Tansor Playgroup

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 28/05/2004 Inspector Name Christina Downey

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Tansor Playgroup Setting Address Tansor Village Hall Main Street Tansor Northamptonshire PE8 5HS

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Tansor Playgroup Address Tansor Village Hall Main Street Tansor Northamptonshire PE8 5HS

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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

Tansor Playgroup was first established around 26 years ago. It is a voluntary organisation run by a committee of parents and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. It operates from an old village school which has been refurbished and now functions as a village hall. There is one main, spacious room, with separate kitchen and toilet facilities. The grounds include an adventure playground, grass areas and a playground with a hard surface. The group serves children from a wide rural area. It is open each weekday morning from 09.00 to 12.00 during the academic year. Extended pre-school sessions are offered to older children on Fridays from 09:00 to 12:45. There are currently 29 children on roll. Of these, 14 are three-year-olds, and 13 are four-year-olds in receipt of funding. The intake reflects the rural area of Northamptonshire in which the group is situated and includes children who have lived abroad. There are no children attending with

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Information about the setting

special educational needs but the group caters for children who are learning to speak English as an additional language. There are eight members of staff, a majority of whom either hold or are working towards appropriate early years qualifications.

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How good is the Day Care?

Tansor Playgroup provides a satisfactory standard and quality of day care. The group operates from the attractive and well-maintained premises of Tansor village hall. It is a lively and happy group; parents are very supportive and the staff hardworking and dedicated. Good attention has been given to improving staff training to ensure the minimum requirements are met. They plan sessions carefully and introduce some imaginative new ideas for activities. They generally manage children's behaviour competently, although the policy reflects some overemphasis on discipline rather than implementation of strategies which promote good behaviour. Policy detail and staff awareness of child protection and special educational needs procedures also require updating.

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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 There are sufficient, suitable toys and play equipment which are maintained in good repair. They are used to provide an attractive range of activities each day and a welcoming atmosphere is presented to children and parents. However, resources are not always made readily accessible throughout each session and children generally have too little scope to develop their independence or follow their own interests. There is a newly constructed outdoor play area, together with large grass and tarmac areas, but children are limited in the amount of time they can play outside and sometimes spend only a short part of each session being active. Staff ratios are good and children are closely supervised to maintain their safety.

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How good is the Day Care?

The premises are kept secure and arrival and departure times are well organised, although not yet recorded accurately. Safety systems are all in place and risk-assessments conducted regularly. Children's records are accurate and up-to-date and help to ensure their safe care. Parents are involved well in assessments of children's progress and have good links with their child's named key worker. Several are closely involved in the management of the group as members of the parent's committee.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the group has improved the amount of information available to parents by reviewing and updating the Operational Plan. Safety has been improved by ensuring the outdoor area is free from hazards and by conducting regular risk-assessments. The action plan concerning improving staff qualifications has been implemented successfully.

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What is being done well?

• Attention to safety is good. Children are supervised well and are able to play safely indoors and outside. Fire safety arrangements are good and risk assessment is done conscientiously. Access to the premises is closely monitored and children are released only to named adults. • Staff have some very imaginative ideas for children's play activities, such as introducing 'story sacks', creating a 'treasure island' in the sand tray and turning the home corner into a 'pirate ship'. Very attractive new apparatus has also been added to the outdoor play area. • Documentation is well organised, and the operational plan is used successfully to inform parents about the varied aspects of the groups management and day-to-day running systems.

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What needs to be improved?

• use of space and resources to provide children with more opportunities to be active, both indoors and outside • opportunities for children to choose their own activities and resources and develop independence

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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 • development of the behaviour policy to ensure that it focuses on strategies which identify and promote good behaviour, and includes a statement about the management of bullying. • policy detail to include reference to the government booklet on child protection procedures and staff knowledge and understanding to include procedures to be followed in the event of allegations being made against a member of staff or volunteer • staff knowledge and understanding of current legislation and guidance on special needs • systems to record times of arrival and departure of children and staff.

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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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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Ensure the registration system shows children’s times of arrival and departure. 3 Continue to encourage children to be independent, and organise resources so that they are more readily accessible to them. 3 Give children more opportunities to be active indoors and especially outside. 10 Ensure current legislation and guidance on special needs is understood and implemented by all staff. 11 Develop the policy and behaviour management strategies to ensure they take into account children’s age and stage of development and include methods to value and encourage good behaviour. 13 Continue to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and ensure the written statement addresses all the required elements.

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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?

Tansor Playgroup is a friendly and welcoming group in a very rural part of Northamptonshire. Overall the educational provision is acceptable and the children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff are becoming familiar with the Foundation Stage. The six areas of learning are used as a basis for planning, but too little attention is given to including the stepping stones for learning in the planned programme. All the sessions are very well organised and staff explain clearly what the children are expected to do. However, this results in children having too little scope to choose their own activities or resources and sometimes limits progress of more able children. Staff are generally deployed well. They work directly with the children and manage behaviour efficiently. Group work is competently arranged but expectations of children's ability to sit still or maintain concentration in large groups

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How effective is the nursery education?

can be rather high. Assessment of children's progress is still under development and the information is not yet used effectively to plan daily activities. Leadership and management is generally good. Staff development is given sound emphasis and they continue to develop new skills. For example, they are all involved in observation and assessment of children. However monitoring and evaluation are not used to best effect in improving the quality of the education provision. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. They are very supportive of the group. Parents have good links with their child's key worker and are generally well informed about children's current progress but not always about plans for their future learning.

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What is being done well?

• Story books are carefully chosen and presented; they catch children's interest and promote their enjoyment of books. The vocabulary used is sufficiently challenging to encourage children to think and ask questions. The stories are well linked to current topics and children often re-enact them using attractive props; this successfully develops their understanding of narrative structure. • The garden and the local environment are used very well to support many aspects of children's learning. They go on walks in the village to look at and talk about different building materials. They plant, water and care for runner beans, and watch carefully as the willow structures begin to sprout and grow. The sensory garden is treated with respect and children explore the texture and smell of several different plants and herbs. • Imaginative use is made of additional materials and homemade props to extend children's play in varied role-play scenarios and in the sand-tray.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• the level of challenge in practical activities to encourage children to think and solve problems, and opportunities for them to develop their climbing skills • management of time and resources to enable children to persevere for longer periods with self chosen activities indoors and outside • opportunities for children to operate more independently, use their imaginations, choose their own materials and resources, and follow their own interests • the level of staff knowledge and understanding of the ethos of the Foundation Stage as well as the individual stepping stones for learning • the links between planning, and observation and assessment to ensure that activities provided are relevant to individual children's interests and learning needs.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the group has made generally good progress. An observation and assessment system was implemented that successfully incorporated contributions from parents. This system is currently under review as it is still not fully effective in identifying what children could usefully aim for next in all areas of learning.

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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 develop a sound sense of being a member of the group and relationships are friendly. They play cooperatively, successfully learn to take turns and respond appropriately to stated boundaries of behaviour. Children develop useful self-care skills and learn to change their shoes. They choose between several activities during brief free play sessions but their concentration, involvement and independence are not well supported by the close adult direction and limited choice over resources.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children talk confidently about what they are doing and recall their past experiences well. Carefully chosen stories support children's developing interest in books and successfully extend their vocabulary. They learn to recognise their names and some other familiar words. It is not always certain though that children secure their early skills before tackling more formal aspects of literacy; for example, they have too little scope to explore writing through play and discover its purposes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have worthwhile opportunities to develop their counting skills, and they use number names accurately to record how many pockets they have. Older children successfully use commercial equipment to develop their early calculating skills but do not always transfer their thinking into everyday routines or play situations. Children begin to describe and compare length, weight, shape and size, for example, by sorting socks, but some practical activities lack challenge for older children.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children make very good use of the garden to study the natural world at first hand. They look for worms and investigate features of various plants, noticing changes as things grow. They talk with interest about past events and features of their local environment but have more limited scope to operate simple equipment or use computers. They use a satisfactory range of tools and resources in their model making activities, which include woodwork, and are aware of cultural differences in society.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

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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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently and enjoy using the large equipment outside. They explore new ways of using it, but access is restricted and opportunities for older children to persevere with climbing skills more limited. They develop a sound awareness of space and learn about the importance of hygiene. They develop useful skills with small equipment such as balls, and extend their manipulative skills whilst drawing, threading and handling small resources such as shells and straws.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children take part in some interesting sensory experiences and successfully explore smell and texture in the herb garden. Free painting activities enable them to experiment with colour and they learn a range of printing techniques. They learn some songs and use instruments to accompany themselves. They enjoy drawing but overall have too little opportunity to use their imaginations or represent their own experiences with a widening range of media or materials.

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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

• review the organisation of sessions in order to provide children with more choice between activities and resources, indoors and outside; and to promote their ability to work independently, imaginatively and with greater levels of involvement • continue to improve the links between planning, and observation and assessment to ensure that activities provided are challenging and relevant to individual children's interests and learning needs • increase staff knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. 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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