Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Sunningdale

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 13/10/2003 Inspector Name Christine Cutts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name MISS POLLY'S KINDERGARTEN Setting Address Brimpton Road Baughurst Tadley Hampshire RG26 5NL

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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

Miss Polly's Kindergarten opened in 1990. It is based in the Hurst Community College and operates as a self-funding day nursery. The kindergarten is situated in a purpose built unit, and is located in the rural area of Baughurst in Hampshire. Miss Polly's Kindergarten is registered to provide day care for a maximum of 74 children, aged from birth to five years. There are currently one hundred and five children on roll, twenty -two three year olds and two four year olds who are in receipt of funding. The kindergarten opens between 08:00 and 18:00 Monday To Friday over 51 weeks in the year. The kindergarten supports children with identified special needs. There are no children who speak English as an additional language currenty attending the kindergarten. The accommodation offers three rooms, which cater for children of different ages. Busy Bees room is dedicated to the children aged nought to two years , the

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Information about the setting

Caterpillar room is used for children from 18 months to three years and the Ladybirds for children two years six months to five years. The outdoor area provides opportunities to access large play equipment and to explore the environment. There are 25 members of staff who support children's learning. Appropriate qualifications in childcare and education are held by the majority of staff. Three members of staff hold NVQ level III qualifications and four hold the level II NVQ. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Child Care Partnership (E.Y.D.C.P).

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How good is the Day Care?

Miss Polly's Kindergarten provides satisfactory care for children in a clean, well

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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 maintained bright and stimulating environment. The accommodation allows for a variety of activities and very good resources are made available for the children to choose from. The out-side play area is used effectively to extend the play opportunities of the children. Qualified staff and management work well as a team to support the children's learning. Relevant documentation is in place to enable the kindergarten to care for the children, with some changes required to come in line with the requirements under the National Standards. Children's health and welfare are well promoted with staff encouraging good health routines. High staff ratios enable the staff to spend time getting to know the children and identify the individual needs of the children . The kindergarten has effective

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How good is the Day Care?

special needs and child protection systems in place. A very good range of resources and age appropriate activities promote children's understanding of others and provides positive images of the diversity in our society. The children are supported and encouraged in their learning with planned and unplanned activities to meet the developmental needs of children covering all areas of learning across the age range nought to five. Staff promote equal opportunities by monitoring children's individual needs and by ensuring that all activities and resources are made available to all children. Children's behaviour is generally good in a lively and busy atmosphere supported by staff who help the children understand the rules of the kindergarten. Parents support the kindergarten and show that they are happy with the care given and the information on their children progress and care.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The previous inspection was a transitional inspection and did not highlight areas of improvement

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What is being done well?

• Effective staff appraisal and training programme for all staff in place covering many of the requirements of the national standards. • Very good range of activities available very much enjoying enjoyed by the children who were active and involved in their play across all age ranges. Adults support children's development and learning by joining in their play making suggestions and questions in order to extend children's understanding. • All areas of learning are covered in the activities provided. There are an excellent range of opportunities for imaginative play which enable children to

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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 explore and investigate finding out about their world. • The kindergarten is warm and welcoming with very good and extensive range display's of children's art and craft work and topic displays providing a bright and stimulating child friendly environment in which children play with imagination and independence. • Very good range of toys and resource to meet the needs of all the children and to offer stimulating and enjoyable play opportunities. • The kindergarten provides a safe environment for children to play with independence and confidence with staff vigilantly supervising and monitoring children at play. • Staff act in the best interest of the children if they are unwell or ill reassuring and caring for the children until parents arrive to collect.

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What is being done well?

• A very good range of resources are available that promote positive images of the diversity in our society. All children have equal access to appropriate toys resources and equipment, they are all included and valued their differences acknowledged and respected. • Staff get to know their key children and work with parents to meet the children's individual needs. Initial assessment forms help the kindergarten to become aware of any special requirements of the children their likes and dislikes. The kindergarten has effective systems in place to support children with special needs.

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What needs to be improved?

• registered to record times of arrival and departure to enable management to arrange sufficient cover at beginning of the day; • first aid box and its contents to comply with Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations- some sterile items are out of date; • all written records are signed by parents, of medicines given to children and any accidents involving children while being cared for;

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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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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

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 develop a registration system that records times of arrival and departure of children and staff on a daily basis. 7 ensure that the first aid box and its contents comply with Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations- some sterile items are out of date. 7 ensure all written records are signed by parents, of medicines given to children and any accidents involving children while being cared for. 13 review child protection procedure to include procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation made against a member of staff.

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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?

Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals- with areas of strength in personal social and emotional development and knowledge and understanding of the world. Miss Polly's Kindergarten offer's children a welcoming and stimulating environment in which good use is made of the accommodation and resources to promote children's development in all six areas of learning. Children's behaviour is generally good with staff supporting children to develop an understanding of right and wrong and the rules of the kindergarten. Quality of teaching is generally good with staff having a secure knowledge of the individual children and their progress on the stepping stones. Staff praise, encourage and support children's learning and provide good quality activities which enable children to play with imagination. Staff work closely with their key worker children getting to know them, their needs, and interests.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Planning is not always integrated across all key worker groups and lacks some elements of the early learning goals. Children with special educational needs are well supported within the group with an effective system for identifying, monitoring and supporting children with special needs Management and leadership is generally good with staff working well together, the manager is committed to building good staff relationships. A shared commitment to early years is clearly visible and management and staff are committed to extending their understanding in early years education. Effective relationships exist between the management committee, manager and the kindergaten staff with all feeling supported within well defined roles. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good and parents are actively involved in the life of the kindergarten. Parents are supportive of staff and contribute to topics. Comments received show that parents appreciate the information

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What is being done well?

• Children work well together co-operating in play and learning with each other, children naturally share resources and take turns. Behaviour is generally good with children encouraged by the staff to be polite and respect each other.

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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 • Staff are aware of the behaviour policy and work well together to give the children consistent rules and guidelines to enable them to learn appropriate behaviour for themselves. • Children talk confidently and use language effectively to negotiate and make their feelings understood, building their competence with language through social interactions. Children enjoy books they are happy to "read" for pleasure to themselves or others. • The kindergarten provides a good range of practical activities for children to develop an understanding of mathematics. Some children count with adult support up to 20, and some children can count beyond this. Children name shapes and use mathematical terms appropriately to describe and compare

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What is being done well?

shape, size, position and quantity showing an understand of mathematical concepts. • There are effective relationships between the kindergarten and parents and carers which helps the kindergarten meet the needs of the children in their care. • The kindergarten provide opportunities for children to develop involved imaginative play in role play area, with dressing up clothes, small world play and constructions toys. Children express their ideas, thoughts and feelings with each other and with adults through a variety of media, painting, role-play. • The kindergarten offer a range of good activities to promote children's physical development using good quality equipment, including large and small apparatus. The space available is used effectively to give children the opportunity to move with freedom and imagination in many different ways.

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What needs to be improved?

• activities that encourage children's understanding of books and how the text is read from left to right and top to bottom in the English language; • opportunities for children to practise emergent writing for a variety of purposes; • planning that integrates all key worker groups to give a coherent overall plan of the children's activities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The kindergarten has made generally good progress since the last inspection with planning now identifies the six areas of learning, in line with the foundation stage and including the stepping stone to the early learning goals. Parents now receive good quality information including brochure, newsletters, information board and details of the children activities.

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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 active in their learning, are generally well behaved, show confidence and are developing independence skills. Staff give children the opportunity to talk about themselves and their experiences individually or in a group, building children's self-esteem. The children work well together and co-operate to achieve tasks, they share and take turns and understand the rules of the kindergarten.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children talk confidently and use language effectively to negotiate and make their feelings understood, building their competence with language through social interactions. Children show an enjoyment of books choosing to 'read' to adults and others. Children's understanding of how text is read is not fully supported. Children are developing good writing skills but lack opportunities to use emergent writing for a variety of purposes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Some children count with adult support to 20 and others can count beyond this independently. Children use mathematics for problem solving in every day situations with good practical activities provided by the kindergarten including familiar number rhymes and songs. Children name two and three dimensional shapes including circle and triangle, square and cube. Use mathematical language appropriately and numbers for a purpose.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good The children learn about different cultures and religions through a range of resources provided by the kindergarten. Children have some opportunities to use computers and other technology toys. There are planned opportunities for children to use tools with play dough and craft activities. Children learn about growth and change with planned topic's, such as looking at the change in season's and growing sunflowers.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The curriculum allows for planned physical development sessions to cover all aspects of this area of development, with some opportunities to use of large play apparatus in the well equipped garden. Children move with freedom and imagination riding bikes, scooters, cars and using playhouses. Activities to support pencil control and using tools with control are well promoted by the kindergarten.

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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 Opportunities for children to express themselves in a variety on media. Staff allow children the freedom and space to develop involved and imaginative role play. Children express their ideas, thoughts and feelings using two and three dimensions, colour and texture with painting, play dough, role-play areas and small world play.

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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

• develop activities that encourage children's understanding of books and how the text is read from left to right and top to bottom in the English language; • provide opportunities for children to practise emerging writing for a variety of purposes; • review planning that integrates all key worker groups to give a coherent overall plan of the children's activities.

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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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