James Elliman First School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 04/02/2005 Inspector Name Jenny Scarlett

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Longparish Playgroup Setting Address Longparish Primary School Longparish Andover Hampshire SP11 6PB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Longparish Playgroup 1001065

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Longparish Playgroup Address Longparish Primary School Longparish Andover Hampshire SP11 6PB

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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

Longparish Playgroup opened in 1988. The playgroup operates from a temporary modular building in the grounds of Longparish School in the village of Longparish near Andover. A maximum of 18 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. The playgroup is open each week day from 09:00 to 12:00 with a lunch club offering extended care until 13:00 on Fridays. In the Summer term a "preparing for school" session operates from 12:45 to 15:15 on a Tuesday. The playgroup opens term time only. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor area. There are currently 22 children on roll, aged from 2 to 5 years. Of these, 17 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide geographical area. The playgroup employs four staff. Three of the staff hold an appropriate early years qualification. One member of staff is working towards a qualification.

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How good is the Day Care?

Longparish Playgroup offers good quality care for children. Staff develop good relationships with the children and their parents. The staff team are committed to updating their childcare skills and knowledge with regular training. The supervisors and their staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of the requirements for registration and the National Standards for Sessional Day Care. Staff give high priority to ensuring the safety of the children and consistently carry out procedures detailed in the policies. Procedures for child protection are comprehensive. As a result staff recognise their responsibilities towards the children in their care. Good hygiene is promoted and the children are encouraged to become independent in their personal care, such as changing shoes to go outside. Children are encouraged to help in the preparation and clearing up of snack time and take pride in being the monitor for collecting cups. However the time taken to prepare and

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How good is the Day Care?

complete snack time interrupts the children's flow of activities. The staff ensure the children have access to a wide range of interesting and

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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 stimulating activities with a well planned curriculum to promote and enhance the children's play and learning, both indoors and outdoors. Staff are caring and sensitive to the children's needs and children's behaviour is well managed. The staff have good relationships with parents. The parents support the pre-school and liaise with staff daily. Parents receive good quality information relating to the setting, its policies and curriculum. However the prospectus lacks some detail. Children's assessment records are comprehensive, clearly recorded and regularly shared with parents, providing them with a good insight to their child's progress.

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What is being done well?

• The playgroup provides an effective play and learning environment for the children. Staff plan first hand experiences such as exploring the texture of beans and making fruit salad that enable children to make choices as they develop their skills, knowledge and understanding. They support the children's care learning and play well with a good range of activities that take place indoors and out. • The environment is safe and secure and space is well organised and used appropriately to promote the children's development. Staff are vigilant of the children's safety. They demonstrate an awareness of children's developing abilities which helps to ensure appropriate safety measures are in place. • Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Relevant induction procedures and opportunities to receive further training help staff develop their skills in organising provision that meets all of the

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What is being done well?

children's individual needs. • All children's work and achievements are valued. Their work is sympathetically displayed in all areas of the playgroup. The room and play areas, indoors are well prepared and activities well presented to the children, encouraging their confidence to select play materials from a good range of resources. • Parents have very good opportunities to contribute to the assessments made on their child and to be involved in their child's learning through the "Home Link" scheme with good opportunities for parents to informally reinforce the children's learning in the home environment.

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What needs to be improved?

• organisation of snack time, to further develop children's independence and the free flow of activities • the information available to parents relating to the background information of the playgroup and its staff.

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What needs to be improved?

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 8 Review the organisation of snack time. 12 Further develop the prospectus to include background information relating to the playgroup.

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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?

Longparish Playgroup provision is acceptable and of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the Early Learning Goals. Provision for their maths, communication language and literacy, creative development and knowledge and understanding of the world is particularly well planned and the children make very good progress in these areas. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff have good relationships with the children and manage their behaviour well. Staff demonstrate good knowledge of the stepping stones and early learning goals and use this to plan a broad and mostly balanced curriculum to cover all the areas of learning. However some activities are not always extended to provide sufficient challenge, particularly in aspects of physical development. Staff organise the indoor space and resources well encouraging children to develop their play and imagination thus increasing their

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How effective is the nursery education?

independence. The outdoor community is used well to develop the children's understanding of the natural world. Staff assess the children's learning and keep careful records which provide a clear picture of their progress. However they do not always include possible next steps in their development and learning. Leadership and management is generally good. The staff have developed strong links with the attached school. The supervisors takes responsibility for planning the curriculum and involve the staff in contributing to this work. They regularly review the working practises and the paperwork demonstrating how the setting adapts to change. However there is not yet an effective system to gather feedback from parents. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive detailed information about the education provision through newsletters and displays. Staff provide regular time for discussions and sharing records of the children's progress.

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What is being done well?

• Staff use good consolidation techniques through repetition questions and revisiting topics and activities to enhance the children's learning. As a result children actively take part in conversations and express their ideas confidently. • The accommodation and resources are used well to support the children's learning. Staff arrange the indoor area and resources imaginatively to encourage the children to make decisions in their play and to be independent. • There are strong links between Longparish School and the playgroup. The playgroup plays an important role in preparing the children for a happy and successful start to the more structured school environment. As a result the

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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 are better prepared with a smooth transition to the school. • Children's mathematical skills are promoted effectively through a good range of stimulating and practical activities. • The playgroup works effectively with parents to support the children's learning. The "home link scheme" provides valuable information realting to the current topics with ideas how parents can help the children at home. As a result parents receive good opportuntities to be involved in their child's learning such as reading favourite books to the children and taking "Jock the teddy bear" home for the weekend and writing a diary of his adventures with the children.

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What needs to be improved?

• opportunities for children to be given time to finish and complete an activity before changes in the sessions occur • the attention given to planning to develop children's large physical skills, with access to climbing equipment for the three and four-year-olds • the assessments to include possible next steps in the children's development and learning • detail on the activity sheets, to identify what types of basic resources are available on a daily basis • the monitoring and evaluation of the setting

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made in tackling the key issues identified from the previous inspection report. These required the staff to find a suitable manageable assessment system and plan and provide resources to increase children's awareness of other groups and the wider world. Assessment systems have been revised to give a much clearer direction to teaching. They are soundly based on the stepping stones and there are logical links between the long, medium and short term plans. As a result staff have a much clearer understanding of what the children are intended to learn from activities. However staff do not consistently identify the next steps of development and learning, particularly for the three year olds. They offer support through well judged interventions and questioning which extend the children's knowledge and understanding. The staff have introduced a number of effective measures to improve the planning of

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What has improved since the last inspection?

the curriculum to ensure children are experiencing all areas of learning. The termly plans clearly incorporate the objectives for knowledge and understanding of the world. As a result the focus on activities allows the children to develop knowledge of cultures and beliefs that differ from their own. Positive images are displayed in the playgroup with regular access to good quality resources and play equipment to

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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 develop and extend the children's understanding of the world around them.

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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's confidence and self esteem are built by staff who are sensitive to their needs and know them well. They choose between activities, select resources for themselves and take care of their personal needs, such as changing shoes for outdoor play. They are encouraged to take part in activities and show good concentration skills when working independently. However there are missed opportunities to allow the children to complete and finish an activity when changes in the session occur.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children interact and talk with each other and adults confidently. They readily invite and include staff in their play and activities. Children use language well to negotiate and express their ideas with each other and adults. Their spoken language and writing skills are developing well as a result of the good range of planned and spontaneous activities. There are good opportunities for the children to practise emergent writing and to recognise and write their own names.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently up to and beyond ten and many recognise numbers up to nine. They learn to use numbers in everyday situations and show that they understand size and shape through practical activities. Children develop the concept of money as they purchase items from the shop using cash and pretend credit cards. There are good practical activities to begin to solve problems such as design and building with boxes and filling different sized bowls with beans.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Planned activities aid children to notice changes such as making bird feeders and observing the weather and the birds in the garden. They ably build and construct with large and small bricks to extend their skills. Children talk about personal events in their own lives and are learning about the wider world and diversity through well thought out activities such as the story of Haudah's Hen. Children are progressing very well in ICT through a carefully well planned programme.

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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 confident in their independence skills and show an awareness of basic hygiene. They show confidence in controlling pencils and scissors to develop their small muscle skills. There are good opportunities to develop their fine skills such as cutting fruit and using pegs to hang up names. Staff are on hand to provide support and encourage new skills such as pedalling. However opportunities to develop large physical skills such as climbing activities are currently not fully exploited.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children respond to new experiences and explore a wide variety of media and materials. They draw and paint freely in different ways. They express their ideas through a good range of activities including role play. Children draw on their own experiences and imagination as they pretend to make dinner in the home corner and go shopping. The outdoor play promotes good imagination as children are given good support to develop their singing of "king of the castle" on the adventure area.

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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

• provide opportunities for children to be given time to finish and complete an activity before changes in the sessions occur • develop a consistent assessment to include possible next steps in the children's development and learning. • give sufficient detail on the daily activity sheets to identify what types of basic provision is available on a daily basis.

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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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