St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Pre-School

Rishton Parish Church Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 309442 Inspection date 24/02/2010 Inspector Shazaad Arshad

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Setting address The Parish Hall, Blackburn Road, Rishton, Blackburn, BB1 4HD Telephone number 01254 888 850 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

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

Rishton Parish Church Pre-School was registered in 1980 and is run by a committee. The pre-school uses a large hall with access to toilets and wash facilities. It operates from the parish church hall on Blackburn Road in Rishton, Lancashire.

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Description of the setting

The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9am until 11.30am from Monday to Friday and it also open Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12.30pm to 3pm.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered to care for a maximum of 24 children in the early years age group. It is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 44 children in the early years age group on roll. The children are usually two years before they start at the group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre- school accepts children in receipt of a nursery education grant. They support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are three full-time staff and two part-time staff in total working with the children, of these, three staff have level 4 early years qualifications. The other staff have level 3 qualifications and one member is unqualified. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The pre-school provides a welcoming, child-friendly area for the children to play and learn, which staff organise effectively to enable all areas of learning to be covered daily. Children are happy, secure and busily occupied as they are welcomed into the pre-school by friendly, enthusiastic staff who successfully meet their welfare and learning needs. The playgroup promotes an inclusive environment and this is supported through positive relationships with parents and others. The systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the setting are not fully developed but the setting manager realises the importance of a systematic approach to this in order to improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 further improve planning, observation and assessment systems and communication with other settings children are attending to ensure a coherent approach. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop robust systems for self-evaluation in order to effectively identify strengths, areas for improvement and actions required to address any weaknesses; provide opportunities for parents, carers and children to be involved in the process  develop procedures for parents to be able to review their children’s progress regularly and contribute to their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded, because the setting has suitable procedures in place to help keep them safe. For example, all staff are familiar with the procedures for protecting children and all staff who work with the children are suitably vetted. Staff work well together as a team and are committed to continual improvement. The setting has a satisfactory written policy and there are adequate safeguarding procedures which ensure children are never alone with a single member of staff. The premises are secure and staff follow sound procedures for the collection of children. There are sound recruitment procedures that ensure that only suitable people work with the children and all staff and committee members undertake vetting checks.

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the early years provision

The setting is generally well organised and all areas of learning are covered during the session with satisfactory use made of resources so children can take part in a varied range of activities both inside and outside. The staff and committee are proactive in the development of the setting and have used a grant award to further develop the outside area. The children are involved in choosing new resources. The staff provide many opportunities for children to initiate their own play and select their chosen resources and include some adult-led and large group activities.

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the early years provision

The pre-school has a satisfactory range of policies and procedures and maintain all the required documentation, which ensures children's welfare needs are known and met. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. Staff know the parents well and gather sufficient information from them at the start to meet children's individual needs, for example, dietary requirements, likes and dislikes. Parents receive an information pack prior to their child starting and important information is displayed on the noticeboard, for example, complaints details, certificate of registration and public liability insurance. Parents are kept up-to-date about their child's care through verbal feedback. However, effective procedures to ensure that they are kept informed about their child's learning and development have not been established. The setting is currently developing further links with the local primary school.

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the early years provision

Adequate procedures are in place to organise the setting and the manager is currently updating all policies. The manager has a suitable understanding of areas for development within the setting and all the recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed. For example, the child protection and sickness policies have been updated. In addition, the review of organisation allows further opportunities for children to select resources and make their own choices. The chair of the setting and manager are very enthusiastic and committed to improving This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the setting and outcomes for children. They realise the benefit of monitoring and self-evaluation. However, this has not been undertaken in a robust, systematic way to ensure a planned, coherent approach to identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

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and outcomes for children

The setting is welcoming and friendly and children are safe, happy and settled due to the caring, friendly staff. They are busily occupied and make sufficient progress in their development as staff organise the designated room well. Children arrive happily at the setting and part confidently from their parents and carers. They are content, settled and willingly take part in activities, which adequately cover all areas of learning. They make choices about which activities they wish to take part in and move around the space confidently. Most staff have a sound knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Individual files are in place for each child, which include basic observations of the children. However, these are not clearly linked to the areas of learning and do not clearly identify children's next steps. This means that although planning is in place,

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and outcomes for children

it is generalised for all children and does not clearly reflect personalised learning for children. However, children are making suitable progress in their learning and development. Staff are reviewing the systems for planning and assessment and have identified this as an area for training and development to ensure activities and learning experiences fully support children's interests and maximise their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

The children move around freely as they independently access a wide variety of activities and resources, including painting, sticking, construction or role play. They are confident and self-assured, developing in independence as they choose what to play with, when to have their snack and take themselves to the toilet. Children have good communication skills and chat happily both to one another and to adults, asking for help as they need it. For example, when they want help fastening their coat buttons and with the outdoor play equipment. They organise their thoughts well as they role play, dressing up as ballet dancers and dance and sing during their spontaneous play. Children enjoy tactile experiences as they explore materials, such as when playing with water, play-dough and sand. Staff support children well by offering praise and encouragement and demonstrate a good understanding of children's individual learning needs. Staff provide a level of

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and outcomes for children

challenge which is sufficient to interest and engage children. For example, they ask them how things feel and talk to the children about shapes and colours. A suitable variety of building blocks, stickle bricks and jigsaws help to promote children's problem solving and fine motor skills. Staff support them to hold pencils correctly as they draw around shapes and practise basic mark making skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children generally behave well and develop good relationships with their peers and adults. Their social skills are developing well as staff praise and encourage the children's achievements. The children learn to share and take turns, for example, when too many children want to play on the computers and the children sit and patiently wait. Children competently use IT equipment, which supports their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learning and prepares them with skills for the future. The children play happily independently, dressing up or selecting books from the reading corner. They are clearly beginning to develop positive relationships with the staff and their peers as they proudly show their friends their names painted with water on the wall. Planned activities, such as developing a garden area outside, help children to begin to develop an interest in the natural world. Children recognise their own names as

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and outcomes for children

they register at the start of the session and some proudly write their own names on their work. Many recognise numbers and can accurately count, showing the correct fingers as they talk about their ages and match and sort objects by size and colour. Children are learning about wider society and differences through looking at festivals from other cultures and using resources that show positive images of diversity, such as books and dressing-up clothes. Children's health is promoted well. They know they must wash their hands before eating or after using the toilet. The setting has a healthy eating policy and water is freely available throughout the session. Staff ensure equipment and resources are in a clean condition using antibacterial spray to clean tables. Parents inform staff of any health or dietary issues children may have and records are kept of accidents or any medication administered. Children are beginning to learn about the importance of

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and outcomes for children

keeping themselves safe. They practise regular fire drills and staff talk to them about the importance of not jumping on the steps of the indoor slide in case they hurt themselves. Children do not attend if they are sick, which enables the staff to protect others from illness. Staff can respond appropriately if children have an accident as they ensure that a member of staff with a current first aid certificate is present at all times. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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