St Mark's Church of England Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 11/11/2004 Inspector Name Christine Slaney

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Out of School Day Care, Full Day Care Setting Name Daisy Pre-School Setting Address Pathfields Totnes Devon TQ9 5TZ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Daisy Playcentre Address Pathfields Totnes Devon TQ9 5TZ

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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

Daisy Pre-school is located in the grounds of St John's Church of England Primary School in the Pathfielfds area of Totnes in Devon. The pre-school serves the town and surrounding area. It operates from purposely-designed premises and has use of two rooms, toilets, kitchen area and two fully enclosed outdoor areas. Daisy Pre-school is self-funding and run by a management committee. They are responsible for all aspects of day-to-day running including finance and policy matters. The committee is made up of voluntary parents whose children currently attend the pre-school and representatives of the school.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered to provide 33 places for children aged between two and five years. There are currently 41 children on roll who include 29 funded three- and four-year-olds and six children who have special educational needs. Children attend a variety of sessions each week. There are currently no children on roll for whom English is not their first language. The pre-school school opens Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 09.15 to 15.15 and Tuesdays from 09.15 until 12.45 during term times only. They also run an after school club and holiday play schemes. Eight staff members work a variety of part time and full time sessions with the children. There is a Pre-school Centre Manager who co-ordinates sessions and liaises with the head teacher. The setting benefit from strong links with the school. The manager has contact with the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and attends cluster group meetings regularly.

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How good is the Day Care?

Daisy Pre-school provides good care for children. The environment is safe and provides good space. Staff work very hard to ensure everyone feels welcome including the display of many good examples of children's own work. There are clear

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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 routines that help children feel secure.

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How good is the Day Care?

The organisation of care is good and there is a well-qualified staff team. Overall there are effective policies and procedures, which work in practice; for example, children spontaneously wash their hands before snack time. However some policies lack some detail. Planning is completed as a staff team and there is a very good range of well-planned activities, toys and equipment, which are age, appropriate and provide challenges for development. Consequently children's behaviour is very good.

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How good is the Day Care?

The pre-school takes positive steps to ensure children are safe, for example, there is a front door alert system in place. Practical steps are taken to prevent the spread of infection and promote personal hygiene. There are good arrangements for the provision of drinks. Staff have a very good understanding of special needs, equal opportunities and child protection. The pre-school shares a very useful welcome pack with parents at admission and there is an open door policy. Time is used very well at the end of the day to discuss the children's day and progress. Therefore, the pre-school enjoys a very good partnership with parents.

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What is being done well?

• The organisation of care is good. Staff work very well as a team. They are hard working and are committed to improving practice, developing services and working with other professionals. • Planning is completed as a staff team and there is a good range of well-planned activities toys and equipment that are age appropriate and provide challenges to develop personal, social, emotional and intellectual development. • Staff are proactive at identifying special educational needs and work effectively with other professionals to support children. • The partnership with parents is very good. Informal and formal systems are used to keep parents informed of their children's progress.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

This enthusiastic group have an ongoing commitment to improving provision to meet the needs of children and ensure that services continue to be effective. For example, they work closely with other professional to meet the needs of children in their care. They have strong links with other professionals both in the family centre and local primary schools. (Standard 2)

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

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 complaints policy to enable parents to clearly understand the process.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

Ofsted have received no complaints against this group since April 2004.

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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 14 Ensure the complaints procedures makes clear the contact details of the regulator.

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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?

Daisy Pre-school provides acceptable nursery education, which enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in most areas and generally good progress in mathematical development. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff manage children very well and have good relationships with them. Planning is completed as a staff team. Staff plan interesting activities and understand what children learn from them. Overall daily plans are clear and detailed. However the daily plans do always enable all staff to feel confident and effective in their teaching for example in mathematical development. The setting organises the space well both in and out of doors. This promotes children's physical skills well. Access to resources enables children to further promote independence. Staff give children a good level of support and those children with special educational needs are supported particularly well. Staff interact

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How effective is the nursery education?

effectively with children and are positive role models. They are effective in questioning, which encourages children to think and talk about what they are doing well. Staff assess children's learning against the stepping stones and use this information to plan what children should do next. The leadership and management of the pre-school is generally good. The management team have been very effective in developing a committed staff team who work very well together. Senior staff regularly monitor staff development. However this monitoring has not sufficiently identified the gap in the mathematical programme. Staff work closely with other professionals to further improve the educational programme; for example, they have very strong links with the local school and family centre. The pre-school is effective in developing both informal and formal systems to communicate with parents. These include an open door policy. As a consequence,

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How effective is the nursery education?

the partnership with parents is very good.

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What is being done well?

• Children are well behaved and staff are very good role models. Consequently children are making very good progress in most areas of learning and generally good progress in mathematical development. • Support for children with special educational needs is very good. Staff work closely with other professionals to clearly identify needs. • The senior management team and staff are committed to improvement. As a consequence, they work effectively with other professionals; for example, the local school and family centre. • Staff and parents enjoy very good relationships and there are good systems

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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 for communicating with parents. For example, an open door policy.

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What needs to be improved?

• challenges for more able. children in everyday routines to help them to use and extend their skills, for example, to create more opportunities to separate objects into unequal groups.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made in tackling the key issues identified in the previous inspection. These required the pre-school to develop their method of registration time. There is now a more formal registration which works along side the informal structure in place. As a consequence children thoroughly enjoy the morning song and answer their names with confidence and enthusiasm. Plans now effectively link to the stepping stones. As a consequence, children are making very good progress in most 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: Very Good Children settle well and are confident within the group. They play well individually and in small and large groups. Strategies are used very well to promote expected behaviour. Consequently children are familiar with everyday routines. Some are starting to develop good concentration skills and will persevere with some tasks like threading beads. In addition they are developing an understanding of turn taking through the effective use of resources like an egg timer to indicate the next turn.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing as confident speakers. Some enthusiastically talk about what they are doing and past experiences, for example, going on holiday to Spain. Labelling of displays and objects around the room helps them to develop an understanding that print carries meaning. Consequently children spontaneously access books for themselves and also to share with familiar adults. Children enjoy painting and drawing and also discuss what they have done, for example, 'That's my mum'.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have many opportunities through planned activities to practise counting. They use numbers in their play as they press numbers on a telephone. They follow themed activities that introduce and reinforce understanding of basic shapes. Some use appropriate language like 'high' and 'low'. There are some opportunities to compare when measuring. However, children are not regularly encouraged to extend their skills further through everyday opportunities; for example, to separate objects.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have good opportunities to explore and investigate. Resources are interesting and attractive consequently children's curiosity is stimulated. They are confident and successful and use information communication technology effectively. They enjoy designing and building for different purposes and make careful models. They talk confidently about themselves and their experiences and participate in interesting and varied themed activities that introduce them to different cultures.

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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 move safely and confidently around their available play space, both in and out of doors. Familiar routines like changing shoes for outside play, help children understand their different needs. Regular physical activities help them to develop skills in using a range of small and large equipment, for example, wheeled toys and balancing equipment. They use a range of tools and materials with increasing control and are aware of safety; for example, with scissors and glue sticks.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have many opportunities to explore colour, texture and form using a variety of media. They regularly participate in role-play and use props, puppets and dressing up clothes to extend their play. They thoroughly enjoy a well-planned music and movement session provided by a dance tutor. Song is used at the beginning of each morning and children join in with enthusiasm. Children also enjoy smelling, touching and feeling the sand and play dough activities.

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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 that everyday routines and activities offer sufficient challenges to extend the more able children particularly in mathematical developement.

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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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