Castleview Primary School

Little Fingers Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 110092 Inspection date 15/06/2010 Inspector Doreen Forsyth

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Setting address The Gospel Hall, Vernham Dean, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 0LD Telephone number 01264 737735 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

Little Fingers Pre-school opened in 1991. It operates from the Gospel Hall in the village of Vernham Dean in Hampshire. The playgroup occupies the main room and has the use of a kitchen and an enclosed tarmac area for outside play.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for up to 18 children aged between two and eight years old. The setting opens five mornings a week from 9am until 1pm during school term times. The pre-school also opens for two afternoon sessions. There are currently 42 children on roll in the early years age group, of these 28 are in receipt of government funding for free nursery education. The preschool welcomes children that may have special needs or learning difficulties.

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Description of the setting

There are three members of staff working with the children, they all have relevant qualifications at level 2 or 3.

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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

At Little Fingers Pre-school the children are all very well supported and helped to make good progress in their learning and development, whatever their backgrounds or abilities because the staff understand that each child is unique and has their own individual needs. The children are effectively safeguarded; the setting works closely with parents to ensure children's welfare needs are met. The staff and committee have a very clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision that is offered and have identified some aims for future improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure the record of risk assessment clearly states when it was carried out, by whom and a date of review and any action taken following a review or incident. 30/06/2010

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure the observation and assessments records for each child are kept up to date and contain sufficient information for keyworkers to identify the children's learning priorities and plan relevant and meaningful learning experiences This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  provide more planned opportunities for keyworkers to share the children's assessments records and progress with parents and for parents to add what they know about their children's learning at home to the records of the children's development.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is well organised. Most of the documentation, records and policies that are necessary to ensure the children's safety and well-being and to efficiently manage the Early Years Foundation Stage are in place and well kept. They are mostly shared with parents in a well presented prospectus. However, the record of risk assessments is not dated, signed or show a date for review which is a statutory requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Good safeguarding policies and procedures are in place and are shared with parents. The staff are very confident in the steps that they would follow if they have any child protection concerns. All the staff have undertaken appropriate vetting procedures to ensure their suitability to work with children. They ensure that any unvetted adults do not have unsupervised access to the children. All the staff now have relevant qualifications and they frequently attend training events to further enhance their

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the early years provision

knowledge and skills and their ability to promote good outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The children's safety and well-being is a priority in the setting. The premises and the outside areas have been well risk-assessed to identify and minimise any potential hazards to the children. Staff ensure the hall is keep secure. The children are cared for a very welcoming and well organised environment. Each week the staff have to set up the equipment and activities; they work very hard to make the hall attractive and child-centred with posters displays and photos. The hall is organised into well planned learning areas that ensure all of the learning outcomes are promoted. Children have access to a wide range of resources. They are very effectively organised to allow children to independently select what they play with and easily access all the equipment. For example, most toys for construction play are stored in low level see-through and labelled boxes. From the hall children freely access a covered patio area where other resources and activities are offered

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the early years provision

or the children take out their chosen toys from inside. For some of the session they also use the car park area for large play activities such as riding bikes, using the large sand tray or playing with a parachute.

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the early years provision

Many parents are very involved in the pre-school and serve on the management committee and help with fund raising. They have 'parent liaison' books which they can use to exchange information. The keyworkers make time to informally exchange information with parents before or after the session. The pre-school understands the importance of sharing information with other providers that the children use to promote the integration of children's care and education. The setting welcomes and values all children. The well qualified special needs co- ordinator ensures that children receive any extra assistance they may need to ensure they progress appropriately.

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the early years provision

The setting uses a number of ways to monitor and evaluate the quality of the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 provision that is offered. The ask parents for feedback in questionnaires and use self-evaluation systems. The pre-school is aware of its strengths and any areas future improvement.

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and outcomes for children

The children are progressing very well in their learning and development. Staff plan a very wide range of worthwhile activities, both inside and outdoors, these are aimed at helping children progress towards the early learning goals. The activities are often based on a theme or topic but also use the children's ideas and interests. For example, recently the children helped to plant vegetables as part of a 'living and growing' project. These are now flourishing and the children enjoy watering them. They also have been watching tadpoles as they grow and develop. Currently they are exploring 'journeys', and enjoy using small world toys linked to space travel and visiting the role play 'travel agents'. The children enjoy creative activities such as painting and collage. They enjoy small world play especially using the train set. They read books in the comfortable book corner and are developing writing skills in the mark making area. They dress up and develop their

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and outcomes for children

imaginations in role play, they listen extremely well to stories and sing rhymes with confidence.

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and outcomes for children

The keyworkers know the children in their group really well and they are able to plan an appropriate next step in their learning for each child, helping them to progress on an individual basis. They observe and assess the children's progress but the observation records are not all kept up to date and do not contain enough relevant information. Parents are made aware of the assessment records, but do not have any planned opportunities to see their children's developmental records and discuss their progress, or add to the records what they know about their children's learning at home.

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and outcomes for children

The children are extremely confident, they are very settled and happy in the pre- school. They happily leave their parents and carers when they arrive at the setting and quickly settle to play. They have made some firm friendships with each other, and talked excitedly about a forthcoming birthday party. They are developing their independence, for example, they serve each other their snacks at snack time and pour their own drinks. They put on their aprons for messy play and decide which craft materials they will use. They are beginning to learn about keeping themselves safe. The take part in regular emergency evacuation procedures and discuss road safety using the lollipop person dressing up clothes, road way and zebra crossing outside toys.

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and outcomes for children

Most of the children are showing a good awareness of what is a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy a variety of different snacks and talk about why fruit and vegetables are good for you. They are able to access drinking water whenever they wish and talk about being 'rehydrated'. They know when they should wash their hands 'to wash away the germs'. They have many opportunities to play outside in the fresh air, but their opportunities for practising their climbing and balancing skills are fairly limited. The children behave well, staff value and praise their achievements This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and good behaviour. They are learning to share, take turns and consider the needs of others. If they want to use a toy that another child has they use a timer to help them wait for their turn. The children are beginning to gain an understanding of diversity through the resources they use, such as dolls, books, dressing up clothes

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and outcomes for children

and through some of the planned activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children are progressing in the skills they will need for the future. They communicate well and are developing literacy skills. The enjoy using the pre-school computer. They play well together and can co-operate, for example, when tidying up. Through the topics and themes they explore they are learning well about the wider world. The pre-school aims to encourage the children to be active, inquisitive and independent learners. 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 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 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 provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary 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 30/06/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

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

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