Daisy Chain Pre-School

Daisy Chain Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 251462 Inspection date 12/01/2010 Inspector Sarah Johnson

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Setting address St Christopher's Hall, Renfrew Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 3HE Telephone number 01473 725 115 or 07719 192 173 Email t.holdsworth@btopenworld.com 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

Daisy Chain Pre-School registered in 1974. It is a registered charity, managed by a voluntary committee made up of parents of some of the children who attend the pre-school. The pre-school operates from a purposefully converted room within a community education building in Ipswich, Suffolk. Children access an enclosed play area for outdoor activities. The pre-school is open each weekday morning from 8.45am to 11.45am, during school term times. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 24 children in the early years age group may attend the group at anyone time, none of whom may be under two years. There are currently 31 children on roll, all of whom are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) years. Children live in the local area. A number of children are also cared for by registered childminders. The pre-school provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds. The staff currently support a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who are learning English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are four permanent staff members, all of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications. Two of these members of staff are currently working towards additional childcare 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 are happy and settle well at the welcoming and inclusive pre-school. They enjoy a varied range of activities and learning experiences that are organised generally well to meet most of their needs and interests. Thorough risk assessments and positive daily routines result in very good outcomes for children’s safety and health. The environment is reflective of the children's different backgrounds, and staff work well in partnership with parents, carers and outside professionals to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are effective systems in place to evaluate the provision, ensuring the management committee and staff team maintain strong momentum towards implementing the highly ambitious improvements they have planned for the pre- school.

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further?

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

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further?

 open up further opportunities for parents and carers to have free access to their child's learning and development records, and ensure their comments are regularly incorporated into these records  review systems to ensure they are flexible enough to respond to and meet This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the needs of individual children, this particularly relates to the organisation of whole group story and sharing times.

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the early years provision

Staff place strong emphasis on keeping children safe. They have very good understanding of child protection issues and are committed to implementing the pre-school's safeguarding children policy. The manager has fully reviewed the recruitment procedures to make them more robust and ensure all adults working with or having contact with children are suitable to do so. As a result of the effective risk assessments carried out each day, children benefit from very safe and secure surroundings. For example, staff are particularly mindful to monitor the main door when children depart to ensure they do not leave unattended or with unauthorised adults.

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the early years provision

The manager and management committee have high aspirations for the quality of the service provided and have demonstrated a very proactive approach to addressing the recommendations raised at the last inspection. Morale is high amongst the well qualified staff team, as they are provided with ongoing opportunities to contribute their ideas. This includes their input to the setting's detailed self-evaluation form, which is used to reflect on feedback received from parental questionnaires and to set ambitious targets for the future. As a result, staff are in a very positive position to enable them to sustain the existing high quality standards, and to continue implementing the significant improvements they have planned for the pre-school. The setting is inclusive and equality of opportunity is promoted. The staff work sensitively with parents and external professionals to provide effective support for children with special educational

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the early years provision

needs and/or disabilities. For example, they are proactive in sourcing additional training to enable them to meet children's individual medical needs, and take time to review the layout of the environment to ensure children with disabilities can reach resources easily.

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the early years provision

Children experience very good levels of continuity of care because of the staff's commitment to working in partnership with parents and carers. The friendly and caring staff encourage parents to share information about their children through daily discussions, and invite them to take a more active part in pre-school life. For example, parents willingly get involved in making decisions about new initiatives by joining the management committee, and have opportunities to visit to read stories to the children. Although, staff stress that parents do have regular opportunities to access their children's developmental records and can ask to see them at any time, these records are not always promoted as much as they could be and some contain few comments from parents. Staff support children's transition into full- time school as they routinely invite teachers from the local primary school in to meet the children and take time to share their development records with them.

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled and content as they develop secure rapports with the attentive staff. For a good proportion of the session, children make choices about what they want to do in the relaxed atmosphere of the setting. For example, some children engage in a range of creative drawing, cutting, painting and sticking activities, whilst others choose to take advantage of the inviting outdoor environment, playing in the snow and using ride on toys. They enjoy playing alongside each other in a varied range of role play situations, some of which they establish for themselves. For example, they creatively move a chair in front of the mirror and invite others to come and visit the hairdressers to have their hair styled. During this imaginative play, children develop good skills for the future as they explore everyday technology including telephones, a computer keyboard and an imaginary cooker. Children demonstrate a secure sense of belonging as they hang their coats

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and outcomes for children

on their own labelled peg and select their name card to self-register at the beginning of the session. The layout of the pre-school environment encourages children to be independent in their routines. For example, older children are able to access the sinks to wash their hands for themselves, and younger children take responsibility for sweeping up the sand as they help themselves to the dustpan and brush. At times, the organisation of the daily routine does not allow sufficient flexibility to meet the differing needs and interests of individual children. For example, the grouping of children for story and sharing times does not always maximise the active involvement of all children and some younger children quickly become unsettled.

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and outcomes for children

The recently revised key person system enables staff to become more aware of each child's individual learning and development needs. In addition, all staff are involved in carrying out regular observations of the children, collating these together with a selection of photographs and samples of children's creative work, to create a development record for each child. These provide a general insight into the children's time spent at the setting, including their individual achievements and developmental needs. Staff use the information in these records to plot children's progress towards the early learning goals and to determine how they will promote children's progress in the future. Staff interact well with the children as they play, promoting their learning through appropriate questioning. For example, as children draw pictures, staff extend their thinking by asking "Who is the tallest person in your picture?" and "How many people do you have in your family?"

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well and minor instances of inappropriate behaviour, such as difficulties with taking turns on the computer, are handled calmly and positively by the staff. They experience opportunities to learn about different cultures and traditions through the celebration of multicultural festivals and a generally good range of resources and displays reflecting diversity. For example, children learn about the festival of Diwali as they make traditional diva lamps from clay, and their experiences are widened as they sample traditional Indian foods brought in by a parent.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare needs are very well met. They are encouraged to begin to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 understand about their own safety. For example, as they are reminded of the risk of bumping into others when running around indoors and the dangers associated with throwing sand. Children are encouraged to adopt positive hygiene routines such as covering their mouth when they cough and putting used tissues in the bin. All staff hold valid first aid qualifications to ensure that they can deal with minor injuries effectively and the required records are maintained in relation to such incidents. Flexible arrangements for the provision of food and drinks enable children to access a healthy and nutritious snack when they wish. They enjoy the responsibility of spreading their own crackers and pouring milk into their cup, and are eager to eat the fresh fruit provided. Children learn about healthy eating

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and outcomes for children

through positive discussions at the snack table and have purposeful opportunities to grow a range of produce in the pre-school's vegetable patch. 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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