Egerton & Walmsley Playgroup/Pre-School

Egerton and Walmsley Pre-School Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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315992 Unique Reference Number 04 June 2007 Inspection date Jannet Mary Richards Inspector

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Hideaway Scout Hut, Blackburn Road, Egerton, Bolton, Lancashire, BL7 9SA

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Setting Address

07817 405 288 and 07791 767 259 Telephone number V Holstead home tel: 01204 593 921 E-mail Egerton and Walmsley Pre-School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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Setting Address

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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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?

The Egerton and Walmsley Pre-School Playgroup is managed by voluntary committee. It opened in 1967 and operates from two buildings in the Egerton area of Bolton. The setting uses the scout hut for the pre-school and the parish hall for the playgroup. Children have access to the secure outdoor play area behind the parish hall.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting opens from 09.15 to 11.45 and from 12.45 to 15.15 from Monday to Friday during school term-time only.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 78 children on roll, they attend for a variety of sessions. Of these, 61 children receive funding for nursery education. There are no children on roll at the time of the inspection who have a disability or learning difficulty. There are no children on roll at the time of the inspection for whom English is an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting employs 12 staff and one volunteer, all of whom work with the children. Of these, eight staff have a recognised early years qualification.

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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 inadequate. Children learn about their own health needs when the staff discuss with them why they need to drink plenty of water and wear sun cream and hats in sunny weather. They demonstrate some independence in their own personal health, when they help themselves to tissues to wipe their own noses, for example, or help themselves to a drink of water.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are provided with some healthy snacks, such as fruit, cheese and crackers, though most of the time they have biscuits which are less beneficial to their health. They have suitable drinks as they have a choice of milk or water each day.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are able to play outdoors most days, benefiting from fresh air and exercise. They enjoy a good range of challenging play activities to promote their physical development. They have opportunities to balance, climb, pedal wheeled toys or coordinate their movements when throwing and catching, for example.

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Helping children to be healthy

At the time of the inspection there are too few staff who have current first aid certificates, to ensure that there is always a qualified first aid member of staff on site at all times. This compromises the children's health and is a breach of a regulation.

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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 child centred environment. The staff organised the shared premises well each day in order to make the children feel welcome when they arrive. They use portable display boards, for example, to divide the play areas and display the children's work. They also provide portable units which have pockets with individual children's names to store their own personal items. This helps the children to feel valued and have a sense of belonging. The children can access a good range of toys and resources which are age-appropriate and which they are interested in.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are supervised well at all times to keep them safe. There are effective safety procedures in place. When the children go out to play, for example, the staff and children count how many children there are as they go out to play and when they return. Older children develop a good awareness of safety issues when they cross a small access road to reach the play area. They know the procedure very well, they stop at the kerb and look and listen for cars before walking across the road.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff have a suitable awareness of child protection issues and procedures in order to safeguard the welfare of children, though they do not have a named person with this responsibility at the present time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. The children are happy and enjoy the time they spend in the setting. They leave their parents happily and are eager to explore the activities available to them. The relationships between the staff and the children are good, the staff talk to the children calmly and with respect.

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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 Younger children enjoy a wide range of interesting activities. They are able to explore a suitable range of activities and materials, finding out what happens when they mix paint colours together, for example, and developing their imagination as they dress up in the role play area. They enjoy an appropriate range of activities to develop their communication skills. They sing familiar songs, for example, use telephones in the role play area and listen enthralled as a member of staff makes up a story at circle time. The children eagerly suggest ideas to develop the story line further. The staff have not yet begun to use the 'Birth to three matters' framework to further develop the children's play and development, however. The assessments of children's progress for younger children are not appropriate for their ages. This means that the next steps

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

in their development are not appropriately planned for and children may make less progress.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children make good progress in their learning as they access a wide range of stimulating activities which offer them good challenges. The children are interested in activities, they concentrate well when they play alone or with their friends. The children are proud of their achievements, they are eager to show the staff their pictures and construction models, for example. They are developing a positive disposition to learning. The children make good progress in early literacy skills. They are able to recognise their own names, and often those of their friends. They understand why we write, when they make menus in the role play area, for example, or label their own work. They enjoy looking at books in the well organised and resourced book area.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As they play the children develop a very good understanding of mathematical concepts. They compare the length of each other's hair, for example, they count often, and compare the size of a construction model in relation to the height of the two children who made it. The staff provide good challenges to develop their learning, asking the children if they can make the model as big as the tallest child, for example. The children have many good opportunities to explore the word around them. They go out in the local area to explore nature, they plant seeds and observe changes in the weather. They are keen to explore their environment, using resources such as magnifying glasses to examine objects closely.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children explore a wide range of media and materials on a regular basis. They are able to express their own thoughts and ideas through role play and art activities. As they use resources, such as scissors and pencils they develop fine motor skills and coordination well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff observe and assess the children's progress. They use this knowledge to provide the children with good challenges appropriate to their level of ability as they play. The planning lacks some detail, however, about how activities are varied to accommodate the differing ability levels of the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The children respond well to the positive praise and encouragement they receive from the staff. This leads to them developing self confidence and pride. They learn to follow simple rules for safety, such as walking, rather than running in the playgroup. As they play the children have some opportunities to become aware of differences, as they have access to some resources which reflect our diverse society. This awareness is developed further when children participate

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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 in activities linked to festivals, such as Chinese New Year and St Patrick's day. This approach fosters children's spiritual, social, moral and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff and parents work well together to meet children's needs. The staff have the appropriate knowledge and experience of caring for children with disability or learning difficulty. Parents are well consulted, making comments about the provision in a 'comments and complaints' book which is readily accessible. Partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of nursery education funding is satisfactory. Parents are provided with information about the activity plans and the progress their children are making, though they are not provided with ideas as to how the children's learning can be further supported at home.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. The playgroup and pre-school offer well organised child friendly spaces for the children who attend. The staff plan and prepare well, overall, so that children have plenty to do, have fun and learn through play. There are sufficient, suitable staff employed to support the children and ensure their care needs are met. However, the current management arrangements are lacking in clear areas of responsibility which has led to children's health being compromised. There are too few staff with current first aid certificates. In addition, although the staff are aware of safeguarding issues and procedures, there is no designated member of staff with overall responsibility for child protection. The management team have not yet put arrangements in place to plan and provide activities in line with the aspects of the 'Birth to three matters' framework for the youngest children attending. The documentation relating to the care of the

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Organisation

children is suitably maintained and recorded.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education provision are good. Most staff have completed training in relation to the Foundation Stage and have a clear commitment to providing good quality educational activities for the children who attend. They have clear systems in place for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the educational provision.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision does not meet the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the time of the last care and education inspections the setting was asked to develop four areas. Since then the registers of attendance have been amended to include more detail about attendance times. In addition the setting has developed the systems for monitoring and evaluating the nursery education provision. They have introduced more activities with rhyme and alliteration to develop the children's language and literacy skills. They have also developed the assessment systems for monitoring children's progress. These developments have led to improvements in the documentation relating to the care of the children, the evaluation, assessment and provision of educational activities for the children.

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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.

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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

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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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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, the registered person must take the following actions: • ensure that at least one member of staff with a current first aid certificate is on the premises or on outings at any one time • put suitable management arrangements in place for the setting, in accordance with the National Standards. These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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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): • continue to develop the planning and assessment systems, to make clearer links between assessments of children and planning the next steps in their progress • further develop the opportunities for parents to be involved in 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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