St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 03/11/2004 Inspector Name Janet, Elizabeth Singleton

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Rishton Parish Church Pre-School Setting Address The Parish Hall Blackburn Road Rishton Blackburn BB1 4HD

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Rishton Parish Church Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rishton Parish Church Pre-School Address 4 Somerset Road Rishton Blackburn Lancashire BB1 4BP

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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

Rishton Parish Church Pre-school opened approximately 20 years ago. It is situated in the rural area of Rishton, close to the motorway network. The registered person is Reverend Paul Smith with the setting providing sessional care for children. The pre-school operates from a single storey parish hall which is an integral part of the St Peter and St Paul Parish Church building. The setting comprises of the hall, toilet facility and part of the church building. There is no outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are 42 children on roll, of whom there are 20 funded three-year-old children. There are no children attending who have a designated special need or English as an additional language. There are 5 staff, of whom 3 are qualified in early years. Most staff are qualified in first aid.

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Information about the setting

The setting operates Monday to Friday, each morning and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. The morning sessions operate from 09:00 until 11:30 with the afternoon session being 12:30 until 15:30. The group runs term time only. The setting has input from the pre-school committee and the Early years partnership teacher team.

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How good is the Day Care?

Rishton pre-school provides satisfactory care for children. The setting is organised to ensure children have free movement with access to all resources. The environment is welcoming to children and enhanced with displays of their work thus giving the children a sense of belonging. Staff are aware of their roles and those of the key operational staff.

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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 Most documentation required for the safe running of the setting is in place and well maintained. However there is no formal procedure for the induction and monitoring of staff performance. Staff have an understanding of safety issues and ensure health and safety policies are followed. There are risk assessments in place with some staff having training in this area which further promotes the safety of the children. The setting has a positive approach to the promotion of good health practices. The child protection policy is in place and links to the ACPC procedures however some of the staff are not fully aware of the procedure. Effective procedures are in place to ensure the needs of children with special needs

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How good is the Day Care?

are met. The setting has a positive approach to the planning of a healthy snack. There are appropriate and varied, good quality resources to support children's learning and the activities provided. Children can self select resources with staff interaction being mostly positive, staff encourage the children in their play. There is an equal opportunity policy in place. There are resources that reflect positive images of people from other cultures. Children are generally well behaved however staff intervention is not consistent and thus children may be unsure of the boundaries set. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. There is a notice board for parents. In discussion, parents feel involved and informed regarding their child's progress at the nursery.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the setting agreed to include bullying within the behaviour policy. The policy now covers this and thus ensures behaviour management, concerning bullying, can be dealt with effectively thus benefiting the children.

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What is being done well?

• There is a wide variety of activities and play materials for the children to choose from. The activities provided include all areas of development with a balance of adult led and child led opportunities. Children can self select resources and develop their independence and their decision-making skills thus increasing their confidence. • The environment is welcoming to children and planned to ensure they can move freely, choosing resources. Children were observed to move throughout the setting confidently. The setting is enhanced with good displays of children's work thus enabling them to have a sense of belonging. The children take charge of their work and readily seek out materials for painting and hang their pictures to dry with a degree of satisfaction.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • The setting has a positive approach to snacks and has received the accreditation for the 'Smiling for life policy' This limits the sugar attacks children can have during the day. For birthdays, parents are encouraged to bring a book to celebrate rather than a cake. The snack time is a wonderful social occasion where children sit and discuss their day with enthusiasm. • There is a sensitive and supporting approach taken to assisting children who have special needs. The setting has built relationships with outside agencies and has a comprehensive policy linked to the code of practice. The policy was observed to work in practice.

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What needs to be improved?

• The staff knowledge of the child protection procedure • The consistency of management of the children's behaviour • The procedure for the induction of staff and monitoring of the staff performance.

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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 Devise an induction procedure for all staff, which includes how staff performance will be monitored. 11 Ensure consistency of approach to the management of children's behaviour at all times. 13 Ensure all staff are fully aware of the child protection policy.

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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?

Rishton pre-school is acceptable and of good quality overall enabling children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Provision for their communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world, mathematics and physical development is very good. The quality of teaching is generally good. The effectiveness of the curriculum planning is generally good and contains a range of opportunities, activities and experiences to cover the early learning goals. The environment enables children to make choices about their play. Staff do not always make full use of new experiences, for children, to explore and express their feelings. Staff foster self-esteem and have good relationships with the children. Most staff manage the children's behaviour however some staff are not consistent in their approach thus children may be unsure of the boundaries set. There is an environment which

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How effective is the nursery education?

promotes choice and children's independence. Leadership and management is generally good. The staff are very clear about their roles and responsibilities and are well deployed within the setting. Staff meetings are held on a regular basis to discuss the children's progress and the settings provision for nursery education. This information is used to inform future planning with all staff being involved. Training, for the foundation stage, is encouraged for all staff, thus increasing their knowledge and skills. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are given information on topics areas and how they can be involved in these. Open sessions are held for parents to discuss their child. Parents feel informed and involved in their child's progress. They are encouraged to share their observations from home and complete an induction booklet regarding what their child knows. Staff have a commitment to working with

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How effective is the nursery education?

parents and readily discuss their child's progress.

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What is being done well?

• The planning of the environment encourages children to be active learners through practical activities, through promoting choice and enabling children to plan their day from the resources available. Children are provided with good opportunities to select resources i.e. they choose paper for their painting, attach it to the easel and select paint and brushes. Children take responsibility for hanging their paintings to dry. • Children enjoy the mark making and workshop area, practising their writing skills, selecting and cutting a variety of materials to create stickings, learning to handle small tools with confidence. They ascribe meaning to their marks, from recognisable letters and enjoy talking about what they are doing. The children show a high degree of concentration when accessing this area.

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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 • Children enjoy the construction area and readily seek this area of play. The children can choose the materials they want to use and build wonderful aeroplanes, train tracks and trains becoming highly involved in their imagination and play. • Children are developing control over their bodies and move with skill and competence. They climb up, over and under, with excitement, when climbing on the climbing frame. They return chairs, confidently, to their place negotiating other children and obstacles and show great satisfaction when completing the task.

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What needs to be improved?

• the consistency of approach in managing children's behaviour • the opportunities for children to express, discuss and explore their feelings and experiences during focussed activities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The setting had one point for consideration. The setting agreed to develop ways to ensure that children are encouraged to write both letters and numbers as part of their play. The setting has provided opportunities through the mark making table and enabling children to write lists to practice writing letters. Numbers are used effectively as labels and there is a number line where children can move the numbers. Staff encourage children to practice writing their letters and numbers during focussed activities and free play. The children were observed to write letters and numbers freely, ascribing meaning to their marks and sounding letters and numbers as part of their meaning. This further promotes their opportunities to develop their writing skills and mathematical understanding.

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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 The children are developing their independence and self select resources and activities, thus learning to make decisions. They sit and concentrate for lengthy periods of time and become involved in their activity. They enjoy their independence, which is fostered at all times, and readily join in group time and song time with increasing confidence. Management of the children's behaviour is not consistent and thus children may be unsure of the boundaries set.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children actively seek to practice their writing at the mark-making table with more able children forming letters generally correct. They enjoy and readily write their name on their work ascribing meaning to their marks and taking ownership. They are confident, and engage in lively discussion, readily talking about their interests and what they are doing. They learn to link sounds to letters when sounding the first letter of their name.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are learning to sequence through number rhymes i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 5 fat sausages. They count confidently and readily to 5 with 1 child counting to15 thus developing their understanding of numbers. They learn to compare and talk about patterns, with excitement and enthusiasm, during the making of Rangoli cards and the comparison of stripes on their socks. They learn how to calculate through practical activities and use mathematical language during their play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children build and construct with a purpose creating train tracks. They make aeroplanes and fly them through the setting. They learn how to operate the computer and how to follow simple computer programmes. They learn about their own and other cultures through the celebration of festivals and the exploration of foods. They learn about early science through exploration of pebbles, changes that occur when filling containers and the changing shape of the sand during their play.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move safely and with confidence, they show an awareness of their space and others. They weave their own pathways, moving around the other children. They enjoy climbing and practicing their skills on the climbing frame. They learn about healthy eating at snack time and discuss the need to look after their teeth. They handle small tools mostly with competence, cutting with scissors, more able children being competent. They learn tools can be used for a purpose.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use their imagination in the role-play and creative activities when acting out roles from home and free painting. They enjoy singing and sing spontaneously during their play. They readily join in with actions and match movements to music. They explore colour during free painting and recognise shapes and colours during their play. Children do not always have the opportunity to express their feelings, ideas and thoughts during focussed 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 the consistency of staff approach in managing the children's behaviour • ensure children have the opportunity to express, discuss and explore their feelings and experiences during focussed 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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