Mount View Pre-School

Mount View Pre-school Inspection report for early years provision

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300718 Unique Reference Number 28 June 2007 Inspection date Sarah Gilpin Inspector

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Mount View Methodist Church Hall, Derbyshire Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S8 8SG

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E-mail

Mount View 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?

Mount View Pre-School has been registered since 1968. It is managed by the committee of Mount View Pre-School, and operates in the Mount View Methodist Church in the Norton Lees area of Sheffield. The pre-school serves children from the local and wider communities. The setting offers sessional care for children aged over two and a half years. It opens each weekday during term time from 09.00 to 11.45 and 13.00 to 15.30. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group uses two rooms within an annexe building; the building is shared with other users. There is access to an enclosed area with a safety surface for outdoor play activities, and the group also use the large hall for indoor physical play on occasion. The pre-school is registered to care for a maximum of 25 children at any one time. There are currently 54 children on roll, 38 of whom are in receipt of funded nursery education. There is provision for children with disabilities and learning difficulties and for children for who English is an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are eight staff employed to work directly with the children, six staff have an appropriate qualification in child care and education. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-School Learning

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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 Alliance and receives support from the Local Authority. The group are undertaking a quality assurance programme.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. The children are cared for in a clean environment where they learn about good hygiene practices. Staff implement the pre-school's health and hygiene procedures well to ensure that risks are minimised. Resources, such as low level sinks, soap and hand towels, ensure that children can successfully manage their own hygiene, developing their independence in this area. There are effective systems in place for dealing with accidents, such as staff who hold suitable first aid qualifications and a well stocked first aid box. However, a number of minor accidents were observed during the inspection, which were not appropriately recorded.

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Helping children to be healthy

Outdoor play is available to the children each day and they can move from indoor to outdoor play for much of the session. There is a good range of equipment to help develop the children's large motor skills, for example, they pedal bikes with ease and confidence and kick footballs to their friends with growing accuracy. They play a game by hiding items under the plastic stepping stones for one another to find. Children's hand-eye coordination is developing well because they have many opportunities to play with small resources like lentils and use tools, such as scissors, to cut paper to size.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children enjoy the variety of snack foods that are provided for them each day, which includes fresh fruit, cheese and crackers. The children help to prepare the snack and assist staff in clearing away their dirty plates and cups. The group snack times are very social occasions where children chat to one another and staff as they sit together. The staff work in partnership with the parents to ensure that children are not given foods which they may be allergic to and details of dietary requirements are recorded and displayed.

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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 welcoming environment that is maintained to ensure it is safe and secure. The staff are extremely vigilant as they support the children in their play. For example, children are closely supervised as they explore both rooms within the setting and when they play outside. The children's arrival and departure at the pre-school is carefully monitored by the staff who welcome them in each session and there is a clear record kept of visitors to the setting. All of which ensures that the children's safety is maintained. Suitable fire safety precautions are in place and the regular fire evacuation practises help raise the children's awareness of how to deal with emergency situations.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children safely access the toys and resources, which are carefully stored at their level. The equipment that the children use meets the required safety standards and is routinely checked by the staff to ensure that items remain safe for them to use. Gentle reminders from staff mean that children have a growing awareness of how to keep themselves safe as they move around the setting. For example, they explain that they should take care of others when pedalling the bikes around the garden.

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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 The children are safeguarded because the staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in dealing with children protection concerns relating to them. The clear and successful recording systems, such as existing injuries and incident records, ensure that staff monitor the children carefully and act in their best interests. There is a policy for dealing with child protection concerns and this contains the required section on dealing with allegations against a member of the staff team.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The children are well settled, happy and relaxed in the pre-school. They build warm and trusting relationships with the consistent staff team. Children are very confident and comfortable with the staff and they seek support and guidance easily as they play together. The pre-school runs two sessions each day; the older children mainly attend in the morning and the children aged from two and a half years attend for the afternoon sessions, which means that staff can effectively differentiate the activities for them. The staff have some understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework, however, their plans for the children do not currently take account of the aspects within the framework.

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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 good working knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum, and as a result they provide children with creative and interesting activities for them to enjoy. The staff provide some focused activities, which are based around the theme and children's interests. The newly introduced continual provision within the setting ensures children enjoy some free choice from a wide range of activities and experiences. There are areas, such as the creative workshop, that are not sufficiently resourced and staff are actively looking at ways to improve this provision. The staff interact closely with the children throughout the session and use their questioning skills effectively to test the children's understanding and extend their learning. For example, they encourage children to talk about the difference between dry and wet pasta. The staff use a tick sheet system to record the children's development and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

this provides information about their progress over time. However, additional photographs are not dated or annotated to provide a detailed record of their time in the pre-school.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are very inquisitive and highly motivated to learn. They are eager to be involved in the activities provided and as a result they are making good progress in all areas of learning. The children are confident because they build warm and harmonious relationships with the adults and they are developing close friendships with their peers. The staff ensure that children can accomplish many tasks independently and the environment is well organised to provide children with a wide, varied and interesting range of practical activities that stimulate them. Children show good awareness of their own needs and can manage their own personal hygiene easily because the facilities are adjacent to the play areas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy the company of their peers as they seek others out to play with chosen activities and resources. For example, children join their friends on the tandem bike. The children are articulate and speak confidently using a varied vocabulary, which is extended well by the skilful interactions of the staff as they talk and question the children during their play. Books are enjoyed by the children who independently look at them when sat in the comfortable story corner. They respond well to group story sessions, which are differentiated to meet the children's needs. For example, the more able children sit together and become engrossed in the familiar story book. The staff use factual books in some areas to raise children's awareness of 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 purposes of books. Group times are used well and children delight in joining in ring games and sing the words to well known nursery rhymes and songs very loudly. The children enjoy many opportunities to write purposefully, such as when writing their names on their art work. The older and more able children have good pencil control and can accurately form the letters of their names.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children confidently and spontaneously use mathematical language in their play as they talk about the number, shape and position of items and toys. They accurately name shapes and use words, such as corner and side, to describe the features of squares and triangles. Children recognise numerals up to 20 and show some understanding of simple addition and subtraction involving one more or one less. The children are developing an understanding of time through the use of a timer, which ensures they have a fair turn on the computer. Children demonstrate their skills in using the mouse to click and drag to complete programmes on the computer and show a good awareness of directional controls when they play a game with a programmable toy. The children are successfully introduced to concepts, such as water turning to ice and they enjoy feeling the ice and talking about the temperature before watching as it begins to melt.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They use their inventive skills to make interesting models using boxes, sticky tape, glue and pom-poms. Children independently make simple musical shakers using paper and lentils and more complex creations, such as kites and light sabres. Children's imaginations are extremely well developed and they enthusiastically use the varied role play areas to act out experiences from their own lives. They go camping, go to the seaside for a day trip and have a barbeque because they have access to a superb range of resources. The children have many opportunities to explore paint, glue and other media, and their individual creativity is celebrated because the staff produce attractive displays of their paintings and models. The children's physical development is encouraged because the outdoor area is included in the planning and used for most of the session each day. A variety of planned activities using the good range of resources

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

ensures the children have chance to balance and pedal bikes. They use tools including scissors and cutlery with confidence to cut items, such as paper and fresh fruit with growing ease.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children are cared for by a consistent staff team who build warm relationships with them. The children enjoy access to a wide range of age appropriate resources and staff provide activities that help to develop their understanding of the local community and the world around them. For example, they go out on visits and, when appropriate, they engage in activities relating to the festivals and celebrations of other cultures and religions. Children with disabilities and learning difficulties are successfully included in all aspects of the provision. Individual staff support, and the input from other professionals, means that all children can join in and enjoy all of the activities provided. The building is all on ground floor level and is easily accessible to all.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave very well because the staff use a calm and consistent approach. Any incidents of unwanted behaviour are dealt with effectively by the staff and positive reinforcement is used successfully to promote good behaviour. The children understand the routines of the pre-school by following the 'tidy music' as they help staff to tidy away the toys, this results in them beginning to understand that equipment and resources need to be looked after. Children's self-esteem is successfully developed by staff who celebrate their achievements and display their creative work. As a result, the children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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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 There is a good partnership with parents and carers. A wealth of information is provided to ensure that the parents know about the provision for their children. For example, the medium term plans are displayed and the policies and procedures are easily accessible. Parents and children are made very welcome by the staff and easy-going informal discussions ensure that all information relating to the children's changing needs is successfully exchanged each day.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The children are cared for in a well managed and successfully organised setting. They have access to a wide range of activities, resources and experiences each day because the staff successfully plan for their learning and enjoyment. The effective deployment of staff means that children are well supported as they play and can be carefully monitored throughout the session. There are clear systems for the recruitment and checking of staff and this ensures that children are cared for by adults who are suitable to do so. The majority of the policies and procedures contain the required detail and are implemented well by the staff, and children's well-being is effectively promoted. The attendance register, however, does not always show the times of arrival if children are late. Staff enjoy regular access to training and development opportunities, and as a result they have a good understanding of child development and are

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the setting is good. The staff are supported effectively by the manager who works directly with them and ensures they have a clear understanding of the National Standards and the Foundation Stage curriculum. Staff training and development opportunities are planned through discussion and by giving consideration to the skills and knowledge the staff already have. The manager works with the staff to monitor the care and learning opportunities the children have and this results in positive outcomes for the children. The manager knows what the setting does well and where there are areas for development.

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Organisation

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

At the last inspection the pre-school was asked to review the medication recording system and the child protection policy, and to consider how the two rooms were used during the session. As a result, the procedure for recording medication has improved and the child protection policy now contains the required elements. The environment is used well to ensure that children can access a variety of resources across the two main rooms used.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the inspection of nursery education, they pre-school was asked to introduce the stepping stones to the planning in order to identify the intended learning and to look at the organisation of the rooms. As a result, the planning does clearly show the areas of intended learning and the rooms are resourced effectively to provide challenge and to allow the children to self-select from a variety of experiences each day.

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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.

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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 complaint 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): • consider ways of introducing the elements within the 'Birth to three matters' framework into the planning to ensure that the curriculum for the children under three is suited to their individual stages of development • complete an accident record for all of the accidents that occur in the setting and ensure that parents are informed • consider how children's hours of attendance are recorded.

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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 the assessment recording to provide a detailed record of the children's progress and learning over time • continue to develop the continual provision to promote the children's growing independence.

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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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