Fosse Primary School

Laleham Church Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 120089 Inspection date 28/01/2010 Inspector Carol Patricia Willett

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Setting address The Youth Centre, The Broadway, Laleham, STAINES, Middlesex, TW18 1RZ Telephone number 01784 463047 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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

Laleham Church Playgroup opened in 1976. The preschool is privately run and is part of the church's community programme. It operates from two rooms within the Church Centre in Laleham, and children attend mainly from the local area. The group has access to a kitchen, toilets and enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Description of the setting

The preschool is registered to care for 34 children in the early years age group. Children are generally aged two years six months when they start at the preschool. The preschool opens Monday to Friday, from 09:00 to 12:00, during term time only. There are currently 40 children on roll, and this includes 30 children who are in receipt of nursery education funding. The preschool supports children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, or for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are nine part-time staff who work with the children, of these eight have a recognised level 3 early years qualifications. All staff hold first aid certificates and attend safeguarding training. Staff are committed to ongoing training which is accessed through the Early Years Childcare Service. Staff attend local cluster group meetings and they receive advice and support from the local authority Special Educational Needs Advisor. The preschool is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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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 play and learn happily in a welcoming, child-friendly preschool where they form good relationships with the experienced, caring, well trained staff who successfully meet their welfare and learning needs. Staff develop effective partnership both with parents and other agencies involved in the children's care, which ensures that they are fully aware of children's individual needs and can take effective steps to meet them. There are good systems in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the preschool to ensure continuous improvement, using a detailed on-line self-evaluation of practice and actions for improvement and feedback from local authority reviews. The preschool has not met a specific legal requirement of the Statuary Framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage as they have not informed Ofsted of significant changes to the nominated individual.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop robust systems to notify Ofsted of any change to the nominated individual, including the name, date of birth and address, within 14 days so that an 20/02/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 assessment can be made of suitability, in order to safeguard children. (Suitable people)

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further?

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

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further?

 review planning to ensure adult led craft activities provide sufficient challenge for all children; use all opportunities to develop and maximise children's learning, including at snack time.

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the early years provision

Children are generally well safeguarded as staff closely supervise children at all times. Staff are confident in their knowledge of child protection procedures and they have all attended specific safeguarding training. A clear policy supports preschool practice. Robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures ensure staff are suitable to work with children. However, children's welfare is not fully safeguarded as the preschool has not informed Ofsted of the change to the nominated individual on the Parochial Church Council (PCC) so vetting checks have not been completed. Though this person has limited contact with the children it is a specific legal requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statuary Framework. Risk assessments records are in place and staff complete daily safety checks which means children can play safely. Children stay safe as there are good collection procedures in place and the premises are securely locked when children

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the early years provision

are present. A record is kept of all visitors. Children and staff take part in fire drills so that they are familiar with the evacuation procedure.

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the early years provision

Staff are friendly, caring and enthusiastic, understand their roles and responsibilities, and work well together to ensure the preschool runs effectively. Staff make good use of resources and the indoor and outdoor play areas are generally well-organised so children take part in a suitable range of age appropriate activities. A wide variety of activities are set out by staff daily at the start of each session, with a balance of child-led, adult-led and group activities. Staff are currently reviewing the organisation of resources to enable children to have more independent choice through the purchase of low shelving units obtained through a local authority grant. They have identified the need to review the session and playroom layout so that children can continue sustained play with fewer interruptions to change rooms or move onto large group activities.

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the early years provision

All children are included and supported appropriately and the preschool promotes equality and diversity. There are excellent support systems in place to enable children with additional leaning needs to be supported in their play. They make steady progress in their development as the preschool staff work closely in partnership with all involved in the children's care. Children learn about wider society and differences through using resources that show positive images of diversity, such as books and sharing festivals from their own and other cultures. Children's welfare is promoted by the efficient maintenance of all the required preschool records and a comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 place covering all areas of the provision. The preschool has links with the local school and is developing partnerships with other providers where children attend.

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the early years provision

Children's welfare and learning is enhanced as staff develop good parent partnership and key information is shared between them. Parents are given useful information about the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (EYFS) and what their children are learning. They receive regular newsletters and have access to policies and procedures and other relevant information. Parents can gain an insight into their children's time through a voluntary parent rota. They are positive in their regard for the preschool and staff, liking the friendliness of the staff and the way their children are happy and learning well and the support for children's additional needs. A parents' questionnaire is used to assess satisfaction with the preschool provision. Feedback is used to develop the self-evaluation and action plan for improvement. For example, staff implemented termly parents' meetings as the questionnaire identified a wish for regular formal

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the early years provision

feedback of the children's progress. Since the last inspection staff have attended further training, resources have been extended and recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate they feel safe as they are confident, secure and happy at the preschool. They busily occupy themselves as they move around freely and access a wide range of activities and resources provided by the staff. They learn how to handle tools and resources safely and understand preschool rules. Children make good progress as they take part in a good balance of adult-led activities and free play choosing from the resources available to them. These include painting, sticking, construction, computer and role play. Staff ensure activities planned cover all the areas of learning so that children are making good progress in their development. Staff make regular observations of children's learning which are used to inform assessments and clearly show children's achievements. They hold termly meetings with parents to share records and identity next steps for children's learning. The 'settling in books' are excellent resources developed by staff for new

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and outcomes for children

children, which contain photographs of the preschool activities and photos of important family members. These are used to develop the children's awareness of the preschool before they start and offer comfort as the children look at their books in the preschool.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident in their communication skills and chat happily to all within the preschool. They respond well to the praise and encouragement of staff. Children develop well in their social and personal skills. They behave well and are polite and form good relationships with their peers and staff. They are cooperative and respond well to changes in the morning routine. They are beginning to develop independence and learn to share and take turns. For example, a timer is used when too many children want to play on the computer; children sit patiently waiting for their turn. They find the child whose name is next on the list. Staff are caring and sensitive to children's upset when they find it difficult to share. However, the frequent changes in routines mean sometimes children's learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and sustained concentration is interrupted. Staff are aware this is an area they

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and outcomes for children

need to further consider in order to improve learning outcomes and enjoyment of the children and are planning how to achieve this.

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and outcomes for children

Staff plan and provide a wide variety of activities based on themes, such as nursery rhymes, to ensure children make progress to the early learning goals. Children enjoy listening to bible stories and singing bible songs, enthusiastically matching actions. They recognise numbers as they accurately count to 10 and know numbers above as the count chairs and the number of children at group times. Children have access to a varied outside environment, where they chalk on the fence and playground and clean off writing on the fence with large brushes and water. They confidently ask for more water as they go. They develop physical skills as they climb and slide and use wheeled toys to pedal and scoot with skill as they manoeuvre around the playroom. Children have access to computers and other IT equipment, which supports their learning and prepares them with skills for the future. Children learn about the wider society and differences through using

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and outcomes for children

resources that show positive images of diversity, such as books. Parents come into the preschool to share their roles and their special festivals. Staff provide many opportunities to develop children's creativity such as in their role play scenarios in the home corner. The children happily take part in craft activities as they make interesting models with recycled materials that they proudly carry home. They excitedly wear their cat masks, made during an adult-led activity to parents, as they are collected at home time. Planned activities do not always provide sufficient challenge for more able children.

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and outcomes for children

Children stay healthy as staff clean tables with antibacterial spray and maintain a clean environment for children to play in. They learn about good hygiene practice and healthy lifestyles through daily routines and they follow good hand washing procedures and discuss germs and illness. The new pink sink makes hand washing easier within the playroom. Children all sit together for snack time enjoying the social occasion where they discuss their home and experiences that interests them. They make healthy eating choices as they eat fruit and plain biscuits and choose whether to have milk, squash or water. However, staff do not make the most of this time to further develop children skills across different areas of learning, such as calculation in order to maximise children's learning. Children sometimes put their fruit on the table as plates are not provided. Staff maintain a comprehensive range of documentation, which informs them of any health or dietary issues

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and outcomes for children

children may have. Records are kept of accidents or any medication administered and shared with parents. All required written consents are in place to safeguard children's welfare and ensure parents' wishes are known. 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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