Happy Faces Pre-School

Happy Faces Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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EY347075 Unique Reference Number 03 July 2007 Inspection date Heidi Wilton Inspector

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Ranvilles Community Centre, Oldbury Way, FAREHAM, Hampshire, PO14 3BN

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E-mail

Caroline Horne 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Happy Faces Preschool is newly registered and operates from a community centre within the grounds of a school in Fareham, Hampshire. A maximum of 26 children may attend the preschool at any one time. The preschool currently have 44 children on roll and 27 children in receipt of nursery education funding. The preschool is open each weekday from 09:00 to 16:00. The preschool supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The preschool employs six members of staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications and two are working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children wash their hands after messy play in a low level bowl of water to ensure cross contamination is prevented. Staff have a robust checklist in place to ensure the water is changed regularly. Children wash their hands with soap and water at a separate hand-washing station

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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 and dry them on separate paper towels. This further ensures cross contamination is prevented. Staff use robust procedures when changing children's nappies to prevent the spread of infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

The setting discuss and share the sick child policy with parents from the outset. This ensures they are well informed of procedures to follow should their child contract a communicable disease. The preschool have not gained written parental permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment for all the children. This does not ensure all children are treated without delay in an emergency. The preschool have a good understanding of completing accident, incident and medication records and parents gain a carbon copy of any accidents which have occurred to ensure they are fully knowledgeable.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a healthy snack of a variety of fruits. They independently spoon fruit from the large bowls onto their individual plates and pour their own drinks. Posters are displayed of healthy foods around the snack area and staff talk to the children about the benefits of the healthy foods. The preschool have a good system in place to ensure all staff are fully knowledgeable about children's allergies and dietary requirements.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children engage in a variety of physical activities both inside and out. They enjoy running around the playground of the local primary school adjacent to the preschool and have fun playing in the large wooden pirate ship. Children love playing with the large parachute as they move their arms up and down to create the movement. They enjoy climbing the large inside climbing frame and become animated as they move their bodies to familiar songs and rhymes. Children have fun fixing pieces of jigsaw puzzles together and enjoy manipulating the Playdoh with the variety of tools.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The preschool have age and stage appropriate equipment available to the children. The staff conduct good daily risk assessments of both the inside and outside areas to ensure hazards are identified and minimised.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

During preschool sessions the preschool have sole access to one large room, foyer and toilet areas of the community centre but do not have sole access of the whole building. They ensure children are safe with the use of an alarmed buzzer system which informs staff that someone has entered the building. Children are kept safe further with the use of a stair gate at the door of the preschool room to ensure children remain within designated areas. All children are accompanied and supervised by a member of staff when they leave the main preschool room or when they go to the toilet.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have good systems in place to ensure all children are kept safe when going outside to play. Staff have written permissions for the children although some children do not have written permissions to go on walks or outings. This does not ensure these children are safe and parents well informed. The preschool display a detailed fire evacuation procedure and practise the fire drill on a regular basis with the children. They discuss with the children the importance of practising the fire drill to ensure they are fully knowledgeable in the event of a fire. The preschool have a lost and uncollected child policy in place to ensure procedures are followed should such an event occur.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The preschool staff all have a good knowledge of child protection procedures and demonstrate a good understanding of recording signs and symptoms. The manager and the team know

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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 where to make referrals to safeguard the welfare of the children. The preschool have a child protection policy in place and this includes details of procedures to follow should an allegation be made against a member of staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children and parents are welcomed warmly when they arrive at the preschool. Children enter the setting excited and choose activities to play with already set up by the staff. The preschool offer settling in visits for children and their parents when they first start. Parents can stay for as many sessions as they wish to ensure their children are happy within the environment. They are given developmental profile sheets to complete when their child first starts which informs the staff about the child's current stages of development. This gives staff knowledge about the child and helps the smooth transition from the main carer to the setting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children who become upset when their parents leave are nurtured and given a supportive cuddle to help them feel happy again. Staff use distraction techniques and settle the child into favourite activities. Children who become tired or want a rest can relax on the soft cushions and listen to or look at story books. They have fun dressing up in a variety of costumes and enjoy playing with the toy food and kitchen. They love playing with the sand and water trays as they scoop sand into buckets to make castles and fill different sized containers with water.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Activities are planned for the areas of learning showing links to the stepping stones and early learning goals. Staff complete detailed observations of the children and record these within each child's developmental profiles. Observations are supported with photographic evidence and staff indicate how the observations link to the areas of learning. Staff know the children well but next steps of learning for individual children are not always identified and are not recorded within the developmental profiles.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Child initiated play is encouraged with some areas of the environment as children can access some activities and resources independently. However, other activities are not organised effectively to enable children to engage in child initiated play. Staff do rotate toys and resources on a regular basis to ensure children are kept interested. They use sound teaching strategies during the session to keep children interested. However, children's interest is not always maintained during structured group times.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain a sense of responsibility and learn to be kind to each other as two children each day have the role of helper. They are confident and approach the visitor in the role-play area stating "here you go, spaghetti bolognaise and a cup of tea". Children have opportunities to engage with emergent writing as they write menus in the role-play corner and make marks with the chalks on the chalk board. Children use number during everyday activities as they count how many toy cars they have parked in the toy garage. They use long strips of material to measure different objects around the environment and use mathematical language such as 'long' and 'shorter'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children explore different textures such as lentils, shaving foam and hay. They have access to a computer and can access the different levels of programs at their own stages of learning. Children paint their whole hands at the art easel stating "my hands feel all sticky and cold".

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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 They listen to and join in with familiar rhymes, songs and stories and dress up in a range of costumes.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children foster an awareness of diversity within society from books and posters within the environment. A large world map is displayed with photographs of different cultured people, clothes and artefacts linked to each country. Other posters and books portray positive gender roles as they show pictures of men and women paramedics, doctors and other job roles. The preschool welcome people from society to come in and talk to the children about their job roles and have recently had visits from the dentist, fire fighters and librarian. They celebrate festivals with the children and ensure they celebrate all festivals related to the cultures and religions of the children who attend. Children had fun tasting prawn crackers and spring rolls at the snack bar during the festival of Chinese new year.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The manager is currently the learning difficulties and/or disabilities coordinator but is gradually transferring this responsibility to a member of staff who is currently gaining the appropriate training. The preschool work with parents and outside agencies to implement action plans and strategies to ensure consistency is achieved for the child. They have good links with the Area Inclusive Needs Coordinator gaining support and advice when necessary. A local school for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities visit the preschool once a week with a small group of children. These children socialise and interact with the preschool children and join in with the range of activities. This is effective in fostering an understanding for all the children about the range of additional needs within society. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The preschool have a behavioural policy which they discuss and share with parents from the outset. Staff are also shown the policy from the outset to ensure they are well informed. This ensures consistent behavioural strategies are used for the children. Staff use positive praise and encouragement for good behaviour and achievements. The staff talk to children at child level if they display unacceptable behaviour and discuss this with parents at the end of the session to ensure they are fully informed.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are happy with the provision and feel the staff team are all approachable. They are shown the policies and procedures from the outset and can access these at anytime within the foyer area. Staff give good verbal feedback at the end of the session and ensure they make themselves available to the parents. Parents are welcomed to come in and help during the session and are invited to attend event days at the preschool. Staff act upon any suggestions highlighted to them by parents and ensure action is taken to implement these suggestions. The preschool have a complaints procedure in place to inform parents of routes to follow should they have a concern. A complaints log is in place and the preschool demonstrate a good understanding of how to record any concerns.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Plans are on the parents' notice boards with links to the Foundation Stage to inform parents about what learning is taking place. They receive newsletters about themes, topics and events which allows them to continue activities at home. Parents can access their child's developmental records and can speak with their child's key worker at anytime. They can take the records home to read at their own leisure. Children's next steps are not recorded within the records therefore learning cannot be fully supported and consolidated at home.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The preschool display their registration certificate on the parents' notice board to ensure parents are well informed of their conditions of registration. The manager ensures staff remain in adult to child ratios. She effectively deploys the staff around the areas of the environment to ensure the needs of all the children are catered for. Children self-register when they arrive at preschool but their attendance is not recorded formally at the actual times they arrive and depart. This does not ensure children are safe in the event of an emergency or fire. Two members of staff have up-to-date paediatric first aid qualifications to ensure children remain safe and healthy in the event of an accident. Other members of the team are attending up-to-date first aid training in the near future.

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Organisation

Staff have developed strong relationships with both the children and their parents. A consistent staff team ensures children are happy with their carers. Children are protected because all policies and procedures are implemented and made available to both parents and staff from the outset. Parents are able to access these policies on a daily basis as they are kept in the front lobby of the preschool. Good procedures are in place to ensure all adults working with the children are vetted. Adults who are not yet vetted are never left alone with any of the children. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The manager has overall responsibility for the day to day running of the provision and monitoring of the nursery education provision. The registered provider works within the setting with the children and currently is training towards her National Vocational Qualification level 3. She has responsibility for the finances of the preschool but supports and oversees the responsibilities of the manager.

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Organisation

The manager and registered provider both ensure staff attend training to update their knowledge. They also attend up-to-date training and read current literature to develop their expertise. Staff experience informal inductions when they first start and job shadow a member of staff to ensure they are knowledgeable about the routine and day to day running of the preschool. Staff gain support from the manager and registered provider who monitor the staff on a day to day basis. They discuss with staff any concerns or celebrate with them any achievements. The registered provider and manager intend to conduct annual appraisals with staff to discuss their working practice.

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Organisation

The registered provider has overall responsibility for implementing and updating policies and procedures but does discuss amendments with the manager. The staff team are informed of any changes and these changes are highlighted to parents within the policies and procedures folder.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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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Complaints since the last inspection

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

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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 satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure all written parental permissions are obtained for all the children • further develop the system for recording children's attendance to ensure they are marked in at the actual times of arrival and departure.

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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): • further develop teaching strategies during group times to maintain children's interest • include children's next steps within the developmental records to ensure both staff and parents can fully support and consolidate the learning • further develop the organisation of the environment to ensure children can further engage with child-initiated 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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