The Grange Comprehensive School

Ilford High Road Baptist Church Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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128470 Unique Reference Number 25 January 2008 Inspection date Rufia Uddin Inspector

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322 High Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1QP Setting Address

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E-mail

Healthy Living Projects Limited 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?

Ilford High Road Baptist Church Pre-School was registered in 1992. It is a Christian pre-school, operating from a church building located near to Ilford town centre and is close to local parks and other amenities in the London borough of Redbridge. The pre-school is part of the church's Healthy Living Project, and strong links with other church groups are in place.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The person in charge of the pre-school is required to be a church member. The pre-school takes a maximum of 36 children, aged from 3 years to under 5 years at any one time. There is a large main hall available. It is open Monday to Friday between 09:30 and 12:00 during term time only. Currently there are 28 children on roll. The pre-school supports several children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school welcomes children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school employs seven members of staff. All of the staff, including the manager, have appropriate child care qualifications. The group receives support from Early Years Pedagogy Advisory Team.

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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 encouraged to develop their self care skills and learn to follow good personal hygiene routines. The staff talk with children about why they need to wash germs away when washing their hands and how these can spread if they do not follow good hygiene routines. Written information is obtained from parents regarding children’s medical history, allergies and special dietary requirements ensuring their individual needs are fully met. The staff have relevant up to date first aid training and deal with accidents appropriately ensuring children remain healthy. Parents are kept notified of accidents which occur and provide appropriate consent in relation to medication and emergency treatment.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's physical development is well provided for. A range of activities and various apparatus is used daily to help children practise physical skills such as balancing, climbing, throwing and catching. Children's finer motor skills are developed through using small craft tools, pencils and construction toys. Children become aware of their local community and environment as they take part in regular outings to the shops and libraries.

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Helping children to be healthy

The group has philosophy of promoting healthy living. Children enjoy and benefit from a healthy diet. They make healthy choices from a variety of chopped and attractively presented fruits at snack time. They are able to choose a drink of milk to have with their snack or get themselves some water if they prefer. These comply with all special dietary requirements and preferences to ensure children remain healthy. Children enjoy snack times as a sociable occasion. They sit comfortably and are learning how to feed themselves, to promote their independence.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The premises provide a bright and welcoming environment. Children use the spacious main hall for all their play and learning activities. This is effectively divided into different play areas. Children move freely and safely around the inside learning environment because staff are vigilant and place high priority on ensuring their safety. Formal and informal risk assessments are implemented on all areas used by children and this includes all equipment, furniture and play resources. Children can access resources safely and are encouraged to take care of their own personal safety and that of others. Staff demonstrate clear and consistent boundaries to help children learn about rules, for example, when to walk and not run. Children are protected from accidents as the staff complete regular risk assessments on the premises, toys and equipment and ensure the setting is secure. Children practise regular fire drills, increasing their

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

understanding about how to keep safe in an emergency situation. There is appropriate fire fighting signage and equipment around the premises. Accidents are recorded and parents' signatures obtained. Children’s safety is also competently met because staff closely monitor access to the provision, to protect children from unknown visitors and to prevent children from leaving the setting with unknown adults.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is given high priority regarding matters of child protection. A comprehensive policy statement informs staff, students, parents and carers of effective practices within the group; this includes the procedure to be followed if an allegation is made against a member of staff or volunteer. Staff have completed training around child protection and consequently have a good understanding of how to implement pre-school and Local Children's Safeguarding

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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 Board's procedures. They liaise closely with outside agencies to work with families and seek appropriate support; ensuring children are fully protected whilst in their care.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children that attend the pre-school are happy, settled and confidently approach the staff for help and support. Children’s care arrangements are thoroughly met as a result of staff being aware of each child's individual requirements and ensuring that all children are well supported. All children arrive confidently and quickly settle into the group. They are gaining a good sense of routine and know what is expected of them. They are well supported by staff, thereby enhancing children’s enjoyment and learning. Staff have good plans in place to ensure that they receive a wide range of activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good and children are progressing well through the stepping stones toward the early learning goals. Staff are confident in the Foundation Stage curriculum and plan accordingly, adapting activities to extend or support children according to their age and ability. Children are well supported to develop ideas and learn through their play by staff who provide a wide range of planned activities. Staff have good knowledge and undertake on-going training on the Foundation Stage curriculum. They are keen to evaluate and improve practice. Planning incorporates individual children's starting points and assesses and implements targets for individual children. Use is made of entry profiles and individual learning plans. Children are allowed to learn at their own pace and there is good understanding of children's individual needs. There are high expectations for children's behaviour and children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

share space together well. However, some aspects of learning are not fully extended and systems to provide additional opportunities for parents to become involved in their children's learning and progress could be further developed.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children get opportunities to move freely in the spacious hall. They enjoy using the slide, running games, dancing, skipping and attempting to hop. Children competently handle small objects such as glue spreaders, sponges and paint brushes. They complete puzzles independently and show good hand/eye co-ordination. Children enjoy a range of creative materials that promote colour, texture and sensory awareness. They show an interest in what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch. For example, they make patterns and shapes with dough, enjoy water play, craft activities and exploring textured and natural materials. They use their imaginations as they create scenarios giving themselves roles and using resources and dressing up clothes to formulate characters. Children count confidently and recognise numerals using good mathematical language in their play. They show an interest in numbers and counting, some

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

using number names and language spontaneously during their play. More able children can successfully identify a range of numerals. They enjoy sorting games and are able to recognise, name and match a variety of shapes and sizes. Children can recognise and competently use positional language and language relating to size and shape. However, opportunities for learning are sometimes missed by not encouraging the children to count during daily routine activities, for example, staff could encourage children to count how many children there are and consider how many cups and plates will be required during meal time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have regular opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of information technology. Children are developing good hand-eye co-ordination through the regular opportunities they have to use tools and equipment. For example they pour, cut,

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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 assemble jigsaws, paint, build and use the computer mouse. Children use the tape recorder and magnets helping them develop their understanding of technology, as well as honing their physical coordination and concentration skills. Staff value children's creativity and encourage them to express themselves imaginatively. This enables them to make connections between one area of learning and another. They enjoy making play dough and acting out stories and life experiences in the home corner and role play areas. Children also sometimes have opportunities to use musical instruments and sing.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Staff have a good knowledge of children's backgrounds and effectively meet their individual needs. They have a positive attitude towards diversity and are good role models, helping children learn the importance of showing respect for all. The group is church based and children learn about religion and say a prayer at the end of sessions thanking God for a lovely day. Bible based activities, stories, songs, and prayers are part of the pre-school curriculum. Children become aware of the wider society as they explore a range of festivals and religious and cultural traditions, including those relating to Eid and Diwali. However there is only a satisfactory range of resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. Both girls and boys are encouraged to participate in all activities to broaden their range of experiences. Children are happy on arrival and are able to quickly settle. They enjoy talking with each other

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and greeting staff. Children are from a range of racial and cultural backgrounds. Their individual needs are well met by staff, who themselves reflect the local multi-cultural community. Staff are able to speak a range of community languages, which aids communication with some children and parents.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Appropriate systems are in place to support children learning English as an additional language and those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Close liaison with parents and outside agencies ensures all children's needs are generally well planned for and met. Children play and behave well. The routines of the day encourage them to share, take turns and consider the needs of others. This positive approach fosters children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children learn to understand right and wrong through consistent boundaries, praise and age appropriate management of behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit because secure links are established between home and the group. Induction and registration procedures are flexible to suit the individual needs of children and their parents. Good systems are in place for settling new children, with parents staying for extended periods and detailed dialogues regarding children's needs taking place.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents of children who receive nursery education is good. Parents are kept well informed of their child's time at group through regular newsletters and the interesting parent's notice boards which provide parents with information about the care and education of their children. Parents receive good information about the Foundation Stage through an informative leaflet. Staff ensure that they are kept informed of children's learning from home by informal chats with parents at the start or end of each day. Input from parents is actively sought to help assess children's starting points. All required records are clear, current and appropriately stored with an awareness of confidentiality. Good staff deployment and use of the key worker system ensures that children are well supervised at all times and are afforded attention to their individual needs. Parents have access to the full range of policies and are

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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. Children enjoy and have a good time at the playgroup because staff have an understanding of how children learn and how important play is in their development. They work well as a team and communicate effectively through informal discussion and formal meetings to ensure the group is organised and the operational plan is implemented in practice. There are suitable contingency plans in place to cover for absences, and to ensure children always have appropriate supervision. Children are well supported because vetting and induction procedures ensure that staff are well qualified and experienced, and that they carry out their roles and responsibilities.

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Organisation

Record keeping is well organised, with required information kept and retrievable. There is a range of written policies and procedures in place which all parents and staff are made aware of. All relevant information is recorded in children's record forms, which are suitably stored in a confidential manner.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management is good. Children's individual progress is enhanced because teaching is rooted in a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage and promotes children's learning. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions and appraisals, which ensures they are well supported. The management team closely monitors day-to-day arrangements to ensure that good adult-to-child ratios are maintained and that staff are effectively deployed. Each child also has a named key worker who gets to know the child well and ensures they are effectively supported. As a result, children are happy, settled and well cared for. The nominated person, committee and the manager work closely together, continually reviewing practices within the pre-school. Consequently they are able to support staff and monitor the quality of teaching.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the group were asked: to develop staff's awareness and understanding of effective ways to manage children's behaviour, taking into account their age and stages of development; to develop the child protection policy to include what to do if an allegation is made against a member of staff; to review the way in which snack time is organised.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The behaviour management policy now includes procedures to be followed to manage children's behaviour, taking into account their age and stages of development. Staff attended behaviour management training to improve their knowledge and understanding of behaviour management and good behaviour techniques are used by staff. Generally children were well behaved.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The manager has updated the policy statements relating to child protection. There is a statement in place regarding the action to be taken if an allegation is made against a member of staff. This helps to ensure children's safety and welfare is maintained.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Snack time has been reorganised. Children access the snack table readily and are able to make healthy choices.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last nursery education inspection the group was asked: to improve systems for observation and assessment and use these to inform planning; to develop opportunities for children to develop their language skills; to develop opportunities for children to count, recognise numbers and to compare and separate groups of numbers.

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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 An appropriate system is in place whereby staff keep detailed records of children's progress toward the early learning goals. Regular observations are made of all children and used to see where children are on the stepping stones, and to identify learning needs and plan children's next steps. Information on all children is used to plan how activities are presented and key workers adapt these to support individual children's learning. Improvements have been made to help children develop language and mathematical skills. For example children are encouraged to read in the book corner and there are activities where mathematical concepts are learnt about by the children. All this helps to promote children's learning and development.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that children have a greater range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • provide additional opportunities for parents to become involved in their children's learning • continue to make greater use of everyday routines to increase opportunities to promote counting and comparing skills

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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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