Digby Village Pre School

Digby Village Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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EY339775 Unique Reference Number 19 June 2007 Inspection date Gill Ogden Inspector

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Digby C of E School, Church Street, Digby, LINCOLN, LN4 3LZ Setting Address

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01526 320 630 Telephone number enquiries@digby.lines.sch.uk E-mail Digby Village Preschool Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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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 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?

Digby Village Pre-school has been operating for many years and re-registered in 2006 when it moved premises. It is now in the Digby C of E Primary School, Digby, Lincolnshire. It is run by a volunteer committee and uses a classroom in the school and also its outdoor play areas. The pre-school is open daily during school term time from 09:00 until 12:00 and in the summer term on Tuesday afternoons from 12:30 until 15:00. Children attend who live in the village and the surrounding rural area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to care for 20 children aged between two and five years of age. Currently, there are 26 children on roll, including 13 who receive funding for early education. Three members of staff work regularly with the children. The supervisor has a relevant early years qualification and the other two have almost completed theirs. The group is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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. Children's health is given high priority in the pre-school. Effective routines are in place that ensure the premises are kept clean and that children learn good personal hygiene habits. For example, children are supervised when they use the toilet to ensure that they are reminded of hand washing routines and they know that it is important to wash their hands because they may have germs on them. Cross-infection is further minimised because parents are told clearly about which illnesses will prevent children from attending.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children get plenty of fresh air and exercise each day in the playground or field. They also go for walks around the village occasionally. There is some excellent equipment such as tricycles that two children can use together and balancing beams that help children to develop strong bodies and good co-ordination. Additionally, children use the school hall in inclement weather where they have access to more equipment to support their physical development.

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Helping children to be healthy

During the session children enjoy a healthy snack of fresh fruit, crackers and milk or water. They are beginning to understand which foods are good for them and know they can help themselves to water at any time when they are thirsty.

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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 safe and secure environment. Access is restricted effectively because the entrance to the room from outdoors is a fire door which can only be opened from inside. Children are quite clear that they must not open any doors. Risk assessment systems are in place and daily premises checks are carried out. All the necessary safety equipment is in place and functioning well. Children are prompted about keeping themselves safe as part of daily routines, for example, being reminded to walk carefully from the classroom to the playground, and taking part in regular evacuation drills. Toys and play equipment are good quality and suitable for the ages and stages of the children using them. Children alert staff to any items that are broken during their play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are further safeguarded because staff have a solid understanding of their child protection responsibilities. The written policies and procedures have recently been updated and the supervisor is experienced in this field.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are happy and settled in the pre-school. They quickly choose what they want to do and become engaged in it. There are warm relationships between the children and the staff and the children relate to each other well. A good range of activities are available for the children to enjoy. Younger children respond well to focused small group activities but sometimes show a lack of respect for toys and equipment during their free play. Pretend play is well-resourced and children make the most of it, spending lots of time dressing-up and using small world scenarios. Staff are aware of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and are beginning to use it to track children's development.

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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 Nursery Education

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The staff have a generally good understanding of the Foundation Stage and how children learn. This enables them to plan a range of activities in line with children's interests. There are systems in place to observe and assess children's progress against the stepping stones. However, the planning system overall is not fully coherent and is not being used effectively enough to indicate the next challenges for individual children. Staff use a variety of teaching methods such as questioning and explaining but they are not all fully confident in their own ability. However, they are all involved in planning and provide good experiences for children in their own key work group activities. Time in the session is used generally well and resources are used appropriately.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are generally confident, learning to consider others and share and they concentrate for reasonable amounts of time. They handle books well and show a lot of interest in them. They recognise their own names through selecting their name card when they first arrive and posting it in the box and finding their named place at snack time. They recall the words of songs well and most of them sing with gusto. Children thoroughly enjoy mathematical activities such as guessing which items will float or sink and testing their theories out and then they decide why this is and if it relates to weight. They have planted beans and observe the changes in the plants as they grow and know that they will be using them to make a salad when they are ready to be picked. Children talk about wildlife and identify different animals, fish and birds from a variety of laminated pictures. At snack time, when they are chatting about cats and how

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

they eat and drink they suddenly remember catfish and know that they are called that because of their whiskers. Large tape measures hold a fascination for them and they persevere with winding them back in after they have 'measured' furniture. Children enjoy listening to recorded music and learn to operate the music centre as well as playing with musical instruments and learning about rhythm and sound. They spend lots of time exploring sand and being creative with play dough and use their imaginations making a train with chairs and riding on it in line with the story 'Down at the station' which they enjoy.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. All children are made welcome in the pre-school and their individuality and family backgrounds are valued. Enough information is collected from parents when their children first start to attend to enable staff to meet their needs appropriately. Children enjoy activities and play with resources that help them understand their own and differing cultures and develop respect for all members of the community and wider world. For example, they celebrate their birthdays with cake and singing and they enjoy activities related to Chinese New Year. On the whole, children behave well and staff use appropriate methods to encourage desirable behaviour. However, boundaries are not always explained sufficiently and some children take advantage of this.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Relationships with parents are good and impact positively on children's continuity of care. The partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of funding for early education is satisfactory. Parents are happy with the pre-school and receive some useful information about the service in general. Parents form the management committee of the pre-school and so many are fully involved in its running. Warm relationships exist between staff and parents and they chat freely to each other. Home/pre-school books for each child help to reinforce information about the child's time in pre-school and provide a channel for parents to communicate with the group, especially those who do not bring and pick up their children. However, although

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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 parents have a chance to talk more formally to staff about their children's overall progress and achievements when they are about to leave the group, there are no other effective systems in place to involve parents fully in their children's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children's day-to-day experience in the pre-school are organised fairly well by the supervisor and staff. They make every effort to make the environment attractive to the children and resources are stored where children can access them easily. Systems are in place to ensure all staff will become qualified as well as being offered opportunities to attend short courses that are relevant to the needs of themselves and the group. All the necessary documentation is in place but policies do not always reflect accurately the uniqueness of the pre-school.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. The group is coming to the end of its first year in new premises and so any teething problems have been resolved. Staff work closely with local authority advisers and systems are taking shape to help them review and monitor the provision. All staff are fully committed to improving the care and learning for the children. The supervisor is a democratic leader and ensures staff are fully involved in plans for the future.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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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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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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 expectations of children's behaviour are clearly enforced regularly (also applies to nursery education)

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • review all policies and procedures to ensure that they accurately reflect and support practice in the group.

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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): • review the planning system to ensure it is used as a working document to indicate the next steps for individual children • involve parents more in their children's learning and the assessment of their progress.

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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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