Overton Preschool

Overton Pre-School Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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Overton Pre-School Playgroup

EY268158 Unique Reference Number 15 February 2007 Inspection date Mandy Gannon Inspector

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Overton Pre-School Playgroup

Court Drove, Overton, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG25 3ES Setting Address

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E-mail

Overton Pre-School Playgroup 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?

Overton Pre-School opened in September 2003. This is an extension to Overton Pre-School Playgroup, which has been based in the community centre since 1974.The pre-school meets within the village school. The children have access to the playground including climbing equipment, playing fields and nature walk, which is set within the school ground.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group is registered to provide care for18 children aged 3-5 years. Sessions are offered term time only Monday and Friday between 8:45 to11:45 and as required 12:15 to 15:15. A lunch club operates 12:15 to 12:45. Children attend for a mixture of sessions at both sites. There are currently 41 children on roll and of these 39 are in receipt of funding. The pre-school supports children with special needs and also those for whom English is 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 is run by the same committee as the pre- school playgroup based at the community centre. The same staff are employed at both settings and up to four staff members work with the children in the pre-school. The supervisor and deputy lead alternate sessions at both sites. 2 full time and 8 part time staff are employed in total. Of these 4 members of staff have early years qualifications at NVQ level 3 and 3 staff hold NVQ level 2. A member of staff is planning to undertake training towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting is accredited by the Pre-School Learning Alliance. The setting receives support from an advisory teacher and has good links with the school.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are developing their understanding of how to keep their bodies healthy and are aware of healthy eating. For example, a child is aware that fruit is good for her and that sweets are not, and that she must brush her teeth after having sweets. Children bring lunch boxes which are appropriately stored and parents are encouraged to use ice packs to promote the safe storage of food. Several members of staff hold food hygiene certificates promoting good hygiene practices. Drinking water is available and some children confidently pour themselves a drink. Some children confidently make choices as they freely access a drink in the 'café'. Although, several children do not have a drink all morning and staff are unable to monitor and encourage regular drinking as part of promoting healthy well-being.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enthusiastically participate in physical exercise to promote and develop their co-ordination and physical development. For example, they hop, skip and run in the school playground, use the climbing apparatus, parachute and ride on toys. Children have regular opportunities to dance and move their bodies to music.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are developing their independence in their personal skills, as they wash their hands prior to having a drink and take themselves to the toilet. Suitable hand washing facilities are provided and displays to promote and encourage hand washing are in place. Although, staff are not always vigilant that all children wash their hands before eating lunch. Successful procedures are in place, such as staff wearing disposable gloves and appropriate disposal of nappies and soiled linen, staff encouraging children to wipe their own noses and the appropriate disposal of tissues to maintain hygiene and help prevent the spread of infection. Children's health is maintained as the majority of staff hold first aid qualifications and the first aid boxes are regularly checked and updated.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children have a good understanding of protecting themselves with regard to safety issues and group boundaries. For example, children are walking to the playground and a child reminds another that they must not run or they will fall over and hurt themselves.

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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 Children move confidently around the environment, making choices about their play. Children have easy and safe access to a broad range of resources and equipment which children are able to access from low level shelving. They choose from table top activities that have been set out although opportunities to select from clearly labelled boxes are not developed to its full potential. Children relax and share books in a comfortable environment, where suitable seating is provided.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected from harm as staff have a strong understanding of child protection. Staff are aware how to implement local child protection procedures and have attended advanced child protection training. They have accessed up to date information and have in place the required documents and policies to safeguard children. Robust procedures are in place to ensure that all staff and students are appropriately vetted. Children enjoy a secure environment, where they move around freely and independently. Staff ask visitors for identification and ensure they complete a visitor's book, they explain to the children who the visitor is and the reason for their visit.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff promote children's safety and have clear understanding of potential safety hazards as they ensure chairs are stacked appropriately, doors secured and stair gates are in place. However, daily checks on the premises are not thorough and potential hazards are not identified, for example socket covers are not in place. Detailed risk assessments are completed by the committee and the group are in the process of training a member of staff as a health and safety officer.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy, involved and settled at pre-school. Staff know the children and their families well, they greet and welcome them into the setting and value each child as an individual. This together with a robust, successful key worker system helps to build positive relationships between children and staff and develops a strong sense of trust. Children actively settle to activities and make choices from toys and resources laid out, although self-selection is not fully developed. Children are confident and show a high level of self-esteem which is developed by staff that praise and encourage them. Children are aware of what is expected of them and group rules, they are developing an understanding why rules are in place. Children work well together, for example as they wait for their turn to go on the computer, or as they realise they have to take turns to collect the milk.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make sound progress as staff have secure understanding of how children learn and effectively develop activities. Staff use a variety of teaching methods to introduce a range of activities and experiences for all children. Staff encourage children in their learning, with a good range of child and adult initiated activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain confidence in using number as they count at circle time how many boys and how many girls are in pre-school today. They use practical resources to begin to develop an understanding of calculation and how many children all together are present. Children use

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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 sorting bears to perform early addition and sorting techniques. Staff warn children about the passing of time and that it will soon be time to tidy away, this is supported by a sand timer to begin to develop children's understanding.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop strong relationships with one another and are extremely well behaved. They are aware of the agreed rules at circle time and sit patiently listening to one another until it is their turn to speak and actively participate. Children enjoy role play and actively support one another, as they dress up or sell milk in the shop to their friends for one hundred pounds.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident speakers and listeners; they interact with one another and show an awareness of the listener. They enjoy and participate in familiar stories. Children use speech to describe real and imagined experiences as they talk about holidays they have been on and how they have travelled. Staff are competent at asking children questions to make them think, developing their language for thinking. Children enjoy looking and sharing books as they sit comfortably in the book area. They have opportunities to gain confidence in mark making. Although, children have limited opportunities to identify and recognise their names on a regular basis.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy a wide variety of physical activities as they have use of the school playground, where they use ride on toys, run and chase one another and are developing their competence in hopping and skipping. They experience the shared use of the school climbing equipment, participate in nature walks and use a parachute on the school field.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are knowledgeable about the foundation stage curriculum and use this knowledge to identify children's learning and progress them onto the next step. Staff observe and monitor children's progress and identify children's individual targets and put in place individual play plans which they feed back into planning. Due to this staff have clear realistic expectations of the individual needs of the children. As a result, effective support is provided, sufficient challenges are provided to ensure children meet their potential.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are extremely confident and have high self-esteem as they receive regular praise and encouragement from staff. They have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and the reason for group rules. Children are well behaved and co-operatively work together; they take turns on the computer and patiently wait for their turn. Staff use a sand timer when required to re-enforce their understanding of the passing of time.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are valued and their individual needs are fully met as staff have an accurate understanding of their needs. All children are fully involved in the life of the setting and the group actively support children with English as an additional language, a French speaking parent comes into the group to read stories in her home language. The group have a clear inclusion policy, staff are trained and the group work closely with other agencies and settings.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children learn about themselves and the wider world through planned activities and topics. They have strong links with the local community and school. They have visits from the local

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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 village policeman and make regular visits to the village fire station and other local amenities. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from strong relationships and working partnership with parents, which promotes their well-being and the relationships they develop at pre-school. Staff value parents' comments and suggestions through an active committee, regular parent questionnaires and discussions. Successful links are formed between home and pre-school through regular newsletters, notice board and flyers. Parents are encouraged to share what they know about their child when they begin at the group through 'all about me' booklets.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents receive information about topics and are encouraged to support their child in bringing items in from home. Children have individual key workers who are available to discuss children's progress with their parents. Parent's are involved in their child's learning through the sharing of play plans and invited to contribute to identify individual targets. Children's learning is significantly enhanced by the strong links between parents, home and the pre-school.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. All staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and work well together as a team, in a seamless operation. An effective operational plan is in place ensuring that children are fulfilled, and they receive a high level of appropriate support throughout the session. Policies to promote children's care and well-being are implemented successfully and regularly reviewed by the committee. Although, procedures such as daily risk assessments are not fully implemented.

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Organisation

Management of the setting value the contribution of the whole staff team and use discussion, regular staff meetings, staff appraisals and are currently undertaking a local authority pilot scheme to look at together the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of the setting. Staff recognise the strengths and weaknesses in the group and identify areas for improvement. Management encourage and support staff to fully access training and development opportunities. This ensures that staff meet their full potential and contribute to the setting and the outcomes of the children.

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Organisation

The leadership and management are good. Management and staff are enthusiastic and motivated. They have an accurate view of the pre-school playgroup and constantly review their practise in order to develop and identify areas for improvement. This attitude and willingness for continual improvement contributes to the promotion of positive outcomes for children. 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 Children Act inspection the pre-school were asked to ensure sufficient polices and procedures are in place. The pre-school has extensive policies and procedures in place, which are reviewed and updated when required by the committee. Although, a procedure to effectively complete a daily risk assessment is not in place.

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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

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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 action in order to meet the National Standards. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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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): • ensure that daily risk assessments are completed to ensure the safety of the premises • ensure that staff are able to identify and encourage children to take frequent drinks to promote healthy well-being

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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): • encourage regular opportunities for the recognition of children's names

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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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