Thorpe End Preschool (Teddies)

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 16/03/2004 Inspector Name Jane Louise Tallent

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Thorpe End Teddies Setting Address St Davids Drive Plumstead Road, Thorpe End Norwich Norfolk NR13 5HR

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Thorpe End Teddies

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Thorpe End Teddies Address St Davids Drive Plumstead Road, Thorpe End Norwich Norfolk NR13 5HR

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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

Thorpe End Teddies Playgroup was established in 1993. It is located in a church hall in Thorpe End, which is situated on the outskirts of Norwich, in Norfolk. Children who attend live mainly in Thorpe End, and the surrounding areas. There are currently 66 children on roll,some of whom are in receipt of funding. There are no children attending who have special educational needs and none for whom English is a second language. The playgroup provides daily sessions during term times on Mondays Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, between 9.30 and 12.00. The playgroup employs six staff in total with four members of staff present each session. Two staff hold appropriate level three qualifications in childcare. The group receive support from their early years development and childcare partnership and an advisory link teacher.

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How good is the Day Care?

Thorpe End Teddies Pre-school provides satisfactory care for children.There are policies and procedures in place to support practice, although some of these need to be updated and the staff's understanding of them developed. The staff use their knowledge and experience of childcare to create an environment that is both warm and interesting. Children enjoy playing with the equipment on offer. Risk assessments help staff to ensure that the environment is a safe place for children to play in. However, this currently means that they are simply aware of potential hazards rather than making routine checks in this shared provision. Overall, a wide range of good quality resources are available for children to use that are imaginative, in good condition and appropriate for the ages and stages of development of children who attend the group. The pre-school have established a good relationship with parents and carers of the

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How good is the Day Care?

children who attend the group. Parents are encouraged to look at notice boards, exchange information with staff on a regular basis to make sure that their children's

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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 needs are met.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection five of the identified actions have been implemented successfully. As a consequence staff have up to date CRB checks in place, and a procedure is in place to ensure new members of staff submit to checks before they are permitted to have unsupervised access to children. Additionally, the group has devised a system for obtaining permission to administer medicines and being able to accurately record details of administrations. Parents have easy access to the address of the regulator by looking at their notice board for reference, should they require it. All of these implementations contribute towards ensuring that the children's welfare is able to be promoted more effectively than previously. The remaining action points remain. These include the effective development of an operational plan and further development of the group's child protection policy statement.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are good role models for the children. They are kind and friendly towards the children, and praise them when they do something well. This helps children to build on their self-esteem and confidence. • Some imaginative resources, such as the science selection box, are provided to stimulate children's imagination and engage them in worthwhile activities. • The children are able to freely select activities to influence their play.

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What needs to be improved?

• the operational plan to clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of staff and show how staff will be deployed, this includes roles at snack times, and implementation of identified risks following assessments • staff's knowledge of equal opportunities, special needs and child protection awareness issues, coupled with supporting group policies and procedures.

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Outcome of the 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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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 develop and implement an operational plan which clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of staff and includes details of how staff will be deployed throughout the session. 6 conduct a risk assessment on the premises identifying actions to be taken to minimize identified risks. This refers to denying children access to electrical plug sockets, very hot water and contents of sink cupboards in the toilet area. 9 develop staff’s knowledge and understanding of equal opportunities issues to ensure that children have an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. 10 devise and make available to parents, a written statement on special needs which is consistent with current legislation and guidance. Ensure that this is understood and implemented by all staff 13 develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

The provision for nursery education at Thorpe End Teddies is of good quality overall. Children are able to make generally good progress in their personal, social and emotional development as well as the programmes for language, literacy, communication, mathematics and physical development. There are some weaknesses, however, in the programmes for creative development and knowledge and understanding of the world. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff encourage the children to interact and make friends with other children. They create opportunities for the children to initiate activities for themselves and introduce focus activities, such as Mother's Day baskets. Staff are becoming familiar with the Early Learning Goals. However they cover some areas of the curriculum more effectively than others. They make effective use of explanations to help children to learn and be able to enjoy their success. The limitations of the premises do not enable effective learning to always

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How effective is the nursery education?

take place.The staff are beginning to use planning and assessments to provide a suitable framework to support the children's learning, but assessments need further development in order to be able to identify children's progression and introduce challenges that are meaningful to the children. The leadership and management is generally good. The committee support staff members in their aims. There is a structure for appointing and appraising staff, as well as producing and circulating the group's policies. In this way the group are beginning to be able to evaluate and monitor their own effectiveness. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are supportive of the group and feel able to ask staff about their children's progress on an informal basis.

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What is being done well?

• Good emphasis is placed on children's personal, social and emotional development,enabling children to perservere with tasks and to play together during purposeful activities. • Children are beginning to learn that words carry meaning and to use marks to record during play. • Staff use their knowledge of child development to present children with some worthwhile activities that help them to learn. • Effective use of explanations and praise positively impacts on children's confidence and self-esteem. • Resources are well used to support children's learning by combining free play opportunities with some structured activities to help them to make progress.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• clarity of planning to make it clear what learning is expected from both the daily activities and the theme • the use of assessments to show progression that can be used when planning activities to help children to make progress in their learning • the deployment of staff and appropriate grouping of children to ensure that the learning objectives of the activities are being achieved • the programme for music and the frequency of opportunities for children to explore using a variety of textures.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Thorpe End Teddies have made limited progress only in most elements of the four action points raised during the previous inspection, and, as a consequence, the progression made is insufficient to positively influence the quality of learning for children. Assessment records have been recently updated to cover the six areas of learning. They record the children's achievements but they do not yet effectively show progress towards the Early Learning Goals. Planning does not yet show the learning intention or staff deployment or the grouping of the children. There are still few opportunities for children to explore music or texture within creative development.

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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 display confidence and most settle well on arrival. They assume responsibility for their own personal hygiene by accessing the toilet independently and washing their hands. They can put on their own coats for outdoor play. Older children negotiate well during play situations, with the garage and cars, as they talk, listen to each other and share views to reach a solution. In this way they are making friends. They understand right from wrong and, as a consequence, behaviour is good.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children use basic language skills to express their needs. They listen well to stories and enjoy interactive 'snap' books. Writing materials are available for children to select and make marks as they play, and some children are able to form recognisable letters. Children bring in items to share in a group although insufficient focus is given to this activity to allow children to fully participate and talk about their toy. Children recognise that words have meanings as they find their name card.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are introduced to counting and can recognise numerals that correspond to the changing dates on their weatherboard and calendar. They routinely count one another during registration and have begun to use numbers in practical ways to make comparisons. Children are able to select large feet to measure objects although staff do not always help them to maximise their learning potential. They do however, encourage children to use mathematical language to compare colour and shape and sizes.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children are able to use construction toys, electronic toys and magnifying glasses to begin to work out how things work. The children have few planned opportunities to explore using their senses with natural materials such as sand, water, corn flour and other cooking materials. Stories and topics encourage children to think about people in their community, such as fire fighters, but fewer resources enable them to explore 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: Generally Good Children are showing confidence during spatial awareness activities, where they are learning to move with control and become aware of themselves and others in the group. The children develop hand and eye co-ordination in a variety of activities using numerous tools such as scissors, writing materials and glue sticks. They are also able to practice throwing, hitting and catching balls. They pedal on trikes but have less opportunity to climb.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children are able to chose to use paint to express themselves imaginatively and creatively. This is balanced by staff introducing focus activities, such as Mother's Day baskets, in order to create challenges for children. Occasionally older children attending a rising '5' group are able to use clay but overall there are few opportunities for children to use a wide variety of materials to promote their sensory development. Children enjoy action songs but do not often dance and make 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

• develop planning to make it clear what learning is expected from both the daily activities and the theme,to show how staff are deployed and children are grouped to ensure that the learning objectives of the activities are being achieved • extend the use of assessments to inform the planning of activities to help children to make progress in their learning • develop the programme for music and the frequency of opportunities for children to explore using a variety of textures.

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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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