Burnham Market Nursery School

Burnham Market Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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253970 Unique Reference Number 21 June 2007 Inspection date Anne Walker Inspector

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Friars Lane, Burnham Norton, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 8JA Setting Address

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E-mail

Burnham Market Pre-School Playgroup Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Burnham Market Playgroup is a committee run group with charitable status. It opened in 1973 and operates from a classroom at Burnham Market Primary School. It serves the rural area surrounding the small town of Burnham Market, north Norfolk. A maximum of 22 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. The group opens each weekday during school term times from 09:15 to 11:45, followed by a lunch club which runs until 13:00. The children have access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 30 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these, 16 children receive funding for early education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The playgroup currently supports a number of children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The playgroup employs five part-time members of staff. All of these hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. They are members of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and the Norfolk Early Years Support Network.

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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. Through daily routines the children learn the importance of good hygiene to their health and are encouraged to contribute to this. They use soap and warm water to wash their hands with minimal adult support and help the adults clean and prepare the table before snack. Their lunch boxes are stored in the fridge to ensure foods remain fresh. Sun hats are worn and suncream applied during the summer. Children cooperate and understand it is to protect them from the sun. All of the staff hold a current first aid certificate which ensures that there is good provision to deal with any accidents that may occur.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are involved in the decision making about what to have for their snack. They enjoy a broad range of fruits and vegetables and readily express their preferences. As well as fruits they eat cheese and items such as savoury biscuits. Drinks of fruit juice, milk or water are provided at snack time and drinking water is available at other times. Dietary needs are known and acted upon to ensure that children's health is safeguarded. There are clear dietary records readily available for staff to refer to and newer staff are confident to check with their team mates where necessary.

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Helping children to be healthy

Good use is made of the outside area so that significant periods of the session are outdoors. Children run freely, they scale the climbing frame and slide down to the ground. They are confident users of the tricycles and tractors and can steer and pedal with coordination. Adults play actively alongside children as they carry out action rhymes or engage in games with the parachute. This role modelling encourages children to see exercise as an enjoyable part of their day.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The children are received into a clean, bright environment that has been well prepared. The furniture is arranged so that children can move around safely and are visible when they are playing on the floor. Children contribute to tidying and are learning the importance of this to prevent accidents. Their carers ensure that spilt sand or water are removed and explain to children why they are doing it. Good measures exist to ensure that this environment is maintained at all times and children are looked after safely. Children are supervised well because staff deploy themselves appropriately indoors and out and when overseeing children as they go to the toilet. Fire procedures are detailed and exits are kept clear. The drill has been practised with children so that they are able to cooperate with the adults in safely evacuating the building.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

A range of well-maintained child-sized furniture, ensures that children can access their play and make selections of additional equipment easily. The playgroup is well resourced with toys and equipment. These are developmentally appropriate for the pre-school children and are kept clean and in good order.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The welfare of children is promoted as their carers have a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to child protection. The whole team have recently undertaken updated training and the settings policy and current guidance are readily to hand on the notice board if needed.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children arrive in the morning to an attractively organised environment that promotes their curiosity and are welcomed by staff who are ready to support them. Consequently most children leave their parent or carer easily and settle to an activity of their choice, or join up with a friend to play and exchange greetings. They show good levels of independence in their environment, moving between activities at their own pace and playing outdoors as well as inside. Even the youngest children express their interests and needs, whether this is for help at the bathroom or to have the tape recorder out to listen to stories and music.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They respond confidently to the morning routine and remind staff when they forget to put on the 'tidy away' music. They keenly engage with the adults, whether this is preparing snack, imaginative games outside, or reading together in the story corner. They have good social skills and take turns at the snack table to talk about events at home or what they have been doing at playgroup. Staff have regard to the guidance 'Birth to three matters' and use this when planning for the youngest children and to consider how to support their next steps in learning so that they have appropriate challenges.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Most of the children's morning is free choice where they make decisions about where and at which activities they wish to spend time. A whole group circle time takes place towards the end of the session and is often too long and not organised effectively to settle the youngest children and hold their attention. The older children also struggle to concentrate because of distractions. Overall this means staff have less effective time to engage with them and extend the challenges for them during circle time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The staff have a working knowledge of the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage and use this to plan a broad and interesting range of activities that cover all six areas included in the guidance. They show good awareness of how young children learn and plan the morning so that children can actively take part in things that interest them, both indoors and in the outdoor environment. This recognises that individual children are motivated to learn in different ways and staff readily to respond to this. Number cards are outside and children are interested in ordering them by laying them out on the grass and they find numbers significant to them, such as their current age or the age they used to be. They use spades to dig and compare the sizes of the worms they find in the soil.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are encouraged to think and express ideas through good questioning. When looking at a photograph album belonging to a member of staff they explore what has changed about her and what is the same. This fosters their understanding of the process of growth and change. They consider rhyming words, finding words that sound similar to their names. On occasions the grouping of children, such as circle time, means that this good practice is used less effectively to fully stimulate and challenge the older children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Clear systems have been established to assess and record children's progress. Observations are carried out regularly and are linked to the stepping stones. Examples of children's work also provides evidence of their achievements. The staff understand the link between planning and assessment and they bring what they have learnt about the children to planning meetings to ensure that future activities are relevant. Purposeful focused activities are planned to give staff

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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 specific opportunities to observe children. Some aspects of the planning and evaluation of these are not fully refined to ensure older children always have appropriate challenges.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Information is recorded at the point of entry to identify children's individual needs and staff support children appropriately within the daily playgroup routines. The settling procedures enable parents and children to get to know the staff, routines and environment in order that they feel comfortable and secure. Staff build on this so that the children have a firm sense of belonging to the playgroup community. They readily exchange news, make suggestions of things they would like to do, request help if they need it and join with their friends in play. There are appropriate systems in place to support children with learning disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Positive strategies that are consistently applied help children understand the boundaries. Children are helped to understand why they are being praised or why they are being asked not to do something because they are given explanations that are appropriate for their level of development. Staff take time to listen to what children have to say. They understand that each child is different and strive to develop strategies that best help that child. Consequently children are cooperative and get on well with their peers and carers. There are a good range of play materials and resources that foster children's awareness of the wider world and help them respect peoples similarities and differences. These things contribute to children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development being fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are able to influence the running of the setting by becoming a member of the committee. They are encouraged to share their skills with the children and can help at sessions which provides them with an insight into how the setting teaches children through play. Notice boards display a good range of helpful information including the current play planning. Parents are often asked to contribute items to topics, for example, children are looking at 'new life' and are considering how we grow from babies to adults. Pictures of themselves as babies or toddlers have been brought in from home and initiate lots of discussion about how they have changed. Children's development records are available to parents so that they can see the progress that staff have noted as well as examples of their work. A library service is available so that books from playgroup can be shared at home to

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Helping children make a positive contribution

further promote children's interest in reading and storytelling.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children's development and welfare are promoted as a result of the consistent and qualified team who look after the children. There is a clear management structure which ensures that each session is staffed by a balanced team and less experienced team members have role models and guidance at hand. Good measures are in place for staff to attend training in order that they keep their skills updated and learn new ones that enhances their work with the children.

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Organisation

Policies and procedures are in place and generally consistently applied. There are systems to check staffs' health as part of the suitability for their post but it has not been part of a recent recruitment. The procedures for gaining consent and recording medication given, are understood by staff. On occasions the paperwork has not been used as it was intended so that parental instructions and what was administered are less clear. These things may compromise the quality

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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 of care children receive. Personal records for children and staff are readily to hand but stored in a confidential manner to protect their privacy. Overall children's needs are met.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. The committee and manager have established working relationships with the primary school from which they operate. Professional exchanges and discussions take place which aim to help children transfer to full-time education as easily as possible. Managers have the skills and knowledge to support and monitor the nursery education provision being delivered by staff and act as a mentor. Regular planning and assessment meetings ensure that staff have opportunities to reflect and consider what children should be learning next. Active fundraising by the committee provides the playgroup with a good range of resources to enable children's learning and development in varied ways.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider agreed to develop staff's behaviour management skills, improve privacy for children when changing their nappies and introduce procedures to follow in the event of a child being lost.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Staff have attended short courses in behaviour management to extend their skills in this area. In order to provide a consistent approach within the staff group they regularly re-visit the behaviour management policy and discuss any current concerns in order to agree strategies. These measures ensure that children are managed in a way that is developmentally appropriate and in a consistent fashion in order that they understand the boundaries and expectations that are expected of them.

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Improvements since the last inspection

When changing nappies, the playgroup are able to use the toilet for the disabled in the school building. This ensures that there is privacy for children. A clear lost child policy has been introduced and this is displayed so that families understand the settings responsibilities if such an event was to occur.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider agreed to develop staff's knowledge of the early learning goals, extend opportunities for older children to use books to widen their vocabulary and to extend the use of mathematical activities into everyday routines.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Managers provide regular training opportunities for staff and this is effectively overseen to ensure that staff build on their skills and knowledge. The team is now more firmly established, including the manager's role which was established to mentor and support staff in this area. Staff have attended relevant training and have a sound knowledge of the early learning goals. Storytelling and books are an integral part of each session. They are part of the way that is used to extend children's vocabulary and help them understand the concept of a word. The children engage in counting and mathematical activities as part of their daily routine. They count out the pieces of each type of fruit they are offered at snack, spontaneously compare the size of feet when they recognise there are two children wearing the same shoes and worms when they dig in the garden.

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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 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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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that the record keeping systems already in place are consistently used, with regard to health declarations for staff and the consent and administration records for medication • improve the organisation of circle time to ensure the challenges are appropriate for all children [This applies to care and nursery education]

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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 refine the use of the assessment and planning systems to ensure that children are more consistently set clear and appropriate challenges, with particular regard to the four-year-olds.

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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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