Charleton Church of England Primary School

Browns Lane Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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113391 Unique Reference Number 13 September 2007 Inspection date Christine Clint Inspector

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Browns Lane Pre-School, The Guide Hall,Browns Lane, Storrington, West Sussex, RH20 4LQ

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Setting Address

01903 746592 or 01798 815103 Telephone number

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E-mail

Maria Meldrum 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?

Browns Lane Pre-School is privately owned and managed; it opened originally approximately 24 years ago and has been operated by its current owner since 1996. The pre-school is situated in the Guide Hall in Browns Lane, close to the centre of Storrington, West Sussex. Children attend from Storrington and the surrounding villages and hamlets.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Sessional care is provided from Monday to Friday during term time only. The pre-school operates from 09:15 until 12:00 hours. Children are also able to attend a lunch club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 13:00 hours. There is an additional session on Friday afternoons for children who are due to attend school. A play scheme is provided on four days during the summer holiday period for children who attend the pre-school.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 46 children on roll. This includes 29 children in funded education places. The setting currently supports children with learning difficulties or disabilities and also supports children who have English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Six staff are employed to work with the children and all staff hold qualifications in childcare and early years education. Staff continue to attend training courses relevant to their role. The

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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 pre-school works closely with local schools and receives support from the early years network. At the time of the inspection 25 children were attending.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are learning to be independent in managing their own personal care, because interior doors remain open during free play to enable younger children to follow the routines. Staff supervise children well, they offer assistance whenever this is needed. There are star charts in place to reward children and encourage them to remember to wash their hands. Very young children have their nappies changed conveniently and hygienically. Staff ensure that all facilities are available to maintain children's hygiene and they clean and organise the premises every day to meet the needs of the children attending.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy helping to clean the tables before and during snack time. They all use wipes for their hands before snacks and children staying for lunch club are asked to wash hands before they sit down at the table. They often help with food preparation and photographs show children cutting up tomatoes for making soup. Older children also learn to make sandwiches when their parents are formerly invited in for a traditional tea time.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is fully promoted because all parents sign separate sheets to give permission for administering medication and for staff to seek emergency medical treatment. Any medication given to children is clearly recorded and signed; all staff show a sound understanding of the procedures in place. Accident records are also in place and parents are provided with a clear verbal explanation when they sign the accident book.

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Helping children to be healthy

First aid kits are available in each room used by children and staff hold current certificates in first aid training. Parents have clear information regarding children's attendance if they are unwell or following any illness and staff make contact for children to be collected if there are any signs of poor health or continual unhappiness.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children eagerly eat the variety of fruit and bread sticks that are prepared for snack time. They learn to sit together and socialise in small groups; they pass the fruit plate to one another and confidently pour their own water. All children who stay to eat their packed lunches sit together with staff and manage well. They are happy and settled, staff encourage them to chat sociably. Children who have food or dietary allergies are fully managed because staff record and display information. They ensure that routines are in place to meet any children's health needs and full liaison with parents is maintained.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have ample opportunities for physical exercise and fresh air. They spend a large part of the morning session outside and they fully enjoy running, kicking footballs, learning how to climb up and down a step ladder and jumping onto the soft grass. They ride tricycles and push and pull trolleys; they use buggies for dolls and ride bicycles with stabilisers. Children learn to travel down the slide and aim their footballs at small goals. They have a large outside area to play in and staff ensure that children have opportunities during many different types of weather to experience outdoor activities. Children are able to increase their physical development through frequent practise and a wide variety of choice of activities.

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Helping children to be healthy

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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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are consistently safe in the modern well equipped premises because they are fully supervised by staff at all times and a high ratio of staff to children is constantly maintained. Staff show that they are continually aware of children's movements throughout the session and they remind children not to run inside. Children practise different types of walking when they line up for outside play and they learn how to walk on tiptoes; staff praise all children individually for their efforts. The main entrance is fully secure during indoor play and monitored thoroughly at collection time. The main gates are always supervised during outside play as well as being secured.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have an excellent variety of play experiences because there is a very wide selection of equipment available throughout the session and children have freedom to make choices. Staff plan in advance to ensure that equipment and resources are available and prepared for children. Children eagerly respond to the spontaneous activities that staff introduce with puppets to gain and hold children's attention when clearing-up time takes place. They also enjoy impromptu stories with staff and small children can look at the special basket of resources to hold their attention.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is regularly considered because staff are vigilant and discuss any issues or concerns regarding risks and hazards at regular meetings; they also talk to each other daily and share information. There are thorough policies and procedures in place for children's safety which include procedures for lost or uncollected children. Comprehensive written risk assessments are attached to the staff notice board. These cover daily routines and include the premises; there is a separate assessment for outings and another to include protecting children's health. Children's safety is fully prioritised when alternative arrangements are made for their collection and a blackboard is used to remind staff initially; the collection book is also signed. All visitors are recorded and timed on the premises. Children and staff practise fire drills regularly, there are ample exits from the premises and emergency procedures are displayed; records are held

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

of all fire drills. Children have outings and they always walk locally, with staff enlisting the help of parents to maintain high ratios of adults to children to ensure children's safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is thoroughly maintained because all staff have a very clear understanding of their role in protecting children. They are aware of listening to children and being alert to any injuries that children have on arrival; staff are diligent in sharing all concerns with the supervisor. There are full procedures in place for responding to incidents or concerns and the lead staff have attended up to date training. The child protection policy and procedure in place contains details of how any allegations against staff would be managed and the supervisor is experienced and confident in her ability to obtain help and support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children arrive happily and self register, they immediately start to play with the wide selection of resources set up around the main hall and they fully enjoy making choices about their activities. Younger children who are unsure have dedicated time from staff and parents to enable them to settle. Children are gaining in confidence because they are learning to play well on their own and younger children are beginning to play with each other. They share the big wooden vehicle to sit in and say they are going camping because they are 'best friends', they talk about what they will need. Children spontaneously make birthday cakes with the play

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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 dough and sing together with staff. They are involved in pretend play in the home corner and show skills of quiet concentration at times when building with bricks on the floor. Children are learning to listen and respond to staff, they practise lining up to go outside and learn from each other when staff ask about the rules for outside play. Children take turns to have snack times together in small groups, they share and pass the fruit to each other. Many of the regular daily routines include methods to promote children's personal, social and emotional progress. Their developmental needs are recognised and fully considered because staff have key worker responsibilities. Staff show a clear awareness of understanding children's individual levels of development and of meeting their needs through regular assessment. They know children and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Older children know the routines for playing in a separate room and having more dedicated teaching for the first hour of the session. They talk and interact continually with each other, they show confidence and strong levels of self esteem. They have a clear understanding of the boundaries, especially for outside play when riding the wheeled toys, they know they must not 'crash into each other' or into the tree. Children are encouraged to talk about themselves and share their experiences at group time and they are fully independent when managing their own personal care. They show positive attitudes to the very wide variety of play experiences that are offered throughout the pre-school term.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children communicate well and they remember the names of the animals and birds they are learning about in their topic. They know that owls come out at night and that otters live in the water. They construct vehicles with lego and know the technical names for different vehicle parts and special trailers. Children use an alphabet puzzle to learn letter names and sounds. They are encouraged to read from pictures and take books home to share with their families. Children are keen to progress with mark making and their development records show that they are learning to write their names. They listen well and express their thinking immediately; they can easily recognise when staff make deliberate mistakes in counting all the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children can count and they can recognise when numbers of items are larger or smaller. They can sort items into groups by colour and they have a growing awareness of quantity. They measure size when building a high tower and talk about it reaching the ceiling. They count all the pieces that are joined together. Children automatically know when there are too many cups at the table and they remove one. They talk about size in their play and use positional language when joining puzzles and construction equipment. Children are learning to name shapes and their assessment records show evidence of drawing and naming circles.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have regular opportunities to use the computer, they also sit together wearing headphones and listen to stories; they are encouraged to learn how to operate the audio equipment. They practise using the stapler and join pieces of paper, they learn how to manage this themselves. They talk about previous topics and activities, they can remember details of making a wormery, visiting snakes, using binoculars and finding bugs outside. Children learn about past and present and they are encouraged to talk about significant events because they take the special pre-school teddies home in their own bag; they talk about what has happened and activities that the teddies have taken part in when they return them to the pre-school. Children thoroughly enjoy the spontaneous puppet show which holds their attention, they laugh and shriek with excitement when the bear keeps popping out of the honey pot.

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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 Children flourish during their physical activity times. They climb to use the slide and the step ladder, and they learn to jump onto the soft grass. They ride a wide variety of wheeled toys and manoeuvre these well. They use their own initiative when they accidentally entangle each other's wheels and they manage to separate these themselves. Children practise different ways of walking when preparing to line up, they are asked to walk on tiptoes, to walk straight or to march and they listen and manage these movements well. Children's records of development show that they are learning to practise a wide range of movements when they join together for parachute games and when they practise individual finer skills using smaller equipment.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children paint shapes with water on the walls and surfaces outside, they use sponges to cover sheets of paper with paint because they are making a large collage for the wall. They have a mark making area and draw with pencils and crayons on a large roll of paper; they are learning to recognise and name colours. Children show enthusiasm for imaginative role play and often take part in whole group activities to act out favourite stories. They listen well to stories especially when staff use props for ' Going on a Bear Hunt'. They sit together with staff for spontaneous picture reading in the story corner. Children readily respond to music, they take part in dancing and they learn to create their own body movements and to keep entirely still when the music stops.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of the teaching and learning is good.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff have a strong knowledge of how children learn and they share and evaluate their practice. They initially focus on simple early skills of listening, responding and understanding. They share their knowledge of the Foundation Stage of learning and they plan a wide variety of themes and topics to cover the early learning goals. Staff very quickly link with parents to build their knowledge of children's individual capabilities and these are well recorded to enable children to make progress. Staff show spontaneity, interest and involvement in children's progress and they use excellent explanation to enable children to understand; they include warmth and humorous interaction to bring children together.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. There are sound procedures in place for identifying children's learning difficulties and for liaising with parents and other agencies. Children with individual needs or disabilities are fully supported from an early age because there is a dedicated member of staff who has thorough knowledge and experience. Full documentation is in place to show how individual plans for play are followed and how children's progress is measured. Staff also include and secure assistance to support children's attendance at times when this will assist their development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children who are learning English have attention and extra assistance from staff when they are unsettled. They are learning English quickly and staff already recognise their needs immediately. Children have some resources which reflect the diversity within society and they celebrate festivals from other cultures throughout the year. Children with little understanding of English show real motivation when making pretend birthday cakes with play dough, they recognise and sing happy birthday all the way through, with total enjoyment and confidence.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children respond very well to the routines and boundaries in place. They are learning to listen and follow staff instructions when their names are called, especially when they are asked to swap chairs at lunch club and they listen and respond well. They know the rules for playing safely outside and confidently tell staff how they must share and be kind to each other.

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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 Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Staff use ample praise during the session for individual children to raise their self esteem and they praise all children frequently, and as a group . Older children are encouraged to answer their names at register time and each one is praised for answering clearly and using the teacher's name. Children are encouraged because staff use positive language at all times.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Children are happy because parents have confidence in the pre-school and they are provided with a full prospectus. Parents are welcomed into the premises to settle children and when children are collected. They know that key worker staff have responsibilities and that they can refer to their child's key worker for individual information; they also know that information is displayed. Parents have regular newsletters and annual open evenings. They visit several times before children attend and there are full trial visits for children. Parents assist when children walk locally and visit nearby places, for harvest festival at the church and when visiting local shops. Parents are aware that the regulations require signed permission at all times and that they can raise any concerns or contact Ofsted. Some parents are less informed about the Foundation Stage of learning and they are unsure about their

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Helping children make a positive contribution

access to their children's records of development.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children's care and the daily management of the pre-school is fully planned and organised. Staff are aware of the time constraints on the daily sessions and they maximise the variety of provision for children. The supervisor has clear procedures for ensuring that staff are suitable and a formal system for checking all new staff is in place. Staff are annually appraised and they work well as a team, with specific areas of responsibilities and key worker roles. There are high ratios of staff to children, which enables all staff to be involved and to interact with children during the session. Staff link with local training opportunities and a planned curriculum is in place to update their knowledge in specific areas; a high level of qualified staff are employed to work with the children.

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Organisation

The pre-school has a full operational plan which includes all regulatory procedures and staff have a good understanding of the National Standards. The procedures and many areas of daily care have been thoroughly evaluated and amended within recent times. Staff meet regularly and interact during daily sessions to ensure that full information is shared. The registration certificate is displayed and children's attendance is recorded; although the variation in children's arrival and collection times is not formerly noted. All visitors sign and their attendance is timed.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The supervisor, deputy and staff continually evaluate the provision for children's learning, they show total dedication to planning and providing a wide variety of learning experiences for children to widen their knowledge and understanding. They are prepared to meet the needs of children and their parents or carers, to update their knowledge and learning and enable all children to be included and to fully advance in their development. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the pre-school was asked to develop their knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and related recording. Key staff have attended training in safeguarding

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Improvements 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 children and they have shared this information to ensure that all staff in the provision are aware of the procedures to protect children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The pre-school was also asked to develop procedures to be implemented should a child be lost and a full procedure is now in place for lost children to ensure their safety. Documentation was also required for identifying risk assessment and action to be taken. The pre-school have very thorough risk assessments in place for several areas including premises safety, health and safety and assessing risks on local outings; all requirements for children's safety are in place.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last educational inspection the supervisor was asked to ensure that resources were available and accessible for children's play and learning, and that children's individual assessments were reviewed to plan for their future learning. Children have a wide choice of resources available within the time constraints of the availability of the premises, staff enable children to learn through a variety of experiences because they plan for activities. There is clear assessment of children's individual learning and staff note any areas where progress is required, to enable children to fully develop in all areas.

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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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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): • ensure that the records of children's later times of arrival or early collection times are transferred to the register.

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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): • ensure that parents are aware of the availability of the children's development profiles.

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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 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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