Glen Park Primary School

Bishops Hull Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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143067 Unique Reference Number 31 October 2007 Inspection date Julie Neal Inspector

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Bishops Hull Primary School, Bishops Hull Hill, Bishops Hull, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 5EB

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E-mail

Bishop's Hull Community Playgroup 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 outstanding. 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?

Bishop's Hull Pre-school is a committee-run pre-school facility situated in the Bishop's Hull Primary School, within a small village on the outskirts of Taunton. They offer sessional care for children within the village and surrounding areas.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school accommodates a large classroom with store cupboard. They have use of the school kitchen and toilets. There is a segregated outdoor play area available.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is open from 09:00 am to 12:00 noon Monday to Friday term times only. They are registered to care for 20 children aged two to five years. There are 19 children on roll, most of whom are in receipt of funded nursery education. The setting has experience of supporting children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are three staff employed, two of whom have Level 3 childcare qualifications, and the third is working towards this.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group receive regular 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 outstanding. Children's health is very well supported by the excellent systems and routines that protect them from the risk of illness and cross infection. They are cared for in a clean and hygienic environment where staff are pro-active in encouraging them to understand the importance of hygiene, and to independently manage their own needs. For example, children know why it is important to dispose of tissues appropriately after they have sneezed, because they have an understanding that 'germs give you colds'. Simple and effective strategies, such as ensuring clean, warm water and disposable towels are constantly available and easily accessible within the hall means that children wash their hands as needed, such as after playing with sand or clay, and before snacks. All staff have appropriate first aid training, and documents that support children's health and wellbeing, such as records of medicines administered are very clear.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children thoroughly enjoy the extremely well organised café style snack time. They have an excellent variety of healthy snacks available to choose from and very good planning ensures that menus change each week. Healthy eating is promoted very well, for example children have fruit each day and enjoy interesting snacks, such as raw vegetables with a selection of dips that encourage them to try new tastes and textures. Water is freely available at all times and children confidently help themselves when they are thirsty. Milk and juice are also provided at snack times.

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Helping children to be healthy

The health benefits of daily fresh air and physical exercise are promoted extremely well. Children enjoy an excellent balance of informal outdoor games, where they are encouraged to develop their own play, and structured activities that focus on aspects of physical development and muscle control. For example, children show very good co-ordination as they jump and turn along a number line, following instructions and moving their bodies well, running round a track and showing control as they come safely to a halt.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are cared for in a bright, extremely welcoming and child friendly space. Excellent organisation of the hall and resources provide an interesting and stimulating environment where children are keen to explore the attractively displayed games and activities. There is an extremely extensive range of resources available to children, these are suitable for use because they are checked frequently to ensure they are safe and hygienic. Safety routines are extremely thorough, in order that children are protected from harm and are safe and secure at all times. For example: comprehensive risk assessments are made of all areas and these are supported by very thorough daily routines and systems of checks; areas of possible hazard are clearly identified and minimised; fire drills are regularly practised with children and evaluated well. Security is good and staff are very vigilant in ensuring all visitors sign in and are supervised at

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

all times. Children learn very well about personal safety, for instance they confidently demonstrate their awareness of road safety and they know that fireworks are dangerous. Children's safety and wellbeing is further supported by the staff team's excellent understanding of child protection issues and their responsibilities in safeguarding children. They have a very good knowledge of local procedures and have clear systems in place to ensure appropriate action is taken should they have concerns regarding abuse or neglect.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children immensely enjoy the excellent variety of activities that support their progress and development. They are happy and enthusiastic participants, being actively encouraged to make choices in their play. They are extremely confident as they move between different areas of the very well organised play environment, and they enjoy selecting from and using the excellent variety of toys and equipment available to them. Children are encouraged to be independent and to be involved in making decisions. For example, the café style snack area means that children decide when they want to eat and allows them time to complete chosen tasks before they come to the table. Staff discuss with children how best to organise seasonal displays, such as the interesting and very individual autumnal pumpkins and spiders webs they have made. Staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn and develop through play and they

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

provide a child centred environment where the inclusion of all children is paramount. Excellent consideration is given to the needs of individual children when planning activities and organising resources, in order that all children present may participate. For example, children under three years of age enjoy themselves immensely making string pictures because they have adult support while they gain confidence; older children have an equally stimulating time, being encouraged to make their designs more complex and geometric, and they confidently manipulate materials.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good progress towards the early learning goals in all areas of learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum. They plan well to ensure children experience a very good variety of learning experiences that ensures progress in all areas. Written plans are clear and simple, identifying key learning objectives, areas where children may benefit from additional support and where there are opportunities to extend the children's knowledge. Staff share information very well, ensuring that they all have extremely good knowledge of individual children's needs. These are discussed at weekly team meetings in order that activities for the following week are interesting and relevant to the children attending each session. Children are challenged well because staff use their observations and knowledge of individual children most effectively, and make good use of informal opportunities that arise to develop learning. For instance, looking at spiders' webs

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

while outside and discussing these with children. There are systems in place to monitor children's learning and development, although these are not consistently updated and so do not reflect an accurate picture of the good progress being made.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are happy and confident. They quickly become engaged in activities of choice and concentrate well. They show care and concern for each other, they are kind and helpful, and they enjoy taking responsibility. For example, children take turns to care for a little toy dog, they take great pride in telling how they have looked after him at their homes. They communicate extremely well, relishing opportunities to share their thoughts and ideas, and quickly volunteering to contribute to group discussions. Children are confident writers and mark makers, for instance they form letters in the sand and identify these, they write their names on their art work and they have access to a range of writing materials to use in different contexts. Children enthusiastically join in rhyming and alliterative activities and are learning letter sounds very well. Children use books extremely confidently, making good independent use of these as well

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

as selecting stories to be read to them. Children have a very good awareness that books can

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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 be used for reference, independently looking at pictures of pumpkins and spiders to influence their artwork.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children demonstrate a good understanding of mathematical concepts, using their knowledge well in a variety of activities and everyday routines. For example: children count the number of cups at the snack bar and calculate how many more are required; they weigh and measure confidently and use these skills in regular cooking activities; they play games that involve matching and sequencing objects and patterns. Children are learning to recognise numbers and do so in different contexts, such as numbered shapes in the playground and identifying the numerals in the date. Children learn very well about the natural environment, the seasons, and the wider world around them. For example, they explore many aspects of autumn, investigating the changes to leaves and the trees, listening to the sounds the leaves make as they scrunch beneath their feet and talking about how autumn smells. Children have a good awareness of

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

time and place, they know the date and month, and they use the pictorial timetable independently to confirm their knowledge of daily routines. They use a variety of everyday technology competently, gaining particular enjoyment from the use of cameras as they pose in fancy dress.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Creative play is very well promoted within the setting, with an excellent range of resources available to children to use freely. Children make extremely good use of dressing up clothes, thoroughly enjoying role play and creating their own characters and costumes. Children use paints and other materials to create their own artwork, using their hands to explore the feel and texture of different media. Children enjoy developing artwork for wall displays, such as seasonal friezes, and staff encourage children to express their own ideas. This results in extremely individual creations that are very much the children's representation of the themes, for instance pumpkins are created in a glorious range of colours and textures for an autumn display. Children are very competent in their use of a wide range of tools and equipment which they use with control and co-ordination. In addition to items such as scissors, brushes, spreaders and glue

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

sticks that are used in creative activities, children use hammers and tacks as they create patterns with wooden shapes, and they use a variety of household tools when cooking.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are extremely happy and confident. They have excellent self esteem because they are confident that they will be listened to and respected, and that their individual needs will be met very well. They benefit from an extremely inclusive environment where the staff team's understanding and implementation of equal opportunities is excellent. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive excellent support and are enabled to fully participate and be included in activities. This is because their individual needs are fully assessed, with staff working very closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that, for example children are provided with special equipment where needed, or devising specific games and activities that enhance learning and development. Aids to inclusion are used universally within the pre-school as these benefit all children. For example, children independently consult the pictorial

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Helping children make a positive contribution

timetables, and staff and children use simple signing in everyday contexts. Staff have an extremely good understanding of children's individual cultural backgrounds and ensure that opportunities are made to explore these in ways that are respectful and do not single children out.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are extremely well behaved. They are very confident in their knowledge of ground rules and routines, enthusiastically offering to help to set up the snack café, and ensuring that

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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 toys are put away after use. Children benefit from the staff team's excellent explanations about what is happening each day, for instance telling them where they will go for outdoor play and introducing visitors to the setting. Children are very kind and caring towards each other and older, more able children enjoy helping others, for example they help younger children with coat fastenings before going outside. Staff have excellent experience of working positively with parents to address any behavioural issues in a positive and constructive way, developing individual strategies that support children's interests and strengths, and enable participation. Very good management of everyday routines, such as the organisation of whole group activities, supports children's good behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered. Children's awareness and respect for difference and diversity is developed very well through activities that teach them about their own cultures and community, and introduce them to aspects of the wider world.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff work extremely well with parents to ensure children's individual care needs are met. Parents are provided with very high quality information about the setting through the effective use of notice boards, display space, and newsletters. An extremely well presented website provides an alternative way for parents to access information. Excellent relationships quickly develop between staff and parents, ensuring that information is shared and supporting the consistency of care for children. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's settling in processes, ensuring that parent and child have opportunities to adjust to separation, resulting in children that are happy and contented.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of early education is outstanding. Excellent information is displayed regarding the activities children take part in and how these support learning, and photographs demonstrate children's engagement and enjoyment as they participate. Parents are actively encouraged to become involved in their children's learning in many ways, with staff providing ideas for activities they can do with their children at home that link to current topics. Excellent use is made of a little dog, that children take home to 'look after' each day, and this is a simple yet very effective mechanism that quickly involves parents in what their children do at pre-school. Parents are very well informed about their children's progress towards the early learning goals, having regular one-to-one meetings with key workers and the opportunity to attend parents evenings.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The provision meets the needs of the range of children for which they provide. Space and resources are extremely well organised and provide children with a dynamic play and learning environment. Employment procedures are robust and ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. Excellent induction procedures ensure that staff have a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and are knowledgeable regarding the setting's policies and procedures that support children's wellbeing. All documentation supporting the care and wellbeing of children is in place and clearly maintained. Staff are well qualified and experienced, and children benefit from the consistent care of a securely established team. There is a strong emphasis on training and development for staff and this ensures that children benefit from practitioners who are very enthusiastic and confident in their skills. The recently established

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Organisation

management committee are very pro-active and enthusiastic, showing very good awareness of National Standards and of their responsibilities to staff and children. For example, committee

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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 officers are undertaking child protection training in order to safeguard children and to provide professional support for staff.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of nursery education is good. There is a strong commitment to children's learning and development, and systems of planning, observation and assessment have been comprehensively reviewed. Staff hold regular team meetings to discuss individual children’s progress and, communication sharing between members of staff is very good. This means that activities are reviewed and adapted to provide very good levels of challenge and stimulation for individual children. However, children’s records of attainment do not reflect the good progress children make, as there are inconsistencies in the maintenance of these.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, recommendations were made regarding the improvement of care and nursery education. With regard to care, it was agreed to produce and implement a health and safety policy, to provide opportunities for parents to gain feedback on their children's progress, and to ensure children can access a sufficient choice of books. These have been addressed well. There is a comprehensive health and safety policy that is implemented very well by staff. Parents have meetings with key workers and can attend parents evenings in order to gain feedback about their children's progress. Children can easily access a very good selection of books.

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Improvements since the last inspection

With regard to nursery education, it was agreed to increase opportunities for children to practise their writing and calculation skills. This has been done well, children are confident mark makers who write in a variety of contexts and they show understanding of simple calculation such as 'how many more?' and 'how many less?'. It was also agreed to develop assessments of children's progress and use these to inform planning for the individual progress of children. There is now a process in place to monitor children's progress in learning, and staff have a good awareness of children's needs and plan effectively for these. However, monitoring records are not consistently updated by staff.

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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 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 outstanding. 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

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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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): • continue to develop systems of monitoring children's learning, in order that the good progress they make towards the early learning goals is clearly reflected.

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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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