Lympstone Church of England Primary School

Angmering Village Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Angmering Village Pre-School

113358 Unique Reference Number 30 January 2007 Inspection date Janet Marie Thouless Inspector

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Angmering Village Pre-School

Village Hall, Station Road, Angmering, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN16 4HH

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E-mail

Angmering Village Pre-school 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?

Angmering Village Pre-School opened in 1995. It operates from the main hall and self contained area of Angmering Village Hall. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. Angmering Village Pre-School serves children from the village and surrounding areas.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 24 children aged over two and under five years may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 29 children from two to five years on roll. This includes 22 funded children. The group opens four days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 09:30 to 12:30. Children attend a variety of sessions. The setting has a commitment to support children with additional needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are seven full-time and part-time members of staff who work with the children. The majority of staff hold relevant childcare qualifications whilst others have experience of working

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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 with young children. The staff are supported by a committee and the Angmering School. The setting also receives support from a mentor from the local authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children stay healthy and are well protected, because practitioners follow effective health and hygiene guidelines and procedures. Children learn the importance of good hygiene practice; for example, hand washing after visiting the toilet, before and after handling food and after messy play. Therefore, children increase their independence and personal care successfully through the good daily routines. Effective procedures are in place to ensure practitioners acts in the best interest of the child if they are ill. The majority of practitioners hold a current first aid certificate and are able to respond to accidents appropriately. All necessary medical and accident records are in place.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children help themselves to easily accessible, enjoyable and healthy snacks at a time suitable to them ensuring children’s concentration and learning is not disturbed. They independently select from fresh and dried fruit, such as, bananas, apples and currents. They pour their own drinks of water or milk, moping up any spillage and practitioners encourage conversations on the benefits of healthy eating. Water is available at all times to quench children's thirst.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children experience a healthy lifestyle whilst in the provision. They have frequent opportunities for fresh air and exercise within the secure, enclosed outdoor play area. Children move freely, confidently and safely, whilst demonstrating good spatial awareness. They take part in planned and spontaneous activities, such as moving to music and follow instruction very well. They enjoy exploring the group's balancing equipment, to help develop their large muscle skills. Children gain good small muscle control and co-ordination through interesting activities such as pouring within water play or by the safe handling of tools and materials including scissors at the craft table and screwdrivers in the tool kit.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play and relax within premises that are clean, well maintained, warm and welcoming to parents and children. They benefit from practitioners having a good understanding of safety issues and the need to take positive steps to prevent accidents. For example, staff are well deployed, the premises are secure, socket covers are fitted to exposed electric points and guards are fitted to stop children accessing unsafe areas. Children are learning to share responsibility for their own safety through practical activities, such as taking part in emergency evacuation drills and tidying away resources after use to prevent trip hazards. Children move around the hall freely, safely and independently.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children enjoy selecting from a wide range of clean, well-maintained, stimulating resources on offer. They benefit from the staff's good understanding of safety issues regarding the purchase

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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 and maintenance of good quality equipment. As a result, children are able to play with toys that are safe and suitable for their purpose.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is promoted because staff have a secure understanding regarding child protection. All staff have attended training on safeguarding children to ensure their knowledge is fully up to date. Staff are aware of what they should do if they have any concerns about a child. All of these measures contribute to the safety and well-being of the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children arrive happy and are eager to participate in the good range of activities on offer. All children enjoy a welcoming and stimulating environment in which they have opportunities to enjoy structured and free flow play. Staff refer to the Birth to three matters framework to help them plan activities for younger children, ensuring their continual progress and development. However, staff do not record children's development to chart their progress and support the planning of the curriculum for under three's. Children become active learners as they begin to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings. Young children show enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoy a diverse range of exploratory and imaginative play experiences. For example, children explore the texture of play dough, corn flour and wet and dry sand. They paint confidently at the easel and enjoy creating jumpers with wool at the cutting and sticking focus activity.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use their imaginations very well in role play by caring for their dolls and going off to the shops to buy food for tea. They enjoy sitting together looking at books in groups or individually and confidently retell their favourite story to each other. Practitioners support children in expressing their thoughts and ideas and to follow their individual interests.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are happy, settled and are developing a good attitude to learning, because they are purposefully engaged in well planned activities. Practitioners use their knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage to plan a broad range of activities across all areas of learning to provide activities with sufficient challenge for each child. Planned focus activities take place each day with practitioners working directly with the children helping them to learn and remain focused using a good range of resources. Practitioners interact very well with children asking open ended questions to support and extend their learning. Children show confidence in their chosen activities and are developing their independence and personal care well. For example, the free flow play allows children to make individual choices on what they want to do and children are able to complete activities at their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good relationships and get on well with peers and adults. They greet staff and friends warmly on arrival. They are becoming confident learners as they make individual choices in their play and have many opportunities to be independent. They are encouraged to see to their personal needs such as putting on aprons for painting, dressing up clothes and coats when playing outside. They confidently wash their hands when visiting the toilet, before snacks and after messy play. Children speak confidently to peers and adults. They talk openly about family events at circle time, for example, by sharing that they now have a new baby

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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 sister. Children express themselves through mark making. They are given opportunities to write for a purpose in everyday play. They write shopping lists and the price of clothes on labels in the role play area. Many children confidently recognise their name and write their first name on craft work.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain confidence in using numbers within every day routines and play. They respond enthusiastically to challenges such as matching dominoes, count the numbers of apples on the tree and enjoy measuring each other to size clothing in role play. Children extend their mathematical vocabulary, for example during number rhymes, stories and through discussions with staff. Children work well together and learn to use programmes on the computer through guidance from others and happily share and take turns. Many opportunities are provided to make children aware of their local environment. Children attend Harvest at the local church, Mayday festival in the village and provide craft work to display in the library. Children develop and improve their physical skills through a variety of experiences, which include movement to music and outdoor play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are making good progress towards the early learning goals in all of the six areas of learning. Practitioners use a fluid approach to planning and provide a good balance of adult and child led activities, therefore children learn at their own pace. Practitioners follow children's interest and act spontaneously for example, when it snowed children went outside to build a snowman. The effective planning provides a broad and balanced range of stimulating activities and experiences across all areas of learning. Practitioners have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage and use children's assessment to monitor and record children's achievements. They make observations of children's progress, but do not yet use these observations to ensure this information is used to plan the next steps in children’s learning

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. All children are cared for by practitioners who work effectively with parents to meet individual children’s needs. They know children well and adapt activities appropriately to make sure everyone can take part. They ensure children with additional needs are fully included into everyday provision, for example, all children have equal access to resources and activities provided.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Practitioners manage children’s behaviour sensitively and effectively, increasing children's understanding of right and wrong by using simple strategies, such as, using Bobby rabbit to help children understand the importance of being kind and helpful to each other, which children understand and comply with. The provision helps individual children learn to recognise and value their own needs and those of others and to understand when to behave appropriately, which fosters their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have good opportunities to make choices and take decisions in their play and learning. Children are able to access resources put out for them freely and independently. Children show a strong sense of belonging, developing their confidence and self-esteem, because practitioners are extremely good role models creating a welcoming, caring and nurturing environment. Children are becoming aware of diversity within a wider society through planned activities and

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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 as they celebrate their own and other cultural beliefs. A good range of resources that reflect diversity are on offer and integrated into everyday provisions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. They receive good quality information on the service provided and play an active role in their children's learning. Opportunities are provided for parents to liaise with staff to discuss children's achievements and curriculum plans are displayed for parents to support children's learning at home. Parents receive detailed information on the Foundation Stage relating to the six areas of learning. Parents and carers spoken to praised the caring and nurturing pre-school environment.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children’s care is enhanced by the effective organisation throughout the setting. Practitioners are well deployed in the provision allowing children to receive appropriate adult attention. The generous staffing levels ensure children build effective relationships and develop a positive approach to the learning experiences provided. Clearly implemented recruitment and vetting procedures ensure children are well protected and cared for by practitioners with sound knowledge and understanding of child development. Clear policies and procedures are in place to support children's care, learning and welfare.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. Management has a clear vision for the nursery education with a strong focus on the personal development and achievement of all children. The good organisation of nursery education and positive outcomes for children are effectively met. There is a genuine commitment to further improvement. Strategies have been put in place to further develop the quality of care and education offered to the children. For example, practitioners take part in a wide selection of professional training, such as, 'Fun with Maths' and 'Information and Technology' in children's play. This is then cascaded down to team members to enhance their knowledge. The provision 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, two recommendations were made to help improve the quality of the provision. They were to consider improving the layout of the book corner and include the address and telephone number of the regulator in the written complaints procedure. The book corner has been attractively arranged with a wide selection of books and cushions to encourage children to access and use the book corner independently. The details of the regulator Ofsted have been added to the complaints procedures to ensure parents are kept fully up to date.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that require the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National standards.

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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.

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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

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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): • improve the outcomes for children under three by using an approach in line with Birth to three matters to record their achievements and to inform planning.

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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): • continue to improve children's individual assessments by ensuring staff use observations and assessments to plan the next steps in children’s learning.

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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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