Holy Trinity Pre-School

Holy Trinity Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 306402 Inspection date 12/01/2010 Inspector Gillian Sutherland

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Setting address Poulton Hey, Chorley Way, Spital, Wirral, CH63 9LS

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Telephone number 0151 334 2683 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

Holy Trinity Pre-School was registered in 1993. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary committee consisting of representatives from the Holy Trinity Church council and also staff from the pre-school. It operates from designated rooms within the Holy Trinity Church, Poulton Hey, Wirral. Children may, with written permission from their parents, participate in outdoor play activities in the grounds of the church.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 28 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 19 children on roll. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and is open each weekday during term time from 9.15am to 11.45am. The setting is also registered to provide care on a Monday and Thursday from 12.45pm to 3.15pm, although this is dependant on the need for this care. The setting is able to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs four members of staff, three of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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

Children attending the pre-school are cared for by experienced and very competent staff who safeguard them and ensure their individual needs are met. To ensure continuity of care and to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, staff have developed a good working partnership with parents and with other (EYFS) providers. A detailed self-evaluation of the setting not only identifies its strengths but also areas for improvement. The committed staff team are keen to attend any additional training that will help them further develop their skills and improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the record of observations and assessment to include the identified next steps in each child's learning  improve the clarity of the recording of information within the children's attendance register.

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the early years provision

The pre-school has in place appropriate policies and procedures which ensure children are safe and protected. Staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 relating to child protection and the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about a child in their care. Comprehensive risk assessment documentation is maintained and there are systems in place to ensure children are able to play safely both inside and outside. The file containing the pre-school’s policies and procedures is available to parents at any time and most of the pre- school documentation has been reviewed to reflect any changes in legislation and guidance. However, the current registration system has the potential to be unclear about when the children are actually present. The management committee are aware of their responsibility in relation to the vetting procedures of staff, and

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the early years provision

arrangements are in place to ensure the suitability of staff working with the children. A visitors' book is used to record the names of any visitors to the setting and also the purpose of their visit.

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the early years provision

The committed staff team are experienced, appropriately qualified and their knowledge and understanding of the EYFS framework ensures that they plan and implement an activity programme that is interesting, challenging and fun. The resources include some which positively support children's awareness of diversity. Staff are extremely good role models for the children in their care and interactions between staff and children are very positive. Children behave well and cooperate with simple tasks, such as 'tidy up time'.

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the early years provision

Parents are very warmly welcomed into pre-school and staff have developed a good working relationship with them to ensure that the individual needs of their children are fully met. Staff are aware of the need to liaise when applicable with other EYFS providers; for example, with local schools and possibly with other professionals to support children who may have special educational needs or disabilities. To improve the outcomes for children, staff have addressed the two recommendations made at the last inspection. Parents are provided with many opportunities to make their views known to staff or express any concerns they may have about the setting and the care provided to the children. Such opportunities include the regular parents' meetings, the handover chat at the beginning and end of each session and the parent and carer newsletters. Key worker staff always make time to talk to a parent about their child’s learning journey and his or her

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and outcomes for children

Children arrive at pre-school and they self-register by choosing their laminated picture, putting this on the board in the entrance hall. They confidently leave their parents and go to seek out their friends and then self-select which toys they want to play with or which activities they want to participate in. The creative organisation of the play space encourages purposeful play and exploration, enabling children to make independent choices and to be active in instigating their own play. The pre-school staff have a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements, and are able to help and support children to learn new skills and participate in different experiences. For example, children learn how to mix paints together thus creating a different colour, which they then use to create a picture. Children further develop their creative skills as they cut out and decorate This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

their own paper snowflakes which, once completed, are taken by the children to put them in the ‘dark corner’. They enjoy experimenting as, under the guidance of staff, they use their torches inside this ‘tent’ to shine their torches on the created patterns of their snowflakes on the black background.

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and outcomes for children

Children love to explore the many different activities that are set out for them, like having tea in the home corner or accessing the varied selection of dressing-up clothes and they chat freely to each other and to members of staff as they participate in such activities. The role play area is changed regularly to cover different settings and photographic evidence was seen of children playing in their pretend café, doctor’s surgery and shop. Children freely access the computer and quickly learn how to skilfully manoeuvre the mouse until the desired picture appears on the screen. They watch closely and follow the simple spelling instructions and those children who are more competent at accessing the computer are keen to demonstrate their expertise on this equipment to others. Children follow examples shown by staff who are extremely good role models for them. Children behave well and learn to share and take turns when playing games.

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and outcomes for children

Children can, with written parental consent, have supervised access to the outdoor area where they develop their physical skills as they use the wheeled, or sit-and- ride toys, a large parachute and other age-appropriate outdoor play resources. This area is also used by the children to plant and grow a range of different flowers and in this activity they use magnifying glasses to monitor how the seeds they have planted have grown and then eagerly wait for them to turn into flowers. Children learn to use a ruler or measure to see how tall their sunflowers have grown. When the weather is not conducive for outdoor play there is a large room indoors which is used for the more physical games. Children love to play with sand and water and in these activities they experience and enjoy the feel of the sand and water as it trickles through their fingers. Using dry or wet sand, they like to look at the patterns they create using sand moulds, sieves and small wheeled toys.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop their problem solving skills as during circle time they take turns to count how many boys are present and how many girls are present, before adding them together to reach the total number of children present. They access the many colour matching and shape sorting puzzles and enjoy the small world resources, such as the farm or the tabletop house they have constructed from building bricks.

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and outcomes for children

Staff gain information about children’s interests and abilities prior to care commencing as they complete a baseline assessment, which informs the planning of the activity programme. Regular observations are completed by key workers, however, the individual observation notes do not currently include the next steps to be taken to help children progress further. Written and pictorial information is transferred to each child’s ‘learning journey’, which is a record of their achievements and this document is always available for parents to look at. 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 1 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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