St Peter's Church of England (VA) Junior School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/09/2004 Inspector Name Gill Moore

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Findon Valley Free Church Pre-School Setting Address 1-11 Lime Tree Avenue Worthing West Sussex BN14 0DJ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Findon Valley Free Church Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Findon Valley Free Church Pre-School Address 1-11 Lime Tree Avenue Worthing West Sussex BN14 0DJ

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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

Findon Valley Free Church Pre-School is a registered charity run by a church committee. It provides sessional care for pre-school aged children and opened in 1964. The pre-school meet in the church hall in Findon Valley, near Worthing. The group serves the local residential area. There are currently 27 children from 2 years to 5 years on roll. This includes 17 funded 3 year olds and currently there are no funded 4 year olds on roll. The setting supports 2 children with special educational needs and one child for whom English is an additional language. The group opens 9:30 - 12:15 Monday to Friday during the school term, although finishes at 12:00 on a Tuesday session. The committee employ a qualified manager to be responsible for the day to day running of the group. A further 7 members of staff work with the children on a part-time basis, 3 of whom are qualified and 1 who is working towards an early years

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Information about the setting

qualification. The pre-school receive support from the early years partnership and have strong links with local primary schools.

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How good is the Day Care?

Findon Valley Pre-School provides a good quality and standard of day care for children. A clear management structure ensures all staff have defined roles and responsibilities and effective systems are in place to support the development of all staff. A key worker system is implemented, which helps to secure relationships between staff and children. The organisation of sessions and the deployment of staff does not always ensure that children are sufficiently challenged and involved in their play. Effective use is made of space and children are able to make their own choices about what they play, ensuring an active role in their learning, across most sessions. Most of the required documentation is in place, although some lacks in detail. Staff pay high attention to ensuring children's safety and have a good knowledge of

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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 child protection issues. They are active in promoting good hygiene and teach children to follow good routines. Children sit together for a snack mid session. Staff establish positive relationships with children and know them well. The pre-school promote the inclusion of all children and effectively monitor and support children, including those with special needs, to help them make progress in their development. Staff promote positive behaviour and continually praise and encourage children. As a result, children show good self-esteem and develop positive relationships with staff and their peers. Interaction is very good between staff and children and staff plan a good range of activities linked to the stepping stones, inside and in the outside play area. Staff

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How good is the Day Care?

value each child and help them to recognise and value the differences and similarities between themselves and others. Relationships between staff and parents are very good and effective communication takes place to ensure that children's individual needs are met.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the transitional inspection four actions were raised. The group were asked to ensure that key members of the pre-school committee were vetted and this has now been completed. The pre-school were asked to develop an action plan detailing how the group intended to meet the qualification requirements. They were asked to ensure at least half of all childcare staff hold a level two qualification appropriate for the care and development of children. An action plan was developed and this situation has now been resolved. The manager of the group is qualified and the committee employ a further seven members of staff, three of which hold a child care qualification. One member of staff is currently undertaking training and will have completed this by December of this year. Staff rotas ensure that at least half of the staff working each session have a recognised child care qualification. The group were also asked to ensure heating appliances do not pose a hazard to

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What has improved since the last inspection?

children. Covers have been fitted to all heaters ensuring these are inaccessible to children.

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What is being done well?

• Excellent use is made of the outside play area and many learning opportunities are provided. Children have daily opportunities to independently access a range of large and small equipment, for example climbing frame, bicycles, beanbags and balls. They express good imagination as they fill up their cars with petrol from the pump and pretend to go shopping. Children enjoy opportunities to grow their own flowers, learn about and follow the life cycle of a tadpole and explore in sand and water. • 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

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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 worker system, which helps to establish and maintain relationships. Staff show a very good understanding of children's individual needs and family and home circumstances. They value each child and listen to what they have to say, encouraging them to share experiences of things that happen at home as well as in pre-school. • Parents are encouraged to share what they know about their child and complete an initial child profile before they start pre-school, highlighting what their child is able to do. Parents are well informed about the pre-school through regular newsletters and daily discussions with staff. Plans showing activities on a daily basis are displayed and parents have frequent opportunities to discuss their child's progress. They are invited to help during

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What is being done well?

sessions and encouraged to share any concerns with staff at any time. • Management implement very good procedures for the induction of new staff. Effective systems are in place to monitor and evaluate staff performance and development. Staff are encouraged to identify their own strengths and weaknesses, as part of the appraisal process, and play an active role in identifying their own training needs.

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What needs to be improved?

• the structure of the session and deployment of staff to ensure all children are sufficiently challenged, effectively supported and involved in their play • the arrangements for snack time to promote children's independence and make effective sue of learning opportunities • the documentation, to include times visitors are present in the pre-school, procedures should an allegation of abuse be made against a member of staff and written parental consent to seek emergency medical treatment.

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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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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NEXT?

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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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Evaluate and improve the structure of the session and deployment of staff to ensure children are sufficiently challenged, supported and involved in their play. 14 Develop the procedures for recording visitors and the child protection policy to include the relevant detail and obtain written parental consent to seek emergency medical treatment.

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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?

Findon Valley 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 show a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and plan a balanced curriculum for children. A good level of support is provided to children who have special educational needs. Effective systems are in place to record children's progress, however these are not used to plan the next stage in their learning. Staff question children effectively, although sometimes miss opportunities to extend children and provide sufficient challenges across all sessions. Focused activities are well organised and staff have a clear understanding of what children are expected to learn. However, the routine, deployment of staff and accessibility of resources, across some sessions, does not make the most of all learning opportunities and teaching is sometimes too directed.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Staff have a good knowledge of individual children and praise and encourage them, increasing confidence and self-esteem. Leadership and management are generally good. Staff work well as a team and communicate effectively. They all contribute to the planning of the curriculum and evaluate activities. Management actively monitor staff performance and development, although systems to ensure staff make the most of all learning opportunities, in particular relating to communication, language and literacy and mathematical development, are not fully developed. The partnerships with parents are generally good. Parents are encouraged to share what they know about their child and establish positive relationships with staff. Parents are well informed about activities their child is involved in on a daily basis and how these link to the stepping stones. They have opportunities to discuss their child's progress, although do not receive any written information or suggestions of

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How effective is the nursery education?

how to extend their child's learning in the home.

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What is being done well?

• Children show high levels of confidence and self-esteem and are valued by staff. They respond well to praise and encouragement from staff, which has a positive impact on the relationships they build with adults and their peers. Children show good negotiation skills when sharing resources and are confident to suggest ideas, for example when building models from recycled materials. They are able to make their own decisions about their play across most sessions. • Children's spoken language is a particular strength and as a result children talk confidently in a range of situations. They talk through their imagined experiences as they engage in role-play in the home corner. Children use a good range of descriptive vocabulary to describe the models they make and

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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 the feel of the play dough. They confidently recall how they planted sunflowers in the pre-school garden and discuss what has helped them to grow. • Staff interact well with children. They listen and respond to children and give clear explanations to questions, for example when discussing the bird's nest brought into pre-school. Staff show interest in what children have to say and value the contributions they make. As a result, children are confident to make suggestions and willingly involve adults in their play. • The system to monitor and assess children's progress is thorough and implemented by all staff. Observations are made during focused activities with clear learning intentions, and these are used as evidence of children's

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What is being done well?

achievements. Children's progress during self-chosen activities is also observed and monitored. Key workers update their individual children's assessment records. These link to the stepping stones and clearly identify both children's achievements and areas in which they need to develop.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of time, staff deployment and accessibility of resources to make the most of all learning opportunities and provide sufficient challenges across all sessions, particularly in relation to the session for older children • opportunities for children to practice and develop early mathematical skills and solve practical problems, to recognise and record numerals, to practice writing and recognition of letters and familiar words, to share and explore books and to access a range of information and communication technology equipment • the use of children's assessments to ensure they are used to move children onto the next stage in their learning • opportunities for parents to receive written information about children's achievements and progress and how they can extend their child's learning in the home.

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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 address four areas. The first was to improve staff's knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals, in particular for reading and writing. Staff have completed training and show a very good knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals. They provide opportunities for children to practice emergent writing and share books, across most sessions, although these areas are not well accessed by children and opportunities are sometimes missed by staff, for example when writing names on art work. The pre-school were asked to complete records relating to children's progress towards the early learning goals and share this information with parents. A thorough

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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 and detailed assessment system has been introduced, which monitors children's achievements and progress. This is shared and discussed verbally with parents at present. The links between children's assessment records and planning the curriculum are not fully developed. Staff now provide children with opportunities to explore a range of materials, including dough, paints, sand and water. Such materials are available both inside the pre-school and in the outside learning environment, across the majority of sessions. The group were also asked to improve staff's understanding of the code of practice and systems to identify and support children with special educational needs. A dedicated special educational needs co-ordinator attends a wide variety of training

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What has improved since the last inspection?

courses and workshops relating to special needs. Effective systems are in place to support children and individual education plans are developed with parents to ensure children's progress is identified and monitored closely.

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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 are confident and show good self-esteem. They develop positive relationships with staff and their peers and show a caring attitude towards one another. They show good independence in most areas, and enjoy opportunities to self-select activities. However, some sessions are too structured and children have limited opportunities to make choices about their learning, which impacts on their behaviour. Children enjoy learning about people in their community.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children's language skills are very good and they use a varied vocabulary when expressing themselves. They use cards to practice recognition of their names and often have opportunities to develop emergent writing skills. Children are not sufficiently challenged in the recognition of letters and simple words and show little interest in exploring books.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident in counting and many count beyond ten. They begin to develop an understanding of addition through discussion when singing number rhymes. Planned activities show that children learn about size and shape and explore weight and measure. Some opportunities are missed during free play and pre-school routines to encourage the recognition of number and shapes, to introduce mathematical language and to encourage children to develop their own ideas to solve problems.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy exploring with sand and water, observing tadpoles changing into frogs and watching their sunflowers grow. They learn about their local environment through planned topic work and develop an awareness of their own and other cultures. Children talk about themselves and their family and enjoy recalling experiences. Information and communication technology equipment is limited and insufficient use is made of this to support children's learning.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have many opportunities to engage in physical play and show good control and co-ordination when climbing, jumping and riding bicycles. They demonstrate an awareness of space as they ride in and out of cones. Children learn to confidently use a range of tools and materials, such as scissors, knives, cutters and dough, although these cannot be independently accessed across all sessions. Planned topic work and discussion helps children to learn about keeping safe and healthy.

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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: Generally Good Children enjoy opportunities to use media and materials to explore creativity, for example they mix paint and use marbles and vegetables to make patterns. They express good imagination when making models and engaging in role-play. However, the structure of some sessions and accessibility of resources does not enable children to be imaginative and creative in their play across all sessions. Children enjoy participating in singing sessions and exploring music.

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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

• evaluate and improve the use of time, staff deployment and accessibility to resources to make the most of all learning opportunities and ensure children are sufficiently challenged in all sessions • increase opportunities for children to practice and develop early mathematical skills, early reading and writing skills and to use a range of information and communication technology equipment • evaluate the use of children's assessments to plan the next stage in their learning and provide opportunities for parents to receive written information about children's progress and how they can extend their child's learning in the home.

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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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