Hanley Swan Pre-School Playgroup

Hanley Swan Pre-School Group Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 205534 Inspection date 20/04/2010 Inspector Valerie Fane

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Setting address Hanley Swan Village Hall, Welland Road, Hanley Swan, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR8 0EQ Telephone number 01684 310901 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 .

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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: 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

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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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

Hanley Swan Pre-School is a committee run group that was registered in 1970. It operates from Hanley Swan village hall. The pre-school serves the local area and has strong links with the school. It is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Wednesday and Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 9.00am until 12.00pm Monday to Wednesday and 9.00am to 3.00pm on Friday. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 24 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 27 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The pre- school is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The pre-school provides funded early education for three and four year olds. It supports children special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs five members of child care staff, of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications. The other staff are working towards Level three qualifications. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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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 settle well in this friendly, well run village pre-school and develop close relationships with staff and with each other. All children make good progress because staff understand how to support their individual learning needs very effectively, although, this is not consistently well documented. Children feel valued because their home culture is celebrated in the group and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive excellent support. Staff are fully aware of their particular needs and work very closely in partnership with relevant agencies or other providers who share children's care. The committee and staff are committed to making ongoing improvements and have met all of the recommendations made at the last inspection effectively. All required policies and procedures are in place but there are a few minor omissions in documentation.

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further?

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

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further?

 obtain prior written permission for each and every medicine from parents before any medication is given and keep a written record of medicines given to children (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) (also applies to the compulsory part of the Childcare Register) 04/05/2010

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further?

 ensure that the following information is recorded for 04/05/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 each child: the name and address of every parent and carer who is known to the provider and which of these parents or carers the child normally lives with (Documentation).

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further?

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

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further?

 expand the risk assessment to include the 'stay and play' session  improve the use of observations and assessments to identify learning priorities for each child.

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the early years provision

Children are protected because all staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding. They have recently all completed a distance learning course to improve or refresh their knowledge. The committee use robust employment procedures to ensure that all staff are suitable to be in contact with children. Children are supervised well at all times and receive care in a safe and secure environment. The manager has carried out risk assessments for all aspects of the provision and staff conduct and record daily safety checks of the premises. The setting operates a 'stay and play' session for younger children and their parents once a week. The manager demonstrates verbally that she has completed an effective risk assessment for this session but it is not included in the written risk assessments for the group. A comprehensive set of policies and procedures are in place and most are effective in practice.

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the early years provision

Children receive individual care and attention because staff work closely with their parents. However, the admissions forms do not include all required details of parents' addresses. An effective key person system is in place and staff develop strong relationships with their key families so that they are very knowledgeable about children's home culture and particular needs. Children who attend other Early Years Foundation Stage settings benefit from excellent continuity of care. Staff work very closely with local childminders and with other nursery staff to share information. They ensure that they use common strategies to provide a high degree of consistency for children with issues such as behaviour problems. Children with specific special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress because staff are totally committed to partnership working and work very closely with all other professionals involved in children's care and learning to

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the early years provision

ensure that they provide the best possible support for such children.

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the early years provision

Children thrive because the committee, the manager and all staff have a clear vision to provide high quality care and education. There have been some staff changes since the last inspection and the current staff are working well as a team so they have introduced many positive changes to improve outcomes for children. All of the recommendations made at the last inspection have been met comprehensively and many other improvements have taken place. For example, the group has recently obtained a grant to improve the outdoor area. There is now This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 a fenced outdoor play area and additional fencing to allow children to access the area freely from the main hall. The area is well equipped with interesting play equipment, such as a pirate ship sandpit and tree stumps for balancing. The self evaluation form is used effectively to identify future areas for development.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the care of suitably qualified or experienced staff, and those without qualifications are in the process of completing the Diploma in Pre-school Practice. Children with speech and language needs particularly benefit from the support of a member of staff who is also a qualified speech therapist.

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and outcomes for children

All children make good progress in their learning. Staff are fully aware of the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are very able so all children receive individual support to ensure that their learning needs are met. Planning covers all areas of learning and staff observe and assess children both during free play and while they are enjoying focus activities. They use the assessments to identify learning priorities for their key children but this information is not consistently recorded effectively for all children. Very clear learning targets are in place and recorded on individual education plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These plans are produced in consultation with other professionals, shared with parents and reviewed and updated frequently to ensure that they reflect children's current learning needs. Staff adapt equipment, such as the climbing frame, to ensure that

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and outcomes for children

it is accessible to children with physical development needs.

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and outcomes for children

Children's home culture is reflected in the planning effectively. For example, all children join in festival celebrations that some children are celebrating at home, such as Hanukah. Children take part in themes such as 'The world around us'. The topics include activities such as food from other countries and the countries are chosen to include ones that reflect individual children's home culture. Children talk about different countries and look at their flags. They make a collage of the German flag and try to paint the Welsh flag in the right colours by copying a picture. Children self register for snack time and have food that reflects the countries they have talked about. For example, when learning about Germany they have a choice of Frankfurters, Philadelphia cheese and German biscuits for their snack.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good use of the outdoor play area for both free play and planned activities. They design and build dens with sticks. They grow plants, such as radishes and potatoes and plan to harvest them and eat them later in the summer. This also supports their awareness of healthy eating. They enjoy structured activities such as ball skills. They talk about their favourite football teams and then play together, giving each other instructions about who to pass to or where to aim. This supports their development of physical skills such as kicking a ball while running.

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and outcomes for children

Children take part in a wide variety of focus activities. For example, they use animal mother and baby cards. They develop observational skills as they try to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 match the mothers and babies and improve their memories as they try to remember where different cards are placed. They count how many pairs they have made and use mathematical language such as more and less. Children enjoy cookery activities and staff extend more able children by encouraging them to weigh the ingredients. Children use many different technology toys, such as 'beebots', with increasing independence. Activities such as these also develop children's skills for the future effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children's individual welfare needs are generally met well. However, their welfare is potentially compromised because medication records do not always include all necessary details. Children develop a good awareness of their personal safety. They are familiar with the 'golden rules' for good behaviour and understand why they should not run indoors. Staff use consistent strategies to manage children's behaviour. They sit with children to talk about what they have done and how they should have responded if they do not like other children's actions when unwanted behaviour has occurred. 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 1 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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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept). 04/05/2010

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