Gateshead Jewish Boarding School

Pre-school and Playscheme

Inspection report for early years provision

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Pre-school and Playscheme

Unique Reference Number 108414 Inspection date 27 January 2006 Inspector Glenda Pownall

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Pre-school and Playscheme

Setting Address 51 Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3AX Telephone number 01628 636715

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E-mail

Registered person Cox Green Community Centre Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional care, Out of School 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?

The Cox Green Community Centre Pre-School and Playscheme are managed by the centre's management committee. The centre is situated in the Cox Green area of Maidenhead, Berkshire. It opened in 1977. The pre-school operates from a hall and a side room. The playscheme operates from two halls and two rooms. A maximum of 30 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 09.15 to 12.00 term time only. All children share access

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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 to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 40 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these, 35 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area. The pre-school employs 6 staff. The manager and 2 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. A maximum of 100 children may attend the playscheme at any one time. The playscheme is usually open each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 09.00 to 12.00 during the Easter and summer holidays. Children aged between 5 to under 12 years may attend. There are currently no children on roll.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children in the pre-school learn to adopt sound personal hygiene routines through effective practices and good staff support. For example, children know to wash their hands using the portable washing unit in the room after messy activities and to wash them before eating snack. Staff are observant of children who need assistance with hand washing and other personal tasks, such as wiping runny noses. They meet the dietary and medical needs of children through working closely with parents and generally following the setting's health procedures. Children learn about physical play as part of a healthy lifestyle through daily access to a variety of activities. They enjoy balancing along a low beam holding their arms out to maintain their balance, and listening and moving in time to music. In fine weather, children access the garden where they can run, pedal tricycles, throw, kick,

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Helping children to be healthy

catch balls, and roll hoops. Children help themselves to drinks of water during the session, which develops their understanding of the use of regular drinks as a way to maintain their health.

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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. The hall is clean, well maintained, and provides sufficient space for children to move around freely. Children access a wide range of resources covering all areas of play and learning. Staff visually check the equipment when setting up activities to ensure that all resources are suitable for the children’s age and stage of development. Staff have very good safety measures in place to prevent pre-school children leaving the premises unsupervised. For example, there is an alarm which sounds each time the door to the hall is open, the premises has Closed Circuit Television and staff escort children to the toilets. Staff increase the adult to child ratios when taking children on local walks. This keeps children safe. There are efficient procedures in place to ensure all pre-school staff have a sound understanding of the course of

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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 action to take if concerned a child is at risk from abuse. For example, new staff read the setting's policy during their first week of employment and attend child protection training as soon as a place is available. This protects children whilst in their care.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children form warm relationships with staff who offer praise and encouragement at activities, which fosters children’s sense of self-esteem. Staff set out activities for the children although children have some opportunities during the session to choose resources for themselves from a low-level storage unit. Staff plan a varied range of activities and experiences covering all aspects of learning which generally keep children busy and occupied throughout the session. Children can express their feelings and sit out some group activities such as music and movement. Staff support these children by sitting and looking at books with them. Some whole-group activities are not positive learning experiences for all children. For example, some children find it difficult to sit still and quiet during the group story or find it too scary and they either talk to their neighbour or cry. A stream of children requesting the toilet during a

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

singing session disturbs the group. This interrupts the concentration of other children and consequently their enjoyment of the activities and they lose interest in them. Nursery education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children leave their main carers with ease and settle quickly into the session. They listen to staff and follow instructions, such as to tidy up, and most persevere to complete tasks, although some find difficulty with whole-group activities. Staff displaying children’s own work in the hall fosters a sense of self worth. Staff have a sound knowledge of the early learning goals. They understand the learning intention of activities for children and generally provide good support. However, the planning and assessment systems do not identify what individual children can do or what they are to learn next and evaluation comments are general. As a result, activities do not provide all children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

with sufficient challenge. For example, in a small-group activity staff give the children baseboards to fill with columns of blocks from 1 to 10. One child very quickly completes the activity, identifying by sight the correct number of blocks for the smaller numbers, and using estimation and subtraction to fill column 10. Staff do not provide any extension to this activity for this child. Most children are confident speakers. They chat happily to staff and each other at activities and speak up in group situations relaying events in their own lives. Staff read stories to individual children during the session. They ask open-ended questions to encourage children to think. Children enjoy using books for pleasure. They turn the pages from left to right, point to the characters, name objects and make up stories. Some children can recognise and write their first names. They develop understanding of letters and the sounds they make through activities such as staff holding up name

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

cards and sounding out the initial letter. Children have opportunities to make marks at planned activities. However, staff automatically write children’s first names for them on their work. They do not give children the opportunity to attempt to write their name

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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 as part of daily activities. Children increase their knowledge of counting and simple calculation through daily activities. They enjoy singing songs, such as 'Five Little Leaves', although at times children requesting to leave the room disrupt the songs. Some children count confidently to 10 and beyond. Children use a wide range of resources to build and construct. They work independently and together selecting and rejecting pieces to reach the desired outcome. Children have regular access to technology. They use a pager and telephone in the hospital role-play area and attempt to complete programmes on the computer. However, whilst they enjoy this activity the noise in the room and lack of adult support means they cannot hear or follow the audio instructions. Children lose interest in the activity.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children confidently use a wide range of tools as they engage in craft activities. They are adept at cutting with scissors, manipulating rolling pins and using paintbrushes. The older children learn new skills, such as holding a nail whilst hitting it with a hammer. Most children freely express their creativity through participation in movement and music, painting and imaginative play. A number of children identify painting as their favourite activity at pre-school.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children have some opportunities to further their knowledge of the wider world through visitors from and visits to the local community. For example, they go to the library to borrow books and have talks from the local police officer. Staff treat all children with equal concern and there are effective procedures in place to support children with special educational needs although none currently attends. Children benefit from staff who are consistent and positive in their approach to behaviour management. Children readily share resources, co-operate, and show concern for each other. For example, when a child becomes upset at story time another child puts her arm around her and comforts her saying "It’s all right, it’s only a story". Children behave well. Spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. Children benefit from the 'open door' policy

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and two-way sharing of information, with opportunities for parents to speak to staff on a daily basis. Staff keep parents informed of the pre-school’s activities, routines, and policies through half-termly newsletters and a notice board. Parents can request to see their child’s developmental records at any time. However, the pre-school is not proactive in sharing children’s achievements and next steps in learning along the stepping stones with parents. Parents state they are happy with the care and education children receive and particularly like the friendly staff.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. No playscheme records are available for inspection, including documentation

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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 confirming the suitability of the playscheme staff to have unsupervised access to children. This is a breach of the regulations. The committee has informed Ofsted of a nominated committee member delegated to have responsibility for the provision of childcare. However, the Administrative Officer now carries out this role. For example, the Administrative Officer is involved in the interviewing of new staff, observing staff practice, and liaising with the supervisors and committee. The setting has not taken steps to inform Ofsted of this change. This is a breach of the regulations. The pre-school has efficient systems in place to promote the wellbeing of children including ensuring staff remain suitable to look after children. All required policies are in place and understood by staff. However, not all accident records contain the date

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Organisation

the accident happened or maintain confidentiality. The contents of the first aid box are not regularly reviewed, as some items are out of date. There is a noisy but productive atmosphere in the pre-school. Children show interest in the activities and receive effective support from staff. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Leadership and management of the nursery education are satisfactory. Staff plan a varied curriculum, which incorporates all areas of learning. Children make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. The supervisor monitors the effectiveness of the nursery education through observation of staff practice and evaluation of planning documentation. The Administrative Officer also monitors the setting's practice through informal observations. The monitoring procedures are adequate, but do not ensure the systems in place effectively chart children’s progress

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Improvements since the last inspection

The pre-school have made improvements acting on the recommendations raised at the last care inspection. These were to improve staff’s management of children’s behaviour and ensure the child protection policy includes all required information. Children behave well because staff have positive strategies in place to promote good behaviour. The child protection policy now includes the procedure to follow if an allegation is made against a member of staff. This promotes the well-being of children. The last nursery inspection highlighted the need for children to develop social skills, planning to provide sufficient extension for children that are more able and the evaluation of activities. Staff foster children’s social skills through providing opportunities for children to share resources and take turns at activities. Staff do evaluate planned activities but this evaluation is general and does not identify what

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Improvements since the last inspection

individual children can do. The planning documents do not provide staff with details of how to extend activities for children that are more able. As a result, staff do not provide all children with sufficient challenge.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they

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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 can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted. There has been one complaint made to Ofsted since the last inspection. Concerns were raised regarding the way in which a member of staff reacted to a complaint from a parent, which related to National Standard 1 (Suitable Person) and the interaction of the staff with the children, which related to National Standard 2 (Organisation). We asked the provider to investigate and report back to Ofsted within 10 working days. The provider reported back confirming their supervision of the children and their understanding of the way that the complaint was dealt with between the parent and the staff member.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider remains qualified for registration.

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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): • notify Ofsted of significant changes, such as to the person who has delegated, clearly identifiable and direct responsibility for childcare, and ensure records are always available for inspection • review whole group activities and consider the impact of these on the enjoyment and learning of all children • frequently check the contents of the first aid box and replace any items as necessary and ensure accident records maintain confidentiality and include all necessary detail.

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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):

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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 • develop the planning and assessment systems to identify children's individual progress, next steps in learning and provide all children with sufficient challenge. • share children's progress and next steps in learning along the stepping stones with parents • improve the opportunities children have to practise writing their names as part of everyday activities.

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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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