Leapfrogs Pre-Sch TrustOfsted inspection, 11 Nov 2005

Leapfrogs Pre School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Leapfrogs Pre School

Unique Reference Number 206135 Inspection date 11 November 2005 Inspector Georgina Walker

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Leapfrogs Pre School

Setting Address St Peters Church Hall, St Peters Road,Chellaston, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 1UU Telephone number 01332 691441

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E-mail

Registered person Leapfrogs Pre-school Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional 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 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 satisfactory. 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Leapfrogs Pre-school opened in 1992. It operates from a church hall in the suburb of Chellaston, Derby. The pre-school serves the local and surrounding area. There is no outdoor play area but the children have physical play programmed into the daily activities and are taken occasionally for walks in the surrounding area. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term only. Sessions are from 9.15 until 12.00.

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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 There are currently 48 children from 2 years 6 months to 4 years 2 months on roll. This includes 33 children who receive funding for nursery education. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs nine staff who work with the children. Seven of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and two staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from Derby City local authority and are members of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The pre–school is managed by a parental committee, who delegate day to day responsibility to the staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children learn about the importance of personal hygiene through following appropriate daily routines, such as washing their hands before snacks and after toileting, becoming increasingly independent in their personal care. The spread of infection between children is minimised as suitable steps are taken to prevent this. The needs of children are met effectively if they have an accident. Staff hold appropriate first aid certificates and maintain first aid boxes which are readily accessible. Accident records are adequately maintained and shared with parents. However, detail of the size of the injury is not recorded to ensure children's needs are met if they have a further accident. In the event of children becoming ill, staff instigate the very well documented procedures and parents are contacted. Whilst waiting for parents children can snuggle up in the book corner or are comforted, by staff, as they

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Helping children to be healthy

continue playing. Children are starting to understand why certain foods are good for them and are provided with a wide variety of healthy food at snack time. They enjoy apple and melon, but some are not so sure about strawberry dessert mix introduced for the first time. They demonstrate an understanding of sharing, many serve themselves the dessert onto their plate, from the small bowl presented to them. Drinks are served with increasing skill as they pour milk or water from the jugs. Fresh drinking water is available throughout the session on request. Individual dietary needs, which ensure children remain healthy, are included on their registration forms and discussed with parents. Children eagerly enjoy snack times conversing in their key-worker groups with their friends, having collected their plate and beaker from the serving table. Children are supported appropriately to develop their physical skills. Staff are

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Helping children to be healthy

developing an understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework, having recently attended training, and are to further develop the effective programme which promotes challenge and assists in promoting children's health and emotional well-being. Children are happy and settled in the environment. They move with confidence and an awareness of personal safety around the resources. Opportunities to play outdoors are limited due to the lack of an enclosed play area. Walks into the church yard to collect leaves, as part of the autumn theme, provides fresh air and

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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 develops an awareness of nature. Staff programme a period of time each session with purposeful activities indoors. Obstacle courses, hopping, skipping, jumping and throwing, catching and balancing activities and the skills related to the use of wheeled toys are regularly enjoyed. The children are able to negotiate competently around others as they climb on, over and through the 'wormy', which is a large piece of play equipment. The use of small tools such as scissors and pencils, and a variety of construction toys helps children develop their fine dexterity skills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are made to feel welcome in an environment where the playroom is set-up prior to their arrival and includes screens with photographs of them at play. Occasionally some of their own craft work is displayed in this joint usage facility. The children have access to a range of interesting activities linked to themes. The resources are presented for a week but are changed during each session to promote challenge and are safe, age appropriate and presented at suitable levels to encourage independence and development. Children also have some opportunities to instigate spontaneous play. They suggest the leaves collected on a walk are placed in the empty water play tray, to enable them to feel them and examine them more closely. Children access resources which they can help themselves to, such as mark making, a craft trolley or access to role-play. Resources which promote positive

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

images of society is inconsistent. Children are secure in the environment, very good security and collection procedures are effectively maintained. Staff, parents and children are involved in the recording of the registers and children enjoy their own opportunity to sign out. Comprehensive risk assessments, policies and procedures are generally followed by staff to create a safe environment for children. There is written evidence of regular practices of fire evacuation and fire escapes are consistently accessible to further ensure children's safety. However, socket covers are not in place in all areas which are accessed by the children, especially in the room used for story time. Children are safe on outings as the pre-school has comprehensive procedures which are implemented effectively when children are out in the church yard or visiting the 'Reading Rocket' vehicle on a Wednesday. Children's safety is further assisted by staff who have a sound knowledge of child

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

protection and give priority to children's welfare. Prior to the staff changes in September 2005 all the staff had attended training during the year to ensure they had current information to meet children's needs. The written statement relating to the child protection policies and procedures is displayed for parents as well as being included in the comprehensive polices.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Planning is very focused on the theme and associated craft, however, children's

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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 developmental progress is encouraged due to consistent staff interaction, monitoring children's use of activities and evaluation of activities. Children settle well in the pre-school and have a friendly relationship with the staff. The children are confident and keen to access the range of play activities before group time. Afterwards they access the full range of activities including a craft, linked to the theme, currently autumn and colours. Younger children's activities are adapted to ensure they also obtain age appropriate skills during an activity. The 'Birth to three matters' framework is to be included in future planning. The children develop appropriate socialisation skills as they join in group activities, often in their key-worker groups. They are beginning to recognise the groups, (yellow squares, blue triangles and red circles),

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and sit in groups accordingly, especially at snack time. However, during story time the whole group are usually together and this leads to many children not gaining the benefit of the experience as there are too many interruptions. Staff remind children to sit still, listen and join in when necessary, which disrupts the flow of the story and does not maximise children's learning. Children become independent as they choose to access the activities themselves and staff promote learning. Their daily activities and developmental progress is noted and staff are beginning to document specific achievements. They verbally share information with parents regarding their child and parents are aware they can see the written records at any time. However, there is no formal opportunity for parents to view the documents and share ongoing developmental progress made at home. The starting point for new children is available to assist staff promote individual future

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

need. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals as staff have an understanding of the 'Foundation Stage' and are continuing to develop the planning. Currently there is no evidence that all areas of learning are covered on a regulars basis. Staff demonstrate they know which aspect of learning the activities they provide are related to. The staff record what aspect has been successfully achieved in their evaluation. However, the children's records do not show fully what progress has been made, especially if they have been receiving funding for more than one term as the recording method has not yet been consolidated. Staff demonstrate considerable thought has gone into the planning for each week with learning intentions, adult directed or adult supported activities, child initiated activities and space for other links to ensure the children are

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

purposefully occupied. Children are challenged by staff who use open ended questions to develop potential effectively during such activities as discussing what the red poppy is for and how do magnets work. Children are generally well behaved and eager to try new experiences. They are animated when suggesting their own ideas for play and pretend the 'wormy' is a horse or a donkey and they are going for a ride. They relate well to their peers, staff and visitors, demonstrating confident personalities and a willingness to share information about what they like and do at home. Some children are developing good recall as they listen to stories and respond eagerly to staff questions regarding the sequence and content, especially when there are many repetitive words and numbers, even though they have been distracted. They have

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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 inconsistent access to a range of mark making resources or opportunities to write their own name, although some children form recognisable letters and can write their name competently. The accepted use of text from left to right is not always presented by the staff to ensure the children follow good practice. They learn new words during such topics as autumn and life cycles of frogs and butterflies. They have an understanding of maths. Children spontaneously use their knowledge effectively during play, including language for calculating how many children are in the small group or can use the roundabout at any one time. They are developing awareness of the needs of others and support younger children at snack time. The needs of creatures of the natural world are beginning to be understood as they enjoy

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

the varied topics presented by staff. Opportunities for learning about the wider society in which they live are enjoyed when planned, especially when parents contribute to the resources, such as Chinese food for snack time. Children's physical development is promoted through a balanced programme of activities. The room is laid out to provide a separate physical play area some weeks and wheeled toys are also available. During other sessions physical play activities are presented after snack or story time during the flexible routine and parachute play or dancing takes place. Children's fine manipulative skills are significantly enhanced through the use of an extensive range of small resources. Their use of scissors has been promoted when it was recognised few children had the skills and a week of cutting out and sticking pictures onto sugar paper has resulted in many more children becoming competent. Children have opportunities to develop their creative experiences as they

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

have access to a range of craft, role play and musical activities on a planned basis. The opportunity to engage freely in such activities is not planned on a daily basis and therefore children's learning is inhibited as they are generally engaged in activities where an adult is present to supervise.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are respected and treated as individuals, they are welcomed and valued. Staff use their childcare expertise, have ongoing discussions and use information sheets completed by parents to ensure children's individual needs are met. Increased support is available for children with specific needs and staff work well with parents and outside agencies to ensure the child's needs are met appropriately. Children are developing an understanding of how everyone positively contributes in society through planned activities, although access to resources on a daily basis is limited to a few books. There is a range of resources which promote positive images but they are infrequently used. Equality of opportunity is promoted well as activities are adapted to ensure children's needs are met. Children's understanding of others needs are promoted successfully through discussion, such as at snack time and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

when welcoming new children. Children develop a strong sense of independence and self-worth as they are encouraged to share, take turns, follow rules and listen to others. They are very confident in the setting and show a sense of belonging to a wider group. Most are

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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 well behaved as they accept the rules and respond to the firm and consistent expectations of the staff, except when the group is too large at story time. Occasionally staff do raise their voice to attract a child's attention instead of going up to the child across the room. This does not fully promote the good practices promoted in the policies or provide a consistent good role model for the children. All react to the well considered method of obtaining the children's attention by the shaking of a tambourine and other staff wiggling their fingers, which the children copy. They are then ready to listen to the instructions such as "it is snack time, please return all toys to their mats or table" or "it is tidy up time, please help to pack away". They do this willingly and laugh and chatter to each other and staff as they do so. Children's

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Helping children make a positive contribution

spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Partnerships with parents and carers is satisfactory. Ongoing sharing of verbal and updating written information ensures any changes to children's circumstances can be addressed; which contributes to partnership with parents and children's care needs being met. However, this does not extend to a formal sharing of the child's educational development and therefore cannot fully contribute to meeting the child's needs through the planning of activities. Whilst parents are invited to view their child's development records, many only see the content as their child leaves for school and have not contributed their views. Parents receive extensive information about the services provided and have access to comprehensive policies and procedures which staff follow to assist in meeting children's needs. Since October 2004 parents have had the opportunity to join the new committee to manage the pre-school and attend

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Helping children make a positive contribution

sessions on a rota basis to further engage in their child's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are in the care of qualified or experienced staff who support them well to ensure they are happy and settled in the pre-school. This is further promoted by the continuity of a regular member of staff at every session, supported by the part-time staff members and the children being allocated to a key-worker. New organisation under a committee and a mostly new staff group ensures children's time in the playgroup is worthwhile and challenging. There is regular support for the committee and staff team from the local authority. The committee promote the attendance of training by staff. Children benefit considerably from the training which the staff attend and the sharing of new knowledge during staff meetings. The provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. The committee and staff meet regularly, with a de-brief for staff at the end of each session led by the person in charge. Planning is shared between the joint persons in

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Organisation

charge, with ideas from the whole staff group. Responsibilities are shared and contribute to the pleasant atmosphere, created by the staff team, in which the children to learn and play. The committee and staff are aware they are operating as if this were a new pre-school and are constantly updating practice and documents to ensure they meet the needs of the children. The leadership and management of the playgroup is good.

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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 The welfare care and learning of the children is generally promoted through the maintenance of records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision. However, some require further development or minor adjustment and further discussion or sharing with parents.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous care inspection the setting was asked to ensure all children belonged to a group that had consistent staff as the key-worker. The new person in charge successfully instigated these groups from November 2004. Each child and their parent is introduced to the relevant staff member who is responsible for monitoring the child, ensuring they are happy and settled, and activities are planned to progress their learning and development. Parents are made aware they can approach the key-worker at any time, which contributes to the children's needs being met and them feeling secure in the setting. The pre-school was also requested to ensure documents contained correct details in relation to staff at the setting and the requirements of the regulatory body. Since November 2004 confidential information regarding staff is now retained in a file for emergencies. A file for each member of staff containing certificates of qualification,

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Improvements since the last inspection

training, confirmation they are suitable to work with the children etc. are available on a table during each session for parents to view. This contributes to meeting regulation requirements and confirms and reassures parents suitable persons care for the children. New policies and procedures were produced by the new person in charge and approved by the committee in 2005. All are available for inspection, and for parents, which contain reference to regulations, when to contact Ofsted etc. and the setting is aware they are to be continually monitored and updated to meet current regulations. Following the separate education inspection the setting was asked to consider ways to develop children's self-help skills. This has been successfully implemented during toileting, where the children are very competent dressing and washing themselves, and at snack times serving themselves. Evaluation of activities and children's regular

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Improvements since the last inspection

access to malleable resources is not yet fully addressed as the new staff group develop their programme. The planning was to provide an overview of what children learn and how the topics link to the objectives. This is still ongoing.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 2004 there have been two complaints made to Ofsted regarding Standards 1, 2, 3, 11, 12 and 14. In the first instance a child care inspector made an un-announced visit to the setting and the provider was given two actions to comply with. Subsequently the manager resigned and a new manger was appointed.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The second complaint regarding Standard 11 was satisfactorily investigated by the provider and the no standards were breached. The provider remains qualified for registration.

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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 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 satisfactory. 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 satisfactory.

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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 children's health and safety is fully promoted by staff recording more detail in accident records and consistently following the risk assessment procedures, especially with regard to the covering of electrical sockets • ensure children consistently have opportunities to maximise their learning experiences, including during group activities, and access to resources which promote positive images in society • continue to develop methods of recording children's progress and how to share the information with parents • continue to update the policies, procedures and documents to reflect changes to the management of the setting, practice and regulations.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • continue to develop planning to regularly include all areas of learning and children's access to resources which provides them with free choice opportunities to assist in ensuring their progress • continue to develop the evaluation of activities and use the information to plan for individual children's future needs.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website:

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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 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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