Marjorie McClure 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. Twyning Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 101697 Inspection date 07/07/2009 Inspector Shirley Ann Jackson

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Setting address Village Hall, Fleet Lane, Twyning, Glos, GL20 6DG

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Telephone number 01684 292816 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 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

Twyning Playgroup has been established since 1963. It is situated in rural Gloucestershire, and the children who attend are mainly from the local village community. The group, which is run by a voluntary management committee of parents, is held in Twyning Village Hall. The playgroup is open four days a week, Monday to Thursday from 09.30 until 12.00. The Tuesday session, which is specifically for pre-school children, lasts for an additional hour in the spring and summer terms.

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Description of the setting

The group is registered on the Early Years Register and a maximum of 26 children may attend at any one time. There are currently 37 children on roll, aged from two to four years. The group is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education. Five members of staff work with the children, four of whom hold recognised childcare qualifications to level 3. The group can support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Staff are assisted by volunteers and rota parents.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory. The group mostly meets the needs of all children helping them to make progress in their learning and development. Staff recognise the children as unique individuals and effectively use the key person system to ensure their care needs are effectively met. Staff promote many aspects of children's welfare with success, ensuring they are safe and secure within the setting. Partnerships with parents and carers are sound, but those with other providers are in their infancy. Staff at the group have started to use the process of self-assessment of their provision to improve experiences for children attending. However, the regulator has not been notified of recent significant events with regards to changes to the committee.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 build links with other providers offering the Early Years Foundation Stage, as well as parents, to ensure all adults take part in the assessment process and so that there is continuous development and consistent care for these children  ensure flexibility in planning for the group, while keeping a focus on children's individual and present learning needs or interests and achievements  analyse observations to help to plan next steps for individuals and groups of children and ensure these are clearly recorded for all adults to see  promote children's awareness of diversity, in order to enable children todevelop a positive attitude to disability, ethnicity, cultural and social diversity This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure the regulator is informed of all significant events (Suitable people) 08/07/2009

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provision

The group's policies and procedures are in place, but a number require updating and expanding to reflect recent changes in legislation. These are shared with all staff and are available at the hall on a daily basis for parents to view. All required records are in place, are clear and are securely stored to maintain confidentiality. Risk assessments have been carried out indoors, outdoors and for all outings undertaken with the children. Children are safeguarded through staff's knowledge and understanding of the indicators of abuse and neglect. They are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child in their care. The group is generally well organised. Children have plenty of space to freely move around the hall and enjoy their play. The outdoor play area is used daily by the children, but at present they cannot choose to play indoors or outdoors using a free flow system. The group has a small range of resources which begins to

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provision

promote children's awareness of diversity. However, children see few images, in the setting , of the wider world that actively promote and value diversity and differences . Partnerships with parents and carers are sound. Parents are given a good quality 'welcome pack' outlining what the group offers when they first make contact with the group. Ongoing information is then shared through informal feedback at the end of each session, newsletters, notice board and helping on rota duty. Parents speak highly of the quality of care their children receive and of the approachability of the staff. However, there is no formal system in place for parents to comment in their child's progress file. There are good links with the local school enabling children to make the transition from playgroup to school with confidence. The group support children with specific learning requirements and make effective links with other agencies. However, where children attend other registered settings

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provision

links with these providers have not been sufficiently forged to ensure that all adults involved with the child can contribute to the assessment, and ongoing individual development of these children.

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provision

The staff team are well qualified, experienced and enthusiastic. They are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the group. Regular staff appraisals are in place to identify strengths and areas for development as well as training issues. A process for evaluating the group's strengths and weaknesses is in its infancy. Recommendations raised at the last inspection have been adequately tackled to help to improve the outcomes for children, but some areas still require development. Children's safety has improved as staff supervision when outdoors has been altered. Children are becoming more independent as they are now more involved at snack time. The recommendations to develop observations and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 assessments to identify next steps and to continue to develop mark-making and role play opportunities still require more work.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

All children take part in a range of activities and experiences, which, over time, helps them to learn and develop. Staff have a sound understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are becoming more confident in delivering this. Adults at the group are on hand to support children's learning. They confidently ask children open-ended questions to encourage them to talk about what they know, understand and can do. A balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and experiences are offered to the children during each session. However, plans tend to be for the whole group, rather than for individual children. There are systems in place to observe and assess the children as they play. However, staff do not always use this information to identify children's interests or the next steps in their learning to inform future plans. Staff organise the indoor area to make it as accessible to the children as possible and to offer experiences covering all areas of

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

learning. Children have daily opportunities to enjoy fresh air and the opportunities offered in the outdoor play area.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children settle well at the group and are soon happily involved in the activities offered. They have warm, secure relationships with their key person who recognises each child as an individual. Children show increasing independence in selecting and carrying out activities, for example, at free play time. They form friendships with other children attending and enjoy playing together. Children demonstrate a sense of pride in their own achievements, for example, showing a picture and saying 'this is for daddy and the next one will be for mummy'. Children are confident communicators with adults who are familiar to them. Language skills are promoted through a question and answer time during registration when staff encourage questions about items a child has brought in from home. Children enjoy listening to stories and looking through books on their own, handling them carefully and turning the pages. Children enjoy a range of mark-making activities,

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

but the resources offered are not always exciting or stimulating. Staff foster maths skills and language through everyday routines, such as, counting the number of children present. Children have opportunities to show interest in different occupations and ways of life as a number of visitors come in to the group. Recently this has included the police, road safety, vet, a musician, someone bringing rainforest creatures and 'scientist Sam'. Children are involved in the local community as they go for walks, visit the village green to play and feed the ducks, and visit the church and the nearby garden centre. Opportunities for children to develop their technology skills and develop their imaginary skills through role play are more limited due to a small selection of resources.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children learn about a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy and find out about the healthy fruit they are offered at snack time. They follow well-established routines to wash their hands before eating. Children learn about keeping themselves safe as they practice emergency evacuation drills and adults talk to them about why they should not run around on the gravel on the outdoor play area. Adults have realistic expectations of the children's behaviour and the children respond positively to this. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Adults are positive role models for the children with their calm and friendly manner. Children follow this example and behaviour is good. 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? 3

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 3 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 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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