St Catherine's Roman Catholic School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 07/02/2005 Inspector Name Felicity Gaff

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name West Hoathly Community Pre - School Setting Address North Lane West Hoathly East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 4QG

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of West Hoathly Community Pre - School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name West Hoathly Community Pre - School Address North Lane, West Hoathly East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 4QG

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

West Hoathly Community Pre-school is managed by a voluntary management committee, made up of parents of children at the pre-school. It has been established for many years and operates from a village hall in West Hoathly. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. It is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 09:30 to 12:15 during term times with an additional session on Wednesdays when numbers allow. All children share access to a secure outdoor play area. There are currently 22 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these, 19 children receive funding for nursery education. Children are drawn from the surrounding rural area. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with special educational needs. The nursery employs 4 staff. One of these holds an appropriate early years qualification and the manager is working towards a qualification.

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How good is the Day Care?

West Hoathly Community Pre-school provides satisfactory care for children. The recently redecorated premises are bright and welcoming with a secure outdoor area. Staff organise space well, for example to allow children to visit the toilets independently. There is suitable storage which staff have improved to allow easier access. They use resources generally effectively to provide a reasonably broad, balanced range of play experiences. The committee reviews policies and procedures regularly although those for lost and uncollected children and for child protection are incomplete. It does not always notify staff changes promptly, record attendance accurately or ensure the conditions of registration are met. Staff have high regard for the safety of children on the premises and take prompt steps to minimise identified risks. There are generally appropriate arrangements for promoting good health and hygiene. Staff seek detailed information from parents

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How good is the Day Care?

before children attend to enable them to provide appropriate care. All paid staff

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How good is the Day 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 undertake training in child protection issues. Staff are willing to reassess established routines to improve the service they offer children. They address behaviour management issues as a team and work well together to promote a consistent approach. They provide good role models and children behave well. However, plans are brief and do not always deploy staff effectively to give a rich variety of first-hand learning experiences and absorbing, imaginative play. The pre-school creates good relationships with parents. They receive good quality information about the setting before their children start and regular updates through newsletters and a notice board. They feel involved as valued participants in their

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How good is the Day Care?

children's pre-school experience and appreciate the small, friendly and caring, village-based group.

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What is being done well?

• The committee acts effectively to identify and address potential hazards on the premises. Following a recent formal risk assessment it modified existing routines, installed safety equipment, checked all toys complied with safety standards and COSH regulations, arranged for the testing of electrical equipment and liaised with the Parish Council to improve the premises. • Staff provide an interesting range of healthy snacks to encourage children to try different foods. Over a week children are able to choose between items such as toast or cream crackers with different spreads, fruit and breakfast cereals. An adult sits with children in small groups to encourage good quality conversation. • Staff create strong relationships with parents. Parents feel the small size of the group meets individual children's needs well and allows them to gain self-confidence and a pride in their achievements. They feel their children are

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What is being done well?

very happy and appreciate their being able to progress on to the village school with the same group of children.

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What needs to be improved?

• the timing of the notification of relevant changes • compliance with conditions of registration • the maintenance of an accurate register • the written procedures for lost and uncollected children and for child protection.

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What needs to be improved?

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

Std Action Date 2 Ensure children attending the setting are within the permitted age range and are included on the register. 21/02/2005

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 1 Inform Ofsted promptly of any relevant changes 14 Improve the written procedures for lost and uncollected children and for child protection.

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by the time of the next 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Teaching is generally good. Staff are committed and undertake training to improve their understanding and practice. They create positive relationships with the children, provide good role models and children behave well. They liaise with other agencies to support children with special educational needs. They plan a range of appropriate activities and make observations of what children do. They provide too few opportunities to learn from direct first hand experience and do not clearly identify how they will adapt activities to include all children. They do not ensure children can explore, experiment, make decisions, or learn from their mistakes. However, staff have sought advice and guidance from their Teacher Advisor and have used suggestions to develop their practice. They have identified and prioritised their training needs and booked suitable courses. Leadership and management are generally good. The committee is made up of

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How effective is the nursery education?

parents who use the pre-school. It is generally well-organised and offers good support to the manager and staff. The newly-appointed and inexperienced manager has been in role for one term. She has realistically assessed the needs of the group, drawn up an action plan and sought advice on improving identified weaknesses. The committee and the manager work effectively together to improve the education provided. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive good quality information about the group before children start and are kept well-informed through regular newsletters and informative notices. Parents build good relationships with staff and feel welcome to discuss any concerns informally at any time and are aware that formal parent consultations are planned. Parents are encouraged to be involved with their children's learning; they help their children settle during 'Stay and Play' sessions and children take books home to share.

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What is being done well?

• The committee provides good support to the staff. They are actively involved and work hard to help bring about improvements. For example, they use action plans well to prioritise aspects of the provision that need development and ensure staff are able to access relevant training to enable their targets to be met. • Staff offer a welcoming environment where parents and children feel at ease. They use positive methods of behaviour management and children behave well. • Staff make good provision for children to learn about letters and sounds. They use rhymes and songs well to help children notice the initial sounds of words and when they rhyme and children bring objects from home to illustrate the 'letter of the week'. Children learn the names of letters as they

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What is being done well?

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 sing the alphabet song. • There are good opportunities for children to learn to respect their own and other cultures. They celebrate festivals from a variety of different traditions, trying on different clothes and tasting different foods. They talk about how birthdays and weddings are marked and share in local activities such as a short harvest festival service in the village church with the primary school.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of planned and incidental opportunities to develop children's mathematical understanding • the provision of a wide range of open-ended creative activities to allow children to learn through all their senses and to explore and investigate the world through practical, first-hand play experiences, solving their own problems and learning from their mistakes • planning, assessment and record systems to show clearly what children are to do, what they achieve and what they need to do next.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Improvement since the last inspection has been limited. At the last inspection the setting agreed to develop their planning and assessment schemes and use them to plan for individual progress. They also agreed to consider how children are grouped and to improve the book corner. The pre-school now uses the West Sussex Developmental Record to record children's progress along the stepping stones and staff make observations of what children do. Consultation meetings are planned to enable parents to add their observations. The recently appointed manager has identified planning as an area of weakness and has an action plan in place to develop it. Staff are booked onto training courses and the West Sussex Early Years Development and Advisory Partnership is offering specific support. Staff now attend regular planning meetings to enable them to contribute fully to the planning process. These changes allow staff

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What has improved since the last inspection?

to use the observations they make of what children do to inform future planning. The pre-school also agreed to consider how children are grouped to facilitate learning and to improve the book corner. Circle time is still used to give children information rather than planning opportunities for them to find out for themselves from first hand observation or through well-planned role play. For example, children were briefly shown small world figures of traffic wardens, police officers etc but were unable to handle and play with them themselves in a meaningful play situation. The book corner is now more inviting and children have cushions to sit on. However it is cramped with nowhere comfortable for an adult to sit to read with children.

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What has improved 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make good relationships with staff and each other; they are friendly and approach adults confidently. They choose between the activities laid out for them and are beginning to select some of their own resources. They behave well. Staff modify how they organise activities to develop independence although children do not yet always do enough for themselves, for example in pouring their own drinks or putting on their own coats and shoes.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy sharing books with staff in small and large groups. They use language well to plan and organise their play although staff do not always use planned activities effectively to help children predict, describe and explain or to solve problems for themselves. Children learn to relate the sounds in words to letters through songs and rhymes. They take pleasure in reading and writing for real purposes, for example when taking orders in the Chinese restaurant.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children learn to count during routine circle time activities. They learn to recognise and describe simple shapes. However, few numbers are displayed and there is no evidence how children learn to compare numbers for real purposes during planned play. Although children play with sand and water as well as with structured resources such as tessellating tiles, scales and balances, plans are unclear how these are used to develop an understanding of volume and mass.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn to respect cultural diversity as they celebrate festivals from a variety of traditions. Staff provide different objects and materials such as magnets and mirrors although they do not always identify how and why children will use them. Children learn the names of days and months by changing the calendar daily and enjoy regular outings round the village. However, these are not linked well to practical play activities to promote an understanding of time and place.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have some good opportunities to develop their physical skills through interesting first-hand play activities. They build with construction sets and explore some malleable materials such as play dough and gloop. They ride bikes, run and climb regularly, inside and out, although plans do not show how apparatus is used to provide challenges for older or more able children. Tools such as scissors, hole punches and paper clips are now available to extend imaginative role play.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses There is insufficient opportunity for children to plan and experiment with a variety of materials on both large and small scales. Most planned 'craft' activities are adult -designed with pre-planned outcomes. Children are unable to express their own ideas, explore possibilities and learn from their mistakes because staff do not provide enough choice. Staff sing with children but children do not participate enthusiastically and plans do not show how they make progress over time.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• improve the use of planned and incidental opportunities to develop children's mathematical understanding • provide a wide range of open-ended creative activities to allow children to learn through all their senses and to explore and investigate the world through practical, first-hand play experiences, solving their own problems and learning from their mistakes • improve planning, assessment and record systems to show clearly what children are to do and learn, what they achieve and what they need to do next.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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