Capel-le-Ferne Pre-School

Capel-le-Ferne Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Capel-le-Ferne Pre-School

Unique Reference Number EY306428 Inspection date 01 February 2006 Inspector Margaret, Ann Sandfield

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Capel-le-Ferne Pre-School

Setting Address Capel Village Hall, Lancaster Avenue, Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone, Kent, CT18 7LX Telephone number 07977 838609

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E-mail

Registered person Alison Cloake 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 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Capel-le-Ferne Pre-school is a privately owned group, which opened in 2005. It operates from 2 rooms in the village hall. It is situated in the centre of the village. A maximum of 30 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The nursery is open 4 days each week from 08:45 to 12:30. All children share access to an outdoor play area.

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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 There are currently 21 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 12 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs. The nursery employs 5 staff. Three of the staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a warm and well ventilated environment. However, their good health is not being safeguarded throughout the session, because of ineffectual floor cleaning routines that leave a ring of grime around the edges of the floors. The nappy changing is undertaken in the corridor and does not support children's good health or privacy and dignity. Some older children are beginning to recognise their own needs and are becoming independent enough to take themselves to the toilet. They are starting to learn appropriate hygiene practices by washing their hands before snack time and using individual paper towels to dry them. These effective routines ensure children are starting to learn about personal hygiene that prevents the spread of infections. There is clear documentation recording any medication administered that contains all relevant information. Children are learning about healthy eating habits on a practical level, when they are

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Helping children to be healthy

provided with healthy drinks and snacks. The snack time is generally café style with children having their snack as and when they wish over a period of time. Staff remind children who have not had a snack that it is available, which prevents them from going hungry. Daily snack menus are displayed on the parent's notice board to ensure children's needs are met in accordance with their dietary needs and parents wishes. Children also have opportunities throughout the session to help themselves to drinks of water as mugs and a water barrel are left on a side table. Children have regular opportunities for vigorous physical indoor play. These physical activities give children opportunities to gain control of their bodies and develop skills, as well as helping them stay healthy. Outdoor play in the fresh air does not always happen regularly, due to the weather and children not always being suitably clothed

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children generally are kept safe from hazards as there are procedures in place to ensure their safety during the session, for example, premises safety check lists are completed daily. Toys and resources are checked regularly and are safe for children to play with. Staff understand appropriate types of activities for children's enjoyment

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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 and levels of support required for them to try out new skills safely. However, staff are hindered by the play area being covered with resources for mixed ages of children, including the positioning of a large playhouse and book display, making it difficult to observe some of the children. Due to this wide range of activities cluttering up the floor space, children are not always able to move around smoothly. Their safety is further jeopardised, through a combination of ride on toys and floor toys being provided in the same area at the same time. Children's welfare is safeguarded and promoted because staff have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. Staff are aware of their own vulnerability to accusations and clearly demonstrate how they would manage any

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

concerns. Fire drills are recorded clearly detail the procedures. The nearby primary school has given permission for them to use their school building for the children's safety in the event of an emergency.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are generally happy and settled well. Children on the whole are able to obey instructions. Most children understand the routines and confidently go on to choose their own activities. They enjoy interacting and exploring with their peers. Many are becoming adept at initiating their own games and looking for further resources to extend their own play, so that their independence and self-esteem are fostered. Children are becoming confident enough to answer to their names when the register is called and, because the teachers have a fairly good rapport with many children, they approach the staff with ease. Overall, children are beginning to form good relationships within their peer group and with adults familiar to them as well as those less familiar, for example, the community warden. There is a very wide range of basic toys and resources out at any one time. These

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

are disorganised and overwhelming for children. This impacts negatively on the choices children make, hinders their ability to play freely and does not ensure they are involved in activities which support all areas of development and learning. There are few multi-cultural resources or activities planned that make all children aware that they are part of a wider world and help children from minority groups feel valued and wanted. The manager and her deputy have completed the Birth to three training and now include this framework in their planning. It is unclear how this supports younger children, as toys are poorly presented and many fail to hold the younger children's attention for very long. As children and toys are spread over such a wide area, it is difficult for staff to see or assess the impact that the recent implementation of this 'Birth to three framework' has directly on young children's development. Although

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

staff sit with the children at their level, they do not provide sufficient opportunities to enable the younger children to develop their language and build on their existing skills.

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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 Nursery Education The quality of teaching and children's learning is inadequate. Some children are confident and articulate, but the quality of teaching is not sufficiently high enough to promote children's learning in all areas. Children are not reaching their full potential. Although the staff's knowledge and understanding of how to plan for activities around the stepping stones for the Foundation Stage appears satisfactory, they are unable to sufficiently put it into practice. Staff do not fully understand what children are supposed to be learning from an activity, even though learning outcomes are touched on in the plans. Children are more often merely occupied rather than being questioned and challenged. Staff do not ensure that children's individual needs are met by providing activities and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

play opportunities to develop their emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities. Planning is in place, but it is not used by staff to extend children's capabilities in a relevant way according to their age and stage of development. The lack of organisation, structure and detailed planning, results in children receiving insufficient challenges in the activities they choose. Consequently, children's behaviour is on occasions erratic. Children's physical ability is promoted sufficiently through adult directed activities. They are able to play vigorous games with staff when running around the hall, playing hide-and-seek and performing action rhymes. They have several opportunities to be creative, which they enjoy as this activity gives them some adult interaction and it varies from session to session. They can also be creative independently with chalks and blackboard available. They have opportunities to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

increase their fine manipulative skills through art and craft activities and through play with small world resources. However, staff often fail to encourage them to use tools themselves that they are quite capable of using, for example, a pair of scissors to cut out Christmas cards for a collage or to cut up boxes and tubes when creating a 'junk model'. One of the intended learning outcomes recorded in their plans for the junk modelling activity was to explore shapes on a practical level and use this activity to support their learning in this area. Unfortunately, no shape language was mentioned and the staff member was unaware that this was part of the learning outcome for children. Generally, children's mathematical development is not supported or re-inforced on a practical level through every day routines and play. Children are not actively encouraged to ask questions, talk about their work, or use

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

their initiative and independence to develop ideas, for example, exploring what they could make or create during an art activity. Staff do not ask children open ended questions or sufficiently encourage them to communicate their thoughts and ideas with them or with each other. There was little encouragement for children to talk about their environment or develop an understanding of seasons or use of a calendar to increase their knowledge and understanding of the world and develop their language skills. Staff generally miss opportunities to develop children's thinking skills. Some children independently use the mark making equipment to write a 'letter to Santa' and some can accurately write their own name.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. It is generally of an informal, relaxed, friendly and informative style. Liaison with parents prior to the children attending the pre-school and during visits ensures that children and their parent are familiar with the setting and routines. Children under three benefit from this positive partnership with parents. Children settle well at the nursery, relating to adults familiar to them, as their families receive a warm welcome. Parent's happily talk to staff about their children. They continue their partnership with parents by encouraging parents to be involved with some aspects of the pre-schools fund raising events and contribute to the pre-schools programme of activities. Children relate confidently to adults less familiar to themselves. All children can choose to play with available toys and resources as they wish. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

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Helping children make a positive contribution

being fostered. On occasions children's behaviour is erratic. Now and then this 'boisterous' and sometimes unchecked behaviour impacts negatively on other children, spoiling their enjoyment. When it is addressed, staff are positive in their interactions towards the children and engage quietly and calmly, explaining why their behaviour is unwanted. However, staff miss opportunities to praise and encourage children's good manners.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. The planning includes the provision of a vast number of toys, resources and activities, which is overwhelming for children with too many choices. There is little free space between many of these resources and children are unable to move around smoothly. A few children flit from one activity to another and some children wander around aimlessly and do not appear to actually be involved in any meaningful activity during the session. In its present form the deployment of staff fails to manage all children in the setting adequately or monitor children's learning and development sufficiently. The setting does not meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. All required documentation is in place to provide children with adequate care according to their needs and parents' wishes. All children's information is stored confidentially. There is an adequate complaints procedure.

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Organisation

The leader and deputy are qualified and try to keep up with current child care practice to promote satisfactory care for children. The deputy and supervisor have both attended the Birth to three matters training and are in the process of incorporating this into their planning. Staff are encouraged to undertake further supplementary training courses. Leadership and management is inadequate. Neither the supervisor, deputy or any of the staff have attended any training on the Foundation Stage curriculum and do not know how to put it into practice. This impacts negatively on the educational element

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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 of the provision. They fail to promote educational standards effectively, set clear directions or manage the setting efficiently. Staff are insufficiently monitoring or being involved with all children's learning. As a result, learners are not being valued equally or helped to progress sufficiently. Many of the children make inadequate progress in relation to the 'stepping stones', towards the early learning goals.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration. 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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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): • enhance all children's quality of care and enjoyment, by ensuring any unwanted behaviour is addressed appropriately and consistently • provide suitable nappy changing facilities to support children's good health and provide them with dignity and privacy • improve the organisation of activities throughout the session, in order to effectively challenge, manage and support all children during the activities that they are undertaking

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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 To improve the quality and standards of nursery education, the registered person must take the following actions: • improve all staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage, as well as how young children learn and monitor and evaluate the impact that this has on them • provide leadership and management of the setting that ensures staff are effectively deployed and that supports them in the care and education they provide for children These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice. The Department for Education and Skills and the local authority have been informed.

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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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