Byron Wood Primary School

Magic Dragon Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 107008 Inspection date 09/12/2009 Inspector Linda Janet Witts

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Setting address Church of Good Shepherd Hall, Bishop Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8NA Telephone number 07791 659967 Email 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 . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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

The Magic Dragon Pre-School is managed by a voluntary management committee, made up of parents of children at the pre-school. It opened in the 1970s and operates from the Church of Good Shepherd Hall in Bishopston, Bristol. It is registered on the Early Years Register and a maximum of 24 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 33 children from two to four years on roll, five of whom are in receipt of government funding for three and four-year-olds. The pre-school serves the local and surrounding area. It welcomes children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is open Monday to Thursday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.30am to 12 noon. A lunch club operates on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 12.00-12.45pm. The group use the main and small halls and a small room behind the stage area. They have use of the kitchen and toilets. There is disabled access and toilet facilities. The children have use of an enclosed outdoor play area that is accessible from the small hall.

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Description of the setting

The committee employs six members of staff. The staff work part-time and share the roles of leader and assistants. The staff team includes three members of staff who hold relevant Level 3 qualifications and another has Qualified Teacher Status. They also receive local authority support.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The team of friendly staff work well together and have a good partnership with parents. Children enjoy their time at pre-school and are supported very well in most areas of their learning and development. Statutory welfare requirements are met. There are however, some matters relating to safeguarding, partnership with other settings children attend and promotion of equality and diversity that are not given sufficient attention. The group has achieved the Bristol Standards Quality Assurance Award and is committed to ongoing improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure children's safety when playing indoors; help children to learn to keep themselves safe and extend the record of risk assessment to include all potential hazards within the premises  develop a system for recording any parental complaints  establish links with other early years settings children attend so as to share children's progress and relevant information and to ensure that the provision enhances the experiences children have elsewhere This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  learn about the ethnicity and cultural heritage of the children who attend and plan ways to further value diversity

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the early years provision

Practitioners mostly safeguard the welfare of children successfully. They have a designated person for child protection, who is suitably trained, and an appropriate procedure to follow in the event of any concerns. The church hall that they operate from is secure and the identity of all visitors is checked. Safety measures are taken to minimise most identified risks to children's safety and steps are taken to help children to learn to keep themselves safe. However, occasionally risks that arise during the course of children's play are not minimised, for example children running on the slippery hall surface without wearing shoes. A record of risk assessment is made but this lacks detail and does not include some risks that are specific to the hall and equipment. Routines and procedures promote the good health of children and behaviour management promotes positive behaviour and helps to create a happy atmosphere.

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the early years provision

Practitioners have a positive attitude towards equality of opportunity. They gather information about children's interests and families but are not fully aware about children's cultural heritage. They provide some resources that reflect positive images of the wider community and plan activities to celebrate festivals such as Diwali but are not proactive in valuing the diversity of the children who attend. They do enable all children to participate in activities of their choosing and make adaptations to support this as appropriate. For example, the snack menu takes account of children's allergies and dietary requirements.

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the early years provision

Parents play an active role in the setting; some are committee members and many parents do regular duties so they can see how their children interact with others and also what activities are offered. Feedback from some parents obtained as part of the inspection shows that they have very good relationships with their children's key persons, feel well informed about the provision and their children's progress, and they all praise staff highly for the support their children receive. The group does not have a system to record any complaints from parents, should they receive any but they do have a written complaints procedure that is prominently displayed.

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the early years provision

Many of the children attend other pre-school settings and the practitioners have not developed links with these other settings. Children do talk about their experiences elsewhere but practitioners cannot be sure that the activities and experiences they plan enhance those children receive in the other settings. Links with several of the schools that children will transfer to are established and this helps to ensure that children have a smooth transition into school.

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the early years provision

The group has taken action to improve following the recommendations made at the last inspection. Submission of documentation in order to achieve a quality assurance award involves reflective practice, identification of aspects for improvement and action taken in respect of this. Action taken has resulted in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 greater learning opportunities for children. This evaluation of the provision has not identified all of the weaknesses identified during this inspection but those involved in the leadership and management of the setting and other staff show commitment to further improvement.

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and outcomes for children

The children are happy and relate well to their key persons and other staff. Those who find it difficult to detach from their parents or carers receive reassurance and support that helps them to settle quickly. Children are familiar with the session routine and join in the more structured circle-time and group time activities with enthusiasm. They are able to choose what activities they want to do during 'choosing time' and they can choose whether to play indoors or outdoors, to be active or select quieter activities. Children sometimes offer ideas to initiate or extend activities and adults support this by providing additional resources but these are not always readily accessible to enable children to do this for themselves.

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and outcomes for children

A good range of activities is offered to children during each session. These promote development across the six areas of learning and help them to develop skills for the future. Observations of the children at play identify children's interests and possible next steps for their learning. The children are supported by their key person who is mindful of where each child is in their learning and helps them to progress through planning, questioning and by offering ideas to promote children's thinking. As a result the two, three and four-year-olds gain confidence, develop their communication and language and learn to problem-solve and reason. They count and join in number rhymes that introduce them to simple calculations and some children recognise numerals and also letters. More able children are beginning to link sounds to letters and are keen to attempt to write their own names. Books are stored attractively and children like to snuggle up with an adult

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and outcomes for children

to share a story and in groups children listen with interest to stories read by adults. Activities are planned that encourage children to re-tell stories they are familiar with such as, 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Three Bears'.

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and outcomes for children

The garden play space offers children the opportunity to explore and investigate. They go outdoors if they wish, whatever the weather. Extra clothing, wellington boots and umbrellas are available for use. The children engage in role play in the play houses, practise their balancing skills on the log stepping stones and wooden planks, do gardening activities and enjoy sand and water play. The area is well resourced and space is utilised effectively to offer a wide range of learning opportunities.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about shapes and are introduced to positional language as they go about their play. This is particularly evident during construction activities. Here children build using their own design ideas on small and large scale. The children are proud of their creations and photographs taken of what they make are shown to parents so that they can share in children's achievements. The children show interest in information and communication technology but there is only a limited This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 range of resources to support this. Children have opportunities to paint and draw and are keen to join in planned adult-led art activities. Children are introduced to different painting techniques and combine different materials to create collages and models. For example, they squeeze different coloured paint into the 'paint machine' as it spins. They watch as the paint spreads out and then add glitter to

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and outcomes for children

create attractive designs that will be used to make calendar presents for their families. At times such as near Christmas when the focus is on planned adult-led art activities, children are unable to access other art materials and resources so that they can create freely. The session routine includes singing and music activities. Children join in the songs and do associated actions. Many of the children know the words of familiar rhymes and songs and will often sing them spontaneously as they play. Musical instruments and music from compact discs are sometimes used to accompany singing. Role play is popular. Children join with others to have 'parties' in the home corner and take on roles based on their first- hand experiences, such as baby care, shopping and cooking. They visit the 'garage' managed by the playleader and child assistant, fuelling their tricycles before setting off on their journey around the small hall.

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and outcomes for children

The children learn to use equipment safely, taking turns on the climbing frame and trampoline. Sometimes children bounce together on the trampoline when adults are distracted and this compromises their safety and they do not always follow instructions to keep themselves safe. Fire drills help to familiarise children with emergency evacuation procedures. Children routinely cleanse their hands before they eat and learn that this is to remove germs. They are served varied healthy snacks and lunch club enables those transferring to school to become familiar with having packed lunches. 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 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 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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