Pinchmill Primary School

Kingston Pre-School Group

Inspection report for early years provision

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Kingston Pre-School Group

109451 Unique Reference Number 07 March 2007 Inspection date Fler Wright Inspector

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Kingston Pre-School Group

Kingston Village Hall, The Street, Kingston, Nr Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 3NR

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E-mail

Kingston Pre-School Group 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?

Kingston Pre-School was first registered in 1992 but has been established for some time. The group is run by a committee and is also a registered charity. It is situated in the parish hall in Kingston near Lewes, East Sussex. Children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday, term time only. Core hours are 09:00 to 12:00 although the group are open until 13:00 each day as they also run a lunch club. Wednesday sessions are for rising fives.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to care for 24 children at any one time and there are currently 31 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these, 17 receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school are able to offer support to children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and to those 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 pre-school employs a total of eight staff, three or four of whom work with the children on a daily basis, depending on the number of children in attendance. There are two qualified supervisors who job share the role. Five of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children have access to a clean and tidy environment with good procedures in place to prevent the spread of infection. Children know they need to wash their hands to get rid of germs, and freely visit the sinks throughout the morning during their play, as well as before they eat and after using the toilet helping to promote good hygiene practice. Children eagerly tell others that eating fruit, doing exercise and cleaning their teeth helps to keep themselves healthy. Visits from the dentist help to reinforce what they learn during the sessions. Children who are infectious do not attend thus preventing the spread of contagious ailments.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children see to their personal needs themselves, for example, wiping their noses, washing their hands and visiting the toilet, encouraging their independence and understanding of being healthy. Staff are vigilant in promoting good hygiene practice as they wipe tables before use, change any cutlery that falls on the floor and wear gloves during nappy changes.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have access to a variety of fresh fruit for their snack every day and supplement this with either a biscuit or healthier alternative such as home-made cous cous or pizza. Staff encourage children to try new things, helping to ensure their dietary needs are met. Meals times are well organised and children are usually able to help themselves to the foods available, encouraging their independence. Children know that eating fruit helps to keep them healthy, and they learn about the foods that are good and bad for their bodies during various activities. Drinks are available at all times from a jug and cups in the main play area, and children confidently help themselves encouraging them to think about their personal needs.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a range of activities that help to develop their physical skills. They use the garden during the warmer months and confidently use the indoor equipment available on a daily basis. They climb the stairs on the slide and balance along the apparatus showing good co-ordination and concentration skills. They eagerly participate during music and movement sessions. Children's fine motor skills are developing well, and they are confident when selecting and using small equipment such as pens, scissors and paintbrushes that are freely available throughout the learning environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children benefit from playing in a spacious environment that allows them to move around and play safely. They have easy and safe access to a good range of toys and resources appropriate for their ages and different equipment is put out throughout the morning helping to keep the children interested, whilst encouraging them to learn new things. Staff regularly borrow resources

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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 to supplement their own range helping to ensure children are able to become involved with many different experiences. The learning environment is stimulating and well organised helping children to participate in all of the activities and experiences available during each session. The free flow structure works well as children spread themselves out, and move between tables and activities as they please. Areas are well resourced, for example the role play area has bandages, a computer, a phone and a doctors kit helping to further children's learning in the current topic, 'taking care of ourselves'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are two main play areas and a quiet room that children are able to access freely. The younger children start the morning on the stage which is safely cordoned off from the rest of the hall and offers an intimate and age appropriate environment, helping them to settle. After group time, the gates are opened and all children are able to roam around all areas of the hall, giving them access to a good variety of activities and experiences. The quiet room and separate quiet area in the main hall are inviting spaces with cushions, a sofa and soft carpeting as well as stimulating displays of books, helping to make the areas feel cosy and an important part of the play environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The garden is used in the warmer months, although access is restricted at other times as staff have identified that the grassed slope, apple tree and steps pose a hazard when wet. When in use, staff set up the environment well, and use it as an effective extension to the activities on offer inside. They deploy themselves appropriately and place equipment strategically to make best use of the space. Staff have plans to improve the outside area when funds allow.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff deployment is effective and helps to ensure children are well supervised and safe at all times in the pre school. Daily visual checks of the premises help to ensure the environment is safe and secure. Children and staff practice the fire evacuation procedure on average, once a term. Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities during a drill, and clear fire procedures are displayed. Staff plan to increase the frequency of the drills to ensure all children are familiar with the procedures to follow.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse and know what action to take should they have any concerns about a child in their care. They talk to parents about any existing injuries children arrive with, and all injuries that are deemed serious or suspicious are also recorded, helping to ensure staff can act in the children’s best interests if the concerns are progressed further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy, relaxed and enjoy the time they spend at the pre school. They are involved in an excellent range of interesting and exciting activities and experiences that are available to them on a daily basis, ensuring they are eager to participate. Some of these include, doing observational drawings of real rabbits, feeding lambs, pretending to be animals on a pet agility course and using different medias such as salt and bubbles to draw, write and make pictures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The learning environment is well organised and resourced helping children to instigate their own play and extend it themselves using the equipment on offer. Topics are also incorporated

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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 into the different areas, enabling children to become involved in meaningful and purposeful play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have access to good quality, stimulating toys that provide balance and challenge. They are independent and choose what they would like to do. They are very familiar with the routine of the session, and help to tidy up when the triangle is played ready for group time. Staff involve themselves in children's play and offer support as required. For example, staff play in the role play area and allow children to bandage them up whilst asking questions such as what they would to do if someone hurts themselves, and how they would get to the hospital. This helps to encourage learning and development, and enables children to see staff as their friends as well as their teachers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Activities and experiences are well planned and cover all of children's developmental needs on a daily basis. Children relate well to staff and to each other. Each child has a scrap book displaying their work making them a lovely record of how they are progressing in their development. Staff are well qualified and have lots of experience in childcare. They have a secure knowledge of child development, the Foundation Stage and the Birth to three matters frameworks helping children to benefit appropriately from their skills and experience, and make good progress in all areas of their development. Staff make daily observations of children of all ages, and these are used to inform the planning, helping to ensure children are appropriately challenged and their individual developmental needs are met. Activities are effectively adapted to meet the needs of the children on both the Foundation Stage and Birth to three frameworks

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

although at present there is no way of identifying how children under three years are progressing, as the scrap books are the only way of correlating the information. This has a minimal impact on the children as staff use the observations effectively, and know each child well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good progress towards the early learning goals as the activities and experiences on offer cover the areas of learning on a daily basis. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. The vast majority of the play is child initiated and children have the choice of whether to participate in adult led activities such as making shopping lists or plates of pretend healthy foods. Those that do choose to participate are able to have lots of input into the final product, as activities are not overly adult directed, increasing children's enjoyment and potential. Staff ask lots of open ended questions and set up the environment well in order to encourage children's thought processes. Staff make daily observations of children and these are used to inform the planning, helping to ensure children are appropriately challenged and are able to move along the steeping

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

stones appropriately. Staff use the stepping forward profiles to summarise where children are at although some do not contain many recent observations, making it difficult to see at a glance exactly where they are at and how they are progressing. This has a minimal impact on the children as staff make regular observations and know each child well. Staff recognise there is a slight weakness in the curriculum with regards to information and communication technology, and want to increase the opportunities available to children in this area.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good relationships with others and get on well with peers and staff. Staff listen with interest to children's thoughts and stories, and ask open-ended questions to

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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 help extend learning. Children show pride in their work and eagerly show staff what they have made. They move around the hall with both confidence and independence. Children enjoy being read to, as well as selecting books by themselves. Many are confident in attempting to write their names on their work. Children attending the 'rising fives' session are able to borrow books to read with their parents, encouraging the development of their skills in this area whilst extending their learning at home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are able to recognise groups of items without counting, and regularly compare the quantity of items during their play. Staff ask questions to encourage children's calculating skills such as 'how many children are left if one leaves to wash their hands?'. Children are encouraged to explore their environment using magnifying glasses, and have access to natural materials such as shells for investigation. They really enjoy junk modelling and building things for a purpose in the construction area although there are no programmable toys available, limiting their progress in this particular area. Children enjoy experimenting with different media, for example, using paints or drawing with sticks in salt trays. They use their imaginations in the well resourced role play area, and enjoy sitting under the dryers to have their hair done or looking after each other using the doctors kit.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Staff encourage all children to participate in the activities and experiences provided, helping to ensure they have equal opportunities to maximise their enjoyment and potential. Well labelled displays help to ensure they can easily recognise themselves or their work in the environment, giving them the important feeling of self worth.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There are no children in attendance identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and presently there are no staff with specific training in this area although future training is planned. Staff know each child well and work closely with outside agencies if required to help ensure children's individual needs are met. There are lots of displays, activities and resources available for children to help them learn about the wider world.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are well behaved and benefit from positive interaction from staff. Children are recognised for their good behaviour, helping to increase their confidence and self-esteem. 'Well done' stickers are put on a chart for all to see, helping to encourage children to think about their actions and what they can do for other people. Behaviour incidents are discussed with parents although they are not always recorded, slightly limiting the ways any patterns can be highlighted in a child's behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. The information folder contains a wealth of relevant items for parents to view at any time. They receive good information about the Foundation Stage, the activities on offer and the ways they can extend learning at home to help them feel involved in their child's learning. They are encouraged to bring things in from home to aid with the topics, helping them to feel an important part of the pre school.

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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 At present, parents only have access to basic information about the Birth to three matters framework, limiting the ways they are able to learn about how their children develop under this curriculum. Parents are very happy with the care provided and particularly like the relaxed, stimulating environment and find the staff very friendly and approachable.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. All of the required records are in place and are well maintained. They are complimented with a comprehensive range of policies and procedures, that are currently being updated helping to ensure the safe and effective management of the setting in order to promote children's welfare.

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Organisation

Children profit from a very well organised environment where they receive good adult support to help them feel secure and confident. Staff are well deployed, are well qualified and have lots of childcare experience. Adult to child ratios are exceeded on a daily basis. Staff have a good knowledge of each child and where they are at developmentally, and the keyworker system in place works well. The play space is planned carefully in order to ensure there are a good variety of activities and experiences available for children to participate in during each session, helping them to become involved in both meaningful and purposeful play. Time is also used effectively, and the regular group times such as circle time and snack ensure children are stimulated throughout the session. Whilst children are busy in their group, other staff help to re-organise the activities and equipment on offer in order to present the children with a new

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Organisation

and exciting environment for the second half of each session.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. Clear aims reflect a commitment to providing high quality care and education. The curriculum is well monitored meaning all of the areas of learning are covered on a daily basis and children are making good progress in their development. The dedicated staff work well as a team, and clear communication in the form of daily informal chats, the contact book, and fortnightly planning meetings, all help to ensure consistency of care. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and regular appraisals help to ensure training needs are identified. Staff are very receptive, and strive to improve the good practice at the pre school. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last combined inspection, the pre-school were asked to increase the amount of appropriate resources that reflect diversity; develop the link between assessment and planning; develop parents' contribution to the assessment process and label the storage boxes to increase the amount of print in the learning environment.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection, staff have increased the range of equipment available to promote diversity, and children have free access to a variety of puzzles and books, helping them to increase their knowledge further in this area. Staff make good use of the observations they make on each child as they are used to inform the planning to ensure activities are tailored to meet children's individual needs. However, the profiles for each child are not completed regularly

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 making it difficult to see exactly where children are at developmentally, although the impact is reduced as staff know each child well. Parents complete a keyworker sheet about their children that staff use to gauge children's starting points, and half termly sheets are given out explaining the topics being covered and how parents can further children's learning at home. The storage boxes are all labelled, and phonics posters are displayed helping children to recognise print in the learning environment.

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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.

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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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • increase the information available to parents about the Birth to three matters framework in place

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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): • increase the opportunities for children to learn about information and communication technology during their everyday play • continue to improve the profiles so they clearly show where children are at developmentally

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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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