Wizz Kids Pre-School

Wizz Kids Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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300784 Unique Reference Number 17 May 2007 Inspection date Geneen Yvonne Hulse-Brown Inspector

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Totley Primary School, Sunnyvale Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S17 4FB

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Setting Address

0114 2364319 Telephone number staff@wizz-kids.freeserve.co.uk E-mail Wizz Kids Pre-School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School 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 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?

Wiz Kids Pre-school is a committee run group with charitable status, which has been registered for full day care since June 2001. They operate from a single storey building in the grounds of Totley Primary School, in the Totley area of Sheffield. The setting has two main playrooms, an office/staff room, toilets, a kitchen and storage space. There is a secure outdoor play area, which they share with the school reception class and an additional play area for pre-school use only. The group serves the local community and further afield.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school cares for a maximum of 30 children aged from two to eight years, there are currently 175 children on roll, of whom, 32 receive funded nursery education. The pre-school offers full day care all year round and children attend for a variety of sessions per week between 08.00 and 18.00. In addition, they offer holiday play care, breakfast and an after school club to children attending Totley Primary School and Totley All Saints School. The group supports children with learning difficulties and 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 There are nine staff who work directly with the children, eight of whom hold relevant early years qualifications and one is unqualified. The pre-school receives support from the local authority community teacher, Community Childcare Network and Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children enthusiastically enjoy a broad range of activities, which contributes to keeping them healthy. They confidently make choices to play indoors or outside in all weather, well dressed in waterproof suits. They have fun splashing in puddles and mixing sand and water to make it slushy. Children confidently pedal bicycles, climb up solid frames, plant bulbs and play hide and seek in the storage boxes. They develop good physical skills as they manoeuvre around obstacles and find space to play at a table or sit on the rug. Out of school children enjoy outings to the local area as well as further afield during school holidays. Children competently balance fruit and the fruit basket on their heads walking with care as they act familiar stories. They effectively manipulate small tools, such as scissors, pencils, paintbrushes and knives to build their fine motors skills. Children help to cut fruit for snack and pour their own drinks with

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Helping children to be healthy

increasing confidence. They have fun making play dough and then squeezing and moulding it to make shapes and models.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff provide numerous opportunities for children to talk about being healthy, through the use of projects and planned topics, such as tasting different fruit at snack time. They discuss whether the fruit has seeds or pips and then consider planting the pips to see if they will grow. Children demonstrate a good understanding of a healthy diet, as staff talk to them about healthy eating as part of the daily routine. They recognise their likes and dislikes and those of others pointing out who likes banana and who doesn't. The children enjoy social snack and meal times, where they can sit together around small tables, chat and share news. Snack is offered as a rolling programme where the children choose when and what to eat. They proudly show off faces they have made from crackers, cheese and grapes. Staff take into account children’s individual dietary needs when planning snacks. Children bring packed lunches or enjoy school meals

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Helping children to be healthy

dependant on parental choice and are accompanied across to the school hall to choose their own meals to bring back to pre-school. Older children at the out of school and holiday club enjoy planning their own snacks and baking activities.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are cared for in a warm, clean environment, where good methods ensure they develop a broad understanding of personal hygiene, such as hand washing before baking and after messy activities. Children know they wash their hands to remove germs. Well organised systems are in place to promote the children's general health, for example, accident and medication recording and all staff hold a current first aid certificate, which is regularly updated as part of the pre-school training plan.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a secure and safe environment where all risks are minimised and staff make creative use of tired premises. Discussions are in process to begin fund raising to renovate the premises. Effective use of displays, children’s work and planned activity areas enable the children to enjoy a fun environment and develop their independence. Children move around the premises with confidence as they negotiate and choose where to play. They make active

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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 choices of indoor or outdoor activities as they learn how to keep themselves safe. Children understand that they walk indoors and take care when climbing, as staff sensitively remind them of agreed practices. Effective use of topics and regular discussions, for example, local walks to help them learn how to cross the road reminds children about keeping safe and consolidates their understanding. Premises are safe and secure as experienced staff effectively monitor all access to the children's play areas and recording systems accurately record all present. Visitors to the setting are checked and asked to sign the visitor’s book on arrival.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children make active choices of what to play with from a broad range of easily accessible resources and request anything they cannot see. Well planned areas allow them space to be quiet, use their creativity, extend their imagination and develop their play. Children benefit from open access to a well planned and imaginatively designed outdoor play area, as well as to the school shared area. They can explore and have fun, for example, planning barbeques, filling buckets with water, mixing sand, planting and weeding and crawling in and over large pipes.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Secure procedures are in place to support good practice, as all staff must complete basic child protection training and renew it every three years. The manager and child protection officer are booked to attend the Local Safeguarding Children Board training in the summer to further develop their understanding of the changes to legislation prior to implementing it in the setting. Effective systems are in place to ensure children are kept safe, as the staff understand their role in protecting children and use this information to promote the children’s well-being.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at pre-school and make good progress in all areas of development. This is due to knowledgeable staff planning interesting activities and fun experiences to motivate and stimulate them. Effective use the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage ensures they provide good quality care and education. Children are happy, secure and well settled as they enthusiastically undertake an interesting range of stimulating activities. They actively make choices about their play, by selecting resources that build on what they know, extend their experiences and develop their thinking.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate good independent skills to successfully plan their own time and make decisions about what to do, for example, choosing to play indoors or outside. They plan role plays being mermaids and princesses, finding their favourite dressing up clothes. The children are curious and interested in all around them, as they confidently move between activities playing with friends. They ask visitors what they are doing and engage them in conversations with confidence. Children actively seek the support of staff to help find a chosen resource or join in their games, for example, when mixing sand and water outside in the rain. Children establish very good relationships with staff and children alike, as they confidently seek friends to play with and involve adults in their discussions. They recall birthdays and talk about new babies at home with enthusiasm.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff respond consistently to the children's individual needs and adapt activities to follow their ideas and suggestions, making changes to the routine as needed, such as when extending role plays. Children are encouraged and supported to try out new skills and solve their own problems, for example, working out which piece is needed to join up the train track. Staff effectively use observations and their knowledge of the children to build on what they can do to extend

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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 activities at the child's own pace. Older children attending out of school and holiday care suggest activities for the staff to resource and plan outings to a large toy shop and countryside.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Experienced staff demonstrate a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage to ensure that children progress well in all areas of development. Children are interested and motivated to learn through well planned and spontaneous activities and experiences, which challenge and extend them. They show good levels of concentration and have free access to tools and materials, such as construction blocks to build simple and complex models. Children extend their imagination enthusiastically, making up stories, exploring their creativity in a well planned area and playing with animals. Books are effectively used to support activities and help extend the children’s thinking, for example, staff reading a railway story when playing with the trains.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children build and design, extending their imagination and their natural creativity using a wide variety of craft materials, as they have free access throughout sessions to make choices. They enjoy mixing paints, talking about colours and make models from play dough. Children see a wide range of artists and their work imaginatively displayed in the craft corner to introduce them to the diversity of art. Children are confident speakers; they listen intently to each other, sharing experiences, talking about home, family and events with enthusiasm. At snack time they discuss different fruits and what they need to grow and excitedly talk about growing cress at home. Staff are very interested in what the children say, they listen intently, consistently offering support and suggestions to enhance their experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are very confident and engage well with each other and welcome visitors, sharing their achievements and negotiating roles in games. They play well together and alone to enthusiastically progress their ideas. Behaviour is very good and reflects the staff's high expectations. Children take turns and share, learning how to manage their own behaviour and respect for others. They enjoy learning about the lives of others through topics, visitors and planned activities. Stories from around the world introduce children to other cultures and festivals as they enthusiastically recall the story lines. Children learn about growth by planting bulbs and bedding plans. They enthusiastically weed the pots and discuss the weather as they play outdoors. Children excitedly play in the rain and play hide and seek in the store cupboards.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are consistently introduced to number and problem solving through daily activities, counting and sorting as part of daily routines. At group time they sing and play ring games. They count the number of children making play dough and when singing work out how many are left when one is taken away. Children confidently use mathematical language talking about colours and shapes when building. They excitedly recall outings to look at houses and flowers on a walk as they follow the story along a picture display. Children competently balance using scales to weigh flour and margarine to make shortbread. They patiently wait their turn to stir mixture and add ingredients, although they have their own bowls and tools to aid individual participation and further extend independence. They are developing good problem solving skills as they know to add more flour to stop the mixture being too sticky. Children have fun

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

making patterns in paint, gloop and sand.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Well organised observation systems are in place to effectively monitor the children's progress. Staff complete regular observations based on the stepping stones to assess where the children are at and plan the next steps. They have recently implemented a new planning and assessment system based on the Foundation Stage guidance, however, it is too early to clearly see the

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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 impact on the process. It is not clear how these assessments will identify the next steps for individual children to influence planning and aid progression.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children successfully undertake a wide range of focused and freely chosen activities, with staff responding and making changes to incorporate the children’s ideas and suggestions. Staff demonstrate a broad knowledge of the early learning goals, and use this to plan a challenging and interesting curriculum that includes all areas of learning. Open ended questions are effectively used to extend children's language, develop their thinking and value what they say, for example, when playing outside they talk about having a barbeque and what foods they are going to use. Well presented displays of the children’s work successfully contribute to promoting their self-esteem. Excellent photographic evidence supports staff to demonstrate how children learn and progress. Memory books are sited in every area including outdoors to support all learning aspects and children enthusiastically recall events and activities as they play in these

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children build strong and respectful relationships with staff and each other, making friends easily and seeking them out to play with. They demonstrate good self-esteem, to confidently ask questions and actively make choices, as they are warmly welcomed by sensitive staff. Children receive consistent praise and encouragement as staff value their individuality and support them to learn and progress. They are reminded to share and count how many trains each person has to make sure there are enough for all to play with. At group time they know why they cross their legs to make room for others and so as not to trip over. They take turns to mix play dough and make drinks for each other in the home corner. Meaningful activities help children become aware of similarities and differences, which in turn increases their understanding of the wider world. They intently listen to stories about children in other countries,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

talking about how hot it is and what fruit grows there. Children enjoy exploring on local walks to broaden their knowledge of the local community and this is well supported by photographs and displays of what they saw on their walk. The pictures show the children looking at houses, plants and flowers, building work as well as the postman collecting the mail. They excitedly recall these outings as they look at the pictures together and with adults. Out of school children enjoy visits further afield during the holidays.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Books, toys and pictures promote positive images around the setting. Staff and children share their home experiences with each other as part of planned and spontaneous activities. A display of different houses shows how children have explored where each other lives. Children's behaviour is very good and reflects the staff's high expectations. Children understand consistent boundaries, demonstrating care and respect for each other. They share, negotiate and take turns when playing games and using equipment, for example, when waiting for room at the snack table, taking turns when building the train track and listen with interest to what each other has to say at group time. Staff role model good practice by showing care and consideration for others for the children to imitate and develop their skills. Out of school children negotiate their own club rules and set agreed boundaries. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities

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Helping children make a positive contribution

are well supported by pre-school staff and other professionals during the holiday sessions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Staff consistently keep parents well informed about what the children are doing at pre-school, sharing information on a daily basis at the beginning and end of sessions. Parents receive regular updates of where their children are at and what they are working towards. Staff and parents work well together to meet the children's

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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 individual needs. The setting has effective systems in place for parents to show how the stepping stones helps children progress. Parents confidently approach staff and demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with the setting. They are extremely happy with the service offered. Parents agree that they are well informed, able to discuss concerns as they arise and receive lots of information about their children’s all round progress. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The leadership and management of the pre-school are good. Effective organisation of the educational provision ensures that children's care and learning are well supported in both pre-school and out of school provision. A well experienced staff team demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to make sure that children's individual needs are successfully met. They have established strong working relationships to ensure that they follow effective procedures to develop, monitor and evaluate the provision. The management team have started to use the self evaluation to review and assess the provision and highlight areas for development. A well constituted and committed management committee is in place to monitor and support the pre-school.

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Organisation

There is a high commitment to training and development to consolidate practices and further enhance the provision as staff access a wide range of in house and local authority training courses. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in place to support good practice and offer an effective service, which continues to be reviewed to meet changes to working practices. The staff meet together daily to share information, discuss practice and raise concerns as they arise. Regular planning and staff meetings are used to review and evaluate activities and working practice. Staff have started to use a new observation and assessment system to monitor children's progress and identify gaps in the provision, however, it has only been in practice for four weeks and does not yet offer a clear picture of where children are at. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Previous recommendations from the last inspection for care and nursery education related to allowing children freedom to cut, use scissors and access a range of one handed tools has been successfully addressed. Children make active choices from a wide range of easily accessible tools and materials. This effectively supports independent learning for children to enjoy and achieve.

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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 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): • continue to develop staff's understanding of new procedures and update policies in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board recommendations.

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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): • monitor and review the new planning and assessment systems to ensure it meets the needs of all children and identifies the next steps in the learning process

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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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