Berengaria Primary School

Bishop Sutton Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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133009 Unique Reference Number 13 November 2007 Inspection date Beverly Anne Self Inspector

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The School Room, Methodist Hall, The Street, Bishop Sutton, Bristol, Avon, BS39 5UU

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E-mail

The Trustees of Bishop Sutton Pre-School 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Bishop Sutton Pre-school opened in 1969. It operates from the Methodist Church Hall in the village of Bishop Sutton. The group has access to the main hall, kitchen, toilets and two enclosed outdoor areas. The pre-school serves the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is registered to provide care for 24 children between two and five years old. There are 41 children currently on roll. This includes 22 children who receive funding for nursery education. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens four days a week during school term times. Opening times are Mondays and Friday 09.15 until 11.45 with an optional lunch club until 13.00. Tuesdays and Wednesdays the pre-school is open from 09.15 until 15.30, children can attend half day or full day sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school is run by a committee who employ seven staff to work with the children, one works full time and six are part time. Of these staff six hold early years qualifications. The setting receives 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 good. Children have good opportunities to engage in a variety of physical play experiences. Each day they play outside where they engage in energetic play running, throwing and catching, using scooters and pedalling tricycles. They also use large play equipment inside as they crawl through tunnels and balance on beams, showing good co-ordination and large muscle control. The children recognise how their bodies change after exercise, as they tell staff they are "hot", or have "a dry mouth and need a drink".

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Helping children to be healthy

Children help themselves to a drink when they are thirsty, as staff make sure there is a jug of water and cups readily available. The children enjoy a healthy snack consisting of a variety of different fruit and crackers, with water, milk or juice. They learn about what is good for them to eat through discussion and planned activities. The current topic is food and the children made their own sandwiches, and a mixed vegetable and cous cous dish. They smell and taste the different ingredients discussing what they like and dislike, and which foods are good for them, helping them to learn about a healthy lifestyle.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children learn simple health and hygiene routines. They manage their own toileting needs, and follow hand washing routines after using the toilet, before snack time and after messy activities. The children independently wash their hands, using running water, soap and paper towels in the bathroom after toileting and before eating. However, they use a bowl of water in the play room to wash their hands after messy play and before cooking activities. Therefore, posing a possible risk of cross infection when using the same bowl of water.

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Helping children to be healthy

Effective health and safety procedures are in place and staff maintain good standards of hygiene throughout the premises. They clean tables thoroughly before snack and lunchtime, and provide tissues for children to wipe their own noses. The sickness policy makes clear to parents that children with infectious illnesses are excluded. A high percentage of staff are first aid trained and accidents are accurately recorded, which means that emergency situations are dealt with efficiently and effectively.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. A welcoming environment is provided for children and parents. Children have their own named pegs for their coats and bags, which helps them to feel a sense of belonging. The play space is well organised, allowing the children to move around safely and enjoy a good range of play experiences within a safe environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children can choose from a wide selection of resources and activities that are set out, helping to develop their independence as they select and tidy away the toys. Staff are effectively deployed within the setting and activities are closely supervised, ensuring that play and learning opportunities are appropriate for the children's stage of development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected from people entering the hall, as there is good security of the premises which is appropriately monitored by staff. Safety checks and risk assessment of the premises are carried out and the emergency evacuation is regularly practised with the children. This helps to ensure that the children are cared for in safe surroundings.

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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 The children learn about their own personal safety through planned activities. Following a topic about road safety, the children constructed a large zebra crossing and roadway at the pre-school. A visit from the local lollipop person helped the children to use this, and learn how to cross the road safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is effectively safeguarded. All staff regularly attend child protection training courses to ensure their knowledge in this area is up to date. The designated persons for child protection have a clear understanding of their roles in the protection of children, making sure the children's well being is always a priority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at the pre-school. They enter enthusiastically, and are eager to participate in the activities set out. They follow the daily routine with ease and familiarity, showing confidence and increasing independence. Children take part in activities with a sense of excitement, for example one child goes to the painting table and uses his hands to apply the paint to the paper. He covers his hands completely in the paint mixing the colours together and then rubs them all over the paper to make patterns. He talks about how the paint feels "sticky and squidgy", exploring its texture, smiling and laughing showing his enjoyment of the experience.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Good relationships are developing between children and adults. The children receive regular one to one attention which helps them to build relationships with staff, and the children play co-operatively together enjoying each others company as early friendships are being formed.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are offered a wide variety and balance of activities and opportunities which contribute to their learning and development. Resources and space are used well to support their play and provide a stimulating environment for all the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum, which they use to plan and provide challenging activities and play experiences for the children to enjoy. Written activity plans indicate that children are offered a range of activities across the six areas of learning, and staff use individual learning diaries to record observations of what children do. These observations are used to show how the children are making progress towards the early learning goals. Observations are also used to help staff plan for the children's next steps of development, however this is not always recorded effectively. Therefore, children's next steps of development cannot be clearly identified at this time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children settle quickly at the pre-school and are independent in choosing what they want to do. They play well together in small and large groups, sharing toys and taking turns. When talking together they take time to listen to each other as well as contributing to the conversation, showing maturity in their attitudes and consideration for each other. The children take responsibility for their own personal needs such as, toileting, helping themselves to drinks, and putting on painting aprons and their coats when going outside to play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident communicators, they initiate conversations with each other and staff. At show and tell, many of the children are eager to stand up in front of the group and talk

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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 about something they have brought in from home. One child describes his digger, stating "it's remote control, it goes backwards and forwards", and then demonstrates how it works. The children express themselves clearly, showing good language and communication skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing an understanding of numbers, they count beads on an abacus frame up to eighteen and recognise numbers on a number line. They play 'snap' using number cards to match numbers correctly, and identify the written number by counting the objects on the card. Children recognise and name different shapes, and use mathematical toys and resources each day that are set out on the maths table.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have lots of opportunities to express themselves freely through creative activities. They enjoy music, singing, role play, free painting and sticking, where they can choose their own resources to create artwork and collage. The children recreate familiar scenarios in the home corner café, showing how they use their imaginations. For example, two children sit at a table having tea, one is pretending to feed a doll, she blows on a spoon of food and says "be careful it's very hot". Both children pretend to pour and drink tea and eat sandwiches. They hold a conversation and pass one another food. They care for their dolls feeding them from bottles, cuddling them and then putting them into pushchairs and going for a walk.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children confidently use the computer with support and guidance from staff, they follow simple programmes and efficiently use the mouse to progress to the end of the task. Children also use other forms of technology such as, a compact disc player and everyday technology of kettles, toasters, cash tills and a cooker in the home corner. Children enjoy designing and making things with construction toys. They appropriately use hammers, pliers, spanners and screwdrivers to join the pieces of a construction toy together, making their own models of a plane and helicopter. The children remain focused in their play during the sessions, concentrating well and staying at a chosen activity for a considerable time before moving onto something else.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children behave well and are developing a good understanding of what is expected of them. For example, they are learning to share. When a child wants a hammer that another child has, staff encourage the children to count how many hammers there are. The children identify there are three hammers, and three children, so there is one each so they can all play together. The staff recognise the children's efforts and achievements, giving them lots of consistent praise and encouragement. This in turn builds the children's self esteem and confidence, and promotes their good behaviour and positive attitudes within the pre-school.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

A written policy for equal opportunities and special needs, highlights how children are included and valued whilst they are at the pre-school. Activities are organised so that all children can be integrated and feel involved, ensuring children's individual needs are met and identified.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Through planned activities and topics the children are able to learn about their environment and the wider world. The children have visited the church next door and met the vicar who talked to them about Harvest. Also, visitors to the pre-school like the lollipop person and firemen help the children to see how they fit into their local community. The children celebrate a variety of festivals such as, Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year , and they have access to a wide range of resources which help to promote positive attitudes to diversity. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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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 Partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents have opportunities to be involved in their child's learning. They are asked to write comments in their child's learning diaries, and encourage their child to find things at home that follow the current topic and can be taken to pre-school for show and tell. Details of the week's topic and activity plans are displayed on the notice board, and information about the Foundations Stage curriculum and the six areas of learning is presented in the prospectus and policies booklet. Parents are also invited to meet with staff regularly to discuss their child's progress and development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

When their child starts at the pre-school parents are asked to complete an 'all about me' form, which helps the staff to get to know the children and learn about their needs. Information about the pre-school provision is regularly shared with parents through newsletters, the prospectus, parents' notice boards and talking to staff at each session. This helps to contribute to the consistency in the children's care and well being at the setting.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from being cared for by a strong team of staff, who have worked together a considerable amount of time. Staff move around the setting well and spend time with the children talking, answering questions, instigating games and supporting the children in their play. The well organised environment and effectively planned activities, enable the children to play and explore freely as they enjoy a wide variety of play experiences and learning opportunities.

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Organisation

Staff are well qualified and experienced in childcare and they have a good understanding of child development. The staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities and work well together. They are well motivated and teamwork is evident. They are committed to working with the children and all contribute their thoughts and ideas when planning activities.

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Organisation

All required documentation relating to the children's care, education, health and safety is in place. This helps to ensure that they are cared for appropriately and the outcomes for children are promoted.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is good. The staff are very well supported by the committee, who actively take part in the running of the pre-school. The staff and committee have strong relationships and work well together as a team. The pre-school have recently joined a recognised quality assurance scheme, and regularly use self evaluation systems to monitor and evaluate the provision and their practice. This shows that the staff and committee have a clear vision of how to move the setting forward, and demonstrates their commitment to the continuing improvement of the pre-school. 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 care inspection it was recommended that the details in the lost and uncollected child policy were increased, and the details for emergency evacuation and outings procedures were extended. Also to develop ways of extending children's awareness of good behaviour and to improve the existing record of incidents.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The policy for lost and uncollected children has now been added to, giving clear points of the procedure to be followed stating that they are in accordance with the Children Act Regulations.

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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 Emergency evacuation procedures now have clear instructions and responsibilities of staff members, and the outings procedure contains details for staff and a check list of the procedure to follow. The incident record book now gives information of the situation of the incident and 'what happened', and the behaviour policy has been revised to give staff better guidance for managing behaviour and time is taken to discuss desirable and undesirable behaviour with the children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

As a result, policies and procedures relating to children's safety and outings, records of incidents and behaviour management have been improved.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last Nursery Education inspection there were no key issues raised. The points for consideration were, to develop planning and evaluation to ensure all learning is gained from activities, and to develop children's independence and raise their awareness of the consequences of some of their behaviour. Activity plans now show the learning intentions of the activity and staff now evaluate activity planning for individual children. This information is used to inform the further planning of activities and play experiences. Children's independence is now encouraged as they are able to choose their own resources throughout the session. They choose if they wish to play outside and they collect their own snacks at snack time and help themselves to drinking water. Staff regularly discuss desirable and undesirable behaviour with the children, helping to develop their awareness of the consequences of some of their behaviour.

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Improvements since the last inspection

As a result, activity plans, learning opportunities, children's independence and their awareness of their behaviour have been improved.

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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): • revise hand washing routines to help reduce the possible spread of infection

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The quality and standards of the care

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 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 children's individual progress records to clearly show children's next steps for development

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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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