Little Lambs Pre- School

Little Lambs Pre- School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Little Lambs Pre- School

EY225918 Unique Reference Number 02 March 2007 Inspection date Rebecca Hadley Inspector

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Little Lambs Pre- School

Bethel Chapel, Hill Street, Wollescote, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 8TL

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Setting Address

01384 892137 Telephone number Bethel@care4free.net E-mail Little Lambs Pre- School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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Setting Address

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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Little Lambs Pre-School Centre opened in 1991. It operates from a purpose built Early Years Centre in the Bethel Chapel, in Wollescote, near Stourbridge. The group serves the local and wider community.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting is registered to care for 44 children. There are currently 76 children on roll. This includes 60 children who are in receipt of funding for nursery education. The setting currently supports children with learning difficulties and those who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week term times only. Sessions are from 09:00 until 11:30 and 12:30 until 15:00. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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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 Ten full and part-time staff work with the children. Seven staff have early years qualifications and one is currently working towards a recognised childcare qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher mentor from the local authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children’s understanding and awareness of good health and hygiene is exceptionally well promoted through well planned daily routines. Children learn about their personal hygiene and how to keep healthy by automatically washing hands at appropriate times during the day. For example, after messy play, using the toilet and before eating. They are aware of the reasons why they wash hands for example, all children could tell me that they wash their hands so that they get rid of the germs. They follow stringent routines for washing their hands from photographs displayed in the toilet area and can say what order they wash their hands in. They also ask to wash their hands if they feel the need for example, one child who had been playing with the slime asked to wash her hands “’cus they’re sticky”. Children know when they need to blow their noses, ask for tissues which are placed around the room and dispose of the tissues

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Helping children to be healthy

Children’s individual care needs are exceptionally well met because in-depth information is obtained from their parents at registration including medical information, consent for emergency treatment and details of any allergies. Regular discussions with parents ensure that information is regularly updated. Children are comforted if they become unwell and are extremely well protected from infection through clear procedures such as exclusion periods for sickness which are strictly adhered to. Children's welfare is further promoted as all staff hold a valid first aid certificate and comprehensive accident and medication records are in place.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are very well nourished. They have exceptionally good opportunities to learn about healthy eating because the setting provides them with regular drinks, and extremely healthy snacks which include a variety of fruits, crackers, cheese and raw vegetables such as carrot sticks. Children access the café system independently. They serve themselves to the variety of snacks available and pour their own drinks. They carry their plates and cups to nearby tables and chat to their friends as they eat enjoying a totally child orientated, social time. Children understand the importance of eating healthy food and are able to say what foods are healthy. For example one child said “We have these ‘cus their healthy and milk makes your bones grow strong”. Posters displayed around the café and in the role play area depict healthy foods. Children with allergies have their needs met because staff liaise with parents before children

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Helping children to be healthy

start and also throughout their time at the group.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy excellent opportunities to experience physical activity and develop their skills. They access an extensive range of activities such as sand, water, paint, a trampoline, net ball, slides, balancing tyres, a play house with steps and regular walks in the community which enables them to develop their confidence on a wide range of equipment that provides challenge. Children access outside play at all times and in all weathers. They put on waterproof trousers

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Helping children to be healthy

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 coats and help themselves to an umbrella if it is raining. The outside area is a total extension to the pre-school and includes, construction, dancing, writing, maths and role play activities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are safe as a result of the staff’s excellent awareness of health and safety and the wide range of supporting policies and procedures. High priority is given to reducing the risk of accident or injury and risk assessments cover all areas used by the children. Checks are carried out at different times of the day such as before children arrive, during sessions and at the end of the day to ensure children’s safety at all times. Robust attention is given to all aspects of safety inside and outside the setting and children learn the importance of keeping themselves safe through planned and unplanned learning activities such as not taking umbrellas on the trampoline and waiting their turn when climbing the steps in the playhouse. They practise road safety with the bikes and learn how to use a Zebra crossing to cross the road safely. They are well protected through in-depth evacuation procedures which are regularly practised and

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

include both the inside and outside areas. Excellent organisation of space ensures that children can choose independently from activities and move around freely and safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are cared for in premises that are welcoming and child centred. Staff ensure that children and parents are welcomed individually as they arrive and spend time talking to them. Displays are striking, bright and at child height and children’s work and photographs are displayed. All areas are brightly decorated and clean which creates a welcoming environment for the children. Children are kept safe as the premises are extremely secure and there is an excellent procedure for the arrival and collection of children to ensure that their safety is maintained at all times.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children are exceptionally well protected from harm because all staff have an in-depth understanding of their role in child protection. There are clear and thorough child protection policies and procedures in place. All staff understand known indicators of abuse and are aware of the procedures they should follow in the event of a concern about a child in their care. Therefore, children’s welfare is promoted and safeguarded.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children are extremely confident, independent and have good self-esteem because staff give children time to develop and settle into the setting at their own pace. Their self-esteem is encouraged as one child is asked to be the helper of the day and all children help to tidy away and tackle the task enthusiastically. Staff offer encouragement and praise at all times. Children’s work is displayed and children are proud of their achievements and readily show and point to what work is theirs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff have an in-depth knowledge of the children’s starting points, because they discuss them with parents at home visits before the child starts and carry out base line assessments and observations to find the child’s developmental range, likes and dislikes.

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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 There is an impressive range of age appropriate resources which children can easily access. Children have first hand experiences to develop curiosity as learners because staff encourage them to take part in new activities such as exploring coloured sand and slime. All experiences are fully extended to ensure that children always reach their full potential and younger children benefit from staffs implementation of the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Staff are animated and inspirational and use their excellent understanding of the Foundation Stage, stepping stones and early learning goals to help children progress in all areas. Planning, observation and assessment is extensive and clearly shows which specific stepping stone it relates to. Staff’s wealth of knowledge and expertise is used to ensure positive outcomes for children. Children consolidate and extend their learning as staff frequently ask questions and use every opportunity in the setting as an extension to learning. Weekly plans show staff groups and what each child will learn from the activity including new words to be added to their vocabulary.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Wonderful challenges ensure that children are fully motivated at all times. When providing children with new challenges staff demonstrate first, then offer help if needed. For example, when making slime. Staff explain to children exactly what activities are available and use words to extend children's vocabulary such as experiments and encyclopaedia. Staff always encourage children to think and demonstrate what they know and understand. They regularly consolidate children's learning by asking them what they have done, how they did it and talk about remembering what they did the day before.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a positive attitude to learning and are interested, excited and motivated to learn. They are confident to try new activities and become totally engrossed in their play. For example, children making and playing with slime. They are interested, and motivated to learn and try activities, often jumping up and down with excitement, eagerly talking about the activities they are going to try. Children have excellent personal independence skills. They choose activities and access the toilets independently. They have a sense of awareness of their own needs, views and feelings and are sensitive to the needs, views and feelings of others. For example, they talk about feeling sad and pass on smiles to each other. Children are beginning to form good relationships with other children and adults. They call to their friends excitedly as they arrive and seek them out to join them in their activities. One child asked “Are you my best friend”.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are proud of their achievements and seek out staff to show them what they have made. For example, one child who had painted a picture fetched a member of staff to show her and chose where she wanted to display it.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children use speech to organise and explore real and imagined experiences, ideas and feelings. For example, they talk about what they have painted and staff record what they have said. Comments include, “I’ve painted all crosses” and “Mine’s going to be a rainbow”. They act out being at the hairdressers and can say what happens when you have your hair cut. “You have to wear this towel and then I’ll wash it for you, then I cut it with scissors and dry it with this”. They chat happily to each other animatedly talking about what they have done both at pre-school and at home. For example, “I went to nannies”. Children enjoy listening to stories and join in their favourite ones with excitement and vigour. They know that the person who

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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 writes the book is the author and the person who draws the pictures is the illustrator. Children read favourite stories to each other. One child in the book corner told his friend a story holding the book so that he could see the pictures. They link sounds and letters and are able to recognise the sound their name begins with. For example, b is for beetles and bugs and butterflies. Children are beginning to form recognisable letters and some can write their name.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing number and problem solving skills through a variety of activities which enables them to use numbers spontaneously in their play. All children can count to 10 and older children beyond. They recognise that numbers are used in everyday situations for example, on car number plates, road signs, petrol prices, times on post boxes, cash machines and phone numbers. They can name all basic shapes such as circle and triangle and also additional shapes such as cube, sphere, cone and cylinder. They understand opposites such as full and empty, up and down, big and little. They use mathematics to weigh and measure during cooking activities and compare size with activities such as Russian dolls.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy exploring and investigating new and familiar objects such as looking at and comparing bugs through a magnifying glass and mixing ingredients to make slime watching the changes that occur when two substances are mixed together. They experiment with torches and ultra violet light and make ice cubes and watch them melt. The children know about the uses of everyday technology and use information and communication technology and programmable toys such as tills in the shop, calculators and phones. They expertly use the computer, keyboard, mouse and interactive white board without adult help. Children confidently talk about family at home and what they do. One child said “I’ve been on the number nine bus today”. They understand that dinosaurs lived a long long time ago and compare the dinosaurs in the dinosaur garden with books to find out their correct names. They can eloquently name all the days in the week and know what day it was yesterday and what day it will be tomorrow.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world. They find out about their environment through topics on mini beasts, by growing plants from seeds and caring for them and visiting the allotment and watching the plants grow, then digging the vegetables and eating them. They talk about the weather and know that when the sun shines it’s hot and that frost is made from water.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children move confidently with control and co-ordination in a variety of ways including jumping and crawling. They move imaginatively and safely under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment. They can balance on stepping stones, throw beanbags, ride a bike up a ramp and climb through a hoop. Children show an awareness of space both for themselves and others. For example, they can hold hands and then sit in a circle and negotiate obstacles and each other with dexterity and co-ordination. They recognise the importance of staying healthy and the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active. One child said “I’m tired now I am, I’m going to sit down” after jumping on the trampoline.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children explore colour, texture, shape, form, and space in 2 or 3 dimensions. They make collages, paint with spaghetti and marbles, explore gloop, slime, and modelling clay and stick using shiny paper, cotton wool and a variety of different materials which they can help themselves to at any time. They enjoy mixing different substances to see what they can make, for example, one child asked staff “What will happen if I put slime and play dough together?” Children recognise and explore how sounds can be changed, and sing simple songs from memory.

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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 All children join in excitedly with singing and music activities naming sounds that different instruments make, for example, shakers that sound like the sea. Children use their imagination in role-play which is regularly transformed into different scenarios such as a shop, a hairdressers, a fire station, a Doctors and a Vets. One child washed, cut, dried and curled hair and then charged £100 before booking an appointment in the diary for next week.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are treated with equal concern and are highly valued and respected as individuals. They have excellent opportunities to develop an understanding of the wider world because the setting introduces them to the wider multicultural society and provides an extensive range of resources and activities that help them to develop an understanding of diversity. Children’s individual needs are identified and met extremely well. Children with disabilities are effectively supported and experienced and knowledgeable staff enable children to flourish. Strategies are in place to identify and support children with individual specific needs and staff work with parents and outside agencies to enable children to reach their full potential. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children’s behaviour is exemplary in proportion to their level of understanding and maturity. This is because staff create an environment that encourages children to respect boundaries and begin to control their own behaviour. Children understand clear and consistent guidelines and expectations of behaviour such as listening to each other, saying please and thank you and helping to tidy up. They play harmoniously together and are learning to share and to take responsibility for their own behaviour. Staff are excellent role models and promote children’s confidence and self-esteem through positive praise and encouragement.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents speak highly about the quality of the provision and the approachability and knowledge of the staff. They are provided with in-depth information about the setting through notice boards and displays and the prospectus given to parents before their child starts at the setting is available in large print, Braille or on audio cassette. Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in the group. Their views on various aspects such as the nursery environment, outdoor play facilities, the welcoming aspect, helpfulness of staff, overall management, the range of activities and equipment and information that they receive are sought yearly by means of a parent’s questionnaire. Parents are asked to grade from excellent, good, satisfactory and poor and comment on how improvements can be made. All comments made by parents are extremely positive.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. The nursery provides excellent information to parents about the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage and encourages parents to participate fully in their child’s learning for example, through the use of story sacks. They receive information about their children’s progress both through daily conversations with staff and parents evenings. Planning is displayed on notice boards and every activity in the setting states what children are learning, which areas of the curriculum are covered and shows photographs of the children participating in the activities. The partnership with parents ensures continuity between home and nursery, so that children settle well and achieve their full potential.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The pre-school offers a warm and welcoming experience where children are happy and settled. Children’s care is further enhanced by excellent organisation and resources to support and extend their development and learning. Staff are well qualified and effectively deployed to ensure that children receive a high level of care and attention.

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Organisation

Comprehensive, detailed documentation is in place and regularly reviewed to ensure that requirements are met. There is an extremely effective and detailed operational plan in place which includes an extensive range of additional policies to ensure the smooth running of the setting.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the setting is outstanding. Considerable steps are taken to plan ahead, evaluate and improve the service offered. Recruitment and vetting procedures are extremely robust and ensure that staff are of high quality and well qualified. Ongoing training and observations and appraisals for staff support children’s development and learning.

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Organisation

Management and staff are enthusiastic, dedicated and work very well together. They are totally committed to providing a high level of care and education for the children and are constantly looking at and implementing ways to move the setting forward. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting was asked to ensure that parents are informed about children's involvement in all daily routines. This has now been implemented. Parents are informed through daily verbal feedback, parents evenings and displays around the setting to show what activities children take part in. At the nursery education inspection the setting agreed to continue to develop story sack resources for children to take home and share with their parents. This has now been fully implemented and children take home story sacks every Friday to involve parents in children's learning.

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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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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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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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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