Glenhurst Nursery & Pre-School

Glenhurst School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Glenhurst School

Unique Reference Number EY233222 Inspection date 29 November 2005 Inspector Anne Mitchell

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Glenhurst School

Setting Address 16 Beechworth Road, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1AX

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Glenhurst School

Telephone number 02392 484054 E-mail office@glenhurstschool.co.uk Registered person Glenhurst School Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Out of School care

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Glenhurst School

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 satisfactory. 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?

Glenhurst School opened under new management in 1999. It is an independent school and operates from a converted house in the centre of Havant. The out of school club is registered to provide care for 20 children aged 3 to 9 years of age, who attend the school, during term times. The school also provides education for 31 children in the Foundation Stage. There are currently 52 children on roll in the whole school. This includes 31 funded 3 and 4-year-olds. The school provides

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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 support for children with special needs and those for whom English is an additional language. Two staff work with children in the out of school club, and hold relevant qualifications. There are seven staff who work directly with the funded children. Six hold relevant qualifications. One is working towards a qualification. The setting receives support from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children in the after school club follow adequate hand hygiene practice. They are reminded to wash their hands before snack and after using the toilet. Children are independent in this area, but are not always monitored sufficiently to ensure good practice at all times. Children's general health and welfare is maintained through appropriate documentation for recording medication and accidents. Children's dietary health is supported in the after school club by some healthy choices at snack time, such as sandwiches and fruit. Children's records include food allergies or special dietary requirements to ensure their health is not compromised. Children in the after school club enjoy daily fresh air and exercise through free time and games in the school playground. The physical development of children in the Foundation Stage is good. Their small muscle control is very well promoted through a range of activities. They use some

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Helping children to be healthy

Montessori methods, such as pouring water from one container to another, or using tongs to skilfully transfer objects. Children use scissors with increasing confidence and competence. Children have opportunities to develop their gross motor skills during outdoor play through the use of parachute, hoops and ball games. Most children catch and throw with accuracy. They enjoy balancing on small rockers, and moving safely around the area in a planned movement activity, for example, walking backwards, with big steps or like a penguin.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children in the out of school club are cared for in a secure, and safe school building. Children's arrival and departure is monitored to ensure their safety. Staff complete a daily visual risk assessment. However, this is not always effective as socket covers in one room are not in place. Children's safe use of toys and equipment in the out of school club is supported by regular checks to ensure their continued safety. Equipment is in generally good condition. Supervision is satisfactory. However, staff deployment is not always effective leaving children unsupervised for short periods. Consequently, children are potentially at risk. Children's safety is promoted in the outdoor area, with positive

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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 steps taken to ensure it is secure and free from hazards. The staff's knowledge of child protection issues serves to protect the children from harm and neglect. It also supports them in their responsibility to keep the children safe.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children in the after school club are provided with a suitable range of resources and activities to help them unwind and relax after the school day. They choose from games and craft activities. They also enjoy regular opportunities for outdoor play. Staff do not plan activities, giving children the freedom to choose after being in school all day. During the session, children enjoy building a Santa's Grotto with large construction equipment. They then play imaginatively crawling in and out and making up a story to enact together. Other children are suitably involved in drawing and playing games together. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff all hold teaching qualifications, and demonstrate a clear understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Staff skilled in particular areas, such as music, help promote opportunities for children to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

undertake a good range of experiences, with expert support. All teachers in kindergarten and reception classes plan together to provide consistency throughout the Foundation Stage. Children benefit from the strong team of committed teachers. Staff monitor the activities to ensure all areas of learning are covered. Written observations are added to the children's record of achievement. This identifies children's progress and highlights areas of development. The records of achievement include photos, work samples and comments from staff, and builds a comprehensive picture of each child. These are then used to help staff plan what children will do next to develop their skills and learning, and individual targets are set up. Staff use a range of effective teaching methods to help children's progress and development. They engage children's interest by providing an activity with a lively and engrossing introduction. They encourage and praise children enthusiastically for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

their efforts. Staff use open ended questioning effectively to help children consider how things work. The high staff ratio allows a successful level of interaction and individual support. Children benefit from the effective use of the outdoor area. During the afternoon session they have the opportunity to be inside or out, and experience a broad range of activities. Staff endeavour to plan a varied range of activities to ensure all areas of the curriculum are covered, however, due to the organisation of space and resources inside, opportunities for children to be spontaneous in their learning are limited. Children with special needs are effectively supported as there is close liaison with parents and professionals to ensure their individual needs are successfully met. Children with English as an additional language are also supported within the group. Children's behaviour is good throughout the Foundation Stage. Staff speak to them,

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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 and to each other with respect and interest, providing a good role model. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour, and apply clear and consistent strategies to manage their behaviour positively. Children throughout the Foundation Stage come into the school with confidence and enthusiasm. Teachers greet them warmly, allowing them to share their news, and respond with genuine interest. Children display high levels of involvement in all activities and persevere at planned activities for long periods. Children are self assured and initiate interaction with staff and visitors with confidence. Children demonstrate good levels of independence in their personal care. They use the toilet independently, washing and drying their hands. They get ready for outdoor play

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

requiring little support. The organisation of space and resources however, limits children's independence to select resources freely. Children listen well to staff at circle time or at tidy up time. They respond with enthusiasm. Children are confident in their use of language and vocabulary for problem solving. Children enjoy books. They listen with interest and obvious enjoyment at group story time. Children participate, delighting in the use of bowls, chairs and bears that bring the story of Goldilocks to life. There are good opportunities for children to use tools, such as tongs and scissors to promote their hand/eye co-ordination. Children have opportunities to make marks in writing activities. However, due to the organisation of space and resources, role play for the kindergarten children has to be planned, so opportunities to use writing in purposeful play are few. Children confidently count to ten and above through play activities. They enjoy

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

solving mathematical problems through well planned and enjoyable activities, such as making towers. Older children in the foundation stage demonstrate good spatial awareness through designing plans and transferring them into practical models. Children recognise and name shapes with confidence and understanding, through everyday activities. During a creative activity, children confidently identify cylinder and circle, oblongs and squares. Children's use of mathematical language is enhanced by the support of staff. Children have good opportunities to experiment, through successful and well organised planned activities. They have regular opportunities to build and design with creative materials or construction toys. They maintain high levels of interest and concentration while doing so. Children have daily access to computers and use the mouse with increasing control to play age-appropriate educational games, such as

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

matching shape and colour. Children enjoy the natural environment. Regular local walks to look at the natural world enhances their experiences, knowledge and enjoyment. Children are familiar with the local community. They visit rest homes with harvest festival produce, have links with the local church, and visit the 'Marvellous Meals' exhibition. Children explore colour and texture through a varied range of creative activities. They have access to free painting daily, both inside and out. Children enjoy using glittery paint and dough to create pictures and models with a Christmas theme. They move imaginatively to music during an outdoor dancing activity. They have good opportunities for singing and using musical instruments. Children use their

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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 imagination well in outdoor and small world play. Opportunities for spontaneous role play is hampered for some children, due to the organisation of space.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children in the out of school attend the main school and staff know them well. Children learn about diversity through the sufficient range of multicultural resources, such as books and puzzles. Children's behaviour is satisfactory in the after school club. There are times when children's behaviour deteriorates due to the deployment of staff. Staff take time to discuss any issues relating to children with their parents at the end of each session. Children in the Foundation Stage of the school demonstrate a clear sense of belonging, and are secure in the school environment. They select their name at registration to display on the wall. Children in reception choose a special person each day to be leader in the line and help with jobs. Children's self esteem is well promoted as they see photographs of themselves participating in activities within the school. Their knowledge and understanding of the wider world is well promoted

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Helping children make a positive contribution

through multicultural resources, and planned activities, such as looking at the festival of Diwali. Children show care and affection to one another. One child greets a younger child with a hug, and offers to help her with her coat. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. In relation to the Foundation Stage children within the school, partnership with parents is good. Parents are very supportive of the school. They are provided with comprehensive information about the school's routines, policies and procedures. New children are encouraged to attend a group induction session with their parents prior to starting at the school, to help them settle. The school run an information evening for parents, whose children are beginning the Foundation Stage curriculum. There are effective procedures in place to ensure parents are well informed of their child's progression towards the early learning goals. A home link book provides

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Helping children make a positive contribution

details of children's day at school, giving opportunities for parents to include additional information that needs to be shared. Termly parents' evenings enables key worker staff to discuss individual children's development on a regular basis. Parents are encouraged to be part of their children's education through the provision of the weekly plans and regular newsletters.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are cared for by qualified and appropriately checked adults. This is due to the effective procedures in place for the recruitment and vetting of staff throughout the school and after school club. Children in the out of school club have sufficient space to participate in different play activities. However, the organisation and deployment of staff there is not always effective. There is clear and comprehensive documentation to support the care and welfare of the children attending.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Leadership and management for the school, including the Foundation Stage, is satisfactory. The head attends regular staff meetings and there is an effective training programme in place. Staff complete induction training and are provided with details of the schools policies and procedures. The head has a clear vision for improvements in the future. There are plans in place to build a new Foundation Stage unit at the rear of the school, and to improve outdoor play facilities for all children, and extend physical challenges for older children. However, procedures to maintain and develop the good practice in nursery education through regular staff appraisals and class observation is not always followed. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last educational inspection the provider agreed to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum, and to implement strategies and procedures used by staff to manage behaviour and identify children who require extra support. Staff now have a clear and secure knowledge and understanding of all areas of the Foundation Stage, to help children progress well through the stepping stones. Children's behaviour is now managed effectively, using positive and consistent strategies. They also agreed to ensure the provision of resources and learning opportunities are consistent throughout the Foundation Stage classes and to ensure a consistent approach to planning the curriculum and assessing children's progress, particularly in communication, language and literature, mathematics and creative development. All teaching staff in the Foundation Stage plan together to provide a broad curriculum for

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Improvements since the last inspection

children to experience. The provider agreed to implement a system to monitor and evaluate the provision for funded children. There are now some systems in place to monitor the nursery education. The head teacher meets with staff regularly. However, the system for conducting regular staff appraisals is not fully effective. At the last care inspection, for the after school club the provider agreed to improve documentation and procedures to include medication records, emergency consents and accidents, complaints, uncollected children and to ensure the register shows times when the children have gone home. All required documentation and procedures are now in place to promote children's health and welfare. They also agreed to ensure staff in the after school club are deployed effectively to ensure the safety and welfare of children, and to improve behaviour management. There has been some improvement in the behaviour of children in the club, however, at times

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Improvements since the last inspection

deployment is not effective and children are left unsupervised for short periods. The provider agreed to conduct a risk assessment on the outside area to minimize risks. The outside area is now secure and promotes children's safety during outdoor play.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been no complaints received by Ofsted.

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Complaints 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 The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they 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 satisfactory. 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): • improve hand washing procedures in the after school club to limit the spread of infection • ensure risk assessments in the after school club effectively promote children's safety • improve the deployment of staff in the out of school club to ensure children are well supervised at all times

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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): • improve the organisation of space and resources to provide children with better opportunities to be spontaneous and imaginative in the creative development and writing skills • ensure effective systems are in place for regular staff appraisals and classroom observations, to maintain and develop the good practice in nursery education

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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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