Lyng Hall School

Tatworth Preschool

Inspection report for early years provision

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Tatworth Preschool

Unique Reference Number 142960 Inspection date 07 September 2005 Inspector Michelle Tuck

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Tatworth Preschool

Setting Address The Memorial Hall, Tatworth, Chard, Somerset, TA20 2QW

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E-mail

Registered person Tatworth Pre-School Committee Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Tatworth Pre-school opened in 1969. It operates from a designated room in the village Memorial Hall on the edge of a housing estate and serves the local community. The group use one room, with access to a storage area, spacious hall, kitchen, toilets and a fully enclosed outside area. There are currently 28 children from 2 years 9 months to 5 years on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The group supports children who have special

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 needs. The group opens five days a week during school term time. Sessions run from 09.15 - 11.45 each day and 12.10 - 14.40 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. There is an under 3's session every Wednesday from 12.15-2.15 and there is a toddler session held each Friday morning in the same building. There are six staff that work with the children, of which three have early years qualifications and two are currently on training programmes. The group receive support from the Early Years mentor/teacher (local authority). There are close links with Tatworth school, to which many children move on.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children benefit from a healthy diet because staff work with parents to promote healthy eating when a lunch club is operating and daily snacks of fruit and biscuits are provided. Dietary requirements are recorded and staff take account of these when preparing snacks. There is usually drinking water available throughout the session. Children are knowledgeable about their bodies due to topics completed relating to themselves. Children experience a good range of physical activities such as ride on toys, and daily opportunities of outside play or physical play in the hall when the weather is inclement. Children enjoy role play such as doctors and nurses, caring for sick people. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene through well established, daily routines. They are discouraged from putting toys in their mouths and staff give them explanations for this, such as it may be dirty. Children are also reminded to put

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Helping children to be healthy

their hands in front of their mouths when they sneeze and told it is to prevent the spread of germs. Children understand simple good health and hygiene practices, due to the staff's positive role model with procedures such as washing the tables with anti-bacterial spray prior to snacks being provided.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised by staff's excellent supervision and security precautions within the building. For example, the door to the pre-school is alarmed so that children can not leave unnoticed and staff ratios are well maintained, which means children are well monitored. Staff take time to explain rules such as always walk indoors and how to use tools safely. Therefore children are learning to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe. Children are aware of how to evacuate the building safely as this is practised regularly. However, the fire log has not been kept up-to-date.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children use a broad range of safe, good quality resources, which are well-organised and many easily accessible to encourage independence. Children play within a safe environment, which has recently been refurbished to make it warm and welcoming for the families that attend. Children's welfare is safeguarded and promoted through the staff's knowledge of child protection issues and procedures that are in place.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and settled at the setting, and have an enthusiastic approach to the activities on offer. All children are involved, and well motivated to learn. Children are engaged in a wide variety of developmentally appropriate indoor and outdoor activities, which provide a good level of challenge. For example, creative development encourages independence, choice and freedom. Yet the staff support the activity with skill and intervene as required, asking open questions to develop children's thinking. For example, asking the children to guess what colour will be made from mixing two colours together. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teaching provides realistic challenges for all children. Staff have a good understanding of children's needs and provide activities to help them progress well in the six areas of learning. The staff have a secure knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum and plan effectively with clear

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

links to the stepping stones. Assessment is thorough and the information gathered is used to plan for the child's next stage of development. However, evaluations of activities are not always made. Staff provide a stimulating and welcoming environment which reflects the children's background's and the wider community. Staff are well deployed to provide high levels of support in activities, for example, staff sit with the children to complete activities and talk to the children, asking open questions and actively listening. Relationships are good. Children show a strong sense of belonging as they greet each other and the staff on arrival. They are confident to speak out in a group and show good levels of curiosity. They share experiences at circle time and enjoy stories, however some children's concentration levels are not as developed as others and therefore children's learning is affected. Children count in everyday situations and are beginning to develop an

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

understanding of addition and subtraction. For example, they know how many are left if two are taken away from four. They take part enthusiastically in activities, for example they use scissors and shape cutters to make pictures, count and identify shapes and colours, choosing which shape patterns they want to use. Children are able to recall favourite stories and eagerly take part in discussions. For example, a member of staff asked the children to recall the story of 'The very hungry caterpillar'. Children talked about what the caterpillar ate and what the caterpillar became. One little girl said " When I eat a lot of food I'll turn in to a butterfly too".

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children's behaviour is generally good, however some children find it difficult to listen at story time. They get up from the carpet and settle to something else and some children choose to run around, which has an impact on the children trying to listen to the story. Behaviour is managed consistently, however staff don't always make it clear to the children how they expect them to behave. Children have high self esteem and are confident as a result of the constant praise and encouragement from the staff. Children are valued as individuals, they have good opportunities to learn about their community and the wider world. For example, children take part in activities based around festivals such as Diwali and get involved in the local community of the village. Such as making a Guy for village celebrations. Children and parents are greeted and welcomed to the group on arrival. New children

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Helping children make a positive contribution

are made to feel secure and welcomed with lots of support, which includes other children helping them. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Partnerships with parents are good. Children benefit from information sharing between parents and staff to ensure children's individual needs are met effectively and continuity of care is promoted well. Children and parents are welcomed to the group each morning by friendly staff and the key worker role promotes links between home and the pre-school.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from the well organised environment and daily routine. The staff use the space effectively inside and outdoors to maximise children's play opportunities. The good deployment of staff and appropriate staffing levels ensures children are well supervised and sessions run smoothly. This means that the needs of the range of children are met. The leadership and management is good. All staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities, they work well together as a team, effortlessly supporting each other. Staff induction is clear and information is shared well between staff when necessary. Morale is high and staff are committed to improving their practice.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last Children Act Inspection recommended that the pre-school should devise a system to record the induction process to ensure all staff have read and understood the polices and procedures. There is now a comprehensive induction process in place and staff sign to confirm they have read and understood the polices and procedures. They also had to improve methods used for behaviour management to encourage children to develop self discipline. The staff are still developing this. It was

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 recommended that they formalise the outing procedure and include in the sick child policy, procedures for caring for a sick child and contacting parents. Also to include in the child protection policy procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. All polices have been up dated and now contain all necessary information. The last Nursery Education inspection raised three key issues. To improve staff knowledge of methods to develop children's ability to sit quietly and develop self discipline in whole group situations. The staff are aware this is still an issue and are looking at ways to address it. They also had to increase opportunities for children to access resources to develop writing skills, practise using tools with safety and

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Improvements since the last inspection

develop design skills in art. Children have freedom in art to be creative, they use a variety of tools safely and they can access resources to practise writing skills. They had to also develop the use of parents comments on what their child can do, to assist with the children's assessments and inform planning. The parents are encouraged to share information about their child at admission and keep the staff updated of any changes.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • Ensure children know how they are expected to behave in large group activities, and improve methods used for behaviour management to encourage children to develop self -discipline.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • Ensure activities are consistently evaluated to assist in assessment of children's progress.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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