Hemblington Primary School

Evering Road Playgroup

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Evering Road Playgroup

Unique Reference Number 144574 Inspection date 09 March 2006 Inspector Moreen Johnson

p.1

Evering Road Playgroup

Setting Address Landfield School, Landfield Estate, Clapton, London, E5 8QZ

p.1

E-mail

Registered person Angela How Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional care

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Evering Road Playgroup registered at the current premises in September 1992. The group is run by a management committee. It operates from a large hall in a community building in the London Borough of Hackney. The group opens 5 days per week, term time only. Opening hours are from 09.15 to 11.45 and 12.45 to 15.15. There are currently 31 children aged from 2 years to 4 years on roll. Of these 16 children receive funding for nursery education. The group currently supports a

p.2

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 number of children with special educational needs. They also support a small number of children who speak English as an additional language. The group employs five staff, one of whom holds an appropriate early years qualification, two are undertaking the NVQ level 2 and one is unqualified. The manager does not hold an appropriate qualification.

p.2

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are learning the importance of good personal hygiene through well-planned routines. They are encouraged to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. There are effective hygiene procedures in place and staff adhere to good practice when preparing and serving food. There are satisfactory procedures in place for administering first aid and a number of staff are appropriately trained. Children benefit from a healthy diet. Staff promote healthy eating well by offering children healthy snacks. Children are encouraged to develop an understanding of the effects of eating fruit, they visit the mobile fruit market each week to purchase a variety of fruits. Children are offered drinks at regular intervals. Special dietary requirements are complied with which ensures children remain healthy. Children enjoy engaging in physical exercise. They have daily opportunities to

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

engage in physical play indoors and outdoors. They show good co-ordination when using the climbing frame and slide. Children are developing good fine motor skills, they hold pencils correctly whist drawing, and used the cutter and rolling pin confidently during the play dough activity.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in clean, bright and well maintained premises, in which they have ample space to move around safely. Children have access to a wide range of resources that provide them with sufficient stimulation and challenge. However, the reading and writing areas are not organised well and were not easily accessible to children. There is a satisfactory selection of resources that reflect diversity. Children are cared for in a safe environment, they are protected from intruders by the use of an effective intercom system. They are kept safe whilst moving around the building. Risk assessments are effective in protecting children from potential hazards. Staff are fully aware of the fire evacuation procedure and regular fire drills are carried out to ensure that children become familiar with the procedures. However, the fire drill records were not available for inspection.

p.3

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 are well protected by staff who have a clear understanding of how to implement the setting's child protection policies, which are in line with the London Child Protection Procedures.

p.3

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are well settled into the playgroup and receive good individual attention from staff. Children have good relationships with each other and staff. Staff are always on hand to provide children with support and encouragement. This makes them feel secure and increases their sense of wellbeing. Children enjoy playing with a range of activities and have good opportunities to engage in active and quiet activities. Children are developing their independence, they choose activities freely, put on aprons before engaging in sand and painting activities and they willingly help to tidy up after activities. Children enjoy engaging in meaningful conversations with each other and staff and confidently participate in singing at circle time. Staff are developing an understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and meet the needs of the under 3's generally well. Children have good relationships with

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

the staff who interact with them in an affectionate and supportive manner. This enables children to feel confident and reassured. Children move freely about the room and are developing independence, for example, younger children are encouraged to make a choice about what they want to play with. Children under 3 are also given regular opportunities to engage in outdoor play to develop their physical skills. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children are making generally good progress towards most of the early learning goals but do not make enough progress in communication, language and literacy. Staff have an adequate knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage, however, the manager needs to further develop her knowledge in order to provide staff with better guidance. The systems for carrying out observations and assessments on children are not sufficiently rigorous to clearly identify how children are supported to move to the next

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

stage of their learning. The recording of observation assessments are infrequent and does not clearly inform planning. Staff do not encourage the more able children to develop their self help skills at snack time. Staff do not organise the reading and writing areas well and as a result children are not progressing well in this area of learning. Children are developing a good understanding of mathematical concepts, they confidently counted letters when placing them on the magnetic board, and during potato painting children were encouraged to identify the large and small potato. During the sand activity children measured and poured the sand through a funnel into another container. Children have good communication skills, they talk confidently to each other and to

p.4

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 adults in large and small groups. Children are also developing good writing skills and have good opportunities to draw and paint. Children's reading and writing skills are not promoted well, the reading area is situated at the far end of the hall and the books were not easily accessible to children. Writing resources were also not easily accessible to children. Children showed curiosity during the sand activity whilst pouring the sand through the funnel, they were interested to see what happened and experimented by doing the action several times. Children are independent, they help to tidy up, put on their aprons and confidently dressed themselves in the dressing up area. Children behave well and played well together, they took turns whilst playing in the home corner and

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

whilst playing with the train set. Children are developing an understanding of the wider community and make regular visits to local facilities. Children use information technology confidently, they use mobile phones and engage in long conversation. Children enjoy using cause and effect toys and were interested to see what happened when they pressed different buttons. Children also have good opportunities to use the computer and other forms of everyday technology on a regular basis. Children are encouraged to develop an understanding of past and present, they were supported by staff at circle time to identify the days of the week and to develop an understanding of the concept of "today, yesterday and tomorrow". Children are encouraged to identify a variety of colours, during the play dough activity many children recognised that the dough was green, some children independently identified different colours correctly when they placed the magnetic alphabet on the

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

board. Children enjoy music and movement sessions and have opportunities once a week to use instruments when they are taught by a music teacher.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children show a sense of belonging, on arrival they settle well and join in activities. They move about the setting confidently and have access to a wide range of resources. They are gaining in confidence through the encouragement and praise of the staff. Children's self-esteem is fostered well by staff giving them individual attention and encouraging them to be independent. Children behave well and are encouraged by staff to develop an understanding of right and wrong. Children are encouraged to develop an appreciation of music and movement and have regular opportunities to use musical instruments. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. Children benefit from the positive partnership staff have developed with parents. This ensures that children settle well. They experience consistent care due to effective communication systems between parents

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

and staff. There are formal and informal methods of sharing information about children's progress. However, staff do not always obtain information from parents about what children can do and staff do not provide clear information about children's progress in the six areas of learning.

p.5

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

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Staff provide children with good supervision which ensures that they are kept safe. Most policies and procedures are in place and are securely locked away but are disorganised and were not easily accessible on the day of inspection. The setting does not keep records of children's arrival times or details of visitors. The setting does not have a rigorous recruitment procedure in place but does ensure that new staff undergo induction. The manager is currently undertaking an NVQ level 2, and there are plans for her to undertake a relevant qualification. The setting meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides care. Leadership and management is satisfactory. The manager has a generally good awareness of the setting's strengths and weaknesses but needs to develop a greater understanding of the Birth to three matters framework and the Foundation Stage in order to provide staff with better guidance of how to support children in their learning.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the setting has devised a lost and uncollected children's policy and has ensured that all staff are aware of how to implement it, which contributes to keeping children safe.

p.6

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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.6

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.

p.6

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.6

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 To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • develop an action plan that sets out how the manager's qualification requirements will be met • maintain up to date written documentation of the daily attendance register, to include children's arrival times, and keep records of visitors; and ensure that all records are kept in an organised manner so that they are easily accessible for inspection • ensure that there is a rigorous recruitment procedures in place

p.6

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): • develop the manager's knowledge and understanding of Birth to three matters framework and the Foundation Stage • ensure that the reading and writing areas are re-organised in order to encourage children to use the areas independently • ensure that that the systems for planning, observations and assessments are sufficiently rigorous to clearly identify how children are to be supported to move to the next stage of their learning

p.7

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

p.7

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

p.7