St Pauls Pre-School

St Pauls Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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St Pauls Pre-School

Unique Reference Number 509586 Inspection date 09 November 2005 Inspector Judith Harris

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St Pauls Pre-School

Setting Address Invita Lodge, Strandfield Close, London, SE18 1LA

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E-mail

Registered person St Pauls Pre-School Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

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 good. 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?

St Paul's pre-school opened in 1986 it operates from a hall in the community centre on a housing estate in Plumstead South East London. A maximum of 20 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 09:30 to 14:15 during term times. There are currently 15 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 12 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area and

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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 the pre-school currently supports children with special educational needs, and children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employ four staff. The manager and deputy hold the Diploma in Pre school Practice and other staff have experience.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. The pre school has comprehensive environmental health and hygiene guidelines. The effective use of these procedures clearly supports children’s health. Children are learning to use a good range of appropriate hygiene routines and learning basic hygiene skills. The children are learning that they have to wash hands after using the toilet and adults given gentle reminders to the older children who use the toilet independently. The hand-washing and hygiene routines ensure all children go to the bathroom before and after meals to wash hands and faces and staff use anti-bacterial spray to clean tables or to wipe down the changing mat. Children are provided with healthy and nutritious meals and snacks through the effective partnership between parents and the pre-school. Packed lunches are prepared by parents. The pre-school staff help to ensure that meals are sufficiently balanced and nutritious by providing information sheets for parents which give

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Helping children to be healthy

packed lunch ideas. A balanced variety of snacks and drinks are available for the children during the morning. The pre-school take a good range of details from parents and record information about children’s dietary needs and any medical or special needs. The children sit together at lunch and snack time, at snack the children are given pennies and use these to buy their snack. The children are able to choose what snacks and drinks they will have. Children have daily physical play which provides lots of opportunities for them to develop their physical skills and to exercise. The children use a good range of equipment and toys. They have ride-on and push-along toys, and a climbing frame with a slide. The children are climbing and sliding, playing on ride on bikes and pushing buggies. The children are all clearly developing and learning new skills. There is no set sleep or rest time as all children are collected by mid afternoon but

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Helping children to be healthy

the pre-school are able to meet children’s individual needs for rest and sleep as required. The children’s individual needs are discussed and agreed with parents. One member of staff holds a current first aid certificate; which means that appropriate care can be given if there is an accident.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The pre-school is clean with clear well organised space for the children to play in.

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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 The group use a large hall and the staff set up the area daily with areas for different types of play. The children are able to move around the hall safely and with good access to all the activities. The hall is secure and the only entrance has a bell which is answered by staff; all visitors must show identification and sign the visitors book. There are good systems in place to ensure children only leave the nursery with known and approved adults. A system of regular risk assessments is in place, which helps to effectively ensure the children’s safety. The children have access to a good range of toys and equipment. The staff have effective systems for ensuring that resources are clean and safe. Children are able to choose freely from the play resources and the staff monitor the children’s choices.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This enables the staff to ensure that the children are using equipment safely while developing good levels of independence. The children are clearly learning about keeping themselves safe; the staff talk to them while they play. They are helping the children to gain an awareness of their own safety with the use of simple rules for moving about, climbing and using equipment. They help the children to understand the importance of being careful of others. There is an effective policy and clear procedures for keeping children safe on outings. All staff members have or are studying for qualifications and the pre-school have effective systems for vetting all staff. Children are protected from harm because staff understand their role in child protection and are able to put appropriate procedures into practice when necessary.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are confident and happy at the pre-school; they take part in a very good range of well planned activities and have positive relationships with the adults and each other. The staff work well as a team and are making very effective use of their skills to support the children’s learning and development. Birth to Three matters is used to plan for the under threes; and the Foundation Stage is used to plan for the three to five year olds. A system for daily observations is being introduced to allow staff to record each child’s progress and makes plans for their next steps. The balance and range of activities clearly meets the individual needs of all the children across the age range for two to five year olds. Nursery Education The children are interested motivated learners who are able to make choices about activities and have free access to role play, sand and water, graphics and maths

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

areas, the book corner and creative play. The planning is done by the whole staff team and planned activities link clearly to the early learning goals and support the children to make good progress. Children use a wide range of language to organise their play, they read and tell stories with an adult and have some opportunities to practise writing skills but these are limited. The children take part in lots of activities that support them to develop good maths skills. The children count small bricks as

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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 they put them into different size tubes and then talk about which tower is taller and which is shorter. Children use their imagination to develop role play games, they play shops and cook for each other. The children take part in a good range of creative activities, they have planned activities and free painting at the easel. The quality of teaching and learning is good; adults have a clear understanding of how children learn and plan well for children with a good range and balance of activities. An effective system of observations of individual children’s progress is being introduced which will enable adults to plan for children’s next steps. The activities and experiences provided cover each area of learning and meet the individual needs of all the children in the group. Adults clearly make best use of all

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

planned and naturally occurring situations to challenge and extend the children's learning; the children are very well supported by the adults and both adults and children are stimulated by the activities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children have good levels of support and levels of supervision which are suitable for their ages and abilities. The pre-school have a policy with good systems and procedures for identifying and supporting children with special needs which include the use of action and action plus to assess the levels of care and support a child may need. Partnership with parents is good and staff ensure that all parents know how their children are progressing and developing and what sort of activities they are taking part in. A good range of information is taken from parents at admission and this information is kept up to date. The children are happy and comfortable in the pre-school; they have a good sense of the daily routine and good relationships with members of staff. New children settling are very well supported and there is an effective procedure to help children and parents through this stage. Children have suitable levels of independence they are

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Helping children make a positive contribution

able to make choices about what to play with, what they will eat and when they need a drink. The children are able to organise their own play, use the toilet independently and move freely around the pre-school. The children are supported to play well together, to share and take turns and to develop their skills for sharing and waiting for a turn. The older children are able to organise their own games and sort out taking turns and sharing for themselves. The children are well behaved and are clearly supported by staff to develop good levels of self control and good problem solving skills. The adults know each individual child well and have a clear understanding of what may cause behaviour problems at different ages. Children’s behaviour is managed with the effective use of positive strategies that are suitable for the children’s ages and levels of understanding, that meet children’s individual needs and are consistently applied.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children take part in a range of activities that support them to gain an understanding of different cultures and religions and of the wider world. The children have books,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 puzzles, dressing up and role play resources that positively reflect people from different cultures. There are lots of positive image poster at the children level around the room. Most recently the children have made Diwali cards and drawn Rangoli patterns as part of the Hindu festival celebrations. Children have some activities that allow them to explore the natural world but these are limited. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children play in a well organised space with good levels of adult support. Adults are well deployed which clearly supports the children to develop confidence with good levels of safety. The pre-school have a good range of policies and procedures which are effectively put into practise to best support the children’s care and education. Staff are all effectively vetted through the pre-school’s system and all records are present, up to date and shared with parents as required. Leadership and management is good; this is a close knit team of people who have worked together for a number of years and clearly work very well as a team. The staff have taken advice from the advisory teacher which has led to an effective planning system being put into place with the beginnings of a system for individual observations. The team have undertaken a comprehensive self assessment process with the advisory teacher. This is part of an ongoing process which has provided

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Organisation

them with the tools for examining their practice and making necessary changes to best benefit the children. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides care and education.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The pre-school have made excellent improvements, all actions and recommendations set at previous inspections have been met and the pre-school team have continued to build on these improvements with support from the Early Years advisory teacher. The pre-school now have a comprehensive operational plan, risk assessments are in place and new staff are checked and vetted. There are procedures for administration of medication and a member of staff who has a current first aid qualification. The environment has been made safe and welcoming for all children and children with special needs are fully included in all activities. The pre-school have provided a good range of toys and resources that reflect diversity.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they

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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 can see on request. The complaints records may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted. There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection

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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 good. 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):

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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): • extend the range of opportunities to allow children to develop skills for handwriting • provide a range of activities to help children gain a better understanding of the natural world

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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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