuit after their fruit. Children's dietary needs are supported well due to the clear records accessible to staff informing them of dietary restrictions and allergies.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children take part in daily opportunities to extend their physical skills and movement. They negotiate and have a good awareness of space, moving between equipment and other children either with or without equipment such as bikes and trikes. Children take part in regular activities using the outdoor area to encourage their experiences of fresh air. Children benefit from planned physical activities such as parachute games and movement songs due to the enthusiasm from staff to include all children and encourage new movements and confidence to experience new physical skills. Children show a developing understanding of the changes that occur during physical exercise by telling staff that they are hot after running around.

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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 play in a safe and secure environment due to the effective security measures in place and the rigorous premises checks carried out by staff. Children are unable to leave the premises unaccompanied because the premises are made secure and the staff are vigilant and attentive to the supervision of all children, particularly when being dropped off and collected by parents and when children use the toilets in the entrance hall. The premises are checked on a daily basis for potential hazards by all staff who take responsibility for and promote the ongoing safety of the children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to suitably safe and regularly checked equipment, such as chairs and tables. Children's resources and activities are checked by staff when setting up and tidying away. Effective measures are in place to ensure equipment is maintained and appropriately safe for children's use.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are developing a clear understanding about the impact their actions may have on others. Their understanding is effectively re-enforced by staff giving clear explanations about running in the hall and how to use equipment safely. Children's safety is promoted well when they are taken on trips to local amenities such as the library. Trips are carefully planned to ensure enough staff and volunteers are to hand to supervise the children well. Children learn about leaving the premises quickly and safely in the event of an emergency due to the good implementation of fire drills by staff.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is promoted and protected well due to the staff's knowledge of procedures and support systems in place within their local area. Staff use their previous experiences to make effective judgements towards the safeguarding of all children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are occupied and happy in their play environment. They have access to a good range of resources and activities that are pre-selected by the staff, therefore they learn to make some choices of what to participate in and who with. A specially designated area of the hall is used for the promotion of younger children's development using the Birth to three matters framework, although all children are encouraged to enhance their communications and concentration within this area. Children gain good levels of confidence very quickly due to the staff's excellent and effective interaction with all children. Staff react differently to the children by using both closed and open questions to extend children's confident to communicate with others, children as well as adults. The range of resources promotes all areas of development and are usually within the same area of the hall to promote consistency and familiarity for children, particularly those

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

who are new and settling into their new environment. However, children's starting points within their development and observations made by staff are not used effectively to assess and provide for the children's ongoing development.

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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 The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are making good progress within the Foundation Stage due to the staff's knowledge and effective use of the curriculum. Children's learning is effectively planned for by the use of good long, medium and short term planning. Staff use appropriate activities, resources and materials to extend learning for the more able child and are able to simplify learning situations for the less able child, by the use of effective questioning and discussion. Good evaluations are made of children's learning particularly with regard to focus activities. Some information is used to inform the future planning of children's development. Staff do not find out enough about the children's starting points of development to initiate the planning for these children when they start in the setting. Clear observations

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

are made of the children's achievements, most are linked to more than one aspects of learning, using efficient techniques to cross reference development, but very few are used to accurately show children's stages of development within these areas of learning. Therefore this information is not effectively used to plan for children's ongoing development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children show great interest in all activities and are busily engaged and occupied in their play. Staff-lead activities are used well to differentiate abilities. Staff use their knowledge of children's abilities to extend their understanding and confidence to inspire others to have a go at the activity and gain a sense of achievement. Children with special educational needs are supported well by a knowledgeable and well trained Special Educational Needs Coordinator and staff team who eagerly acquire further information and advise to support children's learning further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are good communicators either using verbal communication, the use of gestures and expressions to tell others what they want to do. Children take care of books, they turn pages effectively and use the pictures to tell other children and adult stories. Children are developing labelling and mark making skills. Children sometimes label their pictures themselves and more able children's writing is used to inform others of information such as on the notice board.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children learn about mathematical concepts through every day practical experiences, such as counting the children present, whether their cup is empty or full at snack time and what happens to the amount of children in a group when one more joins in. Children benefit from staff questioning and group opportunities to extend their understanding of shape and pattern.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing their explorative and investigative skills. They use problem solving skills to identify days and seasons within a sessions routine and learn about how things work through trial and error as well as adult demonstration. Children use good cognitive skills to remember rules of games and initiate tactics to win games. Children experience many types of malleable resources such as water, dough and glue, therefore extending their sensory experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children produce some self representation within most creative activities, choosing the colour paint and what to paint using a range of materials pre-selected by staff. However, children have limited opportunities to choose which materials and media they wish to create with therefore limiting their decision making and chances to truly self represent. Children thoroughly enjoy acting out roles in the home corner, some children extend their play into other areas of play to further express their home life experiences. Children learn familiar songs to help them to understand other aspects of development such as the days of the week and the weather.

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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 are developing good dexterity skills throughout a wide range of activities. They learn to pour the water in the water tray, aiming carefully for another vessel, they roll dough out using pins and then extend this skills by using their fingers and palms to stretch the dough further.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's individuality is promoted and celebrated well within the group. Staff make effective use of recorded information about each child to ensure their needs are met. Children have access to an excellent range of resources that portray positive images of today's society, supporting children's understanding and learning of people's differences.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported well within the group due to the staff's promotion of inclusion and full participation of all children in their care.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's behaviour is very good within the pre-school. They are developing high levels of self esteem due to the excellent interaction from all staff and the positive recognition of acceptable behaviour. Children receive plentiful praise through claps, cuddles, cheers and they are encouraged to share their achievements with other children, to encourage their development and to gain a sense of pride. Children learn about right and wrong through discussion and use the staff as good role models to learn from. Effective strategies are in place and shared with parents to deal with unacceptable behaviour calmly and quickly.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered. Children develop confidence and independence due to the staff's clear ability to engage all children in activities and build their confidence to have a go at new experiences, such as talking in front of a group to tell others their news. They demonstrate their confidence to express their needs and beliefs through informal group activities such as snack time, where children talk about what they like and do not like to eat at home and in the setting. Children become familiar with the usual routine and help younger children to settle quickly by inviting them into their play and showing a caring nature towards their peers. Children show developing self help skills throughout the session, such as putting on their own aprons and taking themselves to the toilet.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. Parents receive plentiful displayed information about the planned activities, examples of children's work, previous topics and care issues. Therefore parents are included in changes to practice issues to improve the care and safety of the children. Information about the Foundation stage and the Birth to three matters framework are accessible to parents to encourage their participation in children's development. However, there is sometimes limited information relayed to parents on a daily basis about their child's day unless they are new and settling. Parents are encouraged to wait at the door for their children to be brought to them, which promotes their safety but limits access to staff who hold relevant information about their children's achievements.

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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 good. Children are cared for by staff who hold relevant qualification and experiences in Early Years care and education. They have rigorous checks carried out to ensure that they are suitable to take unsupervised responsibility of children. Staff are recruited using robust recruitment procedures to ensure they are the right person for the post.

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Organisation

Children are supported well within the session due to the good deployment of staff, who are all aware of their responsibility towards certain aspects of care and development, such as creative activities, extended activities and the Birth to three activities. The children are cared for using a high ratio of staff to children, ensuring each child is given high levels of interaction and one to one care at some point during the session. The session is organised well due to the staff's team work, to ensure all aspects of learning are provided for and all children's needs are met. Children settle quickly due to the familiar routine and staff team provided for them. Children's details are recorded well and used effectively to meet children's needs. Children, staff and visitors' attendance is recorded accurately to show who is present during each session.

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Organisation

Documentation is recorded well and stored safely and securely. Details of children's records are only shared with authorised people to ensure confidentiality, therefore children's welfare is further promoted.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. There are effective appraisal systems in place to ensure staff have opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills further to provide a higher standard of nursery education for children. Staff's practice is carefully monitored by all other staff and good practice is shared openly and positively amongst the staff team. The provision recognises strengths and weaknesses within the education system and has an action plan in place to develop the weaknesses and promote the strengths further. However, there is little evaluation of the assessment system to identify what works for the group and the changes needed resulting in an effective system.

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Organisation

The provider meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, the setting was given two recommendations to improve the practice in care and one point of consideration regarding the nursery education.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The staff ensure all visitors are effectively recorded in the visitors book. The times of entry and when they leave are accurately recorded.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Systems are in place to record significant behavioural changes and these records are effectively used to monitor the situation. Staff spend time discussing the source of the behaviour amongst the team and with the child's parents to ensure consistent strategies are used to disperse the situation.

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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 Children learn about simple addition and subtraction through every day situation such as counting one more than in a large group such as register time and calculating one more or less than through finger and action songs.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that requires 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): • promote children's hygiene at snack time • devise a system to use children's starting points and observations of their achievements to identify their levels of development and use these to inform future planning. (also applies to nursery education)

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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): • make improvements as indicated in the care section above.

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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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