Leven Pre-School

Leven Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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314671 Unique Reference Number 15 October 2007 Inspection date Carol-Anne Shaw Inspector

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Leven Sports Hall, North Street, Leven, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU17 5NF

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E-mail

Leven Playgroup Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day 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?

Leven Pre-School has been established for more than 30 years and was first opened in 1971. They are registered to provide full day care. It is a registered charity, managed by a parents committee. The group is located in Leven Sports Hall, situated in the village of Leven, a rural village in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The setting has use of a hall, adjoining kitchen and a large sports hall. Outside is a large grass area used for outside play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 37 children from two and a half years to four years on roll. This includes 23 children who receive funded nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions are from 09.00 to 11.30 and 12.30 to 15.00. Children can also stay over the lunchtime period and remain all day. There are nine members of staff working with the children, most of whom have early years qualifications. There are four staff currently on training programmes. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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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 demonstrate a positive attitude to their well-being. The staff follow the group's policies and procedures, meeting the children’s physical and health needs. They provide the children with good guidance and support; children gain a good understanding of hygiene and become increasingly independent in their personal care. The older children are confident in asking to access the facilities, for example, they wash their hands before snack time and after creative activities. Children are developing their independence in personal care and are becoming aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to extend and develop their physical control in the well organised, daily, indoor and outdoor experiences. This is supported by the staff having a good understanding of individual children’s development through observations and assessments. They support children effectively in their physical development. They encourage and support children to try out new skills, and the children are confident to set their own limits within the safe environment. The children develop a positive attitude to physical exercise and enjoy using the outdoor area and hall to support this.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have a satisfactory range of healthy snacks overall, however, every alternate week there is not a healthy option of fruit at snack time, only a biscuit. Lunch is a very social occasion with food from home served in small groups. The older children have a very good understanding of why they eat healthy foods and how it relates to their bodies. Effective liaison with parents ensures children’s individual dietary needs are fully met. Good attention is paid to managing children’s cultural and medical needs.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Risks of accidental injury to children are minimised because staff are vigilant and use good risk assessment systems to reduce potential hazards. The children learn about protecting themselves; they walk down the stairs with care. The staff are effective at supervising and monitoring the children to promote their safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children access a wide range of good quality, safe and suitable toys, resources and equipment; all very appropriate to their age and stage of development. Overall, most equipment is set out effectively to enable children to make their own choices from low-level shelves. However, the staff set out a selection of resources for creative activities, limiting opportunities for children to develop their own imagination and creativity.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected by staff, who have a good understanding of the child protection policies and procedures. All staff have attended training and are fully aware of their responsibilities relating to safeguarding children and give priority to children’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are settled and happy in their surroundings. They enjoy their time at the group. Children develop well because the staff are confident and skilled. They use their knowledge and

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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 understanding to promote children’s development. The staff are motivated and interested in the children as individuals. The good staff ratios enable children to have lots of adult support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children arrive happy and eager to participate, they part from their parents and happily wave goodbye. Key staff know the children well and are sensitive to their individual needs. The close and caring relationships are increasing children’s trust and help them develop confidence and build self-esteem. Communication skills are well supported through good adult-child interactions. Children are beginning to make sense of the world and express their ideas through lots of different planned activities and free play that support children’s learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There are opportunities for the children to express their ideas and be involved with a wide variety of activities and experiences. The children enjoy the many play activities and explore paints, textures, music and songs. Overall, this provides the children with an environment which promotes development and good care. Staff progress the development of the under threes in a systematic way. Assessments of progress are completed, and these are linked to the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework. The staff have completed training in this area and are aware of the benefits of using this framework to support development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of the principles of early years education and use the Foundation Stage to ensure most areas of children’s learning are developed through play. They plan and provide effective and realistic challenges for the children. The activities are well organised and supported with relevant resources and equipment. A good range of teaching methods are used. This ensures children learn across most areas of the curriculum. Children are motivated, confident, self-assured and keen to participate. This is promoted by staff's enthusiasm and interest in them. Children work well together and follow simple rules to support sharing and safety. The more able children assist others in accessing resources, helping with coats and tidy away the equipment and resources.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They use their creative play to demonstrate their sense of the world around them. There are very good displays of the children's work, showing a variety of resources and methods used by them, such as collage, models and free painting. The work done to support the harvest theme has covered many learning areas of the curriculum.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children communicate and express themselves very well, with each other, staff and visiting adults. Interaction is appropriate and the staff encourage children to share their experiences at circle time. Children are developing their language and thinking skills as well as confidence and independence. They use resources for mark making in their play, and learn to recognise letters through displays, labelling and books. Children are gaining confidence in their mathematical language. They use numbers and solve simple problems in their everyday activities, for example, sorting the bears. They learn sequencing through patterns and observing the life of the butterfly.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Physical skills are extended and supported with access to outside play opportunities, use of music and movement, and access to a wide variety of tools and resources. Children explore and investigate their surroundings through a variety of activities, for example, a visit to the allotment, growing seeds and outings to places of interest. There is, however, a lack of opportunity for children to develop their knowledge and understanding of information technology. They have no access to a computer.

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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 The assessment of children's learning is comprehensive, covering all aspects of learning. This is done by the key workers who know the children and their individual needs very well. The range of activities provide appropriate support and challenges for the children overall. However, assessments are not used fully to effectively plan for the next steps in learning for all children. This limits the progress of learning for children to extend their skills fully. The planning for children with learning difficulties is effective and builds on what children know and can do.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Parents and children are made very welcome. The staff value children's individuality and respect parents' views and contribution to the care provided. The children’s behaviour is very good, and the staff show a consistent and caring approach to managing behaviour. The children follow simple rules and know the routines and boundaries in place, with a little prompting. Children share and show respect for others, they take turns and show good manners, saying 'please' and 'thank you'. They learn to negotiate and take responsibility for their own behaviour. The older children support the younger children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have very good opportunities to learn about the world about them, through topics and resources that promote diversity in all areas. Their own and other cultures are effectively supported with a good range of activities and resources. As a result children's spiritual moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. The key worker system provides parents with a consistent contact on a daily basis. The very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to children’s well-being in the group. Parents' views are sought through discussion, on a regular basis throughout the time children attend. Effective systems are in place to ensure all parents are kept informed of how their child is progressing in their development and learning. Children benefit from the involvement of parents in projects and topics which contributes to their good health, development and learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children’s care is enhanced by the efficient management of the setting. The good organisation of the group provides a welcoming environment for children to play and learn. There is a wide range of very suitable policies and procedures in place to support the management of the provision. The premises, in all areas, is organised to support and promote children’s development and learning. All families are supported and individual children’s care needs are followed. The good staff ratios ensure children have effective support. This allows children to experience the many interesting and different activities available throughout the sessions. The use of time, space and resources enhances children's learning.

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Organisation

Children benefit from the staff having a sound knowledge of how children learn. Detailed procedures are in place for induction and the ongoing training of staff. They have a commitment to improvement and personal development, underpinning the care and welfare of the children in the setting.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the educational provision is good. The monitoring of the nursery education is done by the manager. It is linked to the 'Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage'. This is done systematically and informs the future development plans for

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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 the provision. The staff show enthusiasm and work effectively as a team to ensure the provision meets the needs of all the families who attend. They are supported by a committee of parents who fundraise to provide extra resources.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the group were asked to review the safety in relation to the building. A comprehensive risk assessment has been completed, resulting in changes to the procedures for managing safety and staff have completed training to support this.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider was also asked to ensure the documentation relating to safeguarding children was expanded. The procedures have been developed to include all the required elements.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last nursery education inspection the provider was asked to develop children’s understanding of health and bodily awareness and to use books as a source of reference within other activity areas.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The staff now provide topics to develop children’s awareness of health and their bodies, and books are used effectively to support everyday activities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The recommendations have been completed, meeting the requirements for registration and improving the care and education of 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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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):

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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 • promote healthy eating at snack time • organise equipment and resources to enable children to self select.

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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): • provide more opportunities for children to access information technology • develop the short term planning, linking it to children's individual assessments of 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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