Woodlands Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 12/11/2004 Inspector Name Gill Moore

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Kanes Hill Pre-School Setting Address Hinkler Road Thornhill Southampton Hampshire SO19 6FW

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Kanes Hill Playgroup Management Committee

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Kanes Hill Playgroup Management Committee Address Kanes Hill Primary School Hinkler Road Southampton Hampshire SO19 6FW

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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

Kanes Hill Pre-School is a committee run group and opened in 1999. It operates from self-contained premises in the grounds of Kanes Hill School, in the urban area of Thornhill, a district of Southampton. Accommodation includes a spacious classroom, toilet and kitchen facilities and an enclosed outside play area. The pre-school serves the local residential area. There are currently 43 children on roll. This includes 22 funded 3 year olds and 3 funded 4 year olds. The group is able to support children with special educational needs and English as an additional language. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday 09:10 - 11:40 and 12:20 - 14:50 during the school term. Children attend on a sessional basis. The committee employ a qualified leader to be responsible for the day to day running of the group. In addition, 4 staff work directly with the children, 2 of whom are qualified and 1 who is working towards a recognised child care qualification. The

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Information about the setting

pre-school receives support from the local early years partnership and has established strong links with the school, in which it is based. The group is a member of the pre-school learning alliance and receives support from a development worker.

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How good is the Day Care?

Kanes Hill Pre-School provides good quality care for children. Management place priority on staff performance and development, including the induction of new staff, and dedicated staff meet children's individual needs on a day-to-day basis. The routine promotes children's independence through self-chosen play, although does not provide opportunities for children to work in different sized groups, which sometimes impacts on the development of children's listening skills. The environment is welcoming, and space and resources are used effectively to ensure children have independent access to the full range of play materials. Documentation is well maintained, although written policies and procedures do not always reflect actual practice of the group.

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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 Staff are deployed effectively to ensure children are safe and secure and health and safety arrangements are regularly reviewed. They have a general understanding of child protection issues, although some aspects of the policy and procedures are not fully developed. Health and hygiene is promoted and staff teach children the importance of following good personal hygiene routines. Snack-times are used effectively to promote healthy eating and children's independence. Staff show a good understanding of equality and value children as individuals. The inclusion of all children is actively promoted within the pre-school. Staff's interaction with children is very positive and they have a very good understanding of children's individual needs. Staff promote positive behaviour and

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How good is the Day Care?

give continual praise, encouraging children's independence and promoting confidence and self-esteem. Consequently, secure relationships are established and children's behaviour is generally good. Communication between staff and parents is very good, ensuring parents are well informed about their child's day. Staff support parents to settle their child into pre-school and work together to ensure links between home and pre-school are maintained.

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What is being done well?

• The pre-school environment is bright and attractive and very welcoming to parents and children. The excellent range of play provision and resources are presented at child's level, stored in labelled boxes and on open shelves. Excellent use is made of space, by creating separate areas within the room, and children are free to move between the inside and outside learning environment as they choose across all sessions. • Staff and children develop secure relationships with each other, which has a positive impact on the progress children make. The pre-school operate a key worker system, which helps in establishing and maintaining relationships, for both children and their parents. Staff have an excellent knowledge of individual children, and their family and home circumstances, and value all children as individuals. • Children display high levels of confidence and independence. Staff encourage children to initiate their own ideas, choose their own resources

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What is being done well?

and put things away when they have finished. Staff recognise that children need to feel valued and ensure they continually praise children, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem. • The organisation of the pre-school is very good and the management structure effective. The programme for induction is very well developed and ensures staff are well supported and clearly informed about all aspects of the pre-school, in order to successfully achieve the aims of the group. Regular

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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 reviews are held to discuss progress, and all staff identify their strengths and areas in which they feel they need to develop in. • The pre-school operate a snack bar system, which allows children to make their own decision about when to have their snack. Independence is promoted, for example children lay the table, fetch the cups and pour their own drinks. They make their selection from a varied range of fruits and vegetables each day promoting healthy eating.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of time, to provide opportunities for children to learn effectively in different sized groups, as well as through independent play, increasing opportunities to develop children's listening skills • staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues, systems for recording pre-existing injuries, arrangements for informing parents of the responsibility of pre-school staff in relation to child protection issues, and the child protection policy, to include procedures should an allegation of abuse be made against a member of staff • the written policies and procedures, to ensure they reflect actual practice of the group.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

Since 1 April 2004 Ofsted have not received any complaints about this provider.

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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

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 2 Evaluate and improve the use of time, to provide opportunities for children to learn effectively in different sized groups, enhancing opportunities to develop their listening skills. 13 Increase staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues, develop the child protection policy to include the relevant detail and review arrangements for sharing child protection procedures with parents. 14 Ensure the written policies and procedures reflect actual practice of the group.

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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?

Kanes Hill Pre-School offers good quality nursery education where children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff recognise that children learn through play and promote independent learning. They question children effectively, although sometimes miss opportunities to develop and re-enforce learning, particularly with regard to mathematical development. They develop secure relationships with children and continually praise them, which has a positive impact on children's confidence and self-esteem. Younger children, and those with special educational needs are very well supported. Staff make observations of children's achievements, although systems for recording these are not fully implemented and information gained is not used effectively to plan the next stage in their learning, ensuring sufficient challenges are provided. Leadership and management are generally good. Staff have clear roles and

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How effective is the nursery education?

communicate effectively, ensuring sessions are well organised and the educational programme is fully implemented. The group recognise their strengths and act on their evaluations to make improvements. The curriculum is monitored and evaluated to ensure all aspects of the foundation stage are included, although procedures to monitor the recording of children's assessments and how these are used are not fully developed. The partnerships with parents are very good and strong informal relationships are established. Parents receive detailed information about the pre-school and the curriculum and are well informed about what their child is involved in. Links between home and pre-school are very well developed and parents are encouraged to be involved with their child's learning. They receive written information about their child's achievements, although formal opportunities are not currently available for

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How effective is the nursery education?

them to discuss their progress and next steps for development.

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What is being done well?

• The pre-school committee and the leader of the group show strong commitment to improving the care and education for all children. High priority is placed on evaluation of sessions and activities, ensuring maximum impact on children's learning. Information gained from evaluations has been used to produce a development plan for the pre-school, highlighting how gaps in the provision are identified and being addressed. • Staff interact well with children and encourage them to be involved in their learning. They introduce a good range of vocabulary to children and invite them to talk about their experiences and contribute their own ideas. Staff are very effective in supporting children's role-play and encourage them to freely develop their imagination as they act out their real and imagined experiences.

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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 enjoy many opportunities to practice emergent writing in a variety of situations. They have independent access to a range of writing tools and materials and use these to write prescriptions when acting out the role of a doctor in role-play. Children enjoy making marks and patterns in sand and are always encouraged to write their own name on their artwork. • Parents are provided with detailed information about the foundation stage and encouraged to use resources from the parent reception area. These include practical tips and suggestions of how to extend learning in the home. Parents are also encouraged to borrow books from the pre-school library to share with their child at home. • Children show great curiosity and investigative skills through play and are

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What is being done well?

encouraged to explore their own ideas. They make predictions about what will happen when water is added to sand and explore their own theories for themselves. They independently select their own materials and objects to carry out their experiments and initiate much of their learning themselves through self-chosen activities.

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What needs to be improved?

• procedures to monitor the recording of children's achievements, how this information is used to plan the next stage in their development and the impact the educational programme has on children's progress, in particular with regards to four-year-olds • opportunities for children to extend their understanding of the place they live in and the wider world, to identify and distinguish sounds and letters and to develop their understanding of addition and subtraction through routines and independent learning • opportunities for parents to discuss children's progress and their next steps for development.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school have made generally good progress since the last inspection. They were asked to extend the promotion of books, words and text, to encourage children to develop their enjoyment of books and use them to gain information and to extend their recognition of words. The presentation of books has been improved, which has had a positive impact on the use children make of this area. Information books are used to support children's learning, for example displayed on the interest table and children learn how to use these to locate information. The physical environment provides many opportunities for children to recognise print, such as labelled resources and objects and questions on the display boards. The group were asked to improve the organisation of activities, to ensure that listening skills are progressed well, and that children gain the maximum learning opportunities throughout all activities. Most of the activities are well organised,

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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 however the structure of the session does not provide opportunities for children to work in different sized groups, for example to help develop children's listening skills and learn to work together. A group story time is offered to children who wish to be involved at the end of the session, however the organisation of this does not ensure maximum learning opportunities are provided. The group were also asked to extend the assessment system to ensure that all aspects of the early learning goals are included. The assessment system has been improved to ensure that all aspects are included, although systems to ensure all staff are completing and recording observations of children's achievements are not fully

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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 show high levels of interest in their learning and confidently initiate their own ideas. They respond well to the continual praise from staff and persevere with difficult tasks. Children develop good relationships with their peers and co-operate and negotiate with each other, for example when preparing the table for snack. They develop very good independence such as sweeping up sand from the floor, pouring their own drinks, and enjoy self-selecting activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children speak confidently and use a good range of vocabulary to describe their experiences. They enjoy looking at books and re-tell stories to their peers. Children recognise that print carries meaning and select their name cards as part of pre-school routines, such as registration. Children have some opportunities to learn about letters and sounds and some children can confidently write their own names. Many opportunities are provided for children to practice writing in different situations.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are encouraged to use their own ideas to solve problems and have free access to an excellent range of mathematical resources. They count confidently, recognise numerals and shapes and use good mathematical language, for example to compare the weights of buckets and sizes of grapes. Some opportunities are available for children to develop their understanding of number and early addition and subtraction, although older and more able children are not sufficiently challenged in this area.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy many opportunities to explore and investigate and access a good range of resources, for example they examine objects using magnets and explore which objects float and sink in water. They enjoy building and constructing models and use a good range of information technology to support their learning. Children enjoy some opportunities to learn about their local environment and the wider world and find out about different cultures, such as making Rangoli pictures to celebrate Diwali.

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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: Very Good Children demonstrate a good sense of space and show control and co-ordination as they ride scooters and bicycles in outside play. They enjoy opportunities to develop their climbing and balancing skills and use equipment such as bats and balls to practice throwing and catching. Children learn to jump, hop and skip using ropes and beams. They show great skill when using tools and materials, including knives, cutters and threading equipment and have independent access to these across all sessions.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore a wide range of media and materials, including paint, sand, dough and recycled materials. They use a variety of objects to create patterns, such as using straws and a salad spinner to explore paint. Children talk about how things feel and taste and engage in many in many activities to develop their senses. They show excellent imagination as they explore creativity, re-tell stories and engage in role-play. Children have opportunities to sing and explore musical instruments.

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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 children's assessments are used to move children on to the next stage in their learning, provide sufficient challenges to children, in particular four-year-olds and improve systems to monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum planning and the impact this has on children's progress • increase opportunities for children to develop their understanding of addition and subtraction and ensure sufficient challenges are provided for older and more able children in this area.

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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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