Urmston Grammar School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 14/09/2004 Inspector Name Heather Morgan

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Scallywags Pre-School (Halwill) Setting Address The Parish Hall Halwill Junction Beaworthy Devon EX21 5

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Scallywags Pre-School (Halwill) 1033643

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Scallywags Pre-School (Halwill) Address The Parish Hall Halwill Junction Beaworthy Devon

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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

Scallywags Pre-school first opened in 1980. It is run by a management committee and is affiliated to the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The pre-school meets in the Parish Hall at Halwill Junction and has the use of the main hall and a smaller room. There are also toilet facilities and a large kitchen. The adjoining community play area is used for outdoor play. The pre school opens during school term times, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 09:30 to 12.30. On Wednesdays there is a lunch club and children can stay until 13:25. Children attend from the local rural area. There are currently on 23 roll, eight of whom are funded three-year-olds and thirteen are funded four-year-olds. At present there are no children attending with special educational needs, nor for whom English is an additional language. Four staff work with the children; the playleader is a qualified teacher and two of the

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Information about the setting

staff hold relevant early years qualifications, one at level two and the other at level three. The staff are supported by a part-time administrator. The staff are assisted at the beginning and end of every session by at least two parent helpers. The pre-school accesses support from the Pre-school Learning Alliance and the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

Scallywags Pre-school provides good quality care for children. Staff and parents work hard each day to transform the hall into a welcoming environment where children are happy, relaxed and settle well. All regulatory documentation is in place and generally used well to underpin good practice. Staff give high priority to the children's health, safety and welfare. There are effective procedures in place to promote good health and hygiene and staff assess new

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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 activities to identify potential hazards and take steps to reduce risks to children, for example, when planning outings, outdoor play and visits to the computer suite. They are good role models for the children and have a positive approach to behaviour management. They are calm, consistent, and use praise and encouragement well to promote good behaviour. Children are offered a wide range of interesting, challenging and well-planned activities that promote their progress and development. Staff are deployed effectively and interact well with children to support their learning. There is a good partnership with parents. They have opportunities to get involved with the pre-school in a variety of ways, they receive good information about the

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How good is the Day Care?

activities and aims of the group and have regular opportunities to exchange information about their children and the progress they are making.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the pre-school was required to improve regulatory documentation. All policies and procedures are now in place and reviewed regularly, although two require additional information.

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What is being done well?

• Children are offered a wide range of stimulating and interesting activities and are supported well to promote their progress and development. • Staff and parents work hard to create a welcoming environment and to present resources appropriately so that children can access them independently. • Staff are calm, consistent and use praise and encouragement effectively to promote and reward good behaviour.

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What needs to be improved?

• the complaints procedure, to clarify the role of the regulatory authority • the child protection policy, to include procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff.

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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 13 Include in the child protection policy, procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. 12 Review complaints procedures to clarify the role of the regulating authority.

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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?

Scallywags Pre-school provides high quality nursery education and children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of the curriculum. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals and support children well in their progress along the stepping stones towards them. Regular observation and assessment of children's progress is used effectively to plan challenging and interesting activities that build on what children already know and can do. Themed activities and everyday routines are effective in promoting learning in all six areas of the curriculum. Staff work together well and are deployed effectively to support and extend children's learning through purposeful play. They have high expectations of children and are calm and consistent in their management of behaviour, using praise and encouragement effectively to promote and reward good behaviour.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Leadership and management are very good. The playleader and committee work well together to provide strong leadership for the group. Regular discussions are used effectively to identify areas for improvement and to identify training needs. The playleader regularly evaluates the effectiveness of curriculum planning to ensure that activities cover all areas of learning and support children's progress. All staff demonstrate a good commitment to improvement and access regular training to support their professional development. There is a very good partnership with parents. They receive good quality information about the education curriculum and how activities support children's learning. Parents are actively involved in the assessment of children's progress by contributing observations of learning at home. Parents participate in the running of the group and their children's learning in a variety of ways, for example by helping to

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How effective is the nursery education?

prepare the room each day, joining group outings and borrowing books to share at home.

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What is being done well?

• There is good team work, staff are deployed effectively and interact well with children to support their learning through play. • Clear planning demonstrates how activities promote children's learning in all areas of the curriculum. • There is an effective system of assessment which demonstrates how staff and parents work together to observe and track children's progress. • Staff have high expectations of children and encourage them to become independent.

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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?

• children's opportunities to choose to look at and share books more regularly during free play.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Following the last inspection, the pre-school has made very good progress in addressing the two key issues that were raised. They now ensure that children have regular opportunities to express themselves freely and creatively using a wide range of resources. Parents now regularly contribute to the assessment of children's progress and this has a positive impact on planning their future 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 are confident, happy and settle well at the beginning of sessions. They develop increasing independence and enjoy choosing and using resources, and making their own drinks at snack time. They regularly invite others to join their play and are developing an understanding of sharing and taking turns to promote harmonious play. Their behaviour is good and they persevere for extended periods of time to complete their chosen tasks.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are confident communicators. They initiate conversations with their peers and adults and enjoy sharing their news at group times. They use language well to plan what they are going to do and to describe past events. They are learning about letters and the sounds they make and can recognise familiar words, such as their names. They enjoy writing for different purposes and are beginning to form recognisable letters. They sometimes look at books and retell familiar stories to each other.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have a good awareness of numbers. They count confidently and recognise familiar numerals, such as their age. They are beginning to solve simple problems by adding one more to a number or combining two groups of objects. They have a good awareness of a range of mathematical concepts and can sort and match objects by shape and size and recreate simple patterns.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have regular opportunities to explore and investigate a wide range of natural and made resources. They are encouraged to think about why things happen and how they work, for example when making cornflour 'gloop' or exploring the properties of water. They confidently design and build models using different materials and are developing a good awareness of the passage of time and a sense of place through themed activities.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move safely and confidently around the available play space and have good opportunities to develop co-ordination and skill using a wide range of equipment both indoors and outdoors. They have regular opportunities for physical exercise and are learning how to stay healthy. They are developing good hand-eye co-ordination and manipulative skills as they use a range of tools to paint, draw, cut and stick different materials with increasing control and safety.

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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: Very Good Children regularly access a wide range of materials and are encouraged to express themselves freely using paint, collage materials, playdough and musical instruments. They use their imagination well when engaging in role play, using resources and inviting others to join them to extend their elaborate stories. They enjoy singing and sometimes make up new words for familiar tunes.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • encourage children to independently select and look at books more regularly during free play.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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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