Nelson PreschoolOfsted inspection, 17 Oct 2005

Nelson Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Nelson Pre-School

Unique Reference Number 254187 Inspection date 17 October 2005 Inspector Marianne Gascoyne

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Nelson Pre-School

Setting Address c/o Nelson First School, Northumberland Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 4DR Telephone number 01603 615355

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E-mail

Registered person Nelson Pre-School 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?

Nelson Pre-school opened in 1983. The pre-school operates from three rooms in a converted school canteen in the grounds of the Nelson First School in Norwich. It operates independently from the school and is run by a committee. A maximum of 40 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The setting is open each weekday from 9:10 to 11:45 and 12:40 to 15:10 during school term times. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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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 There are currently 44 children aged from two to under five on roll. Of these 31 receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area and the majority move on to attend Nelson First School. The setting currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs six members of staff to work with the children on a full or part-time basis. Three of the staff, including the supervisor, hold appropriate early years qualifications. Students and volunteers are welcomed in the setting to work with the children. An administrator and a cleaner are also employed.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Posters and a picture drawn by a child are used to remind children of the need to wash hands after using the toilet. Children are aware of the need for personal hygiene and discussion about the need for clean hands helps their understanding. A toilet cleaning checklist ensures this area is maintained in a clean and hygienic condition and a cleaner is employed to clean the premises to keep children healthy. Some of the equipment, particularly home corner items and toys for small world play, is not clean which could present a health risk if children place items in their mouths. All the staff are qualified to administer first aid to ensure any accidents are dealt with effectively to safeguard children. Parents are made aware of the need to keep sick children at home in order to prevent the risk of cross infection. Children enjoy nutritious snacks of fruit and vegetables and snack times are social

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Helping children to be healthy

occasions when discussion helps their understanding of the importance of a healthy diet. Details of any special dietary requirements are obtained and made clear to all staff to ensure children are not at risk of an allergic reaction. Drinks are available to children at all times to prevent them becoming dehydrated. Children are able to choose to play outside for periods during the day which gives them access to fresh air in order to promote a healthy lifestyle. This choice is not available to them at all times. Children are provided with physical play opportunities on a daily basis and activities are planned to ensure they are able to develop all their physical skills. Discussion after exercise helps them learn the effect of physical activity on their bodies. A comfortable area is provided in the book corner for children who wish to rest or relax.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. A welcoming environment is created by the use of displays and the choice of equipment offered to children on their arrival. Children are very confident and eager to attend. They all have access to a good range of well maintained, developmentally

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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 appropriate equipment. Children are able to sit and eat or play in comfort on child sized furniture or comfortable seating. They have space to develop small world play or use construction toys on the floor. The emergency evacuation procedure is practised to ensure children are aware of the need to respond quickly in an emergency situation. The premises are very secure and effective procedures are in place to ensure children arrive and leave the premises safely. Children are safeguarded by a daily risk assessment which identifies any potential dangers and ensures they are minimised. Attractive posters, displayed following a visit from an organisation speaking on road safety, help children learn how to keep themselves safe when walking along the road or travelling in a car.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Activities are planned to help children understand how to keep themselves safe. Children 'line up' willingly and pretend to be a train to change rooms and are able to move around the premises inside and out safely. Children's welfare is safeguarded by staff who have all attended training to ensure they have up-to-date knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures. The setting is very aware of their responsibility to protect children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and confident and enjoy their time at nursery. They are offered a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities to meet all their developmental needs. They are well occupied throughout the session and make effective use of the toys and equipment. They choose to play with items set out for them on arrival or select from the easily accessible storage units. Staff sit with the children and support them in their chosen activity. Children benefit from staff interaction and questioning which extend their thinking and vocabulary and promotes a positive attitude to learning. Staff are starting to use the 'Birth to three matters' framework to plan for the younger children. They have identified the difficulty of working within this framework in the way they currently organise the sessions. The use of rooms and structure of the session does not encourage free choice or enable children to concentrate on activities for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

longer than half hour periods. Children are allocated to a room in key worker groups and change rooms at regular intervals. The children concentrate on the activities they undertake and very willingly comply when asked to tidy up and move onto the next stage in the session feeling secure in the daily routine. Children practise their independence skills as they pour own drink, find an apron, use the toilet and wash their hands. They are well occupied, play harmoniously together and enjoy good relationships with the adults in the group. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and plan an interesting range of activities based around a theme which is used flexibly to take into account children’s particular interests. For example,

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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 a current interest in dinosaurs is recognised and model dinosaurs are included in the sand play, templates added to the drawing table and opportunities provided for small world play. This ensures children are stimulated and engaged. Children are provided with challenges by staff, for example, as they undertake a group activity to help them learn to recognise shape and colour. They are able to take part in adult initiated activities and are also given opportunities to plan and choose activities to maximise their learning. An attractive display shows the planning undertaken by children over a two week period. They discussed and selected the activities they wished to undertake. Children's thoughts and ideas are seen to be respected and valued which raises their self-esteem.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident, secure and play very co-operatively together. They take turns and wait for others when joining in with group activities, concentrating and listening well. Older, more able children are able to recognise their name and other children’s names. Younger, less able children are not helped to recognise their names or the contents of the storage units due to a lack of visual images. Children are learning to link sounds to letters and to recognise letters, for example, when playing with programmable toy a child listening to letters spoken by the toy recognises the letters in her first name and says 'I begin with A, Y is in my name'. Children enjoy ‘recording’ numbers of cars driving into the imaginary garage. They use paper on clipboards and enlist the support of an adult. They enjoy mark making with chalk on the paving slabs in the outside area and also develop their mathematical understanding as they draw

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

around shapes, the adults or each other. Children enjoy stories on one to one basis, small or large groups throughout the session. They listen attentively and join in with the story. They confidently take part in conversations with adults and each other. Children with English as an additional language communicate effectively through gestures and visual clues understood by staff. Words in their first language are not used in the environment to show their language is valued and respected. Children are encouraged to reflect and recall as staff ask open ended questions. Children are confident in contributing to the calendar at group time. They count and calculate, recognise numerals and learn about change during this activity. They enjoy many activities to develop their knowledge of mathematical language and understanding of concepts. They are confident in programming battery operated toys to help letter recognition or play music. Their interest in the natural world is

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

encouraged at the nature table and by the use of magnifying glasses. Children have opportunities for a variety of physical play activities on daily basis. Clear planning ensures activities provide for all aspects of their physical development. They manipulate play dough and use scissors competently to develop small muscle control. Children play imaginatively with small world play equipment and have opportunities to be creative with paint and collage materials. The role play area is poorly resourced and children only have short time slots in which to use the room where it is situated. Children are not, therefore, encouraged to role play and develop their imagination. They join in with action songs and rhymes with enthusiasm. Staff observe and complete assessments to identify children's achievement. These

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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 are used to plan activities to move children onto the next step and ensure they progress in their learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are secure and settled and enjoy positive relationships with each other and the adults in the group. Their confidence and self-esteem is enhanced by the interaction with staff and the value placed on their creative work which is well displayed and reflects the multi-cultural mix of children attending. Children have a strong sense of belonging in the group helped by photographic displays of activities they have undertaken. They are very happy to attend. Children enjoy trying foods from different cultures and celebrating festivals which, together with access to good quality resources, is helping them develop positive attitudes towards different cultures and lifestyles. Staff have undertaken training to ensure the setting is able to support any children with special needs. They work closely with parents and other professionals and carry out thorough assessments to ensure children with additional needs receive any

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Helping children make a positive contribution

support necessary to help them make progress in their learning. Children respond to the clear guidelines and positive role models provided by staff, enjoy each other’s company and are well behaved. They are learning to manage their own behaviour, for example, as they negotiate when playing with the farm animals and share amicably ‘I’ll have this one – you have that one’. The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parent's are happy and confident with the care and education given. Children benefit from the encouragement the pre-school gives to parents to be involved in the setting. A flexible settling in policy enables parents to stay with their children as long as they feel necessary, to ensure children feel secure and confident in the pre-school. Parents receive limited information about the early learning goals and do not have sight of the plans of activities to help them to be involved in their children’s learning at home. They spend

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Helping children make a positive contribution

time with their child’s key worker at the start of their time in the setting to help their understanding of the what the pre-school provides for their children. There is no system in place to ensure all parents have opportunities to discuss their child's progress with the key worker or to be involved in their learning. They are aware of the procedure if they wish to complain about any aspect of the pre-school which they feel is detrimental to their children and the pre-school has systems in place to record any complaints. Children’s spiritual, moral, cultural, social development is fostered appropriately. Children work and play happily with each other, behave well and respect others, e.g. waiting their turn to speak at group times. Children from different cultural backgrounds relate to each other and play well together. Children enjoy conversations with adults and other children and are confident and eager to speak in

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Helping children make a positive contribution

a large group. They learn about their own and other cultures through planned activities and the wide range of resources provided. They respond to classical music when playing with streamers, gently moving in response to the sound.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

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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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Staff have a high regard for the well-being of the children in their care and are all suitably qualified and/or experienced to work with children. They provide an appropriate, interesting range of activities for the benefit of the children. They meet together regularly to plan and ensure children are making progress in their learning. The key worker system is effective in ensuring children’s needs are known and met. Positive relationships are in place and children are secure in the care of the adults. Staff undertake training on a regular basis to keep up to date with changes for the benefit of the children. The organisation and use of space within the building limits children’s ability to concentrate and develop activities over more than a half an hour period, as children are moved from one room to another within their key worker groups. Choice of activity and whether to play indoors or out is restricted to certain times during the

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Organisation

session. Children willingly comply when asked to tidy away the toys and 'line up' to change rooms for the next part of the session. All the records necessary to safeguard children’s welfare are in place and are easily accessible. They are stored confidentially in the interest of children and parents. Appropriate policies are in place which reflect the practice in the group and provide clear guidelines for parents and staff to ensure children's well-being. The leadership and management of the setting is good. The supervisor has a clear commitment to improve the quality of care and education offered by the pre-school to benefit the children. She is helping all staff to plan and assess children's achievements to ensure they are making progress. The committee delegates much of the responsibility for the group to the supervisor providing support for her decisions. Training needs are identified through appraisal and supervision and staff attend

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Organisation

courses to ensure they are up to date with current practice. The supervisor holds regular meetings with staff and has created an atmosphere in which they work well together for the benefit of all the children who are happy and secure. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the children attending.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the setting was asked to update records and improve the procedures for staff appointment. All the necessary consents are now obtained from parents and the procedure with respect to responding to allegations against adults included in the child protection policy. Staff files now include all the necessary documentation and the recruitment and appointment procedures are being updated in line with new legislation. The education inspection set key issues with regard to opportunities for children to explore writing, develop their mathematical understanding and improve children's access to technology. Children now have opportunities to mark make in everyday

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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 activities and their mathematical understanding is being developed in many areas of their play. A new computer is in the process of being installed and the setting has purchased a number of programmable toys to develop children's skills and learning. Children are confident in their use.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Ofsted has received one complaint, since the last inspection relating to National Standard 1: Suitability, National Standard 2: Organisation and National Standard 6: Safety. The complaint related to staff knowledge of the whereabouts of children and security. We carried out an investigation on 29 April 2005 and found standards were not being met. Actions were set asking the setting to complete an operational plan and ensure that all the staff were familiar with the content; to make sure that the premises were secure and that children were unable to leave them unsupervised or adults enter them unsupervised. The provider gave all staff a copy of the operational plan and held a training day to ensure they were familiar with the content. All the gates to the school grounds have been security coded and pre-school doors are bolted and child gates fitted. The provider remains qualified for registration. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they

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Complaints since the last inspection

can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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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 the equipment is all maintained in a clean and hygenic condition • put in place systems to raise parent's awareness of the Foundation Stage and the progress their children are making towards the early learning goals • reconsider the organisation and use of space to maximise choice and opportunities for children to play indoors or out

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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 To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • assist all children to learn words have meaning through their use in the environment.

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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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