Compton Pre-School

Compton Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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507897 Unique Reference Number 24 May 2007 Inspection date Doreen Forsyth Inspector

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Burrell Road, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 6NP Setting Address

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E-mail

Compton 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 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?

Compton Pre-School opened in 1968. It is a community organised pre-school that operates from a room at the Coronation Hall in the village of Compton, near Newbury in Berkshire. There is an enclosed covered area and garden available for outside play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to care for up to 20 children aged between two and five years old, currently there are 29 children on roll, including 25 children who are in receipt of government funded nursery education. The setting welcomes children with disabilities or learning difficulties, or children that speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens on weekdays during school term times. Sessions are from 09:15 until 11:45, with additional afternoon sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12:30 to 15:00. There is a lunch club after the session on Friday mornings.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are four full or part-time staff working with the children, of these three have recognised early years childcare qualifications at level three. 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 satisfactory. Children are adequately protected from infection and are well taken care of, if they should become ill because staff follow suitable health and hygiene practices and routines. There are three members of staff who have current first aid qualifications, they ensure there is always a first-aider present when the pre-school is open. The necessary records that help to promote children's health and safety are in place and appropriately maintained. The setting has suitable sickness policy in place which is shared with parents.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children learn good health and hygiene routines, for example, they are encouraged to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet, the setting provides paper towels to minimise the risk of cross infection. Children begin to learn to keep themselves healthy, for example, they know to use hats when playing outside in the sun, and they discuss healthy eating with the staff when they have their packed lunches. They are provided with varied and nutritious snacks, and always have good access to drinking water. Children have their own named water bottles, these are stored where the children can easily reach them.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to take part in regular physical activity, both inside in the large hall if the weather is unsuitable, or in the enclosed garden, where there is a range of climbing and balancing resources. There is also a covered area attached to the playroom, so that children can regularly have fresh air and play outside throughout the year.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a warm, welcoming and secure environment. The room used is light and bright and suitably maintained; posters and displays of children's work make the room attractive and welcoming to children and their families. Staff have good routines in place to keep children secure, the doors are bolted and the outside play area is mostly well fenced. Staff carry out regular risk assessments and have identified some potential hazards. There are some area of the garden that are not very safe for children, such a broken fence at the side of the building and uneven surfaces in the grassed areas. All the necessary fire equipment is in place and regularly inspected. The children practise regular fire evacuation procedures.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a range of suitable and safe equipment and toys. Some resources are kept where children can independently chose what they play with, others are stored in a large cupboard. Children usually chose from resources and activities that are set out for them at the beginning of the session.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well safeguarded because the pre-school staff understand their role in child protection and are able to put appropriate procedures into place if necessary. Parents are informed of the pre-school's responsibilities in regard to child protection.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are settled and happy at the pre-school. They confidently leave their parents and carers and settle well to play. When they arrive they happily go to the circle time activity and

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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 wait patiently for the other children to arrive and join in. They share their news and show items they have brought with them from home; most children listen to each other with interest and concentration. Staff provide children with a suitable range of activities which support their learning and development. Children form good relationships with the staff and with each other.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The playroom is appropriately arranged so that children can move around into the areas where different activities are provided, these include areas for imaginative and creative play. When children are in small groups, staff present activities that promote children's mathematical and language development. All of the six areas of learning are included in the range activities that are offered to the children. Staff have a general knowledge and understanding of how children learn and of the Foundation Stage of learning, but they are not planning well enough to ensure children learn and progress appropriately in all the areas. The planning is not based firmly enough on the stepping stones towards the early learning goals to ensure there are no gaps in the children's learning, staff do not always know what children should learn from the activities they present. However, the person-in-charge

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

records and evaluates some of the planned activities very well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The local authority assessment scheme is used to record children's progress, although these were not up to date at this inspection. Staff do not sufficiently use the information they gain from these assessments records to plan for children's individual progress along the stepping stones towards the early learning goals. Staff are beginning to find out from parents where children are in their learning when they first start at the nursery as they have recently introduced an 'all about me' information sheet, they do not yet use this information to build on what children already know and to move them forward in their learning on an individual basis.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are learning to share and take turns. For example, at snack time they share out the snacks and pass around the jugs of milk or water. Children are developing their independence, they give out cups and pour their own drinks at snack time, they find their water bottles if they are thirsty, they confidently manage their own toileting needs. Children enjoy having jobs to do such as ringing the bell for tidy up time. Children are learning to express their ideas and thought into words well, they are becoming confident speakers. They enjoy reading books and listening to stories both independently or in large groups. They excitedly choose books when the mobile library visits the pre-school. Children enjoy marking marks, they are learning to recognise their own names and some children write recognisable letters. Staff help children to link sounds to letters appropriately. Children's mathematical development is encouraged. Staff

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

use children's daily routines and spontaneous discussion to develop mathematical ideas. At circle time children help count the other children present, they sing number rhymes and use construction resources to explore and compare size, shape and position.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children begin to learn about the world about them. They have planted seeds and plants and are remembering to water them. They sometimes visit the local school and the head teacher visits the pre-school. They go on outings, recently the children and their families visited some bluebell woods in connection with their 'growing' topic. They celebrate special events such as sports day or the end of term, and learn about other's special occasions such as Chinese New Year or Diwali. At present the children's opportunities to use information technology to support their learning are limited as the pre-school computer is out of action. Children sing songs and listen to and move to music. They explore different malleable materials such as sand, water and play-dough and use a chalkboard outside. There is a daily craft activity set out for 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 session, this does not really allow children to explore any other creative materials and media and freely develop their own creativity.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are able to practise using their large muscles using the climbing and balancing resources, they learn about spatial awareness when taking part in music and movement activities. Children's fine muscle development and control is encouraged when they learn to control with safety tools such as scissors and glue sticks, cutters in the play-dough and spades in the sand.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All children are valued and welcomed into the setting. A member of staff has attended special needs co-ordinator training (Senco)and is able to help promote all children's learning needs. If necessary, the Senco seeks the advice of the local authority area special needs advisor. Children are encouraged to behave appropriately. Staff are skilled at acknowledging and praising children's good behaviour. Children enjoy receiving stickers as a reward. Children benefit from using resources or taking part in activities that help them to value diversity. The pre-school has a suitable range of resources such as dolls, small world figures and books that help to promote children's understanding of equal opportunities. The setting displays an attractive welcome poster written in different languages. Children learn well about different cultures and the wider world. Children's social, moral, spiritual and moral development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff build a strong partnership with parents; they are welcomed into the setting at any time. Parents are able to serve on the management committee and help with fund raising events. They receive a copy of the prospectus and are kept informed of the pre-school events in letters and from information on the notice-boards. The pre-school has a complaints procedure in place that complies with current legislation and a range of appropriate policies and procedures. However, these are kept stored on a shelf in the setting and are not easily available to parents.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers in regard to the nursery education is satisfactory. Parents receive good information about the nursery education programme in the prospectus and displays on the notice-boards. They receive information about the children's progress informally at the end of the play sessions and are able to see the records kept on their children at any time. They are informed of their child's key workers, however, they do not have any planned opportunities to find out about their children's progress; and do not have any real opportunities to tell the setting about their children's learning at home, except on the initial information record. Parents are kept informed about the topics the children are learning about and are encouraged to help their children to bring in associated items for show and tell.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The setting is suitably organised. Staff are well deployed and the space is organised appropriately to meet the children's needs. Most of the staff in the setting have suitable childcare qualifications, but some confusion about the role of the pre-school leader and the committee has resulted in there not being a clear vetting and employment procedure in place, so not all staff have been suitably vetted. Any unvetted staff do not have unsupervised contact with the children. Most of the necessary policies, procedures and records that help to promote children's health, safety and well-being are in place and appropriately kept, including an accurate record of children's, staff and visitor's attendance. The provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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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 leadership and management of the setting is satisfactory. The setting is organised and supported by an active parents' management committee. The committee members are often in the setting and use these opportunities to observe and monitor the provision of nursery education. The committee and pre-school leader are all relatively new to their roles after some periods of change, however, they have secure aims and visions for the future of the pre-school. Staff are encouraged to attend training, their developmental needs are reviewed at annual appraisals. The play-leader is skilled at monitoring and evaluating the provision offered using different evaluation tools; she has identified some of the areas of strength in the setting and some areas such as planning that require improvement.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting was requested to improve documentation, and obtain parent's written consent to seek emergency medical assistance if necessary. All required documentation is in place, including parents permission for emergency medical treatment. There were no key issues set at the last nursery education inspection, just a point for consideration regarding children's opportunities to write their names. At this inspection children were seen recognising their names, they have some opportunities to write their names when at the mark-making area.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 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 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 all parents have access to the pre-school policies and procedures, especially the complaints procedure • ensure the outside play areas are safe for children's use • ensure suitable recruitment, vetting and induction procedures are in place and that all staff undergo an appropriate vetting process.

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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):

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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 • revise the planning to ensure the activities presented are firmly based on the different aspects of the stepping stones towards the early learning goals • use the information gained from the assessment records kept on the children to plan for each child's individual learning • provide parents with more opportunities to find out about their children's progress and achievements and to share what they know about their children's learning at home.

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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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