Silkstone Pre School Playgroup Ltd

Silkstone Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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Silkstone Playgroup

Unique Reference Number 302858 Inspection date 20 February 2006 Inspector Geneen Yvonne Hulse

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Silkstone Playgroup

Setting Address Old Town School, High Street,Silkstone, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 4LR Telephone number 01226 792294

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E-mail

Registered person Silkstone Pre- School Playgroup Ltd Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional 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?

Silkstone Pre-school Playgroup opened in 1977. The pre-school operates from a single storey building adjacent to Silkstone Primary School and serves the local and rural communities. They have access to a large hall with office, toilets, kitchen and storage space. There is a secure outdoor play area available to the children, plus use of the school playground. The pre-school cares for a maximum of 26 children aged from 2 to 5-years. There are

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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 currently 60 children on roll, of whom 47 receive funded nursery education. The group supports children with special needs. The playgroup offers sessional care, term time only with children attending for a variety of sessions per week from 08.50 to 11.30 and from 12.40 to 15.15. Six staff work with the children and all hold early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority Early Years consultants and Pre-school Learning Alliance. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary management committee.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children take part in and enjoy a broad range of activities that contribute to keeping them healthy. They effectively use indoor and outdoor activities on a daily basis to develop their physical skills, enjoying climbing and playing ball games. Children explore the outdoors, as part of planned activities and plans are in place to continue to develop opportunities for children to extend their physical skills. Children’s fine motor development is successfully promoted as they manipulate tools well, such as scissors, pencils and paint brushes. Staff offer the children many opportunities to talk about being healthy through the use of projects, displays and planned topics. Children are developing an understanding of a healthy diet, as staff talk to them about healthy eating as part of the daily routine. They use activities and themes to help children explore what foods are good for

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Helping children to be healthy

them. Children understand their bodies and know when they want a drink or snack and make choices about what they want to eat. They enjoy social meal and snack times where they can sit together and chat. Staff take into account children’s individual dietary needs and plan accordingly. Children are cared for in a warm, clean environment, where effective methods ensure they develop good personal hygiene practices, such as hand washing before meals and after messy play. They understand the importance of good practice and demonstrate it in their play and activities. The visit of Zoo Lab reminded the children of the importance of washing their hands and not touching their faces after handling the animals.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment where risks are minimised. They move around both indoors and out to develop their independence and learn to keep themselves safe. Children understand not to run indoors, how to carry scissors safely and to take care when climbing. Staff talk to the children about keeping safe as part of regular discussions, using topics to consolidate their understanding. Staff effectively ensure that the premises are kept safe and secure.

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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 Children independently make choices of activities from a broad range of easily accessible resources and request anything they cannot see. Well planned areas allow them space to be quiet, use their creativity, extend their imagination and develop their play. Children benefit from regular access to a secure outdoor play area. Effective procedures are in place to support good practice and all staff hold current first aid certificates. The staff team are experienced and demonstrate a good knowledge of child protection procedures and how to keep children safe. They understand their role in protecting children and use this information effectively to promote the children’s wellbeing.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at nursery. They make good progress in all areas of development as staff knowledgeably provide activities and experiences that keep children interested and motivated. Staff effectively use of the curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage to provide good quality care and education. Children are well settled, happy and secure as they enthusiastically undertake a wide range of activities. They are confident and interested in their surroundings, establishing good relationships with staff and children alike. Children actively make independent choices about their play, selecting activities and resources from the broad and interesting range available. They are developing their independence and successfully plan their own time, making decisions about what to do and confidently attempt to dress themselves for playing outdoors. Staff consistently respond to the children's individual needs and adapt activities to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

follow their ideas and suggestions. Children are encouraged and supported to extend and try out new skills, such as when using the computer and exploring new programmes. Children receive good levels of support from staff who use observations and their knowledge of the children to build on what they can do and extend activities at the child's own pace. Staff are developing their understanding of the Birth to three matters framework and plans are in place to consolidate their understanding. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff's good knowledge of the Foundation Stage ensures that children progress well in all areas of development. Children are interested and motivated to learn through well planned and spontaneous activities and experiences, which challenge and extend them. They use their imagination very well during role-play activities, making up simple stories when building train tracks and selling buns in their shop. They are developing good

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

concentration skills and have free access to tools and materials to construct models. They build and design, extending their imagination and their natural creativity using a wide variety of craft materials and resources. Children are confident speakers and listen intently to each other. They share experiences, talking about home, family and

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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 events with enthusiasm. Staff listen with interest to what the children say, offering support and suggestions to enhance their experiences. Children enthusiastically welcome visitors to the setting, chattering and exploring what they bring, such as the wide range of insects and animals bought to the group by Zoo Lab. They are very confident and engage well with each other and visitors, sharing their achievements and negotiating roles in games. They play well together and alone to enthusiastically progress their ideas. Behaviour is very good and reflects the staff's high expectations. Children take turns and share, learning how to manage their own behaviour and a respect for others. They enjoy learning about the lives of others through topics and planned activities. Children are introduced to number and problem solving through daily activities,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

counting and sorting as part of daily routines, singing and ring games. They use computer programmes confidently to extend and develop their understanding of words, numbers and matching concepts. Staff effectively use observation systems to monitor children's progress and receive information from parents to complete the picture. These observations form an effective aid to planning and to progressing the children's learning. Children are actively involved in planning and are offered a good balance of focused and freely chosen activities. Staff respond and make changes to incorporate the children’s ideas and suggestions, by supporting and intervening as needed to extend spontaneity. Staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and use this to plan a broad based curriculum to include all areas of learning. Staff effectively use open ended questions to extend children's language, develop their thinking and value

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

what they say using positive responses. Attractive and well presented displays of the children’s work successfully contributes to promoting their self-esteem.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children build strong and respectful relationships with staff and each other. They show good self- esteem, confidently ask questions and actively make choices. Children are warmly welcomed by staff who are sensitive and value their individuality. They receive praise and encouragement for achievement and attempts, for example, when changing for PE. Well planned meaningful activities and resources help children become aware of similarities and differences, which in turn increase their understanding of the wider world. Children enjoy exploring their environment and spending time in school to broaden their knowledge of the community. Books, toys and pictures show positive images, whilst visitors to the setting share their experiences and working practices. Children enthusiastically enjoyed the visit of Zoo Lab to the group enabling them to see and gently handle the animals and insects. Staff work well with other agencies to ensure the children with special

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Helping children make a positive contribution

educational needs are welcomed into the provision and cared for according to their needs. Children's behaviour is good and reflects the staff's high expectations. Children

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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 understand clear and consistent boundaries, demonstrating care and respect for each other. They share, negotiate and take turns when playing games and using equipment, for example, when waiting their turn to climb on the large apparatus. Children follow good role-models in staff showing care and consideration for others. Partnership with parents and carers is good. Staff ensure parents are well informed about what the children are doing and use topics to help parents build on playgroup activities at home. Parents and staff work well together to meet the children's needs. They receive good quality information about the setting and in turn share their knowledge of the children. However, parents are not routinely informed as to how children progress using the stepping stones to reach the early learning goals.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents confidently approach staff and demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with the setting. The children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Effective organisation and good quality leadership and management of the educational provision ensures that children's care and learning are well supported. Knowledgeable staff demonstrate a consistent understanding of their roles and responsibilities and make sure that all children's individual needs are successfully met. An experienced staff team work well together following effective procedures that are in place to monitor and evaluate the provision. The management team supports highly committed staff, who are involved in reviewing practice and adopting new procedures. The playgroup staff are committed to training and development to consolidate their practices and further enhance the provision. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in place to support good practices, which are reviewed regularly to ensure the group continues to offer an effective service. The management team has

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Organisation

identified the importance of reviewing their recruitment and selection process to meet new procedures. The staff team use numerous opportunities to meet together, share information and use regular staff observations as a development tool to improve and evaluate their practice. Overall the provision meets the needs of the children who attend.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Previous recommendations from the Children Act inspection concerning documentation have been addressed and effectively contribute to ensuring children are kept safe and organisational requirements are met. Previous recommendations from the Nursery Education inspection regarding children’s progress and growing independence have been successfully addressed and effectively contribute to their all round learning and achievement. Planning has been developed to ensure that children’s progress in all aspects of mathematical and creative development is promoted and a wide range of activities are undertaken by

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Improvements 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 children to promote their growing independence.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection. 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 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): • continue to build on understanding of needs of children under 3 through use of Birth to three framework • continue to review and update recruitment and selection policies and procedures

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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): • continue to extend opportunities to develop physical skills and develop the outdoor curriculum (also applies to care) • continue to develop parents understanding of how children learn using stepping stones

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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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