Whitehall Primary School

Jiminy Cricket Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

120081 Unique Reference Number 29 June 2007 Inspection date Anne Jacqueline Nicholson Inspector

p.1

The Cricket Pavilion, Horsell Moor, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4NH Setting Address

p.1

E-mail

Sheila Rose Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Jiminy Cricket Playgroup has been established since 1967. The playgroup operates from a cricket pavilion at Horsell Moor and serves the local community and the surrounding area. Children have access to two room sections and a large outdoor play area. A maximum of 32 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. Opening times are 09.15 to 12.00 Monday to Friday and 12:45 to 15.30 Monday to Thursday. There are currently 67 children on roll. This includes 60 funded three and four-year-olds. The setting has experience of dealing with children who have English as an additional language and those with disabilities and/or learning difficulties.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are nine permanent members of staff and one bank staff working with the children on various days, of which six have a recognised early years qualification. Currently, one member of staff is on a training programme and seven members of staff hold a current first aid certificate.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting receives support from an early learning advisor from the Early Years Childcare Service.

p.2

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

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children develop an awareness of how to remain healthy through staff providing a range of opportunities to enjoy physical activity, either inside or outside in the fresh air. They enjoy going out onto the large grassed area to kick footballs, chase hoops and when the weather permits use climbing equipment. They can ask staff for water at any time during the session and bring in their own healthy snack to eat mid-morning. They learn about good hygiene practices and demonstrate they are aware of the routine of washing hands after messy play, outside play and going to the toilet. They use individual wipes prior to snack session to wipe their hands.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children's health and welfare remains protected through parents completing information sheets highlighting their children's medical, dietary and cultural needs as well as the provision using written records, documentation and staff undertaking relevant medical training. Prior to administration of any medication, parents supply written confirmation of the amounts and times this is required. The majority of staff hold a current paediatric first aid qualification. They ensure they clearly record any accidents or existing injuries and parents acknowledge these with a signature when they come to collect.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children develop an understanding of how to build a healthy body and enjoy healthy food whilst at the setting. The organisation of the snack session is currently undergoing changes to be more effective and meet the children’s needs. They receive both a verbal and visual prompt from staff (in the form of an hourglass timer) that snack time is approaching, this way they do not have to immediate stop an activity they are enjoying. When the timer has run out they all sit around small tables to eat their snacks and pour themselves milk or water to drink. This works well for the provision as it allows all children to socialise together whilst eating while still being in small friendly groupings.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children enjoy their play in an environment made safe and inviting through staff carrying out visual safety checks and setting out a range of age appropriate resources and equipment prior to them arriving each day. When children enter they see a variety of creative and constructive opportunities ready for them to use. Each day staff ensure that they put up on the pavilion walls name labels, pictures and labels showing what each area created is i.e. ‘creative area’ labelled in a variety of languages. Children access two sections within the pavilion as well as a small pathed area outside and a large grassed cricket pitch. This provides access to a range of activities and play opportunities during the session. The staff use the planning to ensure a variety is on offer throughout the week and are aware not to become too predictable about what they put out on each table.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children receive clear instructions on how to use equipment safely in order to remain safe and not injure others. For instance, when using scissors not to wave them about or carry them away from the table. They regularly participate in fire drill practices with staff varying the days and times of these to ensure that both part-time as well as full-time attending children participate.

p.3

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 The pavilion doors are secure when the session is in operation and all external doors remain locked. Staff and visitor knock to gain entry. When children arrive they are greeted by staff and on departure staff man all the door-ways used to ensure they only leave with the correct adult. Whilst playing outside children can play safely as staff ensure the gates are secure and can see the perimeter hedges and fencing.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's personal safety is safeguarded as staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of child protection and the procedures to follow if they have a concern. The setting has clear policies, procedures and booklets in place for parents and staff to read. These outline the process to follow and the settings obligations to notify other authorities if concerned for a child's welfare. They also show the process if an allegation is made against a staff member. The designated member of staff for child protection has attended the local Safeguarding Children Board multi-agency training, however, the procedures and documentation available requires updating to reflect this.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children and parents eagerly enter the setting and are greeted by name on arrival. Children demonstrate a good awareness of the routine and immediately go off to enjoy some free play whilst waiting for everyone to arrive. Any unsettled or distressed children receive comfort and distraction from staff. Each child finds their name and when all children are present they all sit on individual carpet mats for the welcome session. Children talk about the day and weather with staff and then receive encouragement to share information about the objects they bring in for a ‘show and tell’ session.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children benefit from following planning based on the Curriculum for the foundation stage. They enjoy doing adult supervised creative work on a table with staff as well as free access to a creative table where they can access crayons, paper and pencils. The staff are very nurturing and provide excellent care and encouragement to children to join in with activities although sometimes they help the children out too quickly rather than consistently letting them try for themselves.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children follow the same topic and theme and enjoy making animal masks to make themselves into jungle animals like tigers, elephants and monkeys. They assist staff in decorating the large animal pictures made to decorate the ‘Jungle area’ discussing how many legs the elephant and rhino has, what colour are they and what are the bumps on a rhino’s nose called. They confidently construct and build using shaped plastic pieces (squares, hexagons, triangles), duplo, creative materials and smoothed wooden branches cut to different sizes. They participate in some form of physical activity each day and enjoy using footballs, hoops and the parachute outside.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children come together to have a drink and a snack and this is also seen as an opportunity for them to socialise. They participate in action songs and stories and happily correct staff when they say something incorrect. For instance, during "I'm going on a bear hunt" action song staff say the wrong animal name or do the wrong action and children respond “Nooooo” and say the right animal or do the right action.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children benefit from a satisfactory quality of nursery education being offered. Staff demonstrate their developing knowledge and understanding of how to effectively plan and implement the

p.4

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 foundation stage curriculum. The nursery uses the whole pavilion and this allows the setting to plan for a range of activities each day, covering the theme and linking into related aspects of the Foundation Stage. Children can also access a secure outdoor area and this assists them with developing their own spatial awareness and respecting others space whilst dashing around. They enjoy regular physical activity both inside and outside in fresh air. There is always a physical activity available and children develop a healthy attitude to being active and staff encourage them to participate daily.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate good concentration skills as they sit and listen to the staff explain what will happen that day. Staff encourage children's communication through asking them open-ended questions and listening to their responses, with some staff currently displaying more confidence in this than others. This develops children's confidence and promotes their self-esteem. During the welcome session staff ask about the day, date and weather and children demonstrate a good knowledge of which day it is and enjoy teasing the staff by initially saying Saturday. They begin to recognise numerals up to 10 and have opportunities to count. Currently this is not consistently implemented by all staff throughout the session and staff miss daily opportunities to further develop children’s awareness of numbers, numerals, using mathematical language and problem solving. For example, counting how many children whilst lining up, or

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

at snack time counting how many around the table, not putting out all the snack pots or providing enough liquid in the jugs and encouraging children to solve this.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They enjoy plenty of opportunities to mark-make and see their names and letters within the room. Currently, children have little opportunity to link letters to their sounds and this is an area the provision misses providing as the children enjoy participating. However, the playgroup stopped this after following advice from outside professional services. The setting is now planning to reintroduce and develop children’s awareness of each letter of the alphabet and its phonic action and sound using the 'jolly phonics' system in line with the local schools. Children display developing independence skills and staff encourage this through most of the session, although at times they forget and take over from the children. For instance, at snack times the staff put out the name cards, snack boxes and at times pour the drinks.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate a good awareness of the daily routine and what is expected of them. They enjoy taking part in a variety of creative activities from doing pictures to playing within the home area and dressing up. Children enjoy playing with jungle animals in green corn flour mixture. They confidently use pencils to ‘write’ their names on their work. Staff encourage discussion to develop their observational skills through using open ended questioning asking them to describe the shapes they are using to create 3D shapes with, the animals they are drawing, what colours they are and what shape are their markings.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain an awareness of the wider world around them. They experience activities promoting other cultures and countries. They celebrate Christmas, Hindu festivals and Chinese New year and actively encourage children and their families to share their experiences and knowledge of these festivals. They discover about their local community and enjoy visits from local fire-fighters and nurses. Children see some words up in other languages. Children really enjoy using the programmable resources like Beebot (robotic bee) and using tape recorders.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff demonstrate a growing confidence in using the foundation stage curriculum with some staff more confident than others but all showing commitment to increase their knowledge. Children benefit from staff planning a range of activities and learning opportunities to cover the areas of learning within the Foundation Stage. Weekly planning highlights to staff what areas children focus on and the adult led activity

p.5

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 sheets identify the learning objectives. Staff record observations on these and in books before transferring them to the children's records of achievements. Staff need to review this process to ensure that observations and assessments on children’s achievements are clearly and promptly reflected within their individual profiles. Staff use a variety of teaching methods with the children including use of questioning and practical activities. Children eagerly talk with staff and display a keenness to share their information and news.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Both an equal opportunities and learning difficulties and/or disabilities policy are in place to ensure that all children are included and their individual needs met. Children's family backgrounds are acknowledged and close liaising between parents and staff ensures good relationships develop to support this. Children all work well together and close friendships develop. They enjoy bringing in things from home to share and this assists in their development of confidence and self-esteem. Children with additional needs, disabilities or learning difficulties receive good support from the setting. The staff and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) work very closely with other professionals to provide consistent care and practice between all those that have daily contact with the children. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

Children display excellent manners and an awareness of the behaviour expected whilst at the provision. They know the daily routine and are eager to please staff by following this nicely and listening to instructions. They enjoy receiving praise for sitting quietly, joining in with activities and doing their creative work. They sit calmly during the welcome session and staff reinforce this by telling them how nice their behaviour is and how well they are sitting or listening.

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is very good. Parents state they are very happy with the care their children receive and are especially pleased on how the staff and provision supports both their children and them during the initial settling in period. They receive clear information about the policies of the setting, what activities children are doing and how they are progressing. Staff actively liaise with parents through verbal and written communication. Copies of all the policies and procedures are accessible within the provision and these are highlighted to parents. A board displays the current theme and the planning. The setting ensures that they place a notice board outside for parents to read as well as notes on the door and a regular newsletter. They share information about children's progress through the Foundation Stage through showing parents their children’s individual profiles.

p.6

Organisation

The organisation is good. Leadership and management of the care within the provision is good and of the nursery education is satisfactory and management display an awareness of the areas requiring further development . The management and staff work hard to incorporate all outside agency advice they receive. However, this is not always the most effective practice for the children and staff within the provision to follow and does not utilise their individual skills or always effectively meet the needs of the attending children. They display a strong commitment to supporting their staff and they look for ways to develop the facilities they provide for the children and parents. They encourage and promote staff to undertake additional training to professionally

p.6

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 develop themselves and lead by example. Staff undertake additional training sessions to support areas like behaviour management, planning for the Foundation Stage, supporting children with learning difficulties and first aid. Staff work well as a whole team and children benefit from both this and their commitment to ensure there is a friendly atmosphere within the provision.

p.6

Organisation

There are comprehensive policies and documentation in place for parents and staff. There are effective vetting and recruitment procedures in place to ensure that children are protected and receive care from suitably qualified staff with relevant experience. The operational file covers all required policies and procedures and staff are reviewing this to ensure that it reflects all the latest information available, for example, with regards to child protection legislation.

p.7

Organisation

Planning is continuing to develop within the provision with all staff completing observations and transferring these to the records of achievements ensuring children's progress is carefully recorded. Children benefit from a high staffing ratio and a key worker system being in place and this assists them in developing good relationships. Staff enjoy being with the children and their enthusiasm encourages children's participation in return. The setting meets the needs of the range of the children for whom they provide.

p.7

Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous inspection, it was recommended that the provision ensure that all policies meet the current requirements, particularly with regard to child protection. The provision reviewed all policies in May 2006 and amended the child protection policy at this time to reflect the Area Child Protection Committee procedures in place at this time.

p.7

Improvements since the last inspection

It was recommended that they ensure that appropriate advice and action is taken to meet any special needs of the children in the setting. There is now a designated member of staff to support the inclusion and progression of all children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Close liaisons occurs between the provision and outside agencies to ensure that children's individual needs are met and additional training is undertaken.

p.7

Improvements since the last inspection

Finally it was recommended that the provision ensures that children have an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, particularly with regard to disability. The provision plans more theme work in covering other countries, cultures and their festivals and have increased their resources to support this aspect as well.

p.7

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.

p.7

Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

p.7

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

p.7

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.8

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.

p.8

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.8

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): • review child protection policy to ensure that it reflects the current legislation with regards to Local safeguarding children's board procedures.

p.8

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 planning and teaching within communication, language and literacy to ensure that children develop links between letters and their sounds. • improve the planning and teaching to increase children's opportunities to develop children’s awareness of counting numbers, linking numbers to numerals, using mathematical language and problem solving throughout the session, and particularly during everyday activities like snack time and welcome session. • increase staffs knowledge, understanding and confidence of the foundation stage and how to record observations and transfer these to child profiles to ensure that children's progress through the stepping stones is accurately recorded and their individual learning targets are clearly identified and linked back into the future planning.

p.8

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

p.8

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

p.8