Harden Pre-School

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Harden Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 301952 Inspection date 05/03/2009 Inspector Rachel Ayo

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Setting address Harden Memorial Hall, Wilsden Road, Harden, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1JP Telephone number 0781 724 0908 or 01535 275 019 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10). This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Harden Pre-School is a registered charity managed by a voluntary committee that has been operating since September 2000. It operates from three first floor rooms within the Memorial Hall in the village of Harden near Bingley. Access to the first floor is gained via stairs only. The group serves families that live in the surrounding area. The pre-school is open five days a week during term time only. Monday to Thursday sessions run from 09.00 to 11.30 and 12.45 to 15.15 and on Fridays the group is open from 09.00 to 12.30. Some of the children stay at the provision for full days and bring a packed lunch. There are outdoor play facilities adjoining the premises.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register for a maximum of 24 children and there are currently 44 children on roll aged from two to four years. The nursery supports children who use English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 10 members of staff who work directly with the children, six of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification level 2. The setting provides funded early education for three and four-year-old children. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and receives the support of their local authority.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate. Although children are confident, enjoy their time at the setting and engage in a generally varied range of activities to support their learning and development, certain aspects relating to welfare are inadequately met due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the full requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This includes training requirements, notifications to Ofsted and specific record keeping systems and policies and procedures not being kept up-to-date or maintained as required in order to promote the efficient and safe management of the setting. Planning and assessment systems are being developed at present in order for staff to fully support children's individual learning and development. Partnerships with parents and in the wider context are generally satisfactory, with some good aspects, in ensuring that children have their needs met and are treated as unique individuals.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

However, some of the systems for information sharing are inadequate. Although some action has been taken to demonstrate a commitment to the continual improvement of the setting, insufficient self-evaluation means that the weaknesses of the early years provision are not identified accurately and the action needed is not prioritised effectively.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 provide an action plan to ensure that the designated person who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding children within the setting and liaising with local statutory children's services agencies has attended a child protection training course (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 19/03/2009  ensure that parents are provided with information about the provider's policies and procedures including the complaints procedure, the procedure to be followed in the event of a parent failing to collect a child at the appointed time and the procedure to be followed in the event of a child going missing (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 19/03/2009  ensure that accident records consistently include details of first aid treatment and ensure that parental consents to seek emergency medical treatment include advice (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 12/03/2009  ensure that Ofsted are notified of changes to the

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further?

individuals who make up the committee (Suitable people) 12/03/2009  conduct a risk assessment of all areas used by children and review it regularly - at least once a year or more frequently where the need arises (Suitable premises, environment and equipment). 19/03/2009 To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 encourage children to develop their awareness of a range of healthy practices and provide materials and opportunities for children to use writing in their play and further create an environment rich in print  develop partnership working by involving parents and other providers more effectively in children's individual learning  develop more rigorous systems for the systematic observational assessment of the children in order to show a clear picture of progress in line with the expectations of the early learning goals.

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provision

Although there are good vetting procedures for staff working with the children, for example, enhanced disclosures are renewed every three years and their suitability is assessed yearly as part of the appraisal system, Ofsted have not been notified of changes to the committee which is a breach in legal requirements. This means that appropriate checks have not been carried out as required in order for Ofsted to determine their suitability. Staff are well deployed and ratios well maintained in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 order to ensure that children are supported.

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provision

In practice, staff consider the safety of the children and hazards are generally minimised or managed suitably. For example, no entry can be gained to the children's rooms because of a coded keypad system, and fires, used to ensure the comfort of children, are guarded. However, there is a breach in legal requirements because risk assessments are not reviewed and updated regularly, at least once a year or more frequently where the need arises. This particularly relates to the outdoor area where there has been a number of changes including new fencing and a gate. This has impacted on the security of the area due to a gap being present, although there are imminent plans for this to be rectified and suitable staff deployment and supervision prevents access to this. Staff demonstrate an awareness of possible signs and symptoms of abuse or neglect in order to safeguard children. However, the designated person for child protection has not

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provision

attended a child protection training course, which is a breach in legal requirements and means that they are not aware of the most up-to-date procedures. Some records are maintained in line with requirements in order to promote children's welfare. However, some entries in the accident book do not include first aid treatment and consents to seek emergency medical treatment to not include advice, both of which are breaches in legal requirements.

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provision

Most required information is exchanged with parents before placement in order for staff to meet children's individual needs, for example, via the 'all about me' booklet. However, particular policies and procedures are not effectively shared, which is a breach in legal requirements. There are effective systems, including working in partnership with parents, for staff to ensure that children who use English as an additional language are fully included in the life of the setting and receive good levels of support. Parents are positively involved in the setting, for example, through supporting fundraising events, such as the Mother's Day gift scheme, being included in the stay and play rota and being invited to be part of the committee. Displays, daily friendly chats and regular newsletters keep parents informed about the setting and what the children do.

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provision

The setting demonstrates some commitment to continuous improvement. For example, through staff training and the setting's successful application to the Ward Investment Fund, children's learning has been enhanced in the outdoor area due to a new play area and ideas for outdoors activities. There are some systems for self-evaluation, for example, via committee meetings and parent questionnaires. However, there has been insufficient focus on ensuring that all recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed and on keeping policies and procedures up-to-date. For example, complaints and safeguarding children, though this was completed immediately when highlighted at the inspection including obtaining some up-to-date contact details. A number of breaches in legal requirements have resulted from a lack of prioritisation of the implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are sociable, happy and well settled due to secure relationships with staff and they are enabled to make choices about their play and learning because of the systems for organising resources and activities. Staff have a good understanding of how to plan across the six areas to ensure that children take part in a generally broad and balanced curriculum to support their learning and development. At present, however, the arrangements for observation and assessment are not documented formally in order to effectively identify learning priorities and plan relevant and motivating learning experiences for individual children in line with the expectations of the early learning goals. Parents are actively encouraged to contribute to topics, such as 'people who help us', via the parents' page of the newsletter, although systems are not fully established for involving parents and other providers in children's individual next steps in order to effectively promote

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

continuity in their learning and development.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff support children through their enthusiasm, questioning and interest in what they say and do. They help them to make marks in the 'crazy foam', such as the letter of their name or a picture of their family, and encourage them to see which box 'Fuzz' the teddy bear is hiding in. They talk about different materials and shapes of the boxes, including more complex and three-dimensional shapes, such as a hexagon and cuboid, and children describe the oval shape as looking like an egg. As children guess the shapes their self-esteem and confidence is fostered through praise and encouragement as staff explain that it does not matter if the answer is wrong. Children engage in simple problem solving as they join in enthusiastically in the '10 in the bed' song using interesting finger puppets and a story book, and calculate how many boxes are left when looking for 'Fuzz' the bear. They construct with a purpose as they make a complex train track,

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

encouraged by staff to find the different shaped pieces, and tell the inspector about their helicopter made by connecting straws. Children are encouraged to find their name at snack time and are encouraged to bring things in from home for the letter of the week, which supports their communication, language and literacy, although there is a lack of print in the environment and limited opportunities to use writing for different purposes. Children behave very well and are responsive to staff requests. They readily take turns, for example, on the computer, which is used well by the children as they operate simple programs independently.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children celebrate a range of festivals through activities, outings and different cuisine in order to effectively help them learn about diversity and they talk about different parts of the world where animals live, resulting in conversations about their own experiences, for example, a trip to Australia. Children learn about some aspects of a healthy lifestyle as they take part in topics, such as healthy eating which parents are also involved in due to their provision of packed lunches. However, older children readily tell the inspector that they have not used the soap to wash their hands and when asked why they should do so reply that they do not know. There are good opportunities for children to be active, benefit from fresh air and develop confidence in their physical skills as they access the very interesting outdoor area daily, go on walks within the local community and access more challenging equipment in the park. Children learn how to keep themselves safe to

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 a good standard through topics and explanations from staff. They express their imagination with a range of resources, for example, as they show staff their white hands covered in the shaving foam exclaiming that they are a character from a television programme. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 3 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 4

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 2 How well are children helped to be healthy? 3 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 3 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:  we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.

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Detail of the complaint/s

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection.

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Detail of the complaint/s

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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