Farcet Village Nursery

Brightfields Pre-school Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY391695 Inspection date 20/10/2009 Inspector Anna Davies

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Setting address Brightfields Children's Centre, St Mary's Street, Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3AR Telephone number 01733 241 455 Email brightfields@pre-school.org.uk Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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).

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Brightfields Pre-school was registered in 2009 and is part of a new Sure Start children's centre located in the grounds of Farcet Church of England Primary School, Farcet, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. The pre-school is managed by the Pre-School Learning Alliance and has charitable status. Children will have use of a group room, with adjacent toilets and kitchen as well as access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school opens five mornings a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9:00am until 11:30am. A lunch club is offered each day between 11:30am and 12:15pm. Access into and out of the pre-school is at ground level and there are disabled toilet facilities.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 26 children over the age of two years may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 21 children on roll in this age group. The pre-school currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs five members of staff who work directly with the children; three of whom hold early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3. One member of staff is working towards a Level 2 qualification and one member of staff is working towards a Level 3 qualification in Playwork. The setting provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The inclusive nature of the setting ensures that all children receive a warm welcome and settle well with the support of trusted, enthusiastic and caring adults. Staff recognise and value the uniqueness of each child and they work closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure that all children achieve well in their learning and development. Children are offered a good range of stimulating activities and experiences across all areas of learning. Pre-school staff have developed good skills in observing and assessing children's progress towards the early learning goals and planning for their future learning although these systems have currently lapsed and are being revised and amended.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting is very positively led by the newly appointed manager who together with a committed staff team, strive to develop the provision ensuring that the children and parents are at the forefront of any ideas they have for further improvement.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  re-establish effective planning and assessment systems; this relates to ensuring that children's next steps of learning are used to inform planned activities so that these can be differentiated to promote highly individualised learning opportunities  develop systems of self-evaluation to prioritise areas for further development giving realistic time scales  develop closer links with other settings providing for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), to further support children’s learning and development.

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the early years provision

Staff have a very secure understanding of the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child in their care and the manager is about to undertake advanced child protection training in order to fully underpin their role as designated personnel for this area. Recruitment procedures are robust and all staff have undertaken appropriate checks, ensuring that those working with children are suitable to do so. Good systems are in place to check staff's ongoing suitability to work with young children. Risk assessments are good and the pre-school is safe and secure. For example, the main door to the pre-school room has keypad entry for staff and a high handle to prevent children leaving unsupervised. Regular supervision meetings with staff ensure that areas for development are identified and six month induction procedures for new staff are thorough. Staff deployment is effective throughout the sessions as children free-flow between the indoor and

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the early years provision

outdoor environments. Staffing levels are high which ensures that all children receive good levels of adult support and attention.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is well organised, bright and welcoming with a good range of toys and resources freely accessible to children both indoors and outdoors so that they can make independent choices in their play. Displays of children's work ensures children feel a sense of belonging. Documentation is well organised with a good range of policies and procedures in place which effectively underpin good practice. The manager has worked hard to focus her time on the individual needs and family circumstances of the children attending the pre-school. As a result, children are highly respected as individuals and the setting works very closely alongside outside agencies and parents to meet the needs of all children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These children are well supported and fully included in both the activities on offer and in the life of the setting.

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the early years provision

Even though the manager has only been in position a very short amount of time, her utmost commitment and enthusiasm is evident. She is clear about her vision for the pre-school's future and the positive impact she wants the pre-school to have on children's futures. This is a vision that is shared by the whole staff team. There are clear action plans and processes of self-evaluation which demonstrate that staff are clearly able to identify key strengths and the many ideas for future development. However, action plans are very lengthy with unrealistic timescales. The manager is well supported by the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) and meet weekly together to review and evaluate practice and procedures. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Partnerships with parents are strong. Information is shared between staff and parents on a regular basis and parents have good opportunities to become

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the early years provision

involved in their child's learning. For example, open evenings deliver information about the EYFS and how parents can further develop their partnership with the pre-school to benefit their child's learning and development and the parents' forum has been set up to help with fundraising and to enable parents to put forward ideas. Good systems are in place to ensure parents receive feedback about children's progress. For example, children's assessment files are available to view and consultations have been arranged in the very near future. Parents speak very highly of the setting, especially the individually tailored settling-in processes and the level of care and consideration given to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school have very strong links with outside agencies, the local school and families. However, partnerships with other providers also delivering the EYFS to children are not yet as well established, with particular

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the early years provision

regard to sharing information about children's learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and settled in the pre-school. Those that take a little longer to settle because they are new, are reassured well by staff until they gain their confidence. Staff place a strong emphasis on an effective key-person system and work hard to form genuine bonds with children. A good range of age-appropriate activities and experiences are offered to children, both planned and child initiated. This ensures children are actively engaged in their learning. Staff interact effectively with children as they make choices about the direction of their play and they are particularly attentive to children's needs. They ask questions to promote learning for example, when reading stories or when scooping out the pumpkin seeds, asking 'what can we do with the seeds?', 'what do the seeds feel like?'. Information about children's starting points is gathered from a parents' questionnaire and through the thorough settling-in periods. This gives staff a

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and outcomes for children

secure knowledge of children's interests and stage of development. Prior to this term, good systems of individual planning and assessment had been established. However, these are now being developed and enhanced by the new manager. Consequently, since the beginning of this term the identification of children's next steps of learning and the filtering of this information through to the planning, has lapsed. This means that some planned activities, especially those planned for small key-person group times, miss opportunities to promote highly individualised learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well. They are considerate of each other and work well together, for example, as they create a model dog from 'Popoids'. Staff actively encourage children to use good manners and to use grammar correctly. Staff enthusiastically listen to children as they talk about their lives and families outside of pre-school and children are keen to share experiences, such as a trip to the local theme park. This gives children feelings of self-worth and promotes their speech and language development. Children feel valued as individuals, for example, as they provide the 'helping hands' at snack time or put their creations on the side to show their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 parents later. Children enjoy sharing stories in the comfortable story den and have good opportunities to mark-make. For example, they 'write' letters on post-it notes and post them in the post box. They recognise their names as they self-register

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and outcomes for children

upon arrival. They learn about the meaning of different words, such as 'quiet' and 'loud' as they sing songs in different volumes. Mathematical skills are promoted well during activities. For example, children decide to fix the table legs and staff encourage children to count them first. They learn positional language as they learn to coordinate the parachute 'up' and 'down'. Children have free access to a computer where they learn vital skills, such as how to use a mouse and complete educational programmes, such as 'pairs'. They learn about where food comes from, eagerly picking tomatoes from their plants in the garden, washing and tasting them at snack time. They begin to learn about different cultures and celebrations. For example, they mould clay diva lamps and look at books to gain an understanding of this tradition. They become involved in the local community as they collect Harvest produce to donate to the local church. Children have regular

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and outcomes for children

exercise and fresh air in the garden. They are active, for example, as they take part in action songs and parachute games. They learn about healthy lifestyles through keep fit activities and seeing how their heart beat changes after these as well as through role play, such as the creation of a 'fruit shop'. Children enjoy their imaginary play, for example, as they use castanets to pretend to straighten their hair and share lively conversations on toy mobile phones with other children and staff.

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and outcomes for children

Children are cared for in a safe, clean and hygienic environment. They are learning to keep the environment safe, for example, by being reminded to hang up their coats to prevent a tripping hazard and to use equipment safely. Children and staff follow good hygiene routines. For example, children help to clean the table and put aprons on prior to preparing snack and learn about how to dispose of used tissues appropriately. Most staff hold valid first aid qualifications which ensures that minor accidents can be dealt with effectively. Records of accidents are generally well maintained. The pre-school provides children with a healthy and nutritious range of snacks and water is freely accessible to children at all times. A lunch club has just been started and parents are given advice about the appropriate storage of food to ensure it remains suitable for children to eat. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

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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