Brierley Playmates Pre-School Nursery

Brierley Playmates Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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302824 Unique Reference Number 28 February 2008 Inspection date Sarah Gilpin Inspector

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Community Pavillion, Brierley Park,, Brierley, Barnsley, S72 9HN Setting Address

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E-mail

Brierley Playmates 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 satisfactory. 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?

Brierley Playmates Pre-school was registered in 1993. The group is managed by a voluntary committee and operates from the old pavilion building in Brierley Park, Brierley near Barnsley. The group is registered to provide sessional care for a maximum of ten children aged from two to five years. The children have access to two adjoining playrooms and there is an enclosed hard surfaced outside area, where children can play. The pre-school serves families from the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 11 children on roll, including eight children who are in receipt of funded nursery education. There is support for children with disabilities and learning difficulties and for those children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week during school term time. Sessions run from 9.15 to 11.45 and 12.30 until 15.00, children attend a variety of sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Two members of staff work with the children, one holds a level three qualification and the other is committed to obtaining a relevant qualification. 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 satisfactory. The children are cared for in a suitable environment where they are helped to learn about good hygiene practices through daily routines. Staff implement the pre-school's health and hygiene procedures to ensure that risks are minimised, for example tables are cleaned using anti bacterial spray. Resources, such as steps up to the sink, pump dispensed soap and hand towels, ensure that children can successfully manage their own hygiene, developing their independence in this area. There are clear systems in place for dealing with accidents, staff hold suitable first aid qualifications and there is a well stocked first aid box. However, the accident and medication recording system currently used does not sufficiently maintain children's confidentiality.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children enjoy the fresh fruit that is provided for them each session, children choose from the whole pieces of fruit, which the staff then prepare for them. The children can choose when to have their snack because the table is set out café style, they pour their own drinks and sit with their friends and chat. The staff seek relevant information from the children's parents to ensure that any specific dietary needs are recognised and met.

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Helping children to be healthy

Outdoor play is available to the children each day at the end of the session. They have access to a variety of play resources and equipment. They pedal bikes with growing confidence, kick balls with enthusiasm and roll and hoopla with plastic hoops. Children's hand-eye coordination is developing well because they have opportunities to play with small resources like seeds and use tools, such as knives, to cut playdough.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a welcoming environment that is maintained to a satisfactory standard. The staff are vigilant as they support the children in their play, children are closely supervised as they explore both rooms within the setting and when they play outside. Their arrival and departure at the pre-school is carefully monitored by the staff who welcome them in each session and there is a clear record kept of visitors to the setting. All of which helps to keep the children safe. Suitable fire safety precautions are in place and the regular fire evacuation practises help raise the children's awareness of how to deal with emergency situations.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children safely access the toys and resources, which are carefully stored at their level. The equipment that the children use meets the required safety standards and is routinely checked by the staff to ensure that items remain safe for them to use. Gentle reminders from staff mean that children have a growing awareness of how to keep themselves safe as they move around the setting. For example, they explain that they should take care of others when pedalling the bikes around the yard.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children are safeguarded because the staff have a suitable understanding of their roles and responsibilities in dealing with child protection concerns. The simple recording systems, such as existing injuries and incident records, ensure that staff monitor the children carefully and act in their best interests. There is a policy for dealing with child protection concerns and this contains the required section on dealing with allegations against a member of the staff team.

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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 satisfactory. The children are well settled, happy and relaxed in the pre-school. They are building warm and trusting relationships with the staff who work consistently with them. Children are confident and comfortable with the staff and they seek support and guidance easily as they play together. The pre-school runs two sessions each day and the children who attend are aged from two to rising five. The staff have some understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework, which is used to inform planning for the younger children. However, the plans are not clearly differentiated for the children to ensure that activities planned for the children are suitable for their stage of development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The staff have a sound working knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum, and are becoming familiar with the Early Years Foundation Stage. They plan a variety of activities and experiences for the children to enjoy, which are planned around topics, such as growing. The plans are not clearly linked to the stepping stones in the curriculum and do not detail differentiation for the older and more able children. The current system for evaluating the planning is completed at the end of the week and it is at this point that staff think about the resources, differentiation and learning goals, all of which should be given more consideration before the activities take place to ensure the planning meets the needs of the group. The staff are working to introduce a 'continual' style provision for the children to encourage and develop their independence skills. There are areas, such as the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

construction area, that are not sufficiently resourced and staff are actively looking at ways to improve this provision. The staff interact closely with the children throughout the session and use their questioning skills well to test the children's understanding and extend their learning. For example, they encourage children to smell the growing cress and talk about the seeds they have planted. The system for assessing the progress children make in their learning has recently changed and the staff are developing ways to use their observations of the children to provide a profile of the children's development, to date there is not sufficient information to illustrate the progress children are making.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are busy and interested in the activities that are available to them. They are confident because they build warm and harmonious relationships with the adults and some children are developing friendships with their peers. Children can accomplish some tasks independently because the environment is organised to provide children with a variety of activities to stimulate them. Although, the choice is often limited to the resources that staff have selected for the them. Children show good awareness of their own needs and can manage their own personal hygiene easily because the facilities are adjacent to the play areas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy the company of their peers and they work together to complete programmes on the computer or play in the role play area. The children have a growing vocabulary, which they use to talk to the staff about what they are doing and to negotiate with their friends for a turn on the bike. Books are enjoyed by the children who independently look at them and listen well at group story sessions. Group times are used by staff to provide children with fun activities, such as looking at an interactive flower and talking about the parts they can see, like pollen and petals. The children enjoy singing well known action and number rhymes and choose a game on the computer, which they can sing along to. The children have some opportunities to mark make, and some of the older children are beginning to form the letters of their names, however, at times this is not always actively encouraged.

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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 Children are beginning to use mathematical language spontaneously in their play and when singing songs with numbers in them. A simple game of hop scotch in the garden provides the opportunity for the children to practise counting to ten and in recognising numerals, which the older children do with growing ease. The children are developing an understanding of time through the use of a timer, which ensures they have a fair turn on the computer and the bikes. Children demonstrate their skills in using the mouse to click and drag to complete programmes on the computer. They use their creative skills to decorate 'mothers day' cards, using card, glue, feathers, jewels and tissue paper. Children use their imaginations to make tea for their friends and the staff. Their physical development is encouraged because they use the outdoor

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

area each session and they have chance to build with wooden bricks and manipulate small items for their creative work.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The children are cared for by a staff team who build warm relationships with them. They enjoy access to a range of age appropriate resources and activities, which staff provide to help develop their understanding of the local community and the world around them. There is suitable provision for children with disabilities and learning difficulties because the building is on one level and easily accessible to all. There is no special educational needs coordinator at the present time, which may compromise the well-being of children in the setting.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well because the staff use a calm and consistent approach. Children respond well to this approach and enjoy the positive way staff manage any unwanted behaviour. The behaviour management policy for the provision does not adequately reflect the positive ways which staff deal with the minimal challenging behaviour displayed by the children. They understand the routines of the pre-school and follow the instructions of the staff when the routine changes, for example they tidy away the toys they have played with, this helps the children to recognise that equipment and resources need to be looked after. Children's self-esteem is successfully developed by staff who respond well to them. As a result, the children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There is a satisfactory partnership with parents and carers. Information is provided to ensure that they know about the provision for their children. For example, the plans are displayed and the policies and procedures are easily accessible. Parents and children are made very welcome by the staff and easy-going informal discussions ensure that all information relating to the children's changing needs is successfully exchanged each day.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The children are cared for in a suitably well managed and organised setting. They have access to a range of activities, resources and experiences each day because the staff plan for their learning and enjoyment. The adult to child ratio in the setting means that children are supported during the session. There are suitable systems for the recruitment and checking of staff and this ensures that children are cared for by adults who are suitable to do so. The majority of the policies and procedures contain the required detail and are implemented by the staff, and children's well-being is promoted. The attendance register, however, does not always show the times of departure should a child leave early. Staff enjoy regular access to training and

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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 development opportunities, and as a result they have a growing knowledge of child development and are up to date with current practice.

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Organisation

There has been a recent change in the management and staffing of the pre-school, which has led to the implementation of changes to the planning and assessment systems, as well as in the physical environment provided for the children.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the setting is satisfactory. The manager and the staff work directly with the children and are supported by the management committee. Staff training and development opportunities are planned through discussion and by giving consideration to the skills and knowledge the staff already have. The manager knows that areas of the setting require development and together with the staff is working to improve the outcomes for the children.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the following actions were imposed; to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues, to ensure that the child protection procedure for the pre-school complies with requirements and to ensure that the premises and toilets are adequately ventilated. As a result, the premises are in the process are being up graded, the staff team are booked on training to develop their knowledge of child protection and the policy is clear and contains all of the required elements. The following recommendations were made; for staff to consider how suitable arrangements for nappy changing can be made, for them to consider ways in which natural light can be increased in the children's play environment, to improve fire safety precautions and to include Ofsted's details in the written procedure to be followed if parents have a complaint. As a result, there are basic but suitable nappy change facilities, new

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Improvements since the last inspection

windows are in the planning stage and the new door has glass, which has greatly improved the light in the setting. Finally, there are suitable fire safety precautions in place and the parents have access to clear procedures with regard to complaining about the service.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last inspection of the nursery education raised the following; for staff to develop effective systems for monitoring the provision for nursery education and managing staff's professional development, to develop systems that inform parents of their child's progress and achievements regularly and effectively, to improve the opportunities offered to children so that they develop their physical skills and agility when building and constructing with large equipment and materials and to increase opportunities for children to develop, practice and refine skills learnt when creating, joining and assembling media and materials for their own purpose. As a result, the new manager is setting processes in place for monitoring the curriculum and the committee are supportive of the staff's development. The manager is planning to set up meetings with parents for a formal discussion about progress. The children have opportunities to develop

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Improvements since the last inspection

physically due to the planned outdoor activities and have chance to play creatively, box model and build with bricks.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection Ofsted received concerns in relation to National Standard 7 (Health) because staff were not suitably qualified in first aid. The provider took appropriate action to resolve the issue and remains qualified for registration. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaint 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 satisfactory. 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 that children's confidentiality in maintained through suitable systems for recording accidents and administrations of medication • develop the behaviour management policy to ensure it reflects the practice and ethos of the setting • continue to develop the provision and physical environment to ensure that children have a access to a broad range of activities and experiences in order to promote better outcomes for them • ensure that the record of attendance reflects the time children spend in the setting each day.

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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): • develop the planning to ensure that it is linked to the stepping stones in children's learning and there is clear differentiation for them to ensure there is sufficient challenge to their learning • ensure that the assessment records for the children show their development and progress over time and are routinely shared with the parents • provide more opportunities for the children to choose from a wider range of resources, offering more chance for them to practise and refine their skills in areas, including mark making • develop the role of the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) to ensure that children are supported.

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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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