Buxton Pre-School Playgroup

Buxton Pre-school Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

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Buxton Pre-school Playgroup

Unique Reference Number 253986 Inspection date 23 January 2006 Inspector Rosalie Mary Turner

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Buxton Pre-school Playgroup

Setting Address Buxton Village Hall, Buxton, NORWICH, Norfolk, NR10 5EN

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E-mail

Registered person Buxton Pre-school Playgroup 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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Buxton Pre-school Playgroup is run by a committee of parents and carers. It opened in 1978 and operates from rooms within the village hall in Buxton. There is a fully enclosed outdoor play area which is shared by the local community. The playgroup is open each weekday from 09.30 to 12.00 during school term times. A maximum of 28 children may attend the group at any one time. There are currently 36 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these, 18 children receive

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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 funding for nursery education. The playgroup currently supports a number of children with special educational needs. All children come from the local area. The playgroup employs five staff. Three staff, including the supervisor, hold appropriate early years qualifications. One staff member is working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children's health and nutritional needs are rigorously promoted due to the highly effective procedures and practices followed by the staff. For example, children are not allowed to attend if they are suffering from a contagious illness and staff wipe surfaces where food is served with anti-bacterial spray. Consequently, children are very well protected from the spread of infection. They are cared for in a very warm and clean environment where the staff place a consistently high emphasis on children managing their own personal hygiene. All children are given commendable support and encouragement to access the portable hand washing unit that is specially provided in the play room. As a result, 2-year-old children confidently ask for help to wash their hands after messy play and older children take care of themselves. Furthermore, the staff talk to the children about the importance of keeping their

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Helping children to be healthy

hands clean, asking 'Why do we wash our hands?' Children show an excellent understanding by replying 'to wash those dirty germs off!' Children thrive because they are provided with a well balanced range of nutritious, freshly cooked and prepared foods that contribute significantly to their understanding of a healthy diet. The staff respect parents' wishes and take account of children's allergies, likes and dislikes when providing snacks. Therefore, children are offered appetising options, such as cereals, scrambled egg, soup or fresh fruit that appeal to them and meet their individual dietary needs. Children have superb opportunities to develop their taste buds by sampling a range of ethnic dishes. They particularly enjoy the curry that is made from organic vegetables that they have sown, tended and harvested in the playgroup garden. Therefore, children have an impressive understanding of what they should eat to keep themselves healthy. Children relish

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Helping children to be healthy

chatting with the staff as they eat their snacks. The adults seize this informal opportunity to reinforce how healthy food will help their growth and development by telling children that 'milk will make your bones and teeth strong.' Children are developing a positive attitude to healthy living. They look forward to playing outside, especially during the summer months when, as well as being active, children can paint and experience other routine play in the fresh air. The staff plan a superb range of physical activities and children particularly enjoy using the adventure play equipment to show off their stamina and suppleness. The excellent use of themes that relate to health encourage children to understand how exercise helps them to take care of their bodies. They are becoming aware of their own health needs because the staff remind the children to help themselves to fresh drinking water, especially if they become hot and thirsty after being energetic. As a result,

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Helping children to be healthy

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 are learning the effect that fresh air and exercise has upon their health.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are emotionally secure because they are warmly welcomed into a safe, child-centred environment where they are able to gain a sense of belonging. The staff and children work exceptionally hard to personalise the large hall and make it a rich and stimulating play environment where children feel secure. For example, the rooms are decorated with attractive posters and displays of children's work whilst the excellent range of accessible, high quality resources encourage younger children to settle quickly. Children's safety is given the utmost priority and they are closely monitored by the staff who are extremely vigilant to protect them from danger. As well as the comprehensive checks carried out by an external advisor, the staff complete a thorough daily check of the play environment and take worthwhile steps to minimise any hazards observed. For instance, they ensure that the outside door is secured to

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

protect children from 'stranger danger' and place safety gates across the entrances to the kitchen. Children are confident in their understanding of how to keep themselves safe from a very early age. They know they must take extra care when working with sand because the staff remind them that 'sand could be harmful if it gets in your eyes.' Children are encouraged to keep the floor tidy and, as a result, they are learning to be responsible for the safety of others. They practise regular fire drills and are very familiar with the process for evacuating the premises safely. Younger children are especially reassured by the colourful 'Hold a Ring' walking rope that ensures they have the confidence to escape quickly in an emergency. Children are extremely well protected from the risk of possible harm. For instance, they are neither left alone with persons who have not been vetted nor released to adults unless the playgroup has written consent from their parents. All staff are

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

guided by a robust policy. They demonstrate an excellent ability to recognise the signs or symptoms of child abuse and have up to date guidance to hand so that they can respond quickly to their concerns. In addition, the designated officer's knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures is impressive because she has first hand experience of serving on referral teams. Consequently, children's welfare is exceptionally well promoted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children are very happy and have a strong bond with the staff who are consistently kind and attentive in their approach to them. The younger or quieter children greatly benefit from the warm greeting and close, personal attention they receive from their key worker. Therefore, they are becoming confident and self assured from a very early age. The staff make extremely effective use of the 'Birth to three matters' framework to plan and provide an exciting programme of new experiences. For

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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 example, children delight in breaking eggs during their 'Humpty Dumpty' topic or painting their hands to print reindeer antlers. Children come into the hall eagerly because they are excited by the extensive range of bright, colourful toys and equipment. They have superb choices within free play but children are also invited to help the staff to plan. For instance, they select the focus of the current theme such as the subject of the wall display or the book to represent 'modern stories.' Consequently, children are extremely interested in the activities and remain fully engaged in meaningful play. Children concentrate remarkably well and they take great care with their work. They enthusiastically choose sequins and other shiny materials to add to their butterfly collage. The young children persist with the challenge of handling tiny items and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

demonstrate very efficient hand to eye co-ordination. All children are able to build on their existing skills because the staff make very effective use of questioning as they play with them. For example, they ask 'What colour is this?' but then continue to find out what children know by prompting 'What else is green?' 'Are all grapes green?' Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Children make very rapid progress towards the early learning goals because the staff have a strong knowledge of the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. They know the children well and use their comprehensive understanding of how they learn to provide challenging activities that are extremely well matched to their needs and interests. Furthermore, the staff display an exceptional enthusiasm and commitment to their work and, as a result, they maintain a vibrant learning environment. Staff meet regularly to discuss

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and plan the curriculum. They rigorously monitor children's play and use their in depth observations to guide planning and introduce appropriate resources to address any identified gaps in learning. Consequently, children achieve exceedingly well as the experiences offered are not only varied and exciting, but they also support them to do things that go just beyond their capabilities. Children work extremely well together and make an active contribution to each session by helping to tidy up. They are learning to take turns and older children happily share the resources, showing that they are becoming aware of each other's needs. Children speak very confidently to make their needs known within their play and particularly enjoy sharing their views at circle time. Excellent use of labelling throughout the playgroup, in words and pictures, helps children to develop their early reading skills and recognise that print carries meaning. Children self-select from a

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

pleasing range of fiction and reference books and they listen attentively to stories. They show excellent recall as they eagerly and accurately anticipate what comes next. All children make marks within their routine play to represent their ideas and older children are able to form recognisable letters and write their names. Children's mathematical development is exceptionally well promoted. They are confident in their use of numbers and count reliably because the staff encourage them to count 'anything and everything' as they play. Children calculate competently as they work out how many more people are needed to fill the three empty chairs at snack time. They are fascinated by the technology box that contains a range of resources to tempt them to question how things work, such as old mobile phones 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 items that require batteries. Children are very competent in their grasp of information technology. They use the computer skilfully and show good control of the mouse as they successfully complete the programmes. Children have excellent opportunities to express their ideas and feelings creatively in music, dance and art or craft work. They enthusiastically use paint and drawing materials and are given a sense of pride in their own work because it is displayed to decorate the hall. Children are encouraged to explore texture using many different natural materials such as wet or dry sand, bark, straw, shells and leaves. Cooking is a particularly popular activity because the children can observe changes while they mix the ingredients, smell the aromas as the food cooks and eat it for their snack.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children from all cultures and of all abilities feel at home in the playgroup because they feel valued and included. Children are able to appreciate and learn respect for a wide variety of cultures and beliefs through the superb range of multi-cultural resources and planned topics that are available to them. For example, children celebrate the North American festival of Thanksgiving and make a colourful Sukkah house to help them learn about the Jewish faith. Children are learning respect for each other because the staff are positive in their approach, using praise to help children to feel good about themselves. Children talk happily to staff about their families or home life and receive sensitive support. For example, staff readily provide individual attention if children are upset and, as a result, they show a caring attitude towards each other. Children are learning to appreciate 'people who help us' through

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Helping children make a positive contribution

the visitors that come to the playgroup such as the doctor, dental nurse and police officer. Children have outstanding support to help them to manage their own behaviour. For example, the staff quickly recognise if children are becoming restless and intervene to divert them to another activity. They set clear, consistent boundaries and all adults are superb role models to the children because they are positive and polite. They skilfully lower their voices when children become over excited and, therefore, children soon calm down. The staff have high expectations of the children who are learning to understand right from wrong through the clear explanations that are given to them if they are asked to change their behaviour. As a result, children's behaviour is exemplary. Children of all abilities are helped to reach their full potential because the experienced staff team are quick to recognise any developmental delay. They work

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Helping children make a positive contribution

closely with parents and other agencies to ensure that all children receive appropriate support to help them to participate to the best of their ability and make progress. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effectively fostered. The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Parents are provided with a superbly produced, high quality brochure that explains how they can be fully involved in the care and education that is provided for their children. Parents are invited to

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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 help on a rota and their views about their children's needs and interests are actively sought throughout their time at playgroup. Carers and staff exchange information informally as children are delivered or collected but carers also have valuable opportunities to share progress on a more formal basis. For instance, they complete a profile to advise staff about their child's starting point towards the early learning goals; they continue to update children's progress in their home books and parents are invited to an open evening to discuss their children's learning stories. Consequently, parents and carers speak extremely positively about the playgroup stating 'my child is very happy there.' They are 'particularly pleased with the communication' and feel they 'can always talk to the staff.' The excellent, two way

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Helping children make a positive contribution

flow of information not only enables the playgroup to provide care and education that is current to children's individual needs, but also helps parents to be fully involved in their children's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. Children's care is greatly enhanced by the exceptional quality of the organisation of the premises and resources together with the outstanding leadership of the playgroup. All staff have an in depth understanding of the National Standards, the Foundation Stage and the 'Birth to three matters' framework, as well as their responsibilities to the children and their carers. The well established staff team enjoys working together and individuals show remarkable support for each other. All staff are committed to continuous improvement and development, therefore, they are proactive to access further training to ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date. Staff regularly meet to monitor, evaluate and improve the quality of their care. As a result, children's well-being is superbly promoted. All legally required documentation is meticulously maintained and the robust

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Organisation

recruitment procedures ensure that adults are suitable to work with children. Therefore, children's welfare is effectively safeguarded. The robust records of attendance and separate fire drill register ensure children are kept particularly safe in an emergency because the staff always know who is present. The commendable range of policies and procedures are consistently applied by the staff and provide comprehensive, accurate guidance to help them to provide high quality care for children. In particular, the highly effective aims and objectives enable staff to provide a safe, caring and supportive environment in which children thoroughly enjoy themselves. The leadership and management is outstanding. The roles and responsibilities of the staff and the committee members are clearly defined. The committee gives exceptional support and guidance to the experienced staff team and they work together to review the provision to ensure that children's welfare and learning is

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Organisation

effectively supported. For instance, a questionnaire is issued to ask parents for responses to enable the committee to assess how well the playgroup is running. The supervisor has excellent leadership qualities and is proactive in drawing up an action plan to address any perceived weakness, for example, to ensure policies reflect changes in practice or legislation. The committee ensures that the already high

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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 standards are maintained and improved by encouraging staff to continue to train. Consequently, children are able to develop their personalities within a rich play environment and they make outstanding progress in all areas of their learning. Overall, children's needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the playgroup was asked to develop their registration system and review all policies and procedures but, in particular, the child protection policy. All adults' and children's attendances are robustly recorded according to the times they are present. Therefore, children are kept particularly safe in an emergency because staff always know who is present. Children are more effectively protected from the risk of harm because all policies and procedures are reviewed and updated according to revisions in legislation or practices. The child protection policy includes procedures that would be followed if an allegation were made against a member of staff to further safeguard children's well-being. There were no key issues at the previous education inspection but the playgroup was asked to give consideration to providing opportunities for dance. Children's creative development is significantly improved as they have splendid opportunities to freely

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Improvements since the last inspection

express themselves to music as part of the daily routine. In addition, focussed activities provide chances for children to enjoy dancing from around the world such as Indian or Scottish dances.

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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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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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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