Greenlands Nursery Infant School

Noahs Ark Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Noahs Ark Pre-School

107020 Unique Reference Number 08 February 2007 Inspection date Nigel Lindsay Smith Inspector

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Noahs Ark Pre-School

Cairns Road Baptist Church, Cairns Road, Bristol, BS6 7TH Setting Address

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E-mail

Noahs Ark Pre School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day 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?

Noah's Ark Pre-School is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is managed by a board of trustees, including members of the church and staff. It opened in 1986 and operates from two rooms on the ground floor, and the upper hall at Cairns Road Baptist Church, Westbury Park, Bristol. A maximum of 30 children may attend the setting at any one time. The setting opens five days a week during school term times, from 09.15 to 11.45 and 12.45 to 15.15; some children have their lunch at the setting. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 78 children from two to five years on roll. Of these, 59 children receive funding for early education. The majority of children attend from the local geographical area. The setting supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also supports children who speak 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 setting employs 17 members of staff. Of these, 10 have appropriate early years qualifications. The pre-school promotes a Christian ethos.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children's health is protected by the setting's appropriate hygiene practices such as regularly cleaning the equipment and teaching the children to wash their hands regularly. The risk of infection spreading unnecessarily is reduced by a clear statement that children must not attend if they are ill. Children receive continuity of care through staff sharing information with their parents about accidents and administering medication, although parents are not asked to sign medication records. Staff ensure that delay will be minimised in the event of an accident as there are trained first aiders on site, although parents are not asked to give permission for emergency medical assistance.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from a healthy diet as they are introduced to snacks of fruit with a drink. They learn the importance of regular drinking to maintain a good fluid intake as a jug of drinking water and cups are always available and accessible to them. Children choose when to have their snack, with a member of staff present, and children who bring their lunch to the setting sit together and socialise with each other and staff on duty.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have regular opportunities to develop their physical skills. They freely use the outside area to ride trikes, throw and catch and take part in a game of throwing bean bags into a hoop. They learn to swing on bars and to balance. Indoors they learn control of their bodies through matching actions to songs. They develop their small muscle skills through activities such as cutting, making marks and gluing.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children benefit from a welcoming setting, which is brightly decorated with informative posters and colourful contributions from the children such as self portraits and pictures of ladybirds. Children are able to play in safe and secure premises, with appropriate safety equipment in place such as a barrier across the kitchen entrance. The staff ensure the children’s safety is paramount by carrying out regular risk assessments. Fire drills are practised to ensure that staff can evacuate the children from the premises safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are able to confidently choose from a wide range of good quality equipment which is easily accessible at a low level. They are safe when using the equipment as the staff ensures that it meets safety standards and carry out subsequent checks to ensure that it remains in good condition.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children’s welfare is safeguarded by staff having appropriate knowledge and understanding of their responsibility with regard to child protection issues. Staff are aware of the recording and reporting procedures in the event of any concerns they may have about children in their

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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 care. Staff have rigorous procedures to ensure that children are only collected by authorised people, and two members of staff are always present at the end of the session.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy a well organised, balanced programme of activities which give them the opportunity of making choices about their play from a wide range of equipment in two rooms and the outside area. They also work in groups and all come together for circle time and singing.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children move freely between activities, confidently exploring the provision. They relate well to the adults, who show interest as they talk to them and respond in a kind and helpful way as children ask them to read a story. Planning ensures that activities meet the needs of different age groups; staff do not use the Birth to three matters materials for the younger children but plan to take training in order to familiarise with them.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children play and learn through choosing freely from the accessible resources, through well-planned small group activities such as comparing bags of shopping to experience comparative weight, and through activities with the whole group such as singing and talking together. Adults are observant and support the children well in their free play; a member of staff notices that a child is alone in the role play 'jungle' area and joins in, pretending to be afraid of the animal noises the child is making. Planning ensures that the Foundation Stage is effectively covered and the activities are evaluated to contribute to future planning. Observations are usually regular and dated, and are contributed to by all staff, so that clear records of the children's progress are developed. There are less observations in some of the learning outcomes for some children. Staff develop an understanding of children's

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

individual needs from their observations and link these with future planning. However, this is not recorded, so staff do not have a written plan for the next steps to be taken for individual children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children learn how to use all of the resources available to them, what the pre-school routines are, how to use the outside area safely and how to share through a well-planned programme which starts in the first term. They learn to dress themselves through using dressing up clothes. They are confident and have good relationships with the caring staff, who know them well. They learn to independently select resources. Children enjoy well-told stories and respond appropriately, telling staff that a character is a cousin, not an uncle. Staff ask questions skilfully to extend children's discussion, for example when talking about a chameleon children went on to identify colours in the room. Children recognise their name at snack time when they collect their card. They have good opportunities to make marks, including when they are outside, using writing boards. A child points out that although she is writing in black on a black coloured

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

board, the marks can be seen. Children enjoy spontaneous rhyming, for example 'tweezers and squeezers'. They choose books for themselves, and tell each other at the end of the session what they have done, for example 'I used some wool and a lot of sticky tape'.

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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 have regular opportunities to count, for example the number of adults at circle time, and use the number line to recognise what the numbers look like. They match pairs and put numbers in order through games, and explore floating and sinking. Staff help them to develop their calculation skills through activities such as setting out plates and asking 'if one person can't come, now how many do we need?' Children become familiar with everyday technology through using a computer, binoculars, and hammers and screws. They understand about their families, talking about brothers and sisters, and learn about roles in the community through visitors such as a doctor. They celebrate Christian festivals and learn about differing religions and cultures through activities such as making a Jewish Sukkah.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy a wide variety of creative activities, such as singing and making music with kitchen implements. They explore textures, construct, and help to make props for the role play corner, such as for the jungle theme. They gain confidence by taking turns in front of the rest of the group, for example making animal noises.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children learn appropriate behaviour through the good example set by the staff, who are calm, friendly and polite. They teach children how to take turns, and mediate calmly if there is a dispute. Children are helped to feel included in the setting through practices such as ringing the bell to signify the end of the session when their parent is acting as a helper.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children gain awareness of different cultures through using a good range of equipment such as multicultural books and dressing up clothes. There are thorough arrangements in place to work with children who have learning difficulties or disabilities and to include them in the activities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. Children benefit from consistent care that results from the positive relationships the staff develop with the parents. Parents are asked to provide information about what their children can do, so that the staff can make comparative assessments of their progress. Parents are encouraged to discuss their children and there are formal arrangements to provide feedback. They receive a comprehensive prospectus about the setting and additional newsletters.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from the staff working well as a team. The staff organise the space well in the room to maximise the play opportunities for the children. The documentation in place support children’s health, safety and well-being. The staff are fully aware of the policies and procedures. Recruitment and vetting processes are thorough, with appropriate records kept.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. Staff have good knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and appropriately apply this to support the children’s learning and development.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Induction arrangements thoroughly prepare new staff and staff are encouraged to take part in additional training. The setting has undertaken a rigorous quality assurance scheme, the 'Bristol Standard' which has involved them in examining all areas of their practice. Regular meetings involve all staff in planning and discussing observations of the children.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous care inspection, the setting was asked to: devise a policy regarding illness to children; ensure that records identify all present; and ensure effective deployment of staff.

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Improvements since the last inspection

These have been mostly achieved; children do not attend when ill and staff are well deployed throughout all areas of the provision. Staff and children are recorded as present; however, visitors are not always recorded. The setting is updating their procedure to ensure that this always takes place.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection of nursery education the setting was asked to: introduce a system of observation and assessment which evaluates children 's progress and identifies the next stage in learning for the child; introduce planning which reflects the next stage in learning for children and identifies the extension of activities and provides challenges for the more able child in all areas of learning; increase opportunities to extend children's language, awareness of comparison in number and physical play; provide parents with information about their child's progress in relation to the early learning goals and provide opportunities for them to become actively involved with their child's learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

These have been achieved; except for the use of evaluation in individual planning, which is covered by the recommendation for nursery education.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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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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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 AND 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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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): • ensure that parents are asked to give permission for emergency medical treatment, and to sign to acknowledge being told that medication has been given

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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): • ensure that observations give a picture of children’s learning across all of the 6 learning areas, and are used to identify the next steps in each child’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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