Holy Trinity Church of England Junior School

Findon Village Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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113785 Unique Reference Number 12 June 2007 Inspection date Rosemary Musgrove Inspector

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Youth Club, High Street, Findon Village, Nr Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 0TA

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E-mail

Findon Village Pre School 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?

Findon Village Pre-School opened in 1989. It is a community run group and operates from a room in Findon Youth Centre in the village of Findon, West Sussex. There is an outdoor play area. The setting opens each weekday during term times. Sessions are from 09:15 - 12:00. The group mainly serves families from the local residential area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Registration is for a maximum of 24 children at any one time. There are currently 28 children aged from two to five years on roll. Of these, 19 receive funding for nursery education. There are no children on roll with learning difficulties or disabilities or who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are six members of staff and four have suitable early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the Local Authority.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children enthusiastically take part in a varied range of physical activities. These contribute to their health and physical development. Each day, they play in the outdoor area and gradually acquire the skills necessary to control their bodies. Children enjoy bouncing on the mini trampoline and practise their balancing skills as they climb over tyres. Adults help children to develop a variety of ball skills, such as, hitting a ball with a variety of different bats.

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Helping children to be healthy

Snack time is a pleasant sociable occasion. Children sit at a table and talk with their friends and staff about important events. Children choose when to have their food and drink. This means they can have a break when an activity comes to a natural end. Children learn to make their own choices and select milk or water for a drink. They choose a healthy snack from a range that includes slices of apple and carrot. They show good levels of independence as they cut up pieces of apples and bananas. Fresh drinking water is available at all times and children learn to pour their drink from a jug.

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Helping children to be healthy

All staff have a current first aid certificate. This means they can administer first aid in the event of an emergency. If children have an infectious disease, they do not attend. This means that other children do not catch unwanted illnesses. The setting has written parental permission to seek emergency medical treatment. Accident records are well maintained with an appropriate amount of detail.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are looked after in a clean and hygienic environment. They learn the importance of good personal hygiene through gentle reminders from staff. Generally, children show good levels of independence in their toileting skills and regularly wash their own hands, for example, after visiting the toilet and before eating their fruit.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play in an attractive and welcoming environment. The walls are adorned with the children's artwork or stimulating materials. In the quiet room, there are attractive nursery rhyme murals, such as Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet. The setting has a good range of interesting resources for use indoors and outside. These include a range of craft materials and a wealth of equipment to enhance the children's sand and water play. Children are confident and motivated as they choose their own resources within a stimulating and well-organised environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The premises are secure and there are effective procedures for the safe arrival and departure of the children. There are written guidelines to follow in the event of a lost or uncollected child. Staff are aware of potential hazards and do daily risk assessments. Before children arrive, an adult checks a number of items, for example, the playground and the condition and cleanliness of the toys. Children learn to take responsibility for themselves. They take part in regular fire drills and are encouraged to walk when they are inside the building.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The setting has good procedures for keeping children safe on outings. Before a trip to the village post office, the manager does a full risk assessment. Children and staff wear reflective jackets and a high number of adults accompany the children. After the outing, a full evaluation is done in order to inform and improve the planning of future trips.

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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 in the setting are protected because the manager and some staff have a good understanding of their role in child protection, through training courses. The setting has the relevant documentation, knows what action to take and the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children at Findon Village Pre-School really thrive in a child-friendly, exciting and stimulating environment. They arrive happily, settle quickly and are thoroughly absorbed in a wide range of worthwhile activities throughout the session. At the beginning of the day, staff prepare many interesting activities that support learning in a variety of areas. These include small world play, such as dinosaurs and soil, free painting or constructing a model. Staff replicate the indoor activities outside; this means that children have a wide choice both inside and outdoors. Children are very confident and independent. This is because resources are organised well and easily accessible, for example, the equipment in the role play kitchen and the implements in the graphics area. As children take part in activities, such as, building a rocket or going shopping with their buggy, staff develop their language skills and extend their learning with open ended

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young children spend their time concentrating and enjoy activities that are suitable for their age and stage of development. They love moulding the Play Dough, dressing up and talking on the telephone. They have plenty of opportunities to explore textures and objects using their senses. Young children begin to develop their social skills. They sit with a friend and share a book or play alongside them in the kitchen area.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff understand that children develop and achieve at different rates. When planning activities or setting up resources they take this into account. Some staff have done training on Birth to three matters and most staff have an understanding of this guidance.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a good working knowledge of the Foundation Stage and areas of learning. The setting has made a successful start on curriculum planning and has the key elements in place. Short term planning is detailed and focuses on workshop areas, such as literacy and investigation. For each area, staff plan resources and learning intentions that are linked to the Foundation Stage. Staff are evaluating and further developing this system. Currently, they record what children do and feed this information into future planning. Each week there is a focused activity; key workers transfer these assessments into the child's developmental records. However, these observations are not yet rigorous enough to underpin and inform an individual child's future learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are very motivated and thrive on new challenges. They concentrate well and are very absorbed at self-chosen activities, for example, digging with spades, or dressing a doll ready for a party. Children are very independent and take care of many of their personal needs. They put on their boots and take their finished paintings to a special place. Children play well together and understand the need to take turns and share resources.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Many children speak with confidence during circle time and role play activities. They enjoy selecting books, and like to browse them with a friend or an adult. There are many opportunities to develop mark making and early writing skills, for example, children compile shopping lists

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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 in the outdoor role play area. Children are beginning to understand that writing is a form of communication. Many children have a knowledge of initial letters and can recognise them in the environment. The graphics workshop gives children a stimulating area to practise their mark making skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are aware of numbers and use them in everyday activities, for example, they count their pieces of fruit during snack time. Number games, such as, the spotty game, help children to develop early number recognition and counting skills. Many children are confident in counting numbers from one to ten in a familiar context. Children's understanding of shape, space and measure is developing well. Young children use the compare bears to learn about patterns and sequencing and there are a wealth of opportunities for children to explore the properties of sand and water.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are very enthusiastic as they use programmable toys. They know how to use the arrow keys and make it follow their chosen route. Staff work alongside the children and encourage them to use directional language. Children use the outdoor learning environment extensively during the entire session. A number of children spontaneously create a small garden from a variety of leaves and twigs, while another group explore water as it flows down the muddy area. Children absolutely love this outdoor area, and are truly learning by experimenting, investigating and having fun. Children learn about the wider world when visitors bring rescue animals and lambs into the setting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate good co-ordination skills. They use a wide range of implements, such as scissors and glue spreaders in the making area and rolling pins and shape cutters in the malleable area. Children have many opportunities to express themselves through creative activities. These include painting, creating models and singing. They enthusiastically squeeze paint on to the tables, explore the texture and make a pattern in the paint. Finally, they carefully lay a piece of paper over the top and watch with wonder, as they create their own print.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Staff are aware of children's individual needs and try to ensure their preferences are met. For example, they know about individual dietary requirements. Staff encourage children to talk about things that are important to them and their family, such as, a recent holiday or a new baby. Children learn about a variety of different festivals and cultures. During Diwali celebrations, they create clay candleholders and for Chinese New Year they paint beautiful red dragon pictures, taste prawn crackers and make dragon boats. Through stories, children learn about the needs of others, for example, blind or disabled people. Children take part in charity events such as Red Nose Day; this means they learn to help other people. There are good links with the local school. The reception teacher makes regular visits to the pre-school and before children transfer, they visit their new school. These links help children to have a smooth and happy

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The manager and one member of staff have joint responsibility for providing appropriate care for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. They have attended a good range of suitable training. This includes courses on helping children with communication difficulties and on writing play plans. Currently, there are no children on roll who have additional requirements. However, the setting has the knowledge and systems in place to support a child to ensure their needs are met.

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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 The setting has a behaviour management policy. This states the manager is responsible for behaviour management issues. Children in the setting behave well and respond to requests for suitable behaviour. Staff use appropriate strategies with the children. These include gentle reminders, for example, that cushions are for sitting on, in order to browse a book. Staff successfully use distraction techniques and divert a child's attention to another interest. Children learn important social skills. They can share and take turns, for example, during a number game. Children benefit from plenty of praise and encouragement. This means they have a positive attitude to learning and are developing a good self-esteem. These positive aspects of the provision foster children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. This contributes to the children's well-being in the setting. Before children start, they visit with their parents; this means the setting glean information about the children. Their parents help staff to put important developmental details in the individual records. Communication with parents is good. This includes regular newsletters, a parent's folder and a notice board. Parents have an information sheet that explains how the setting uses observations and developmental records. For funded children, this information includes details about the Foundation Stage and the six areas of learning. Parents have the opportunity to look at their child's developmental records and discuss these with their child's key worker. This means they know about their child's achievements. The setting has a detailed, written complaints procedure in place and knows that any complaints received must be recorded.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are happy with the setting. In particular, they value the regular parent evenings, meeting their child's key worker, seeing the developmental records and the fantastic activities that children enjoy each day.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Staff with suitable experience and childcare qualifications care for the children. Many attend regular training, such as first aid and child protection. The setting strives to improve through continual evaluation of current organisation and practice. This means the children have a good level of care and support, which helps them to feel secure and make progress in their learning. Staff deployment is effective and children are well supervised. Areas of learning are stimulating and resources are suitable for the age and developmental stage of the children.

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Organisation

All mandatory documentation that is required for the safe and effective management of the setting is in place. This is generally well maintained and securely stored. However, the record of children's attendance does not show accurate times of the children's departure and arrival. The setting have a number of policies that contribute to the welfare of the children, these include settling in procedures and an outings policy. The setting keep detailed child development records. Parents see these on a regular basis and they contribute to the continuity of the children's care.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. The manager is enthusiastic and committed to improvement. She continually updates her knowledge and attends regular training. This means she has a good understanding of current childcare practice and can support and develop the care and learning of the children. The manager has action plans to ensure that areas of improvement are addressed in a systematic way. These plans include information on targets and monitoring success. Each member of staff has a training plan; this means they regularly update and improve their knowledge. Staff appraisal is in place and staff discuss their future developments and evaluate progress during the past year. There are suitable recruitment procedures and induction takes place in the first week of a new appointment. The manager is

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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 currently working on an induction pack for new staff. All staff attend a weekly staff meeting. They evaluate the previous week and make plans for future teaching and learning.

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Organisation

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 inspection the setting were asked to ensure all visitors sign the visitor's book and that training is undertaken by the staff responsible for children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The visitor's book is now used every day and two staff have completed training in order to support children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The setting were asked to improve short term planning, to monitor the quality of teaching and to ensure staff undertake training in order to improve teaching and learning. The setting were asked to develop a programme for mathematics so children can increase their awareness of mathematics in practical activities, and regularly use mathematical vocabulary to explore, solve problems and make progress in learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The setting has progressed well in these areas. Detailed short term planning is in place and this means children take part in suitable activities. The setting monitors the quality of teaching through regular staff meetings and has introduced a system of staff appraisal. This means that children's learning experiences are evaluated and improved. All staff have a training programme and some staff have done mathematics training. This means they have the knowledge to improve the children's programme of teaching. The setting has successfully incorporated mathematical vocabulary into everyday activities and children use this language to explore and solve problems.

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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. 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 records show accurate times of children's attendance.

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The quality and standards of the care

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 nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • further extend observations and assessments to plan the next steps of the children's learning.

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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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