Grove Community Project

Grove Community Project Inspection report for early years provision

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229100 Unique Reference Number 24 September 2007 Inspection date Jennifer Turner Inspector

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21 Arthur Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 9HY Setting Address

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0121 515 3864 Telephone number groveproject@hotmail.com E-mail The Trustees of Grove Community Project Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School care Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are 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?

Grove Community Project Nursery is a voluntary committee managed organisation. It opened in 1994 and operates from three rooms in a single storey building. It is situated in the community centre in Handsworth. A maximum of 26 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 09:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 until 15:00 and a lunch time provision from 11:30 until 12:30 for 39 weeks of the year. The nursery also offers before and after school care and holiday play scheme from 08:00 until 09:00 and 15:25 to 18:00 and during play scheme session are 08:00 until 17:30. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 37 children from two to five years on roll. Of these five children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area as most of their parents travel to work in or around the area. The nursery currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are four full-time staff and five part-time staff employed to work with the children all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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 are welcomed into a lively, child-orientated and very clean environment where they can play, rest, sleep and be active according to their needs. Staff follow effective environmental health and hygiene procedures, meeting the children’s physical, nutritional and health needs and allowing them to thrive and flourish. Children gain a good understanding of hygiene and a real desire to become increasingly independent in their personal care, because of the staff's support and guidance. Children understand how and why they should wash their hands after using the toilet, playing with messy activities and before eating.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a wide range of physical activities and develop an impressive control over their bodies because staff effectively organise stimulating daily indoor and outdoor activities. This contributes extremely well to their good health. Children enjoy outdoor activities such as, playing on the impressive new wooden castle, riding bikes around the play ground, or climbing up the wooden slide. Alternatively children engage in fun indoor activities such as dancing and singing to nursery rhymes with movement, which improves their physical competence. The staff has a good knowledge of 'Birth to three matters' framework, which they use very effectively when planning activities for younger children. Their excellent understanding of each child’s stage of development means that the youngest children are confident to try out new skills, ask for help when needed and set their own limits within the safe environment.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from a nourishing and healthy diet provided through the healthy eating programme. They are provided with nutritious snacks that appeal to them and meet their dietary needs. For example, children have a selection of fruits and vegetables to eat for their snack. The children learn about healthy living as they are encouraged to take an active role in learning about healthy foods through projects, such as, fruit tasting and discussions with staff. Children thoroughly enjoy being involved in these activities and this stimulates lots of discussion, encourages them to make healthy choices and is instrumental to their growing self-confidence. Children are able to access drinking water throughout the day. The staff have completed a 'Basic Food Hygiene' course which greatly enhances their knowledge of safe hygiene practices when preparing nutritious snacks.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's well-being is prompted as the staff work to purposeful policies and procedures, which have been developed with regard to health, hygiene, medication and any illness in the children including children who have allergies to nuts. The staff's generally good practices are reflected in these written procedures. However, some of the information related to accidents involving the children lack sufficient details and parents are not always asked to sign these to ensure they are fully informed.

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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 stimulating, lively environment where risks of accidental injury are minimised because the staff are extremely vigilant and use thorough risk assessment to reduce potential hazards. Staff have a good understanding of how to achieve a balance between freedom of behaviour and setting safe limits. They involve all the children very effectively in organising their environment, allowing them to trust and explore their environment fully. Children are continually learning to keep themselves safe through their daily activities. For

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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 example, staff talked to them about why they should not climb on chairs. Children have a clear understanding of the boundaries in place and the reasons for them. They know about the risk from fire and how to keep themselves safe as they take part in regular emergency evacuation drills. Children have good opportunities to learn a sense of danger and acquire a sound knowledge about how to protect themselves from harm. They know that they should not climb on furniture. Children have safe access to a good range of good quality play resources and equipment appropriate to their age and stage of development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected as the staff have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures. Parents are provided with factually correct up-to-date information on child protection issues. There is also a written policy and procedure to ensure parents fully understand the adults’ duty to protect children in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Staff have completed a child protection course and give utmost priority to safeguarding all children’s welfare. However, the systems for registering visitors to the premises are not always effective in promoting children's safety.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children take part in a very broad range of good quality activities during a typical day. Routines are flexible and adapted well to meet the needs of the whole age range of children attending. All children are confident and secure in their groups and respond well to all the staff, displaying great affection for them, which is appropriately returned by staff. Children under three years are very well supported by staff as they play alongside friends, learning to share and take turns on the climbing frame and when 'making tea' in the play kitchen. Children benefit from the knowledge staff have of them and the very good use of the 'Birth to three matters' framework. Appropriate activities are offered and staff are able to plan the next steps for a child as they assess development. Children are becoming confident communicators, 'putting babies to bed'. They try new experiences, mark making with pens and brushes or listen well to stories. Children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

use their imaginations freely, dressing up as 'fairies with wings' and use a wide range of creative materials, for example dough, clay for modelling, paint and collage materials. They are proud of their 'work'; some is taken home and some displayed throughout the setting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children experiment with colour and light using a variety of media and natural and artificial light sources. They become increasingly curious with the world of light as they experiment with the light table observing and exploring the effects when different items are placed on it. A three-year-old observes the light from the projector shining on the wall and declares "look at the rainbow on the wall". Although staff plan weekly activities and daily routines they ensure that children are able to make choices about their activities and can input their own ideas into their play. The nursery environment reflects the 'Reggio Emilia' philosophy which allows children to experiment and have the freedom to choose where and what they play with.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. They use the guidance effectively to support children's learning across the six areas of learning. Children learn through a good balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play. This ensures they make good progress towards the early learning goals and develop independence. Staff regularly observe children as they take part in activities. However, planning documents do not always indicate children's differing abilities or show how activities are adapted to meet their individual needs. Staff

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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 encourage children to reflect and problem solve as they give children time to talk and think about what they are doing. This helps children to learn new skills, concentrate, and staff the opportunity to find out what children know and understand. Staff make effective use of time and resources. They provide an inviting environment which is organised to enable children to be independent and take initiative as they choose activities and select resources for themselves.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff adopt a calm and consistent approach to managing children's behaviour with the code of behaviour clearly displayed and referred to at appropriate times. Children form good relationships with adults and peers and are able to work as part of a group. As a result, children show care and concern for others; they listen to each other, share equipment and behave well. Staff with responsibility for children who have identified special educational needs work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure children's needs are met and their welfare promoted. Good consideration has been given to sources of support for children with English as an additional language.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Good emphasis is placed on all aspects of children's personal, emotional and social development. As a result children are engaged in their play, they are curious, confident and ask frequent questions. They are keen to demonstrate to others what they know and can do, for example, their ability to count. Children show a strong sense of belonging to the group as they greet each other and staff on arrival. Children are developing personal independence, for example, in dressing and personal hygiene. Staff give children time to practise more difficult skills, for example, buttoning their coats and pulling up zips.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff make sure sufficient time is given for children to develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Children's communication, language and literacy skills are developing well. They listen attentively to stories and respond to what they have heard by making relevant comments and asking questions or recalling events in the story of 'Owl Babies'. Children use language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences, this is evident as they take part in role play in the play house. They respond to experiences with music and movement, use musical instruments and explore colour and texture. Children enjoy painting and using various materials for creating collage pictures. During everyday activities staff encourage children to attempt early writing, they have access to some writing materials and children are showing emergent writing skills. However, the writing area lacks sufficient resources to effectively attract the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children. Children are encouraged to show an interest in numbers and counting. They develop some mathematical skills through a wide variety of activities including, songs, games and some solving problems activities. However, staff do not maximise the opportunities to develop children's understanding that a total remains the same no matter how a group of objects are divided up. Younger children are helped to say numbers in the correct order and recognise the number of objects in a small group. Older children are beginning to use their knowledge to solve simple number problems and begin to use language such as, 'more' or 'less'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children achieve well in the area of knowledge and understanding of the world. This is because they work and play in an interesting environment. They look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change. They enjoy the art sessions with the artists as they mix paints and various materials. Children develop a sense of time and place as they talk about past and present events in their own life and features of the local environment. They use the computer and the interactive board with increasing confidence, this develops their skills and supports their learning. Children gain an awareness of beliefs and cultures, they look at books and use a good range of resources reflecting positive images of gender, culture and disability.

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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 Good use is made of the outdoor play area. Effective planning ensures children's physical development is promoted and that they develop positive attitudes to exercise. Children move around safely and with confidence as they ride bikes or climb the steps to the slide. They develop good levels of hand and eye co-ordination as they use a range of tools and equipment with confidence, for example, scissors and pencils.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are valued, respected as individuals, and treated with equal concern as the staff have a good understanding of equality issues, as well as experience of working with children with learning difficulties or disabilities. Staff ensure that all children’s needs are met effectively and designed communication cards for children with limited speech to choose rhymes to sing. Children have comprehensive opportunities to learn about themselves and develop a healthy respect for the needs of others. Children learn about the wider community through planned activities, such as celebrating festivals and resources reflecting positive images of culture, gender and disability. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children’s behaviour is good. They respond to the staff's highly effective, clear behaviour boundaries. Children show care and concern for each other and play together in harmony. They have a good awareness of what constitutes acceptable behaviour. They know what is expected of them and are confident to ask for what they require. The staff praise children for positive behaviour by rewarding them with stickers, lots of praise and telling children how proud they are of them when they do something well. The children's understanding of right and wrong is developed as they respond to gentle reminders to care for their environment, play with each other and use equipment appropriately.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. This contributes significantly to children’s well-being in this setting. Each parent has sufficient time to discuss their child’s progress on a daily basis. A notice-board provides good information and allows the parents to become actively involved in their children’s development. Children benefit greatly from the involvement of their parents in projects which contributes to their good health, safety, development and learning. Effective use of photographs of the children engaged in purposeful activity help to demonstrate how children learn and make progress through their everyday activities. The provision's policies and procedures are available for parents to read ensuring that they are kept informed of the operation of the setting. Their views are regularly sought through verbal discussions and questionnaires and any issues raised are dealt with effectively.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. A robust recruitment and selection procedure means that children are cared for by suitably qualified staff. The management team is committed to improving the service provided and this is addressed through regular staff monitoring and training opportunities. Staff give good regard to the well-being of the children they care for and communicate well to ensure they all understand any child related issues.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery is good. The very good induction programme and commitment from management ensures that all adults work well together to promote children’s health achievement and enjoyment. Careful monitoring by the management team

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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 helps to identify key strengths and weaknesses in the delivery of the programmes for care and education resulting in children making rapid progress in their development and learning. This good teamwork enhances children’s care, learning and educational needs. Children's care is greatly enhanced by the staff's organisational skills. Children are generally eager to attend and most enjoy their time in a lively and safe setting, which puts them first. They feel welcome because the environment is organised effectively and play resources and activities meet individual children's needs. Indoor and outdoor space is laid out to maximise play opportunities for all children, this has a positive impact on the children’s learning and development. All legally required documentation, which contributes to children’s health, safety and well-being, is in

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Organisation

Along with the management team, skilled and qualified staff, who are highly motivated and committed, contribute to the day to day running of the nursery and its continued improvement and development. Overall children’s needs are met

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Improvements since the last inspection

Staff have made good progress in addressing the recommendations made at the previous inspection. They were asked to improve the recording of incidents related to children's behaviour. They have devised incident recording forms and these are share with the management team and parents. They have increased the range of positive images resources to reflect disability to ensure children have a wide view of society. Individual forms have been devised to record accidents and medication administered to children. These ensure confidentiality is maintained. A book is now kept to record when an emergency evacuation has taken place.

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Improvements since the last inspection

An action plan was put into place to address the key issues raised regarding the nursery education. Staff now evaluate activities organised for the children and they use this to plan the next steps in children's learning. The opportunities for parents to become more involved in their children's learning has been enhanced with the introduction of coffee morning, workshops and parent being invited to sit on the committee. All this encourages a greater involvement of parents.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 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 AND 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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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 systems for monitoring access to the premises are effective by ensuring a record is kept of visitors • ensure information related to accidents involving children contain sufficient details.

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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 planning shows children's differing abilities and how activities are adapted to meet the individual needs of the children. • extend the resources within the writing area to encourage children to write with purpose and maximise children's mathematical understanding that a total remains the same no matter how a group of objects are divided up.

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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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