Buckingham Pre-School PlaygroupOfsted inspection, 18 May 2005

Buckingham Pre-School Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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Buckingham Pre-School Playgroup

Unique Reference Number EY299049 Inspection date 18 May 2005 Inspector Cordalee Harrison

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Buckingham Pre-School Playgroup

Setting Address Buckingham Cricket Club, Bourton Road, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 1BG Telephone number 01280 816228

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E-mail

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

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E-mail

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

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

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

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

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

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Buckingham pre-school Playgroup was first registered in 1967 and operated from Bourton Centre Linden Village Buckingham. In 2004, the pre-school registered at the Buckingham Town Cricket Club Buckingham Buckinghamshire. The pre-school is managed by a parent management committee. It operates from one room in the cricket club. A maximum of 20 children from two to under five years may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is opened Tuesday, Wednesday

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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 Thursday and Fridays 09.15 to 11.45 and 12.30 to 15.00 Tuesday and Fridays, term time only. There are currently 48 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 38 children, receive funding for nursery education. Children come from Linden village and the surrounding area. There no children on roll with special educational needs and no children with English as an additional language. The pre-school employs eight staff, two of the staff hold appropriate early years qualification and two staff including the person-in charge are currently working towards a level 3 qualification in early years childcare and education.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are learning to make healthy choices about food through topic work and from the variety of healthy snacks provided by staff. Children know when their appetites are satisfied and when to ask for more drinks and snacks. Children are learning self care skills; they know what items of clothing they need when weather is warm or cold, they also know that sun cream and hats are needed when the weather is hot. Through discussion and regular practice children are developing good hygiene habits; they wash their hands after doing activities, before eating and know the reason why it is important, a child explains that they wash their hands to keep them clean and to get rid of the germs. Children enjoy physical activities at each session; they have fun and stay fit and healthy, through activities and resources that develop fine and gross motor skills. They learn to control their movements when they march, skip, jump, clap, point use

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Helping children to be healthy

the rolling pins and cut with scissors. Children show a positive attitude to participating in physical activities; they are beginning to recognise some of the changes that take place in the body after vigorous exercise. Children’s good health is safe guarded through the completion of children’s health records, appropriate first aid equipment and sufficient number of staff qualified in first aid.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children have easy access to sufficient well maintained resources; they select and use resources independently and are confident in their surroundings. Staff do not use a risk assessment procedure that is comprehensive and systematic to ensure all aspects of children’s safety in the setting. Children’s risk of accidental injury is minimised by staff’s satisfactory safety and security precautions. Children are

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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 generally safe and secure in the premises, they use all accessible areas with independence. The staff’s basic knowledge of child protection adequately protects children’s welfare. However, staff do not have a secure knowledge of child protection and all aspects of policy. Staff’s good supervision ensures that accidents are minimised, children know the boundaries to keep themselves safe, for example, children know not to climb on the chairs and the reasons for not doing so. The fire safety precautions adequately protect children; all children practise the fire drills and most children respond quickly when the whistle sounds.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are confident in their surroundings; they speak clearly and give information about the items they have brought from home to deepen their understanding of the colour purple. They speak freely to share experiences and listen intently to stories. All of the children are engaged in purposeful activities as they select and carry out activities and take some responsibility for their personal care. Children show concern for others; older children help younger ones with everyday tasks, such as putting on indoor shoes and when dressing up. Children involve others in their play and make good relationships with their peers and adults in the group. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning are satisfactory. Children make satisfactory progress in their learning across all areas of the curriculum. However, not all staff are fully confident in their knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum. Staff plan

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

suitable activities for all of the children in the setting, they identify learning intentions under each area of learning. Staff do not use observation records linked to the stepping stones to identify children’s achievements or plan the next step in individual children’s learning. This results in a curriculum that is not sufficiently differentiated between the older and younger children. Children are developing a sense of time and place they talk about what happens when they are away from the group. Through topics and themes, they are exploring the natural world, including how and why plants and seeds grow, and the life cycle of living creatures such as frogs. However, there are few opportunities for them to learn about cultural diversity and others in the wider community. They are attempting to write for a variety of purposes, but there is a lack of written words to extend their understanding that written words carry many different

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

meanings, for example link words to objects. They count to 15 and beyond, however, staff do not provide enough focus maths activities to allow children to solve simple number problems or to replicate written numbers in everyday activities. Children show good imagination and use role play to practise what they know, extend their communication skills and initiate play. Children respond enthusiastically to music and movement. General art activities do not encourage children to explore

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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 creativity through their own designs. Children show good levels of co-ordination and awareness of space. Staff’s good planning of physical activities enables children to practise large movements and have fun even when in doors.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are developing good self-esteem and individual identities; they make individual choices and are involved in purposeful activities. Children behave well through the staff's clear boundaries, guidance and appropriate methods for dealing with behaviour. Children know when they have done well through the staff's acknowledgement and praise; children take turns, share and show concern for others. The staff's good relationships with the children and open lines of communication with parents ensure they meet the care needs of individual children, but a lack of observation and recording means that there is no system or procedure to be certain children's developmental needs are correctly identified and catered for consistently. Children are learning to consider and value others through discussions and activities with their peers and the staff. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

moral, social and cultural development. However, the group provides few playthings that reflect cultural diversity or disability; children are not able to extend their play with the use of practical resources that reflects this area of learning and experience. The partnership with parents of children who receive nursery education is satisfactory. Staff exchange satisfactory information with parents about the setting's activities; they find the staff approachable and feel that they are involved in their children's learning. However, staff have not put in place a system to enable parents to provide information about their children's progress; progress is not recorded.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are welcomed into a well organised pre-school environment, with sufficient staff and suitable resources set out in an attractive and accessible way. Children are well supervised and are fully engaged in purposeful activities, they build their confidence and progress their overall development. Sufficient staff work directly with children but the setting has not yet achieved the 50% qualified staff at each session. The recruitment procedure is sound with a system to ensure that any one who is not cleared through the vetting procedure is not alone with children. However, the induction procedure does not cover all essential elements to ensure that new staff are clear about their roles in the setting. The leadership team is currently supporting staff through training to attain the required qualified staff ratio, but organisation of the staff rota does not ensure that there is a suitably qualified person present each

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Organisation

session; children's care and learning is not always support by qualified staff.

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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 Leadership and management is satisfactory. Staff adequately protect children's welfare by the policies and procedures that are in place. However, the operational plan is not sufficiently developed to fully safeguard all aspects of children's welfare it contains policies that have not been adopted by the whole committee and some changes to document are not familiar to all staff. The leadership and management team has started to implement the improvements identified at the last nursery education inspection. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the children who attend.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last nursery education inspection the provision has made good progress in providing opportunities for children to enjoy physical activities. Staff's good planning enables children to participate in a wide range of physical activities that promote their physical skills; children enjoy exercise and have fun and keep fit. There has being some progress to increase children's enjoyment and learning through creative development; however children are still not able to express themselves freely in art and design. There has been poor progress with regards to monitoring and evaluation of the provision. A clearly written development plan states how this will be achieved, to date it has not been put into practice in the provision. This means that the leadership team does not identify areas for improvement. There has been limited progress to improve observation and record keeping of children's progress. Since the last nursery education inspection a new person in

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Improvements since the last inspection

charge has been employed in the setting. She is fully aware that the lack of systematic observation and recording system hinders children's individual progress. She is currently in the process of devising a system for observation and record keeping in the provision. There is increased opportunities for children to use everyday technology, in their play the plans show that children use items such calculators, shopping till, binoculars, phone, and cassette player. Through the regular use of these resources children are developing their understanding of using technology in everyday. activities.

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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

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 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): • develop staff knowledge of child protection and all aspects of the policy and develop a risk assessment procedure that is comprehensive and systematic to ensure children remain safe in the setting • provide more opportunities for children to learn about cultural diversity, disability and the wider community • make sure that there is a suitably qualified member of staff at each session until the required ratio of qualified staff is achieved.

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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): • develop a system for regular observation and recording to identify children's stages of development, ask parents to contribute to their children's progress record and use the records to plan the next step in children's learning • increase the opportunities for children to see words have meaning, express themselves freely in art and design and recognise numerals and solve simple number problems • develop staff's knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

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