Borras Park Junior C.P. School

Selby Community Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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400429 Unique Reference Number 10 December 2007 Inspection date Linda Cook Inspector

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The Community Centre, Scott Road, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 4BL Setting Address

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07818 022828 01757 210860 Telephone number

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E-mail

The Trustees of Selby Community Pre-School 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?

Selby Community Pre-School opened in approximately 1980. It operates from within the Selby Community Centre in Selby town centre and is registered to care for 26 children at any one session. The pre-school has use of a large play room, a kitchen area and toilets. There is an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 36 children on roll; this includes 19 children who receive nursery education funding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 09.30 to 12.00 and 12.30 to 15.00 on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. Children attend for a maximum of five sessions per week. The pre-school welcomes children with learning difficulties and disabilities and supports children who have English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are six members of staff who work with the children at a variety of sessions. Four of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications; all have attended a variety of relevant childcare courses. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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. The children are cared for in a warm clean environment where they learn about good hygiene practices. They learn to wash their hands before eating and after taking part in messy activities, such as painting or playing outdoors. They know that this is important to ensure they do not get germs in their tummies which make you sick. The clear sick child policy is shared with parents and protects children's good health, however, the shared towel they use for drying their hands after messy play does not fully protect them from cross infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children develop a very positive attitude to being active in the outdoors; they benefit greatly from regular access to the enclosed outdoor area for physical play. Here they enjoy the fresh air and use the fixed play equipment to develop their balancing and climbing skills. Indoors they have regular opportunities to complete action rhymes and move to music.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are well nourished and are developing an appreciation of healthy eating. They enjoy a varied range of healthy choices, such as a variety of fresh fruit. They choose either water or milk at snack time and can independently access fresh drinking water throughout the session. Children's dietary needs are adhered to and any specific needs recorded and provided for.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in premises that are welcoming and child orientated. Staff ensure the resources are set out on a daily basis ready for the children's arrival. Displays of children's art work which are bright and attractive provides them with a sense of belonging. Children move independently and confidently around the setting and make good use of the areas and play opportunities provided. Resources are of good quality, age appropriate and are in a safe and clean condition.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are kept very safe as there are a good range of safety measures in place. These include socket covers, fire prevention equipment, and there are clear collection policies in place. Risk assessments are completed and reviewed to ensure any risks are identified and minimised. Children build a good awareness of safety through practising emergency evacuations regularly and through discussions with staff that are vigilant and give children's safety high priority.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected from possible abuse or neglect. Staff are aware of the types of abuse and the signs to look for and all staff members have attended training on child protection. They have a good understanding of the procedure to follow if they have concerns. The child protection policy is shared with parents, however, it does not include procedures to be followed if an allegation is made against a member of staff and the contact details are not up to date.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Practitioners incorporate the 'Birth to three matters' framework into the planning system to ensure activities are suitable for the younger children attending the group. They keep observations on the children’s performance so that they can monitor their 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 Children have a variety of activities to choose from. For example, they play with glitter dough and manipulate the dough into different shapes. Practitioners extend language by introducing words, such as sparkly, roll and soft. Children can choose from a variety of activities throughout the session and develop their independence as they choose what to do and select resources.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children feel valued as the practitioners play down on their level and listen to what they are saying and respond to them. Children enjoy singing and story sessions where they sing well known children's songs and are learning seasonal songs for Christmas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Younger children are challenged in their play. For example, they explore in the water tray with support from the practitioner as they talk about different sized containers, full, empty and pouring. There are good opportunities for exploration and development as children experience texture, shape and colour through a wide variety of art and craft activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident and form good relationships with their friends. They come into the setting eager to participate in the activities and seek out their friends. Children cooperate well when playing in the role play area and they share resources as they divide the dough. Children are beginning to resource their own needs, such as rolling up their sleeves and finding an apron and putting it on before playing in the water tray.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy looking at books, sharing stories in the book corner and joining in with story sessions. They handle books well, turning pages correctly and following print from left to right. They are learning to recognise their own name as part of the arrangements for snack time as they find and post their name in the box before sitting down. However, children are not provided with sufficient opportunities to practise their writing skills as they are not consistently encouraged to label their work or to write for a purpose in the role play area.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good understanding of number; all children count confidently to five with older and more-able children counting to 10 and beyond. They learn to recognise and name shapes, for example, correctly naming circles, squares and star cutters they use at the dough table. During water play children experiment with capacity, pouring from one container to another.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children learn to predict, investigate and to extend learning about the world. For example, they learn about the seasons, weather, animals and birds. They learn about floating and sinking in the water tray. They enjoy a nature walk in the outdoor area and use the items collected in their craft activities. They investigate change as they mix the ingredients to bake, grow cress and explore what happens when they dip string into paint and use it to create pictures. They enjoy using the tape player, computer, telephones and calculators in their play which increases their understanding of technology. They develop a clear sense of time as they discuss what they have been doing at home or when it will be Christmas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children show a good spatial awareness as they move around the setting with control. They balance and climb and have opportunities to develop physically through the outdoor and indoor activities on offer. They have the benefit of a wide range of tools including pencils, crayons, paint brushes, glue spreaders and dough cutters, and this enables them to develop good dexterity and hand-eye coordination. They enjoy a wide variety of craft activities, singing well known songs and moving to music.

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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 quality of teaching and learning is good. Children have a positive attitude and are sufficiently motivated to learn in an interesting and stimulating play environment. Practitioners have a good knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals, which provides a foundation for the curriculum.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The adults engage fully with the children throughout the session, instinctively using conversational questioning techniques effectively to support and extend the children's learning. Their skilful approach in promoting positive relationships and developing children’s self-esteem plays a major part in facilitating children’s progress in all areas of learning. Throughout the session, children’s efforts and achievements are celebrated as they are praised by staff continually for all their achievements great and small.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The detailed plans of activities show clearly that the whole curriculum is covered over the children's time at the setting. Staff make observations of the children's achievements and keep detailed assessment records for each child which clearly show their progress. However, the links between assessment and planning are not strong and do not clearly show how individual children are to be supported and moved on in their learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children are valued as individuals. The adults use their knowledge about children's individual needs, their interests and their families very effectively to help them to feel settled. Registration forms are completed by parents to ensure each child's individual needs are known and accommodated. The parents of new starters receive written information in the form of a welcome booklet and copies of the policies and procedures are available on the premises for them to access.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children develop their independence to a good level as they are encouraged to make choices as they choose activities and resources, attend to their own personal care needs and put on their coats before playing outdoors, with appropriate levels of support from staff where necessary. Systems are in place to ensure children with learning difficulties receive the support they need to fully participate in all the activities and make good progress. Children who have English as an additional language are well supported. The labelling is done in two languages and staff learn key words; they communicate effectively with the children through signs and gestures. As a result, the children make sound progress in their use and understanding of English.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children are relaxed, confident and behave very well. The children share and take turns with the minimum of support from the adults who intervene sensitively if minor disputes erupt. The older children play cooperatively together and enjoy the company of their peers. This is due to the firm emphasis placed on this aspect of their care and the pleasant, yet industrious atmosphere created by staff. Children develop good manners saying 'please' and 'thank you' with gentle reminders from staff should they forget. Children begin to value differences as they learn about the wider world and celebrate festivals from their own culture and that of others. There are good links with the two local schools. The pre-school children make visits and the reception class teacher visits the pre-school, helping the children to prepare for their next steps in life. As a result, children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

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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 The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are kept well informed of their children's progress and the key worker system provides parents with a point of contact. Parents contribute to the assessment process by completing a 'this is me booklet' about their children when the child starts. The children's assessment files are kept on the premises which parents are welcome to access at any time on request. These are given to the parents when the children leave and a record of the children's achievements is forwarded to school with the permission of parents. Each year parents are offered an appointment with their children's key worker to discuss their progress. Information about the Foundation Stage of learning is included in the welcome booklet and the staff also discuss informally with parents as they chat at delivery and collection.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The available space and equipment are organised effectively to ensure children are able to move easily and safely, accessing their chosen activity and resources. Children initiate their own play and learning well and are relaxed and confident in the consistent and well organised routines.

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Organisation

Appropriate recruitment and vetting procedures ensure children are cared for by staff who are suitable and have the knowledge and understanding to promote children's all round development. There is a range of detailed policies and procedures in place which are used to support their good practice. All requirements for record keeping and documentation are in place to meet the National Standards. These include medication records, accident records, records of attendance and individual children's details.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The children benefit from the committed staff group who are experienced and have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage of learning and the associated stepping stones. They work extremely effectively as a team and are clear in their roles and responsibilities. A staff appraisal system is used to identify training needs and the management committee supports on-going staff training, ensuring children are cared for by knowledgeable staff. The group has a very positive approach to the improvement and development of the service and has successfully completed five modules of the local authority quality assurance scheme.

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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 pre-school was asked to improve the arrangements for hand washing at snack time, develop the staff appraisal system to identify training needs and improve documentation to include an uncollected child policy and keep an accurate register of attendance. With regard to the nursery education provision they were asked to develop the planning system to identify learning outcomes, and how individual children with language and social problems will be supported; to increase the opportunities for children to learn letter sounds, recognise their name and to practise their emergent writing skills.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children are provided with warm water, liquid soap and paper towels to wash their hands before snacks which protects their good health. The staff appraisal system identifies training needs and supports staff development well, ensuring children are cared for by knowledgeable staff. An uncollected child policy has been written and an accurate record of children's attendance is maintained. A clear system of planning linked to the six areas of learning and the associated

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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 stepping stones was introduced and the pre-school continues to work with the local authority development worker to develop their planning and assessment systems to ensure individual next steps in children's learning are planned for. The children begin to recognise their name in print from name cards, however, they are not provided with sufficient opportunities to practise there emergent writing skills. For example, they are not consistently encouraged to label their work and there are no mark making resources in the role play area.

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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 complaint 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 children are consistently provided with individual means of drying their hands • review the child protection policy to ensure contact details are up to date and there are clear procedures to be followed if an allegation is made against a member of staff.

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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): • strengthen the links between planning and assessment systems to clearly show how the individual next steps in children's learning are planned for • increase the opportunities for children to practise their writing skills, for example, by providing mark making opportunities in the role play area and encouraging them to label their work.

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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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