Impstone Preschool

Impstone Pre-school

Inspection report for early years provision

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Impstone Pre-school

Unique Reference Number 507838 Inspection date 30 June 2006 Inspector Sheila Collins

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Impstone Pre-school

Setting Address Pamber Heath Memorial Hall, Pamber Heath Road, Pamber Heath, Tadley,Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG26 3TQ Telephone number 01189 701048

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E-mail

Registered person Impstone Pre-school 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Impstone Pre-school, opened in 1989 and operates from Pamber Heath Memorial Hall. The pre-school operates from the main hall and has use of the kitchen and toilets. The children have access to outside play in the grounds of the hall. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open from 9.15 to 12.15 Monday to Friday during term time with children having the option to stay for lunch club until 13.00 on Wednesdays.

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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 25 children aged from 2 years 6 months to 5 years on roll; of these, 19 children receive funding for early education. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties. The pre-school employs six members of staff. Four 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 developing independence in their personal care skills. Staff let the children in and out through the hall doors to access the toilets and are on hand to help if needed. Children know the importance of washing their hands after toileting, painting, messy play, coming in from the outside and before snack. However, after washing hands for snack there is a delay before the children have their snack while they have circle time. Children have healthy snacks. Staff offer plates on which are variety of fruit and the children also have a breadstick or a biscuit. Staff give children a drink to have with their snack. Children do not have enough room around the table. Snack times are not sociable occasions where children and staff chat together. Delays in clearing the table give some children the opportunity to pour the remains of other children's drinks into one cup. Drinks are available throughout the session but these are not at a

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Helping children to be healthy

height where children can help themselves. Children ask the staff to help them get a drink. The staff know the children’s individual health needs. There is always a trained first aider on site, who is aware of the appropriate way to deal with any accidents, which further ensures the children’s health. Staff know the appropriate way to record the administration of medication and accidents but not all records contain the child's full name or signatures of parents. The children take part in exercise and have opportunities for activities, both in and out of doors, which promote their physical development. The staff cordon off part of the hall each day enabling the children to take part in physical activities such as climbing and balancing and using hoops. Outside the children enjoy playing in the secure area of the tennis courts, where they run, ride bikes and use small apparatus for example balls.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The staff divide the hall so that the children have different areas in which to play. There is a specific area for each activity, for example the home corner, book corner, floor play area, painting area, table top activities and a physical play area. Due to the constraints of the hall committee, there are no areas where staff can easily display

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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 children’s work. The children use a good selection of resources and toys, which are appropriate for their age and stage of development. Staff prepare the room prior to the arrival of the children, and they choose from the resources laid out. Staff rotate these so children have different items to play with but children have few opportunities to select items for themselves. Staff minimise the risks of accidental injury to children through visual daily risk assessments and safety checks. However, there are problems with some children inappropriately accessing other areas of the building, namely the kitchen and corridor area, which pose a safety risk. Children take part in evacuation drills but staff do not record these in a fire log. Staff have completed child protection training and have a basic knowledge of child

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

protection issues and procedures. They are clear on the routes of referral, which keeps the children safe.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enter the pre-school and separate from their parents happily. They are confident, forming good relationships with their peers and adults. They approach staff for help with ease and invite them to join in their play. Staff spend a lot of time chatting with the children, reading to them and extending their play, for example, in the home corner. They plan a variety of activities and encourage the children to participate in the range available. Children select the toys and resources they wish to use from those set out, but have few opportunities to self select other resources. Staff put out a set of drawers daily, which they say the children can help themselves from, for example to paper and pens but this is not in an area used by the children. Children do not access these items independently and the drawers are not near a table where they can use the items easily.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and children’s learning is satisfactory. Children have personal independence in self-care skills but few opportunities to take responsibility for their own work and belongings. Children are interested and motivated to learn, joining in well with activities such as 'show and tell,' singing and outside play. They are becoming confident speakers and are learning to listen well to each other and adults. They enjoy listening to stories read to them individually or in small groups by the staff. They have some opportunities for independent writing on a daily basis, for example, in the home corner. However, the absence of labelling around the room and resources, such as letter lines, means that they have few examples to help them with letter formation. The only opportunity they have to see their own names in print is when they self register on arrival. Children are learning to use numbers in a range of activities and have a basic

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

understanding of addition and subtraction. They have some opportunities to practise

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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 their counting skills, for example, when singing rhymes. They are learning to use mathematical language appropriately, for example, when sharing the play dough in the home corner and playing in the water tray. They learn about size and shape through practical activities such as construction. The absence of numbering in the room means that the children have limited opportunities to see numbers in print. Children take part in a range of play activities, which enable them to learn through first hand experiences. They have opportunities to explore and investigate on their own, for example in the water tray and sand tray; child playing in the sand, which has pasta in it, says ‘these bits are sharp and hard, sand is soft and smooth’. They have some opportunities to use information technology such as mobile phone, clock, tills

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and computer keyboards, in the home corner. The children are beginning to understand about different places as they talk about forthcoming holidays. They discuss the weather, day and date at register time and know that they need to wear sun hats when outside to stop their heads getting hot. The children move freely and confidently around the hall. They access the physical play area where they enjoy activities daily, for example balancing and climbing. They have a good understanding of spatial awareness, walking around games and objects on the floor and finding their own space when playing sleeping lions or dancing. They respond well to rhythm when dancing. They use small equipment with good control, for example paint brushes, glitter shakers, glue sticks and pencils. Most children know their basic colours. They have a variety of experiences in using different mediums for creating including dough, paint, glitter, sand and water. They

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

are able to sing simple songs from memory and have good opportunities for imaginative play. They use the home corner as a café and make their own menus, which staff write up for them. They dress up and use small world play creatively, involving their friends in their play. The staff have good knowledge of each individual child’s needs and deploy themselves around the room to support the children, encouraging their play and joining in by invitation. They do not pressurise the children into taking part in activities if they do not wish to. They ask children appropriate open-ended questions, which extend the children's learning and understanding. Staff have an awareness of the Birth to three matters framework and incorporate this into the planning as well as the stepping stones to the early learning goals. The system for recording the achievements of the individual funded children is in place. Staff use notes to make observations on the children at activities, which they use for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

recording in the individual children’s files.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children learn to say please and thank you as staff encourage this especially at snack time. Children learn about acceptable behaviour as some staff remind them of the rules such as walking nicely and no pushing. However, not all staff are consistent with their management of all the children's behaviour which means that some

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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 children become disruptive. Most children behave well, share, take turns and co-operate with each other. Children access a range of resources promoting positive images and the wider world, for example, books and small world play. However, they have few opportunities to learn about cultures other than their own. The staff know the children well and value them as individuals. They praise, encourage and support their efforts and achievements, which builds on their self-esteem and self-confidence. They generally support children with learning difficulties sensitively and discreetly, however not all staff are consistent in this. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents have access to the policies and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

procedures for the pre-school. They receive comprehensive information about the pre-school and details of the early learning goals for the Foundation Stage. They are uncertain about their involvement in their child’s learning. They do not share their child's progress information or see their child's development records on a regular basis.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide. Staff make effective use of the available space within the hall and provide children with a range of play opportunities. However, some of the resources put out children do not play with and staff do not change these An effective system is in place for the recruiting and vetting of staff, which ensures that the children are cared for by suitable staff. In the register children's times of arrival are recorded but not the time when they leave. Also other documentation, for example the accident and incident records, have only the children's first names recorded. The leadership and management is satisfactory. Staff attend regular staff meetings and they use these to plan activities, discuss individual children and staff training. Staff know their roles and responsibilities in the pre-school. The manager is clear

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Organisation

about the strengths and weaknesses of the provision and demonstrates a positive attitude to making improvements.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Following the last care inspection, the preschool were given six recommendations. These were to: check and review the first aid box on a regular basis; to ensure that all staff working and looking after children have up to date knowledge on child protection; to ensure fresh water is available for all children for hand washing; to increase the resources available to reflect positive images of disability; to review all policies and procedures

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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 to ensure they are not out of date and to review the register and include daily times of arrival and departure for children, staff and visitors. The preschool drew up an action plan, which they implemented. The checking of the first aid box is now the responsibility of a member of staff. All staff members have undertaken basic child protection training. A revised hand washing procedure is in place. Resources which reflect disabilities include books and a family for the dolls house including a wheel chair user. The register now has the arrival times of the children entered but not when they leave. Visitors are recorded in the diary. Policies and procedures were reviewed in March 2005. Ongoing monitoring is in place which benefits the children. Following the last education inspection, the preschool were given five

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Improvements since the last inspection

recommendations: To extend children's opportunities to develop and extend their writing skills for a variety of purposes using different forms, lists stories, instructions; to provide more opportunities for children to explore a range of words and texts and know how to use books to locate information; to extend children's opportunities to use calculation and problem solving in everyday situations; planning to be reviewed to reflect individual children's learning needs and how children will be grouped and to extend the resources which promote children's awareness of others and to value the diversity in our society. The preschool give the children some opportunities to use emergent writing, for example writing menus in the home corner. They provide a suitable range of books for the children to read and look at and give the children opportunities to do calculation and problem solving in everyday activities for example at the water and

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Improvements since the last inspection

sand play. A revised system of planning has been implemented, which is based on the Birth to three matters framework and the stepping stones to the early learning goals, which ensures that appropriate learning situations are offered to all children. Some extra resources have been purchased to extend the children's understanding of diversity in society. The majority of the recommendations have been met, some only partly.

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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 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

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 quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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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): • review the procedures in place at snack time • review the arrangements in place to prevent children inappropriately accessing areas of the building apart from the play area and the toilets • ensure that all staff are consistent in their handling of children's behaviour

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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): • increase the children’s opportunities to be independent, to take responsibility for their own work and to select their own resources • increase children's awareness of different forms of print, opportunities for writing and for seeing their names in print • explore ways of involving parents in their child’s learning and development records and sharing the records on a regular basis.

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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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