Christ Church Pre School

Christ Church Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Unique reference number 219241 Inspection date 18/11/2009 Inspector Anna Davies

p.1

Setting address Dudley St., Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 3SY

p.1

Telephone number 07815 196259 Email clare@christchurchbedford.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 . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

p.1

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

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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).

p.3

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

p.3

Description of the setting

Christ Church pre-school was registered in 1993. It is a voluntary committee run group and operates from the Christ Church Hall, just outside the town centre of Bedford. The group has use of three rooms and has access to a kitchen, toilets and a small enclosed outdoor play area. The group opens during school term time only. Sessions operate on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.15 am until 11.45am and Thursdays from 9.15am until 3.00pm. A lunch club is offered on a Monday between 11.45am and 1.00pm. Access into and out of the pre-school is via a ramp and there are disabled toilet facilities.

p.4

Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 28 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 50 children aged from two to under five years on roll. The pre-school currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as children who speak English as an additional language.

p.4

Description of the setting

There are six members of staff working directly with the children, two of whom hold National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 qualifications and two hold NVQ Level 2 qualifications. One member of staff is working towards a recognised qualification and one is working towards an NVQ Level 3 qualification. The setting provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are happy and settled at this spacious, friendly and welcoming pre-school. They enjoy a varied range of activities and learning experiences which effectively helps them to make good progress across all areas of learning. Secure arrangements exist to ensure children’s safety and health and the environment promotes children's welfare well. Good partnerships with parents ensures that children's individual needs are well met and the uniqueness of each child is respected.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Effective systems for monitoring and evaluating the provision enable all registered individuals, management and staff to identify and action areas for continuous improvement.

p.4

further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

p.4

further?

 obtain information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child (Safeguarding and welfare). 02/12/2009 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

p.4

further?

 develop the use of specific next steps of learning when planning activities to ensure that opportunities to challenge and extend individual children's learning are not missed  develop links with other settings providing for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), to further support children’s learning and development  consider further ways to value children's linguistic diversity and provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in their play and learning.

p.5

the early years provision

All staff understand their responsibilities regarding child protection and have attended appropriate training. They are clear about the signs and symptoms of child abuse and the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child in their care. Good recruitment procedures ensure that all staff are appropriately vetted to ensure their suitability. Risk assessments are effective in ensuring that potential hazards to children are identified and actioned. As a result, children play in a safe environment where their safety is given due consideration. For example, a curtain is drawn across the see-through front door once parents have left to protect children's privacy as they come and go from the toilet area. Staff are well deployed throughout the sessions to ensure that children are well supervised both indoors and outdoors. Ratios of staff to children are high and children also benefit from strong parental helper support. This ensures that children receive good levels

p.5

the early years provision

of adult support and attention. All required documentation, records and policies are in place and regularly updated.

p.5

the early years provision

The pre-school enjoys a calm atmosphere where children make full use of the spacious, well laid out rooms. Staff set out most of the toys and resources for the children prior to their arrival and there are opportunities for children to self-select from a good range of art and craft resources to extend their creative ideas. Children benefit from free-flow indoor and outdoor play opportunities, making independent choices about where they wish to play. Although the outdoor space is limited, staff make good use of it and are flexible in their planning to accommodate changes in the weather. For example, children take umbrellas out in the rain and fly ribbons in the air on windy days.

p.5

the early years provision

Children are valued as individuals; their choices and contributions are valued and respected. They have opportunities to learn about different cultures and traditions through the celebration of multicultural festivals and a good range of resources and displays reflecting diversity. However, children who speak English as an additional language have few opportunities to develop and use their home language in their play and learning.

p.5

the early years provision

Parents speak highly of the care offered to their children. They receive good This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 information via newsletters and a notice board in the entrance hall. Good information is received by parents before children start to enable staff to gain a secure understanding of their needs and abilities to ensure that the settling in period goes smoothly. However, staff do not obtain information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child. Parents are able to speak to staff on a daily basis and in this way, keep up to date with their children's progress. Parents have very good opportunities to become involved in their children's learning. For example, they are able to join the committee, join the parent helper rota and share their skills, talents and job roles with the children. There are very close links with the local school to ensure the

p.5

the early years provision

transition for older children leaving the pre-school is effective. However, partnerships with other providers also delivering the EYFS to children attending the pre-school is less developed in terms of sharing information relating to children's learning and development to ensure a consistent experience between settings.

p.6

the early years provision

The registered individuals, manager and staff have clear aims for the pre-school. They work together to monitor and evaluate the provision and are clearly aware of their strengths and areas they wish to develop.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Staff interact well with the children at their chosen activities. They promote learning by asking questions. For example, children playing with ice are asked 'what is the ice made of?', 'how does it feel?' and 'when the ice melts, what is left?' This enables children to discuss their thoughts and ideas and to demonstrate what they already know such as 'we get water from rain don't we?' The key person system is effective. For example, staff make sure that when children arrive and request particularly members of staff for comfort and reassurance, this is acknowledged. Staff skilfully allow activities to move on as the children develop, and become engrossed in, their own ideas. Planning is balanced across all areas of learning and based very much on children's interests which ensures activities are meaningful and children are actively engaged. Each child has an assessment file where staff record regular observations, some being used to identify possible lines

p.6

and outcomes for children

of development. However, these do not focus enough on the next steps of learning to be promoted. As a result, the planning and adult support of some activities does not focus enough on individual children's next steps, leading to missed opportunities by staff to challenge and extend some areas of their learning such as early calculation skills.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Children behave well and instances of inappropriate behaviour, for example, an unwillingness to share, are handled calmly and positively. Children are rewarded for their efforts such as helping to sweep the floor following craft activities. Children learn respect for one another as they receive badges for 'make a new friend day' after they had all made a new child to the pre-school feel welcome. They have good opportunities for practising emergent writing. For example, they 'sign' their name in the snack book to indicate they have eaten, use notepads to support their role play ideas and write their names on their art work. A comfy story corner ensures that children enjoy reading independently as well as in groups, for This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, joining in repeated refrains of favourites such as 'Give that back Jack'. Children learn to count in everyday situations such as how many children in the

p.6

and outcomes for children

line and how many items they have in their trolley. They solve problems such as the best way to start a complex floor puzzle, carefully looking at the picture to identify where their pieces might go. Children enjoy visits out into the local environment and staff use spontaneous opportunities such as a burst water main at the end of the road to help children understand about the world around them. Children access a lap top computer each session where they use a mouse to negotiate games such as 'pairs'. They enjoy good physical activities such as climbing on the frame and working together to rock the large wooden cradle. They take advantage of the spacious premises, moving around in different ways and demonstrate increasing balance and coordination as they drop bean bags from their head into a box. Children develop their creativity through a good range of activities such as arts and crafts, dance, music and movement and themed areas

p.7

and outcomes for children

Children's welfare needs are well met. They are encouraged to begin to understand about their own safety, for example, as they are reminded to sit up when eating food. Some children demonstrate that they understand safety rules. For example, they shout 'stop' when they are trying to get on larger apparatus so that they can do so safely. Children are encouraged to adopt good hygiene routines such as hand washing before eating and after using the toilet and turning away or covering their mouth when they cough. All medication and accident records are completed appropriately and most staff hold valid first aid qualifications to ensure that they can deal with minor injuries effectively. Rolling snack times enable children to access their own choice of healthy and nutritious snacks when they wish. Drinks are freely accessible at all times to ensure that they remain well hydrated. Children begin to understand about healthy eating through discussions

p.7

and outcomes for children

at the snack table and posters displayed around the snack table area. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.7

Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

p.8

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

p.8

children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

p.8

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 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

p.8

Stage

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

p.8

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

p.8

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

p.8