St David Lewis RC Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 24/02/2004 Inspector Name Heather Jeanette Knox

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Orsett Playgroup Setting Address Village Hall High Road Mill Lane ORSETT Essex RM16 3HB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Orsett Playgroup opened in 1977. It operates from Orsett Village Hall in rural South East Essex. The children also have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The playgroup serves the local area. There are currently 41 children from two to five years on roll. This includes 27 funded three-year-olds and 14 funded four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs. There are no children attending who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 0945 to 1215 on Mondays, 0930 until 1200 on Thursdays and Fridays and 0900 until 1130 on Tuesdays. The group also opens Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 1200 until 1430.Nine part time staff work with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. One member of staff is currently

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Information about the setting

working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Orsett playgroup provides a good standard of care for children. The group ensures a good adult to child ratios is maintained and uses an effective key worker system to build up positive relationships with the children. Staff plan a variety of different activities which enables children to extend their learning in all areas of development. However, there are insufficient opportunities for children to engage in large group activities. Staff make full use of the premises to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for the children. There is appropriate equipment to provide the children with an interesting environment. Staff ensure the building is safe and secure, although risk

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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 assessments are brief and electrical equipment has not been checked. They follow the policies and procedures to ensure good health and hygiene are promoted. Staff are aware of children's individual dietary needs and encourage children to have healthy eating habits. They treat children as individuals and help them develop an awareness of others through topic work and discussions. Good support is given to children with special educational needs. Staff act as good role models and set clear rules and expectations for the children which they consistently reinforce in a gentle and age appropriate manner. There is a good partnership with parents and carers. They are aware of current events and activities taking place through the notice board, regular newsletters and

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How good is the Day Care?

informal contact with the staff. Documentation is well organised to support the management of the group and has been updated to meet the new standards, although the complaints policy still needs amending.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the provider agreed to review documentation relating to the operational plan, accident records and complaints policy. The operational plan is now more comprehensive and staff always ensure parents sign the accident records. Although the information in the prospectus has been amended the complaints policy still has no details relating to the registering body.

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What is being done well?

• Parents are warmly welcomed into the group when they leave and collect their children. They are given full details about the operation and activities of the group and are invited to share in their children's learning. • Children are well behaved and have a good understanding of what is right and wrong. The staff set clear boundaries for the children and give praise and encouragement for positive behaviour. • Staff are aware of children's individual abilities and work closely with parents and external agencies to provide good support for children with special needs. • Staff work well together and provide a range of meaningful activities in which children can make decisions, explore and investigate.

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What needs to be improved?

• the risk assessments to cover all areas including the checking of electrical equipment • the organisation of the session to provide more adult led large group activates • the complaints policy to include details of the regulator.

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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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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Review the organisation of the end of the session to ensure children to take part in large group adult led activities. 6 Ensure a full risk assessment is carried out and include regular checking of electrical appliances to ensure they do not pose a hazard to children. 9 Ensure that children's records contain information that enables appropriate care to be given. 14 Ensure the complaints policy includes the name and address of the registering body.

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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?

The provision for nursery education at Orsett Playgroup is of good quality overall. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in their personal, social and emotional development and mathematical development and generally good progress in all other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff plan a variety of practical activities both in and out of doors to cover all areas of learning. They make good use of everyday routines as well as structured activities to extend children's knowledge, particularly their understanding of mathematical language. Staff maintain a dialogue with the children and ask appropriate questions to encourage independent thinking. However, children lack opportunities to write for a purpose in their free play or experiment with sounds and music. Staff complete full assessments on the children's learning which helps them to

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How effective is the nursery education?

identify how the children are progressing in all areas of development. However, the information gained is currently only used to set future targets for a proportion of the children attending. The leadership and management is generally good. The staff work well as a team and support each other during the sessions. They meet regularly to discuss the organisation of the group and systems are in place to effectively monitor the quality of teaching. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Staff spend time informally talking to the parents about the children and parents are well-informed about current events and activities. Staff encourage the parents to be involved with their child's learning. However, current procedures provide parents with limited information regarding their child's progress towards the early learning goals.

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What is being done well?

• Children's personal, social and emotional development is good. Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment where children can feel relaxed and settled. Children are confident, sociable and have caring relationships with each other and the staff. • Strong emphasis is placed on developing children's mathematical skills and the introduction of mathematical language is well integrated through structured activities and in free play and everyday routines. • Staff interact well with the children and engage them in meaningful conversations. They use good questioning techniques to encourage the children to use their own knowledge and think for themselves.

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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 • Children's physical skills are promoted effectively through a stimulating range of indoor and outdoor activities.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to use writing materials in their free play • the use of the information recorded in the assessments to enable staff to set focused future targets for all children • the opportunities for children to explore music and sounds • the information given to the parents regarding their child's progress towards the stepping stones.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made generally good progress since the last inspection and this has had a positive effect on children's learning. Staff have continued to develop the planning system and the daily activity sheets give staff a clear focus to what they expect the children to learn. The new assessment scheme has been successfully introduced which clearly relates to the stepping stones. However, information gained is only used to inform planning for a proportion of the children. Staff make good use of the everyday activities to introduce children to different mathematical concepts and extent their vocabulary.

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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: Very Good Children are very happy and settled at the group. They come in confidently and eagerly take part in the activities. Children play very well together and are able to share and take turns for example, when using the computer and the climbing frame. They are well behaved and have a clear understanding of right and wrong. They show good perseverance and concentration in their play. Children independently take themselves to the toilet and put on and take off their own coats at playtime.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children have many opportunities at registration and in small groups to share their ideas and opinions. They enjoy talking to each other and the staff. The more able children are able to read and write their own names and have a good understanding of phonic sounds. Children enjoy listening to stories and have an understanding that print carries meaning. However, opportunities are misses to encourage the children to write in meaningful activities in their free play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are very confident at using numbers. They are able to count to ten and above and many older children recognise numerals to nine. Children use computer games and join in number songs, which help to reinforce their learning. They are able to recognise and match a range of shapes and regularly discuss different sizes. Children have a sound understanding of positional language such as top, bottom, besides. Older children are able to comprehend concepts of simple addition and subtraction.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children have a good awareness of their local environment and are able to discuss features of the world in which they live. They observe the weather conditions and look at photos of their village. Children explore and investigate as they taste sweet and sour foods, plant flowers in tubs and cook chocolate crispies. They are competent at using the computer, effectively using the mouse to control the programmes. Children are also able to build and construction with confidence.

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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 demonstrate good physical skills. They move indoors and outdoors with control and co-ordination as they use the climbing frame and run between chalk lines. Older children effectively use scissors to cut out shapes and follow straight lines. They have good hand-eye co-ordination and carefully colour in their pictures. Children competently use a range of tools such as hammers and nails, glue spreaders and chopsticks to eat noodles.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy taking part in creative work. They are able to use different materials in their artwork as they make two and three-dimensional models such as houses, snowmen and kites. Children explore playdough, sand, soil and pasta. They effectively extend their imaginative skills in the role-play area and with small world equipment such as cars and zoos. They act out real life scenarios such as visiting Mc Donald's. However, children have limited opportunities to explore different sounds.

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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

• Ensure assessments are used to help focus individual targets for all the children. • Evaluate and improve the organisation of the role-play to enable children's to use pens to write for a purpose in meaningful activities. • Increase opportunities for children to explore sound by using their voices, musical instruments and taped music. Provide activities that invite children to move to different sounds. • Review how parents receive information to ensure they are aware of their child's progress and development towards the stepping stones.

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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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