Ysgol Maes Hyfryd

Monk Fryston Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

400299 Unique Reference Number 19 April 2007 Inspection date Christine Snowdon Inspector

p.1

Church Hall, Church Lane,Monk Fryston, Leeds, North Yorkshire, LS25 5DY

p.1

E-mail

Monk Fryston Playgroup Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Monk Fryston Playgroup operates from the local church hall. It is a voluntary group, run by a committee and parents help the staff by taking part in parent rota duties. It is a well established group that has been registered since 1992. They use of the main church hall, kitchen and toilets. No outdoor play facilities are available, but children have many opportunities to partake in physical activities. A maximum of 26 children may attend the setting at any one time. Opening times are Monday to Friday 09:15 to 11:45 and Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 to 15:00 during term time only.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 55 children aged from two and a half years to under five years on roll. Of these, 35 children receive funding for early education. The setting attracts children from the village and surrounding areas.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The playgroup employs five members of staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is working towards a qualification. The group receive support from the Local Authority.

p.2

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

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a very warm, clean and well-maintained environment where they learn good hygiene practices. Children know to wash their hands before snack and after toileting and do so independently. The low sinks and picture poster reminds them of hand washing routine. The use of liquid soap and individual paper towels along with the setting's sickness policy effectively reduces the risk of cross infection. They eagerly wash up their own cups and dishes and explain to the inspector "you have to rinse the soap off in the other bowl to make them clean".

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

The children are very well nourished and are gaining a good understanding of healthy eating. They choose when to take their snack and serve themselves. They enjoy the varied range of healthy choices such as, strawberries, cheese and cucumber. They help themselves to a carton of milk or pour out their own juice from the jug. Children recognise their bodily changes and help themselves to fresh drinking water from the water cooler throughout the session.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

Children develop a positive attitude to being active and benefit from the physical opportunities provided. They crawl through and over various objects set out on the obstacle course. They move around with skill and avoid collision whilst enjoying the music and movement sessions. Children's fine motor skills are developing well. They use a wide range of tools with increasing dexterity. They use scissors confidently, cutting string and sticky tape in the role play area. They hold pencils and paintbrushes appropriately to make marks, draw and paint.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are safe due to the effective procedures in place. The premises are secure and the recently revised system in place ensures safe collection at the end of the sessions. Visitors identification is checked and all attendance is recorded. The environment is safe and free from hazards as staff are safety conscious and complete regular risk assessments. Children take responsibility for keeping themselves safe. For example, they know how to carry chairs and handle scissors safely. They know how to evacuate the premises in an emergency, through regularly practising the fire drill.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All children move around the setting with confidence and independence due to the well-organised resources. Furniture is used well to create defined areas of learning. Resources are of good quality and all are in a safe, clean condition. Children benefit from the wide range of activities and resources provided which they self-select and use in a safe and appropriate manner.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected. All staff have a clear knowledge of child protection through attending appropriate training. Detailed policies are in place and staff understand the procedures to be followed should they have any concerns regarding child protection.

p.3

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

p.3

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are very settled and happy in the setting due to the warm welcome they receive and the continuity of staff. They enter the setting confidently and are eager to take part in the varied and exciting activities. They self register by finding their own name cards which most are able to recognise themselves. They particularly enjoy the role play areas and they confidently act out what they know from their own life experiences. For example, they wrap up parcels using brown paper string and tape and add the appropriate stamps whilst playing at post offices. They write their names on envelopes and post them in the box. One child spends a long time collecting the letters and parcels and delivering them around the room to staff and children. Staff play effectively alongside the children to assist them and extend their learning and understanding. They play in the post office with them and explain what the various stamps,

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

stickers and leaflets are for. The use of real props, such as a display stand with post office leaflets, make it more realistic and fun.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good levels of independence. They choose which activities they wish to take part in and through the course of the session make good use of most of the areas. However, some areas, such as painting, water and sand do not offer additional resources. This means children only use what is provided and does not allow them the opportunities to instigate their own play and learning.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching is good. The staff's sound knowledge of the early learning goals and how children learn enables the children to access the whole curriculum at their chosen play. They have a good understanding of how the children can broaden their understanding in all areas of learning at any one well-planned, good quality activity, such as creative opportunities. For example, whilst experiencing the spaghetti activity adults help the children to measure which piece is the longest and use it to form the letter of the week.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All adults engage fully with the children throughout the session, instinctively using conversational questioning effectively to support and extend the children's learning. The current plans show how the whole curriculum is covered over the children's time at the setting. However, any gathered information is not used to clearly identify the next steps in individual children's learning.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff use the premises very well. They arrive early to transform the church hall as much as they can to accommodate early learning and self-help skills. The daily routine is very effective in developing the children's independence and choice. For example, children decide when to take their snack and serve themselves. This ensures their play and concentration is not disrupted through the well-organised cafeteria system in place.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident and motivated learners. They sit and concentrate at their chosen activities for prolonged periods and are eager to take part in all the activities. They use imagination and descriptive language as they make observations. For example, they fill the funnel with sand and explain to the inspector, "it's the sand that makes the wheel go round and when it's empty it stops". Children recognise their names through the use of name cards at registration and snack time. They understand that print carries meaning and address the envelopes and parcels in their post office. They develop a good understanding of letter sounds and eagerly make the relevant sounds using the jolly phonics system. Children listen intently and show high levels of

p.4

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 enjoyment at story time, they predict what comes next and ask related questions. Unfortunately, they do not self-select their books or independently spend time in the book area.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children develop a good understanding of numbers. They confidently place numbers in order as they count during singing and through general play. For example, they remove and replace the relevant numbers from the board as they sing ten green bottles. They make comparisons in weight as they work out whether a large or small camel is needed to make the scales balance. They count how many children are present at registration and understand how many children are allowed at once in the home corner. Explaining to the inspector "there is only room in here for four".

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children benefit from activities which develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. They become aware of the wider community as visitors come into the setting. For example, police and the fire service which promotes their awareness of people who help us. Children develop an understanding of the days of the week and the weather as they help staff complete the weather board at registration time. They use their senses appropriately and listen intently in order to recognise the wide range of sounds played on the cassette, such as thunder, a tractor and various animals. The children use the computer with skill and control following the programme carefully to complete the task.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children get a great deal of pleasure from the creative opportunities. They particularly enjoy the different mediums, such as spaghetti play. Using their hands they mix the paint, squeezing it between their fingers and describe how it feels. For example, gooey, squiggly, nice and cold. They observe the patterns it makes as they press the paper down onto the spaghetti to create their picture. Children know their colours well and observe the changes as the various colours are mixed together.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children are relaxed, confident and behave very well. They share and take turns with the minimum of support from staff. Children know the routines and expectations very well and this is reinforced successfully at circle time when staff ask, "how do we play nicely together". Children respond with "we share, don't smack and be nice to one another".

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The children are valued as individuals. The staff use their local knowledge about the children's individual needs, their interests and their families effectively to help them to feel settled. Resulting in a strong community feel within the group. Children's self esteem and individuality is promoted effectively through positive praise and encouragement from staff. Their art work is valued and displayed for everyone to appreciate. For example, their self-portraits are all very individual and special depicting their recent theme. A smooth transition is promoted due to the positive links with the local schools. As a result children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnerships with parents is good and relationships are very positive. The introduction, key worker system and settling-in process works very well in practice. This means children develop a comfortable three-way relationship with the staff and their parents. Parents are actively involved in the running of the group and take part in the rota duty system. This gives them a clear insight into the care and learning objectives of the setting. Good systems are in place to keep parents informed of their child's progress and development. Children take home their 'Jolly Phonics' workbooks and enjoy doing these at home with their parents.

p.5

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

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is good. The children benefit from the knowledgeable and consistent staff team. Staff work very well together and show commitment to their own development though appropriate training. This is reflected in their good practice.

p.6

Organisation

The setting is very well organised and as a result children move around the setting and make independent choices. All documentation is in place and used effectively within the setting. Policies and procedures are reviewed annually by the staff and committee. However, the information regarding the regulator in the event of a complaint is out of date.

p.6

Organisation

The leadership and management of the educational provision is good. The group have a positive approach to evaluating their practice and use the local authorities booklet for this. Staff have introduced changes to their system for planning and assessment of children's learning. Whilst there are some good systems in place for spontaneous assessment of children's development it does not effectively link to the planning for their next steps in learning. They work well with the local authority and put into practice, advice and information given. The staff also welcome the inspection process as part of their development. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

The children's hand washing arrangements have been enhanced through the staff addressing the previous recommendation and there are very good practices now in place, as a result there is little risk of cross contamination. Parents now receive good information about the activities their children take part in through the newsletters and plans on display.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

With regards to the last inspection of nursery education, there are no significant weaknesses to report, but it asked for consideration to be given to improving children's awareness of bodily changes. Children are now aware of the changes to their heartbeats before and after exercise through discussion with staff. They know when they are thirsty and independently help themselves to drinks of water.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.6

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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

p.6

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

p.6

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): • increase the resources within the creative, sand and water areas so that children can self-select additional items to instigate their own play and learning (also applies to nursery education) • ensure the regulators contact details with regards to the complaints procedure is accurate and up to date.

p.7

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 develop children's interest in books so they access and use them independently • further develop planning and assessment systems to show a clear link to the stepping stones and to identify how the next steps of learning for individual children is promoted.

p.7

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

p.7

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

p.7