Oakwood Community Pre-School

Oakwood Community Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

509561 Unique Reference Number 26 January 2007 Inspection date Carol Patricia Willett Inspector

p.1

Trevor Jones Memorial Building, St. John's Road, Hartley Witney, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 8DW

p.1

E-mail

OAKWOOD COMMUNITY PLAYGROUP 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 good.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Oakwood Community Playgroup opened in 1997. It is a committee run group which operates in the Trevor Jones Memorial Hall. The hall is situated within the grounds of Oakwood Infant School in the village of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire. The playgroup has sole use of two rooms, toilet facilities, kitchen and store cupboards. The playground and field of Oakwood Infant School are used by the playgroup for outdoor play. The playgroup serves the local community and villages in the surrounding area.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 40 children from two years nine months to five years on roll. This includes 32 funded three and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports three children with special needs. No children are attending at present who speak English as an additional language.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week during term times. Sessions are from 09:10 to 12:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 09:10 to 13:00 on a Thursday. Afternoon sessions are from 12:30 to 15:00 on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Other afternoon sessions are sometimes offered according to demand.

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 Eight members of staff regularly work with the children. The preschool also employs an administrator and cleaner. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. The group is a member of the Preschool Learning Alliance. They receive support form the Early Years and Childcare Partnership. They are working towards a quality assurance scheme.

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Staff ensure children stay healthy as they have access to clean, spacious premises and there are suitable policies and procedures in place. Children learn the importance of good hygiene as staff encourage them to wash their hands and wipe their noses. Posters in the toilet area reinforce children's understanding. They wear aprons when painting to protect their clothes and put on caps to protect their hair when playing in the sand.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children develop an awareness of healthy eating as staff provide a variety of fruit and breadsticks and rice cakes for children to choose at the snack bar. This enables children to develop independence and choice. Children choose milk or water to drink. Children do not have independent access to water throughout the session. Documentation adequately details children's dietary requirements which staff follow when providing food for snacks. Children have opportunities to bring their lunch boxes in preparation for school entry during some sessions. Parents have access to good information leaflets to ensure children's health and safety is promoted within the setting which includes leaflets on how to provide healthy lunch boxes.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to learn about healthy living and enjoy a range of physical play. They play outside daily enjoying the fresh air. They enthusiastically develop physical skills as they climb and slide on the indoor climbing frame. They kick and throw balls, catch beanbags and use wheeled toys. They use a range of appropriate resources and tools including scissors, paint brushes, pens and crayons, and manipulate jigsaw pieces and construction toys to develop their fine motor skills.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play and learn in a welcoming, mostly safe, environment. The children have access to two large playrooms which staff organise effectively to support children's development. Displays of children's work, group collages and educational posters are put on the walls to provide a more welcoming child friendly environment and develop children's sense of belonging. Children access a wide range of good quality toys and play materials put out daily by the staff, that are in good condition and age appropriate. Staff rotate the toys checking to ensure all children access all the toys and resources.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children stay safe as staff follow good health and safety procedures which are well documented in a folder. These are updated by the health and safety representative. Children are secure and safe as staff check the premises daily both inside and out to ensure all hazards are removed and resources are safe for use. However, risk assessments are not fully effective as the large bore pipes to the radiators are quite hot and could be a potential hazard for the children. The fire doors are protected by a buzzer to alert staff if they are opened during the session. The entrance door is kept locked to protect the children whilst they are on the premises. Children take part in regular fire drills to develop their confidence and awareness. Staff ensure children

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 develop an understanding of their own safety through the introduction of the golden rules which include not running in the playrooms, being kind to others and listening. This develops children's awareness of caring for themselves and others.

p.3

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 and procedures in place to protect children including child protection and if a child is uncollected or lost.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children have fun, are happy and develop well as staff are kind, caring and interested. Children are confident and secure and they settle quickly into the group as staff have a good knowledge of the children and their parents and they are warmly greeted each session. Staff provide an interesting range of activities and resources so children are busily occupied throughout the session and make good progress in all areas of development. Children's communication skills develop well as staff listen to the children and are responsive to their questions and needs. This ensures most children happily talk about their experiences and families during the session. Some staff have received training in the Birth to three matters framework to support their work with children under three. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported well in their play.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children busily occupy themselves throughout the session. They are friendly, sociable and can share and take turns using resources such as the computer and playdough tools. They join in well at group times and are confident to share their experience and family life. Most children are confident articulate speakers. They join in discussions with interest as they have their snacks, discussing different types of fruit they like and where they find the seeds in apples and kiwi fruit. Children develop good imaginative skills as they role play scenarios with pirate treasure maps and in the home corner. They freely draw and paint and make models from recycled materials. However, they do not have free access to a range of resources to develop props to support their rich imaginative play. They do not always have good opportunities to use their own creative imaginations during adult led craft as they do not have independent access to a

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

wide range of resources, tools and media.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children become interested in books through the interesting range of books available which includes some non-fiction and are encouraged to look at books during the session. Staff do not always develop links in learning and extend knowledge and skills by the provision of non-fiction books during adult led craft, for example, when children make wiggly worms for the bird topic. Most of the children recognise their names and some of the children can write their own names on their work. Some children are very interested in words, stories and language and can draw a whole story on one page, confidently talking through the story of Jack and the Beanstalk as they draw. They confidently ask adults to write the words as they have a good awareness that print carries meaning and are used to adults taking an interest in them. Children know colours, shapes and numbers as part of the weekly topics and planned activities. Children

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

count to ten and above using maths resources, games and computer software. Some children spontaneously count during play. Children learn about the passage of time as they discuss the date and observe the weather and seasons as the go for nature walks in the school grounds and local common. Staff encourage children to develop their senses as they listen to the sounds around them.

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 The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good progress in all areas of development because staff are caring and interested, develop good relationships and know the children well. They use good teaching strategies and questioning techniques to ensure children are well motivated and further develop children's skills. Staff use the Foundation Stage Curriculum and observations of the children to plan a wide range of activities, linked to topics. This ensures children are busily occupied throughout the session. Planning does not consistently show how activities can be adapted for children learning at different rates and is not always effectively evaluated. This impacts on the children as staff do not always plan or prepare to ensure activities are sufficiently challenging for more able children. Staff are confident to try

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

out new ideas they learn on training courses such as child initiated play during Birth to three matters framework workshops. They evaluate and can assess when they are not successful.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children develop a sense of belonging as staff greet children and parents warmly. They form trusting relationships with them and their parents as they share informal information on a daily basis. Staff are kind and caring and show interest in the children encouraging their efforts which ensures children are confident and develop good self esteem. Children's work is displayed on the walls and they have named pegs for their coats and drawers. Children develop a sense of responsibility as they are allocated one of the daily jobs such as opening the door and helping at the snack bar. Staff respond positively and sensitively to children’s special needs and family backgrounds, ensuring their well-being and that all are included and helped to make progress. They work closely with parents and professionals to support the children.

p.5

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. Staff praise and encourage them teaching them to care about each other and learn respect through their own actions as they act as good role models.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well as staff have high expectations of good behaviour. They use distraction well and give children clear explanations and ensure children are aware of the golden rules, such as being kind to each other. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement to develop positive behaviour. Staff have good skills and are able to divert children when they want to do something they are not allowed, with the minimum of fuss. For instance, when two boys wanted to continue their pirate game in the toilet following their map to look for treasure. Staff treat the children with respect and use please and thank-you when talking to them. Consequently, children develop respect for each other. They can share and take turns and negotiate over the use of resources, such when sharing out the playdough and using the tools provided. Children care about their friends giving them hugs and helping them up when they fall over.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnerships with parents are good. Staff develop a good rapport with them. Children's needs are effectively met as parents share useful information prior to their child starting at preschool. Parents support children's learning as they have access to the policies and planning for nursery education which are available in the entrance hall. They like the information relayed to them at the end of the session via the whiteboard outside the playroom and the genuine friendliness of the staff. They have good opportunities to comment on the preschool provision through questionnaires and feedback forms. The supervisor responds in writing to any concerns. Parents can help in the preschool to develop an insight to their child's care and learning and be part of the committee to support the work of the preschool staff. The committee do not provide good information to parents about all the committee members should they wish to discuss any

p.5

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 issues with them. The children's records are freely available for parents to view and there is formal feedback opportunities where parents can discuss their child's progress. Parents do not regularly comment on or contribute to children's achievement records though some parents use other feedback opportunities to express their views which are generally very positive.

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is good. Children settle well and are happy in the preschool which is generally well organised to allow the children space to play and learn. They relate well to caring, interested staff. They know the routine and adapt easily to the changes during the session. The preschool is well supported by a parents committee who help with fundraising and social events and other support such as cleaning the toys and other items. Parents do not receive good information to ensure they are aware of all the committee members. The leadership and management of the preschool is good. Staff work 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. They mostly organise the space and resources well to ensure all children's developmental needs are met and they make good progress to the early learning goals.

p.6

Organisation

There are good systems in place to ensure staff are suitable to care for the children. They are committed to updating their knowledge and skills with several of the staff completing childcare qualifications and workshops. The staff are keen to improve the organisation of the session and try out new ideas. Some work well, such as the introduction of the snack bar. However, some do not work as well. For example, the transition from lunch to play and learning activities is not always effective and leads to some activities not suitable for the amount of children. However, staff are aware when things don’t work and evaluate and review the practice.

p.6

Organisation

The preschool have completed the first part of a quality assurance scheme to improve and develop their practice to ensure children's welfare and education is promoted. They observe and asses each others performance in order to inform their annual appraisals and improve their practice. Suitable policies and procedures are in place to promote the care, welfare and education of the children and manage all aspects of the provision. Overall the provision meets the needs of children for whom it provides.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the preschool were required to make improvements to their documentation, staff knowledge of child protection and safety with regard to portable appliances. The preschool have made good progress and all documentation is maintained in line with current regulations which ensure children's welfare is safeguarded. Portable appliances are regularly tested to ensure they are safe to use and details of checking is kept in the health and safety file so children stay safe. Most staff have attended child protection training through childcare courses or through local authority training with the responsible person attending advanced training. Any issues are discussed at staff meetings and staff have sufficient knowledge to safeguard children.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery education inspection made recommendations to improve children's recognition of written numbers and knowledge of calculation and to extend awareness of weather and time and access to natural resources. Some progress has been made to address this recommendation, number lines and displays develop children's awareness of numbers and the maths table is in use in the play room with planned activities and number games to increase children's number

p.6

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 and calculation skills. Staff use daily opportunities to develop counting skills but sometimes these are not effective. For example, staff count the number of ticks out loud with the children in the register. They do not count the number of children to ensure counting is more meaningful. Children develop an awareness of time and weather as they talk about the weather for the weather board and observe the seasons and changes through nature walks in the local area and the school grounds. Staff encourage children to bring in objects to support themes and the letter of the week and these are put on the interest table which currently has a piece of tree bark. The preschool were required to amend planning and assessment records. Progress in this area is not effective as planning records do not consistently show learning objectives

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

and how activities can be adapted for children learning at different rates so provision may not be made sufficiently for more able children. Activity evaluations are not consistently recorded. This is carried forward for improvement. Assessment records show children's progress through the stepping stones.

p.7

Complaints since the last inspection

Since the 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 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

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.7

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.7

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

p.7

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): • enable children to independently access drinking water throughout the session • ensure hot radiator pipes are inaccessible to the children

p.7

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): • further improve partnerships with parents: provide more opportunities for them to contribute and comment on children's achievement records; ensure parents are aware of all the committee members • enable children to freely and independently access craft and recycled materials, tools and joining materials to enable them to develop props to enhance role play and develop their own creativity and imagination

p.7

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 • review planning documentation to ensure it clearly shows how activities can be adapted for children learning at different rates and ensure provision is made for more able children

p.7

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